Chain

Alfonso X of Castile, The Wise, «The Seven-Part Code», its estimated completion year is 1265.

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This is the copy I can consult, as it is available in the Hispanic Digital Library, it is a manuscript measuring 42 by 30 centimeters that once belonged to Álvaro de Zúñiga y Guzmán, first Duke of Arévalo, which later came into the possession of the Catholic Monarchs, initially Queen Isabella I of Castile, and after her death, King Ferdinand reclaimed it for the price of 5,251 maravedis. The original is housed in the National Library, in display case 4/6.

This copy, in addition to its numerous capital letters, has 8 illustrated pages, which according to its subsequent hand-numbering in pencil are:

• Page 6, among its illustrations can be seen 2 coats of arms of the Zúñiga family «Argent, a bend Sable, over all, a chain in orle Or», in this case formed by 16 links, 8 round and 8 more elongated placed in profile.
• Pages 106 and 191, on the latter can be seen a curious bishop-lizard climbing.
• Pages 294 and 331, on the 2^nd at the bottom, a maiden is seen walking a monkey to relieve itself and to her right a fight of men with beast bodies.
• Page 379 and on its previous unnumbered page, and finally, on page 415 which begins with a tournament where the 2^nd knight bears the ancient arms of France «Azure, semy of fleurs de lis Or».

The coat of arms that illustrates this bibliographic reference is that of Álvaro de Zúñiga y Guzmán. For the creation of his chain, I followed the illustration of his 2 coats of arms on the already mentioned page 6 of this manuscript.

It is one of my favorite manuscripts and, perhaps, the one with which I have created the most things.

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Bibliographical reference of century XIII.

Classification: Castilian language, Manuscript and In color.

Author: Alfonso X of Castile.

The following article cites this bibliographic reference:

• Zúñiga y Guzmán, Álvaro de

External links:

• National Library of Spain.
• Indirect access to the Library of Congress of the United States of America.
• Direct access to the Library of Congress of the United States of America.

Internal resources: AlfonsoXDeCastilla1265.7Partidas.10642.pdf.

Party per fess: 1 party per pale: 1 quarterly: 1 and 4 Gules, a castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable [for Castile]; 2 and 3 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules, crowned Or [for Leon]. 2 quarterly: 1 Or, four pallets Gules [for Aragon]; 2 quarterly per saltire: 1 and 4 Or, four pallets Gules; 2 and 3 Argent, an eagle displayed Sable [for Aragon-Sicily]. 3 Argent, a cross potent cantoned of four crosslets Or [for Jerusalem]. 4 Gules, a chain orlewise, crosswise, and saltirewise Or, charged in the fess point with an emerald Vert [for Navarre]. Enté en point Argent, a pomegranate proper, seeded Gules, slipped and leaved Vert [for Granada]. 2 quarterly: 1 Gules, a fess Argent [for Austria]; 2 Azure semé of fleurs de lis Or within a bordure compony Argent and Gules [for Burgundy modern]; 3 bendy Or and Azure within a bordure Gules [for Burgundy ancient]; 4 Sable, a lion rampant Or, armed and langued Gules [for Brabant]; overall an inescutcheon party per pale: 1 Or, a lion rampant Sable, armed and langued Gules [for Flanders]; 2 Argent, an eagle displayed Gules, crowned, armed, beaked, langued and membered Or, charged on the wings with two trefoiled stems Or [for Tyrol].

Escudo cortado: 1^o partido: 1^o cuartelado: 1^o y 4^o de gules, un castillo de oro, aclarado de azur, mazonado de sable [de Castilla]; 2^o y 3^o de plata, un león rampante de púrpura, armado y lampasado de gules, coronado de oro [de León]. 2^o cuartelado: 1^o de oro, cuatro palos de gules [de Aragón]; 2^o cuartelado en aspa: 1^o y 4^o de oro, cuatro palos de gules; 2^o y 3^o de plata, un águila de sable [de Aragón-Sicilia]. 3^o de plata, una cruz potenzada cantonada de cuatro crucetas de oro [de Jerusalén]. 4^o de gules, una cadena puesta en orla, en cruz y en sotuer de oro, cargada en el centro de una esmeralda de sinople [de Navarra]. Entado en punta de plata, una granada al natural, tajada de gules, tallada y hojada de sinople [de Granada]. 2^o cuartelado: 1^o de gules, una faja de plata [de Austria]; 2^o de azur sembrado de flores de lis de oro, una bordura componada de plata y gules [de Borgoña moderna]; 3^o bandado de oro y azur, una bordura de gules [de Borgoña antigua]; 4^o de sable, un león rampante de oro, armado y lampasado de gules [de Brabante]; sobre el todo un escusón partido: 1^o de oro, un león rampante de sable, armado y lampasado de gules [de Flandes]; 2^o de plata, un águila de gules, coronada, armada, picada, lampasada y membrada de oro, cargada en las alas con dos tallos trebolados todo de oro [del Tirol].

Coat of arms interpreted by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, with a semi-circular outer contour and with a metal beaten finishing.

Arms of Charles, Holy Roman Emperor, emblazoned by me.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Azure, Sable, Argent, Purpure, Or, Vert, One, Four, Party per fess, Party per pale, Quarterly, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Lion, Rampant, Armed, Langued, Crowned, Pale, Quarterly per saltire, Eagle, Displayed, Cross potent, Cross couped, Cantoned, Crosslet, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Enté en point, Pomegranate, Proper, Seeded, Slipped, Leaved, Fess, Semé, Fleur de lis, Bordure, Compony, Bendy, Overall, Inescutcheon, Beaked, Membered, Wing, Trefoiled and Stem.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Illuminated, Semi-circular and Metal beaten.

Classification: Civic, Interpreted, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

Quarterly: 1 Gules, a castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable [for Castile]; 2 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules, crowned Or [for Leon]; 3 Or, four pallets Gules [for Aragon]; 4 Gules, a chain orlewise, crosswise, and saltirewise Or, charged in the fess point with an emerald Vert [for Navarre]; enté en point Argent, a pomegranate proper, seeded Gules, slipped and leaved Vert [for Granada]; an inescutcheon Azure, three fleurs de lis Or, 2 and 1, a bordure Gules [for Bourbon]; and the whole debruised by a label of three points Azure. Crest: A Crown of Prince. The shield is surrounded by the Golden Fleece.

Arms depicted by me, highlighted with lights and shadows, outlined in Sable, with a semi-circular external shape and with a iridescent finish.

This is my interpretation of the coat of arms of Her Royal Highness Doña Leonor Princess of Asturias (as heiress to the Crown of Castile), Princess of Girona (as heiress to the Crown of Aragon), and Princess of Viana (as heiress to the Kingdom of Navarre), with the Collar of the Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece. Her coat of arms is that of her father, the King, charged with a label Azure and surmounted by the crown of a princess with four pearl diadems, three visible.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Azure, Purpure, Vert, Or, Argent, One, Three, Four, Quarterly, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Lion, Rampant, Crowned, Pallet, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Enté en point, Pomegranate, Proper, Slipped, Leaved, Inescutcheon, Fleur de lis, Ordered, Bordure, Cadency, Label of three points, Crown of Prince, Crown, Surrounded and Collar.

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

Classification: Personal, Kingdom of Spain, Interpreted, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Leonor Princess of Asturias.

Publication of my interpretation of the arms of His Majesty King Felipe VI with the Order of the Garter on the blog Twelve Lineages of Soria with the following text: Magnificent interpretation of the coat of arms of H.M. the King of Spain, with the Order of the Garter, made by the prestigious heraldist and member of the International Heraldry Society, Mr. Antonio Salmerón Cabañas.

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Categories: Link, Or, Four, Pale, Gules, Azure, Sable, One, Castle, Port and windows, Masoned, Argent, Purpure, Lion, Rampant, Armed, Langued, Crowned, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Vert, Closed royal crown, Crown, Inescutcheon, Fleur de lis, Bordure, Enté, In base, Pomegranate, Proper, Seeded (pomegranate), Slipped and Leaved.

Root: Twelve Lineages of Soria.

Quarterly: 1 Gules, a castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable [for Castile]; 2 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules, crowned Or [for Leon]; 3 Or, four pallets Gules [for Aragon]; 4 Gules, a chain orlewise, crosswise, and saltirewise Or, charged in the fess point with an emerald Vert [for Navarre]; enté en point Argent, a pomegranate proper, seeded Gules, slipped and leaved Vert [for Granada]; an inescutcheon Azure, three fleurs de lis Or, 2 and 1, a bordure Gules [for Bourbon]. Crest: A closed royal crown. The shield is surrounded by the Golden Fleece.

My interpretation endows the coat of arms of His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain with the golden proportion, based on the golden number Phi, which is present in many works of art, in architecture, in mathematics, and in Nature itself; there are official arms established by Royal Decree 527/2014, and the arms shown here constitute only a new personal interpretation of the same blazon; the shape of the shield is that of the Spanish type with a semicircular base, of height h and base b, with the proportion b/h = 5/6; the shield is placed at the center of a golden rectangle, of height 2h, twice the height of the shield, and of width 2h/Phi, Phi being the golden number, equal to 1.6180339887…; to the set formed by the shield and the golden rectangle a circle of radius h/Phi is added, tangent to both vertical sides of the rectangle and also tangent at the center of the upper boundary of the chief of His Majesty’s shield; this circle forms the edge of the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and from its lowest point the fleece hangs down until it nearly touches the base of the golden rectangle; the golden rectangle is divided into four equal parts, each of height h/2, assigned respectively to the closed royal crown, to Castile and León, to Aragon, Navarre and Granada, and to the lower part of the collar and the Golden Fleece; in this way, the entire coat of arms of His Majesty King Felipe VI can be defined as a function of a single parameter h, corresponding to the height of the shield, and the dimensions specified in terms of the base b are likewise functions of h thanks to the proportion b = 5h/6.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Azure, Purpure, Vert, Or, Argent, One, Three, Four, Quarterly, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Lion, Rampant, Crowned, Pallet, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Enté en point, Pomegranate, Proper, Slipped, Leaved, Inescutcheon, Fleur de lis, Ordered, Bordure, Closed royal crown, Crown, Surrounded and Collar.

Style keywords: Ratio, Outlined, Outlined in sable, Plain tincture and Semi-circular.

Classification: Personal, Kingdom of Spain, Interpreted, Schema, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Felipe VI of Spain.

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

Coat of arms interpreted by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, outlined in Sable, with a semi-circular outer contour and with a leather finish.

Arms of the Kingdom of Navarre emblazoned by me. This version of this coat of arms features a vert roundel at the fess point following the official specification of the coat of arms of Spain, instead of an emerald as I usually depict it and as is, for example, suggested in the blazon on page 142, although listed as 151 in its index, of the armorial [Urfé; Century XV; page 142], Bibliothèque nationale de France ms. fr. 32753: «Le Roy de Navarre... de gueles à l'escarboucle d'or pommelée alumée de sinoble en la moyenne en guise d'esmeraude», which may be translated as: «The King of Navarre... Gules, a carbuncle Or pommelly, lit Vert at the centre, in the manner of an emerald». This emerald is incompatible with the official blazon of the coat of arms of Spain; however, in my humble opinion, it would give this coat of arms a charge, the emerald, of greater heraldic substance than the roundel. Although I have painted it in a way that it is not known whether it is a large point or an uncutt circular emerald, in the blazon I have described it as an emerald both in Spanish and in English, since the point does not have a clear heraldic existence in Spanish and even less so in English.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Vert, Or, One, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Charged, In the fess point and Emerald.

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

Classification: Civic, Kingdom of Navarre, Interpreted, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Navarre.

Quarterly: 1 Gules, a castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable [for Castile]; 2 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules, crowned Or [for Leon]; 3 Or, four pallets Gules [for Aragon]; 4 Gules, a chain orlewise, crosswise, and saltirewise Or, charged in the fess point with an emerald Vert [for Navarre]; enté en point Argent, a pomegranate proper, seeded Gules, slipped and leaved Vert [for Granada]; an inescutcheon Azure, three fleurs de lis Or, 2 and 1, a bordure Gules [for Bourbon].

The figure illustrates my construction scheme outlined with my main proportions for the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Spain. The scheme is conceptually divided into three horizontal rectangles of equal height: the first one dedicated to the Royal Crown, the second to the quarters of Castile and and Leon, and the third rectangle to the quarters of Aragon and Navarre. The width of the central inescutcheon is defined as 1/3 of the total shield width. The curve of the enté en point of Granada is designed such that the resulting shapes in the quarter for Aragon and the quarter for Navarre are symmetrical, evoking the form of a pointed shield.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Azure, Purpure, Vert, Or, Argent, One, Three, Four, Quarterly, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Lion, Rampant, Crowned, Pallet, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Enté en point, Pomegranate, Proper, Slipped, Leaved, Inescutcheon, Fleur de lis, Ordered and Bordure.

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

Classification: Civic, Kingdom of Spain, Interpreted, Schema, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Spain, Kingdom of.

Quarterly: 1 and 4 Vert, a crescent within eight mullets in lozenge Or; 2 and 3 Azure, a chain fesswise throughout between three fleurs de lis, 2 and 1, all the links and fleurs de lis per pale Or and Argent; an inescutcheon Azure, bearing a crown of count, charged with an eagle displayed within a bordure Or. Crest: A crown of Baron. Behind the shield the cross of a Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.

Coat of arms emblazoned by me with a pointed shape, illuminated, and with a watercolor finishing.

G0067, Chief Herald of Malta's grant of Robert George Alexander Balchin's arms, whose full achievement has been emblazoned by me for such grant.

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Blazon keywords: Quarterly, Vert, One, Crescent, Eight, Mullet, In lozenge, Or, Azure, Chain, Fesswise, Throughout, Between, Three, Fleur de lis, Ordered, Party per pale, Argent, Inescutcheon, Crest and mantling, Crown of Count, Crown, Charged, Eagle, Bordure, Crown of Baron, Behind the shield and Cross.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Illuminated, Watercolor and Pointed.

Classification: Personal, Interpreted and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Balchin, Robert George Alexander.

Azure, between two palm fronds in pile reversed a Lady of Mercy grasping in her sinister hand a broken chain Argent, and charged on the chest with an escutcheon per fess, 1 Gules, a cross patty Argent, and 2 Or, four pallets Gules.

This is the coat of arms of Sister Esperanza Vega Lanzagorta, designed by Juan Lanzagorta Vallin and outlined by me. These arms have a representation of Our Lady of Mercy, celebrated on September 24^th. To identify Our Lady of Mercy, I chose two primary symbols: 1) The arms of the Order of Mercy on her chest, «per fess, 1 Gules, a cross patty Argent, and 2 Or, four pallets Gules», and 2) the broken chains, symbolizing the redemption of captives, remember that the complete name of the order is the Royal, Celestial, and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives.

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Credits: Juan Lanzagorta Vallin is the designer of the coat of arms.

Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, Gules, Or, One, Two, Our Lady of Mercy, Grasping, Sinister, Hand, Broken, Chain, Charged, Chest, Escutcheon, Party per fess, Cross patty, Cross couped, Between, Palm frond and In pile reversed.

Style keywords: Outlined and Semi-circular.

Classification: Personal, Created, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Vega Lanzagorta, Sister Esperanza.

Emblem Azure, Saint Michael Argent, vested and nimbed Or, grasping in his dexter hand a spear Or, point downward, and in his sinister hand bearing [ Gules, a chain orlewise, crosswise, and saltirewise Or, charged in the fess point with an emerald Vert, of Navarre ], upon a dragon Vert, armed, langued, fanged, and the eyes Gules.

Emblema de azur, un San Miguel de plata, vestido y nimbado de oro, teniendo en su diestra una lanza de oro, con la punta hacia abajo y en su siniestra trae [ escudo gules, una cadena puesta en orla, en cruz y en sotuer de oro, cargada en el centro de una esmeralda de sinople, de Navarra ], sostenido por un dragón de sinople, armado, lampasado, fierezado y encendido de gules.

Emblem interpreted by me as follows: an oval shape with proportions 5x6, wider than the original; the field illuminated in Azure; its charges outlined in Sable and illuminated in the colours Gules and Vert and the metals Argent and Or; the Archangel Saint Michael vested in Or, unlike others who appear in Argent; his emerald simplified into an area enameled Vert; and the whole emblem has a lightly beaten metal finish.

Due to its special characteristics, the difficulty in complying with the first rule of heraldry concerning metals and colours, and out of prudence, I categorize it as an emblem rather than a shield.

In a relief of the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Estella, Saint Michael can be seen fighting a dragon that represents the devil, in a similar but mirrored arrangement to that of this emblem. In that relief, the Archangel Saint Michael bears a pre-heraldic shield with its umbo. According to [Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; 1963], the umbo of the shield is a reinforcing element that is the predecessor of what would later become the pommelly carbuncle of the shield of the Kingdom of Navarre.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Azure, Male figure, Angel, Archangel, Argent, Vested, Nimbed, Or, Grasping, Dexter, Spear, Point downwards, Sinister, Gules, One, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Vert, Upon, Dragon, Armed, Langued, The fangs and The eyes.

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

Classification: Interpreted, Socioeconomic, Education, Emblem and Kingdom of Navarre.

Bearer: University of Navarra.

Justice and High Sheriff of Castile, first knight of the realm, warden of the fortress of Burgos, administrator of the mastership of the Order of Alcántara, nobleman of Castile, 1410–1488.

Argent, a bend Sable; overall a chain orlewise Or.

Escudo de plata, una banda de sable; brochante sobre el todo una cadena puesta en orla de oro.

Coat of arms of Álvaro de Zúñiga y Guzmán, which I have interpreted as follows: the shield has a semicircular (round) base; the field and the bend are illuminated in flat tinctures Argent and Sable; the chain is illuminated in Or; and the whole is rendered with a raised-stroke effect.

For the crafting of the chain in this coat of arms, which has a total of 16 links, of which 8 are long and 8 are round, I have followed the two coats of arms of Álvaro de Zúñiga y Guzmán that appear in what was his copy of [Alfonso X of Castile; 1265; page 6 of the later pencil numbering].

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Argent, Sable, Or, One, Bend, Chain, Orlewise and Overall.

Style keywords: Freehand and Illuminated.

Classification: Interpreted, Personal and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Zúñiga y Guzmán, Álvaro de.