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"A.E.I.O.U." (sometimes A.E.I.O.V.) was a
symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
ic device coined by Emperor Frederick III (1415–1493) and historically used as a
motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...
by the
Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
. One note in his notebook (discovered in 1666), though not in the same hand, explains it in German and Latin as "All the world is subject to Austria" ( or ). Frederick habitually signed buildings such as Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome, or
Graz Cathedral Graz Cathedral (german: Grazer Dom), also called St. Giles' Cathedral (german: Dom St. Ägidius), is the cathedral church in the Austrian city of Graz, dedicated to Saint Giles. It is the seat of the bishop of the Steiermark diocese from 1786, cal ...
as well as his tableware and other objects with the vowel
grapheme In linguistics, a grapheme is the smallest functional unit of a writing system. The word ''grapheme'' is derived and the suffix ''-eme'' by analogy with ''phoneme'' and other names of emic units. The study of graphemes is called '' graphemi ...
s. As of 2017, A.E.I.O.U. is also the
motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...
of the Theresian Military Academy, established in 1751. It can also be found on the wall of the Chancellor's office in the
Federal Chancellery of Austria In Austrian politics, the Federal Chancellery (german: Bundeskanzleramt, lit=federal chancellery, abbreviated ; historically also and ) is the ministry led by the chancellor. Since the establishment of the First Austrian Republic in 1918, the Ch ...
. The famous device is probably the most known motto of premodern times, because it has repeatedly been given new interpretations over the centuries.


Interpretation

Frederick's first use of the five-letter monogram was in 1437, when he was Duke of Styria. One note in his notebook (discovered in 1666), though not in the same hand, explains it in German and Latin as "All the world is subject to Austria" ( or ). Another passage, later in the same notebook, uses the letters in sequence as the initial letters of the words in the first line of a couplet poem, showing the meaning as "I am loved by the elect, for the unjust I am ordained an avenger" (from Latin, ). Other interpretations have been put forth, including by contemporary heraldists. Several explanations proceed on the assumption that it was meant as a political slogan, from the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
phrases: * ("Austria is best united by the Empire")."A", , (various authors), Volume 1, page 1, 1885–1890, web (Commons): MKL-b1-p1: has "A.E.I.O.U." on first page of entire 16-volume encyclopedia, as 3 Latin phrases: and with the German phrase noted with , plus a 3rd Latin phrase with (sometimes given in English as "Austria will stand until the end of the world" but in the Latin closer to "Austria will be supreme in the world"; ''cf.'' Cic. Fin. 3, 9, 30, “summum bonum, quod ultimum appello”); note that is ("Oe") with first letter "O". "Ö" is not considered a separate letter in German. * ("Austria will be supreme in the world", sometimes incorrectly given as "Austria will be the last (surviving) in the world"). * ("It is Austria's destiny to rule the whole world"). * ''En amor electis iniustis ordinor ultor.''Konstantin Langmaier: ''Kaiser Friedrich III. (1415–1493): des Reiches Erzschlafmütze?, Der „schlafende Kaiser“ als Klischee.'' In: ''Zeitschrift des Historischen Vereins für Steiermark.'' 111, 2020, 175-176. Since Frederick wrote this acronym when he was not yet the ruler of the
Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (german: Erzherzogtum Österreich) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern peripher ...
and, at that time,
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered ...
was entirely separated from Austria and was not considered to be its part until the next century, the term "Austria" in this context would not mean Austria as a territory or a nation, but rather the "House of Austria", that is, the Habsburg dynasty. More than 300 Latin and German interpretations have been attempted over the centuries; most of these versions refer to a motto of present-day
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
or the extensive
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
.


See also

* – the motto of Ferdinand I. *
FERT FERT (sometimes tripled, ''FERT, FERT, FERT''), the motto of the royal house of Kingdom of Sardinia, Savoy-Sardinia and Kingdom of Italy, Italy, the House of Savoy, was adopted by Duke Vittorio Amedeo II (1666–1732). It appeared for the firs ...
– Another motto of a European dynasty (the
House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
) whose meaning and origin is unclear. * the personal motto of Charles V and I, and through him the modern motto of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
. *
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
*
Universal monarchy A universal monarchy is a concept and political situation where one monarchy is deemed to have either sole rule over everywhere (or at least the predominant part of a geopolitical area or areas) or to have a special supremacy over all other st ...


References


Further reading

* Andrew Wheatcroft's ''The Habsburgs: Embodying Empire'' (1995), .


External links

* {{Commons category inline, A.E.I.O.U. (Habsburg) * 15th-century neologisms Initialisms Latin mottos Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor