Saxon Steed

The Saxon Steed (Sachsenross, Niedersachsenross, Welfenross, Westfalenpferd; Twentse Ros / Saksische ros/paard; Low Saxon: Witte Peerd) is a heraldic motif associated with the German provinces of Lower Saxony and Westphalia, and the Dutch region of Twente. The horse as a heraldic charge associated with Saxony first appears in the late 14th century, at which time it was described as an "old Saxon" motif. For this reason, there has been a long history of antiquarian speculation identifying the motif as a tribal symbol of the ancient Saxons. A tradition first recorded in 1492 reports that the 8th-century Saxon ruler Widukind displayed a black horse as his field sign. Historian James Lloyd suggests that ‘the Saxon Steed motif was invented in the 14 century .... as a faux ancient symbol for the Saxons’, being derived from an account by Gobelinus of the myth of Hengist and Horsa in Britain. The horse motif was adopted by the House of Welf, whose original symbol was a golden lion on red ground. It has also been used in several provinces in Westphalia (therefore, it is also called Westfalenross, meaning "Westphalian steed", or Welfenross, meaning "Welf steed"). After this, it became the heraldic animal of the Kingdom of Hanover (since 1866 the Prussian Province of Hanover), of the Prussian Province of Westphalia and since 1922 of the Free State of Brunswick. This tradition continues in two modern federal States of Germany: Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. File:Flag of Hanover 1837-1866.svg|Flag of the [[Kingdom of Hanover]] (1837–1866). File:Coat of Arms of Hannover.svg|Coat of arms of the Prussian [[Province of Hanover]] (1868–1946). File:Coat of Arms of Westphalia.svg|Coat of arms of the Prussian [[Province of Westphalia]] (1815–1946). File:Wappen Freistaat Braunschweig.png|Coat of arms of the [[Free State of Brunswick]] (1922–1946) File:Flag of the State of Hanover (1946).svg|Flag of the [[State of Hanover]] (1946). The coat of arms of the German state of Lower Saxony shows a white Saxon steed (Sachsenross) on a red background.