"A.E.I.O.U." (sometimes A.E.I.O.V.) was a

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

ic device coined by Emperor Frederick III (1415–1493) and historically used as a

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

by the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. 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 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 from Ancient Greek ('write'), and the suffix ''-eme'' by analogy with ''phoneme'' and other emic units. The study of graphemes ...

s. A.E.I.O.U. is also the

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. The famous device is probably the most known motto of premodern times, because it has repeatedly been given new interpretations. Unraveling the mystery of what the AEIOU means is part of a centuries-long debate that is still ongoing today. Contemporary research has shown that the Roman chancellery of Frederick III used the interpretation ''En amor electis iniustis ordinor ultor. Sic Fridericus ego mea iura rego'' as the official motto. This interpretation has also been shown to be the most commonly used variant in the 15th century. It was also supposed that the ''Austriae est imperare'' variants probably go back to Frederick's proto-notary Heinrich Leubing.

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, ("I am loved by the elect, for the unjust I am ordained an avenger").Armorial of Ulrich Rösch (Cod. Sang. 1084
p. 40
(1488) This verse was probably adopted by Frederick from a poem by Nicolaus Petschacher of Znaim who worked as a court official in the 1440s.Alphons Lhotsky, Quellenkunde zur mittelalterlichen Geschichte Österreichs, in: MIÖG, Erg. Bd. 19, 1963, 344f. Other interpretations have been put forth, including by contemporary heraldists. Several explanations proceed on the assumption that it was meant as a political slogan. * ("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"). * * Since Frederick wrote this acronym when he was not yet the ruler of the

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (; ) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, 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 periph ...

and, at that time,

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

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. Many Latin and German interpretations have been attempted over the centuries; most of these versions refer to a motto of present-day

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

or the extensive

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

In literature

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's novel '' Ulysses''s 9th chapter, the phrase "A. E. I. O. U." means, " Æ, I owe you".

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline * 15th-century neologisms Initialisms Latin mottos Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor

Interpretation

In literature

See also

References

Further reading

External links