<P> Ukrainian People's Republic, great arms, (1918) </P> <Li> <P> The Ukrainian trident overprint of May 1919 on a five - heller stamp of Austria - Hungary . </P> </Li> <P> The Ukrainian trident overprint of May 1919 on a five - heller stamp of Austria - Hungary . </P> <P> Most historians agree that the medieval symbol was not intended as depicting a trident, but most likely a stylized falcon . Depictions of a flying falcon with a cross above its head have been found in Old Ladoga, the first seat of the Kievan Rurik dynasty, of Scandinavian lineage . Such a falcon, along with a cross are also featured on the coins of Olaf Guthfrithsson, a Viking king of Dublin and Northumbria . Falconry for centuries has been a royal sport in Europe . The gyrfalcon (known also as Norwegian falcon) was considered a royal bird and is mentioned (ukr.: кречет) in one of the earliest epics of Ruthenia, the 12th century poem The Tale of Ihor's Campaign . </P>

What does the symbol on the ukrainian flag mean