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Skjaldamerki Íslands: the national coat of arms representing the folklore and culture of the nation: the four protectors of the land [landsvættir]. there's a nice saga that tells the story behind it. i mean it's not just because. it's told that when the army of a danish king was set to regain iceland [after viking settlements began and they were against dane rule] several monsters attacked them avoiding dane men to step in the land, first it was a giant bull [griðungur] who chase them off from the southwestern coast. then the eagle [gammur] who protected shores. the dragon [drekki] that kept them away from the northeastern fjörds and finally the rock-giant [bergrisi] who chase them from southeastern coasts. so much respect was paid to these symbols, so that during viking era there was a law that ordered 'no ship should bear grimacing symbols (most often dragonheads on the bow of the ship) when approaching iceland. this was so the protectors would not be spooked unnecessarily. all of them of course standing on a basaltic plaque from icelandic volcanoes.