Spanish heraldry
The Spanish heraldry is strongly influenced by the French Heraldry been affected.
It is characteristic that the coats of arms have many fields . The origin is the union of the coat of arms of the parents and grandparents on the paternal and maternal side. This diversity required a suitable shield, such as the so-called half - round shield . This shield has been in use since the 13th century.
Many marriage coats of arms have a shelf to hold the woman's coat of arms. Also symbols of grace and denomination , as well as foreign exchange , move into this margin.
Noble coats of arms are easily recognizable
- -With the royal family through front-facing golden helmets (reserved for the royal family),
- -for dukes and marquis by frontally placed silver helmets on the shield,
- - and with the lower nobility and the bourgeoisie through helmets placed in profile on the shield.
The crest was and is not common in Spanish heraldry . In addition to seldom placed ostrich feathers in the shield colors above the shield, the crowns of rank appear relatively often on the shield or floating freely above the helmet .
In the communal heraldry (city arms), the border also dominates, which is often covered with the arms of Castile and Leon . The use of gold and silver wall crowns on city coats of arms is common practice.
The artificial coats of arms from the time of conquest of Central and South America in the 15th and 16th centuries are called conquistadors' coats of arms. Here naturalistic and unheraldically tinged coats of arms prevailed and can be seen as the decline of Spanish heraldry.
Coats of arms are also accompanied by the columns of Hercules . Unknown in German heraldry, but found in Spanish coats of arms, is the sloping beam with the animal heads and the chain of Navarre .
See also
literature
- An.rensio y Torres, J .: Tratado de heraldica y blason. Madrid 1929
- Cascante, JV: Heraldica General y fuentes de las Armas de Espana. Barcelona 1974
- Gert Oswald : Lexicon of Heraldry. VEB Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1984
- Wolfgang Leonhard : The great book of heraldic art. Georg DW Callwey, Munich 1978/2001