Spanish Heraldry (5)

2.5 External attributes

2.5.1. Spanish heraldry in the Middle Ages shows many cases of arms with crests; however from the sixteenth century onwards their use has decreased, such that the typical coat of arms of a Spanish hidalgo nowadays will only show a helmet with five ostrich feathers above the shield, sometimes even without a wreath or mantling.

2.5.2. The other distinctive composition is the placing of arms on the respective crosses of the Military Orders of chivalry (Santiago, Alcantara, Caltarava, Montesa, St John).

2.5.3 As for the use of the other external attributes that developed after the Middle Ages, -crowns, helmets, mantles, supporters and symbols of office-, this follows standard European custom, adapted to Spanish institutions.

3.0 Arms of Solares Nobles

2.7.1 Ther is an institution that is particular to Spain, known as the Solar Noble, or noble birthplace, that is a geographically-defined area, all of whose natives are considered to have noble status. The most well-known ones are the Basque regions of Guipúzcoa and Biscay, the castilian solares of Tejada and Valdeosera, and of a series of noble valleys in Navarra, that of Baztán. There are others listed in the specialised literature that covers this complex subject.

2.7.2 The heraldic manifestation of the Solar noble is the reference to the coat of arms of the Solar in those of the families originating from it. In the case of the Castilian Solares, the principle of a noble status transmitted through the female line, allows outside families to become part of the Solar through marriage, adopting its arms as their own.

2.7.3 The heraldic manifestation of the Solar Noble is the reference to the coat of arms of the Solar itself in those of the families within the area. Sometimes it is the coat of arms of the Solar itself that is borne by various families of the Solar, sometimes it is the use of some common element derived from the Solar arms in those of the different families, and sometimes a combination of both cases. For example in the case of the valley of Baztán, many families use the arms of the Solar as their own, others use a modified version of those arms, and others still use their own arms surrounded by a bordure of the colours of the Solar.

Solares de TEJADA y de VALDEOSERA (Castilla)	GARCÍA SANCHO (Castilla)	Solar de la PISCINA (Castilla)	RAMÍREZ DE ARELLANO (Castilla)

Solares de TEJADA y de VALDEOSERA: Escudo cuartelado por una cruz paté de oro: 1: en campo de sinople dos castillos de oro sumados de una bandera de plata cargada de una cruz de gules; 2: en campo de azur dos crescientes de plata adiestrados y circundados de trece estrellas de oro; 3: en campo plata un león rampante de gules coronado de oro; 4: en campo de plata un roble de sinople terrasado de lo mismo con un oso pasante al pie del tronco; Bordura del escudo de oro con trece veneras de plata y trece cruces de Santiago alternando. Divisa: Laudemus viros gloriosos et parentes nostros in generatione sua.
GARCÍA-SANCHO: Escudo cuartelado por una cruz paté de oro: 1: en campo de sinople dos castillos de oro sumados de una bandera de plata cargada de una cruz de gules; 2: en campo de azur dos crescientes de plata adiestrados y circundados de trece estrellas de oro; 3: en campo plata un león rampante de gules coronado de oro; 4: en campo de plata un roble de sinople terrasado de lo mismo con un oso pasante al pie del tronco; Bordura del escudo de oro con trece veneras de plata y trece cruces de Santiago alternando; segunda bordura de plata con este lema en letras de sable: «Laudemus viros gloriosos et parentes nostros in generatione sua».
Solar de la PISCINA: Escudo partido: 1: en campo de oro tres bandas de gules; 2: en campo de oro un árbol de sinople terrazado de lo mismo, moviente de la partición, y un león de gules empinado a él; la partición separada por un palo disminuido de azur con cinco flores de lis oro colocados en palo.
RAMÍREZ DE RELLANO: Escudo partido: 1: en campo de oro tres bandas de gules; 2: en campo de oro un árbol de sinople terrazado de lo mismo, moviente de la partición, y un león de gules empinado a él; la partición separada por un palo disminuido de azur con cinco flores de lis oro colocados en palo; bordura de gules cargada de cuatro aspas de oro y de cuatro veneras del mismo metal; segunda bordura de gules con una cadena de oro.

2.7.4 In the Basque countries it is illustrated by the bearing of similar arms by unrelated families. Sometimes the families bear the arms of the Solar itself, sometimes they incorporate elements of them in their own arms, and sometimes one finds a combination of both approaches. For example in the case of the valley of Baztán, many families use the arms of the Solar as their own, others use a modified version of those arms, and others still use their own arms surrounded by a bordure of the colours of the Solar.

Valle de LARRAÚN (Navarra)	MUGUIRO (Navarra)	Valle del BAZTÁN (Navarra)	GOYENECHE (Navarra)

Valle de LARRAÚN: Escudo cuartelado: 1&4: en campo de plata un árbol de sinople y un lobo de sable pasante al pie del tronco; 2&3: en campo de oro cuatro palos de gules; bordura del escudo de gules con una cadena de oro.
MUGUIRO: Escudo cuartelado: 1&4: en campo de plata un árbol de sinople y un lobo de sable pasante al pie del tronco; 2&3: en campo de oro 4 palos de gules; bordura del escudo de gules con una cadena de oro (Armas del valle noble de Larraún)
Valle del BAZTÁN: Escudo jaquelado de plata y sable.
GOYENECHE: Escudo jaquelado de plata y sable.

BAZÁN, marqués de Santa Cruz de Mudela (Navarra)	ARIZCÚN, marqués de Iturbieta (Navarra)	AGUIRRE-SALDARIAGA (Navarra)

BAZÁN, marqués de Santa Cruz de Mudela: Escudo jaquelado de quince piezas de plata y sable, y bordura de gules con ocho aspas de oro.
ARIZCÚN, marqués de Iturbieta: Escudo tronchado por una cotiza de plata: arriba cortado de un jaquelado de plata y sable y de azur con una estrella de ocho rayas de oro; abajo cortado de azur con una estrella de ocho rayas de oro y de un jaquelado de plata y sable; campaña del escudo de gules con un cañón sobre su cureña de oro terrazado de lo mismo y adiestrado de un monte de diez balas de oro.
AGUIRRE-SALDARIAGA: Escudo medio partido y cortado: 1: en campo de oro una banda de gules acompañada de cuatro estrellas del mismo color (Aguirre); 2: en campo de gules una cruz floreteada de oro cantonada de cuatro eslabones de cadena (Saldariaga); 3: en campo de oro una faja de azur (Elizondo); bordura del escudo componada de dieciseis piezas de plata y sable (para el Valle de Baztán).

4.0 Sources for the study of Spanish heraldry

3.1. My own studies started with a combined study of British and French heraldry, before extending to that of Europe in general. In the study of heraldry, one needs to move quite soon from handbooks to the study of original sources, whether it be in the form of cases of the actual of heraldry in monuments and paintings, or the study of armorials.

3.2 The following books, though far from constituting an exhaustive list, have structured my study of Spanish heraldry:

Riquer, Martín de: Manual de Heráldica; Barcelona 1942:

quite old, but my first source of technical knowledge of Spanish heraldry.

3.3 Martín de Riquer has developed his studies of medieval Spanish heraldry in two books, profusely illustrated with original material, that are essential as an antidote to the overly theoretical, if not fantastical approach to heraldry prevalent in many of the older Spanish guides to heraldry:

Riquer, Martín de : Heráldica Catalana, desde l’any 1150 al 1550; Barcelona 1983; 2 vol

A study (in catalan) of the development of Catalan heraldry during the Middle Ages, the second volume being a volume of illustrations from original sources.

Riquer, Martín de: Heráldica Castellana, en tiempos de los Reyes Católicos; Barcelona 1986:

A similar though shorter study of the evolution of heraldry in Castile.

3.4 A further useful source is a facsimile edition of an armoral from Burgos:

Menéndez-Pidal y Navascués, Faustino, ed: El Libro de la Cofradía de Santiago de Burgos: Bilbao 1977

This armorial of a knightly Brotherhood through three centuries from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, and also the oldest known equestrian armorial, offers a fascinating view of the evolution of Castilian heraldry.

3.5 Querexeta, Jaime de: Diccionario Onomástico y Heráldico Vasco; Bilbao 1970

This ordinary of basque arms and names contains in volume V a reproduction of the Libro de Armería Viejo, of Navarra, a ‘technical’ compendium of the arms of the noble families of Navarra, drawn up in the sixteenth century.

3.6 The articles of Menéndez-Pidal in the magazine Hidalguía, covering particular aspects of Spanish heraldry

3.7 And of course, as a source of Spanish arms, even if they occasionally need checking, the following are indispensable:

García Carraffa, Alberto, and García Carraffa, Arturo: Diccionario Heráldico y Genealógico de Apellidos Españoles y Americanos; Madrid 1919-1963 (88 volumes!)

and its continuation and revision by:

Mogrobejo, Endika de: Diccionario Hispanoamericano de Heráldica, Onomástica y Genealogía; Bilbao 1995- (20 vols and rising)

3.8 Apart form these there are (once again) two websites that are building up a collection of photographs of heraldry in stone (mostly), from the Middle Ages to the present, mainly from the walls and overdoors of town palaces, a useful source for the study of the development of Spanish heraldry:

http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/fotosdeescudos: the work of amateurs rather than experts, but valuable simply as an exercise in the recording of what exists in Spain.

www.fuenterebollo.com/Heraldica-Piedra: excellent pictures, a little too many mistaken attributions.

Última modificación: 17 de junio 2007

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