Navarre

Escudo de gules, un carbunclo cerrado, pomelado de oro; cargado en el centro de una esmeralda en forma de losange de sinople.

Original coat of arms of Navarre interpreted with: a semicircular (round) base; the field in flat Gules; the pommetty carbuncle illuminated in Or and outlined in Sable; the emerald illuminated in Vert and also outlined in Sable; and the whole finished with a raised-stroke effect.

In the armorial [Urfé; Siglo XV; indexed on folio 151, but actually written on 142] the arms of Navarre are blazoned in French as «de gueles à l'escarboucle d'or pommelée alumée de sinoble en la moyenne en guise d'esmeraude», it only gives the blazon, since this armorial is not illustrated.

An image of the original French blazon text can be seen in the article Blazon of Navarre in the Urfé armorial.

The interpretation of the arms of Navarre shown here is based on the one illustrated in the armorial [Bosque, J. del; 1540; folio 1 of the 1613 numbering], which is its main plate, with the arms of the king of Navarre surrounded by the coats of arms of the lineages and manors of his «ricoshombres», twelve lineages in total.

In [Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; 1963] one can consult his view on what is, probably, the real origin of the arms of Navarre, which he bases on:

• The existence of a defensive element of the shield called the boss, placed at its center. This element already existed in classical Rome, on the shields of the legionaries and, in addition, it could serve to keep small valuables inside.
• The later reinforcement of this boss with 8 spokes, that is, 4 diameters set vertically, horizontally, bendwise and bendwise sinister, giving rise to a radiated boss to strengthen the shield.
• This radiated boss on rich shields could be very elaborate and even be adorned with gems, thus becoming an ornamental element.
• The evolution of the radiated boss from a defensive and ornamental element to the so-called carbuncle, but now as a heraldic element with a radial structure. Originally the carbuncle was a mystical stone, comparable to the ruby, that emitted an intense light capable of illuminating the knight in the darkness of night. Heraldically the name carbuncle is used to denote a scheme of radial rays and not the marvellous stone that emitted them and from which it borrows its name.
• This eight-rayed carbuncle, joined at the ends forming a closure, like an orle, and decorated with pommels, on a field Gules, and with an emerald overall at its center is what constitutes the arms of Navarre.

Regarding the importance of the radiated boss and the carbuncle, not only in the arms of Navarre but in heraldry in general, [Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; 1963] goes a step further when he writes «although it has never been pointed out, it seems evident to us the influence of this piece on the classic partitions of the shield, contained in the four diametral lines that compose it». He makes us see that «cortado, partido, tronchado y tajado» and, therefore also, «cuartelado, en sotuer y jironado», do not have their origin in the different ways of striking a shield with a sword, as illustrated, for example, in [Avilés, J.; 1725a; plate 18, illustrations 23, 24, 25 and 25], but in different ways of selecting, as delimiters, the four diameters of the carbuncle.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Gules, One, Carbuncle, Pommelled, Or, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Vert and Lozenge.

Style keywords: Freehand, Illuminated and Outlined in sable.

Classification: Interpreted, Civic and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Navarre.

Escudo de gules, un carbunclo cerrado, pomelado de oro; cargado en el centro de una esmeralda en forma de losange de sinople.

Coat of arms interpreted with: a semicircular (round) base; the field in flat Gules; the pommetty carbuncle and the emerald illuminated in Or and Vert, shaded and outlined in Sable; and the whole finished in lightly-hammered metal.

In addition to historical documents such as the armorials [Urfé; 15^th century] which blazons it and [Bosque, J. del; 1540] which illustrates it, there is, in the last half century, an abundant bibliography on the arms of Navarre, for example: [Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; 1963], [Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; 1974], [Martinena Ruiz, J. J.; 1982], [Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; 1999], [Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; Martínez de Aguirre, J.; 2000], [Martinena Ruiz, J. J.; Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; 2001] and [Martínez de Aguirre, J.; 2007].

This pommetty shield can also be seen, for example, on the outer façade of the convent of Santo Domingo in Estella, on capitals preserved in the Cathedral of Tudela and on capitals of the church of Santa María la Real of Laguardia, the latter dating from the 14^th century.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Gules, One, Carbuncle, Pommelled, Or, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Vert and Lozenge.

Style keywords: Soft metal, Illuminated, Outlined in sable and Shaded.

Classification: Interpreted, Civic and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Navarre.

Escudo de gules, un carbunclo cerrado, pomelado de oro; cargado en el centro de una esmeralda en forma de losange de sinople.

The armorial [Urfé; 15^th century] contains only blazons written in French and is not decorated with shields.

The image shows my interpretation of the arms and, beneath it, the blazon of the king of Navarre as follows «Le Roy de Navarre... de gueles à l'escarboucle d'or pommelée alumée de sinoble en la moyenne en guise d'esmeraude» which could be translated as «The King of Navarre... Gules, a carbuncle Or pommetty, illuminated Vert in the middle in the manner of an emerald».

Note that the blazon does not suggest the presence of an emerald, but that the place corresponding to the central boss of the shield, from which the rays of the carbuncle emerge, is enamelled Vert.

In the article Universitas Studiorum Navarrensis about the arms of the University of Navarre I interpret the arms of Navarre borne in profile by the Archangel Saint Michael, which, by my way of painting it, lies halfway between the carbuncle and the chains, with round chain links and long carbuncle rays, where at the centre there is no emerald, but a Vert enamel in the manner of an emerald.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Gules, One, Carbuncle, Pommelled, Or, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Vert and Lozenge.

Style keywords: Soft metal, Illuminated, Outlined in sable and Shaded.

Classification: Interpreted, Civic and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Navarre.

Gules, a chain orlewise, crosswise, and saltirewise Or, charged in the fess point with an emerald Vert.

Escudo gules, una cadena puesta en orla, en cruz y en sotuer de oro, cargada en el centro de una esmeralda de sinople.

Coat of arms interpreted with: a semicircular (round) base; the field in flat Gules; the chains and the emerald illuminated in Or and Vert and outlined in Sable; and the whole executed with a raised-stroke finish.

This coat of arms, except for the emerald, corresponds to the blazon written in [Avilés, J.; 1780a; page 412 and figure 260] which says «Gules, a chain placed in orle, cross, and saltire Or, which some blazon differently», leaving me, as a reader, curious to know what that other way he refers to might be.

Then, [Avilés, J.; 1780a; pages 412–413] writes his version of the origin of the arms, saying that «...it was borne by Sancho VIII, called the Strong, and twenty-first King of Navarre, in the year 1212, for the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in Sierra Morena ...given to him by the King of Castile, Don Alfonso IX, whose aid he had joined...», which we would say Alfonso VIII of Castile, «the one of Las Navas».

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Gules, One, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Or, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald and Vert.

Style keywords: Freehand, Illuminated and Outlined in sable.

Classification: Interpreted, Civic and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Navarre.

Gules, a chain orlewise, crosswise, and saltirewise Or, charged in the fess point with an emerald Vert.

Escudo gules, una cadena puesta en orla, en cruz y en sotuer de oro, cargada en el centro de una esmeralda de sinople.

Current coat of arms of Navarre interpreted with: the point of the shield in the shape of a semicircular (round) arch; its field enamelled in flat Gules; the chains, formed by round and elongated links, illuminated in Or and shaded by the light emitted by the emerald; the emerald illuminated in Vert; and the whole outlined in Sable and finished with a hammered-metal effect.

Unlike other ways of blazoning it, I like the emerald to be overall. I truly believe it is better that the emerald of Vert colour lies over the Or metal, whether of the chain or of the carbuncle, and not over the Gules field, since it avoids placing colour upon colour or metal upon metal.

It can be consulted in [Vega, P. J. de; 1702; folio XV of the manuscript].

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Gules, One, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Or, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald and Vert.

Style keywords: Metal beaten, Illuminated, Outlined in sable and Shaded.

Classification: Interpreted, Civic and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Navarre.

The King of Navarre, at the time of his new and solemn coronation, is raised and lifted up as King by the hands of twelve barons of the greatest and oldest houses of the said Kingdom, and these are the twelve Noblemen who are named on the other side, with their blazons and coats of arms.

Interpretation and composition of 13 coats of arms that I have created with a parchment-like finish.

A free interpretation, for example, without the central crown over the arms of Navarre, with a different title, written «Navarra» and not «Nabarra», etc., based on the principal plate of [Bosque, J. del; 1540; folio 1 of the numbering of 1613] and with texts taken from the transcription by [Martinena Ruiz, J. J.; 1982; pages 122 and 123].

«Ricohombre», written together, currently means «title that formerly belonged to the highest nobility of Spain», [Real Academia Española; 2001].

Its plural «ricoshombres» is the most commonly used form, but «ricohombres» is also correct and used; and in [Bosque, J. del; 1540] it is written separately, and «honbre» with an «n» before the «b», that is, «ricos honbres».

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Party per bend, Azure, Gules, Or, Argent, Sable, Vert, Eagle, Chequey, Cross flory, Cross couped, Fess, Chief, Lion, Pale, Poplar leaf, Clay pot and Rampant.

Style keywords: Semi-circular and Old parchment.

Classification: Interpreted and Kingdom of Navarre.

Bearer: Noblemen of Navarre.

Of the twelve lineages of Noblemen, it is the first, and they bear as arms, on a golden field, three pales Azure.

Or, three Pallets Azure.

Escudo de oro, tres palos de azur.

Coat of arms interpreted with: a semicircular (round) base; the field in flat Or; the pales outlined in Sable and illuminated in Azure enamel; and finished in highly-hammered metal.

Based on the first coat of arms of the «ricoshombres» of Navarre in [Bosque, J. del; 1540; folio 1 of the numbering of 1613] and the text is from the transcription made in [Martinena Ruiz, J. J.; 1982; pages 122 and 123].

Under the title «Los Almorauides» it can also be consulted in [Vega, P. J. de; 1702; folio 1 of the manuscript].

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Or, Three, Pale and Azure.

Style keywords: Semi-circular, Illuminated, Outlined in sable and Hard metal.

Classification: Interpreted, Personal and Kingdom of Navarre.

Bearer: Almorrabides of Navarre.

Of the twelve lineages of Noblemen, it is the second, descendant of Álava, the very ancient and powerful one, in which some served under Navarre, and others under the kings of Castile; they bear for arms and insignia, on a field Gules, which is red, five poplar-leaves (panelas) Argent, in the form and design in which this shield is painted.

Gules, five Poplar-leaves Argent, inverted.

Escudo de gules, cinco panelas de plata.

Coat of arms interpreted with: a semicircular (round) base; the field in flat Or; the pales outlined in Sable and illuminated in Azure enamel; and finished in highly-hammered metal.

Interpretation based on the second coat of arms of the «ricoshombres» of Navarre from [Bosque, J. del; 1540; folio 1 of the numbering of 1613] and the accompanying text is from the transcription made in [Martinena Ruiz, J. J.; 1982; pages 122 and 123].

The «panela» is a figure typical of Spanish heraldry [Valero de Bernabé, L.; 2007; page 11]. It is a leaf shaped like a heart with its stalk pointing upward. It could be a leaf of a tree such as, for example, the poplar, although there is no certainty that it is specifically that tree.

With first appearances prior to heraldry on Hispano-Roman tombstones, the «panela» is of Alavese origin, [Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; 1985; page 474], spreading through the Basque-Navarrese region and from there throughout Spain, with the peculiar name «panela», which was initially called «pannella», [Valverde Ogallar, P. B.; 2001; page 532] derived from «pan», [Real Academia Española; 2001].

In the heraldry of other countries, leaves from different trees are used as heraldic symbols, but usually with the stalk pointing downward; therefore I transcribe in this blazon «panelas» ~ «Poplar-leaves, inverted».

[Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; 1985; page 474] states that the «panela» is a natural figure equivalent to the linden leaf in German heraldry, with the stalk downward, and to the water-lily leaf in French heraldry, with the stalk upward; but since these are such different plants, I do not find it suitable to use linden, and even less water-lily, in the English transcription of this Navarrese blazon.

Under the title «Surname of Guebara» it can be consulted in [Vega, P. J. de; 1702; folio 2 of the manuscript].

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Gules, Poplar leaf and Argent.

Style keywords: Semi-circular, Illuminated, Outlined in sable and Hard metal.

Classification: Interpreted, Personal and Kingdom of Navarre.

Bearer: Guebara of Navarre.

Continue with: Aybar of Navarre.