Editing Stjørdal Municipality (section)

===Coat of arms and flag===
[[File:Flag of Stjørdal.png|thumb|left|140px|Flag of Stjørdal]]
On 29 September 1983, by resolution of its municipal council, Stjørdal adopted a new municipal [[coat of arms]] in red and gold, bearing a gold or yellow [[Lindworm]] (a two-legged [[dragon]] or [[wyvern]]) on a field of red.<ref name="komvapen">{{Cite web |title=Kommunevåpen (Municipal Arms) |url=https://www.stjordal.kommune.no/MerOm/Sider/Kommunevapen.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114060444/https://www.stjordal.kommune.no/MerOm/Sider/Kommunevapen.aspx |archive-date=2015-01-14 |website=Stjørdal Kommune}}</ref> The arms were granted on 25 November 1983.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1984-01-20 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1983-11-25-1734 |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref><ref name="fotw" />

The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Gules]], a lindworm [[couchant]] [[Or (heraldry)|Or]]"'' ({{langx|no|I rødt en liggende gull lindorm}}). This means the arms have a red [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is a [[lindworm]] with two legs and two wings (also known as a [[wyvern]]. The charge has a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The arms were designed by [[Hallvard Trætteberg]].<ref name="hw">{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Stjørdal |access-date=2023-02-18 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref name="fotw">{{Cite web |title=Stjørdal, Nord-Trøndelag (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-17-14.html |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref> Most Norwegian municipalities have a banner of their respective coats of arms as a flag, and accordingly, the municipal flag of Stjørdal similarly bears a yellow [[wyvern]] on a red field.<ref name="fotw" />

Although the [[coat of arms]] is from modern times, the dragon motif of the arms was inspired by a [[Middle Ages|medieval]] seal for the district, dating from 1344.<ref name="hw" /> The old municipal seal was considered unsuitable for selection as the municipal coat of arms, because to obtain a municipal coat of arms and flag, a Norwegian municipality must fulfill certain heraldic requirements that do not apply to a seal.<ref name="komvapen" /> For example, a coat of arms will generally contain only one pictorial motif, while Stjørdal's seal had three motifs and failed to meet additional requirements concerning color elements.<ref name="komvapen" /> The municipality sought assistance from the [[National Archives of Norway]], and was referred to archivist [[Hallvard Trætteberg]], resulting in a collaboration to develop the new coat of arms.<ref name="komvapen" />

The dragon is a symbol of [[Margaret the Virgin|Saint Margaret of Antioch]], and its depiction is derived from Stjørdal's old seal, which showed Saint Margaret standing on a slain dragon.<ref name="komvapen" /><ref name="hw" /> According to Stjørdal's municipal website, both the four-legged dragon and the two-legged wyvern are used in ancient designs of arms going back thousands of years, and have "always stood as a symbol of authority, power, and exalted dignity of great national cultures."<ref name="komvapen" />