Kingdom of Castile and Leon

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.

Known as the Wise, King of Castile and Leon from 1252 to 1284.

Escudo cuartelado: 1^o y 4^o de gules, un castillo de oro, aclarado de azur, mazonado de sable; 2^o y 3^o de plata, un león rampante de púrpura, armado y lampasado de gules.

Quarterly: 1 and 4 Gules, a castle triple towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable; 2 and 3 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules.

Armories of the Wise King of Castile interpreted by me with the following characteristics: the external shape of the coat of arms ends in an ogee arch; the field, the 2 castles, and the 2 lions are outlined and enameled in flat colors; and the texture seems fabric.

This coat of arms, but with a pointed external shape, can be seen in the 2^nd part of the so-called armorial [Wijnbergen; 1265; cuat of arms number 1,289], with the title «Le roy Despaingne», which in this context is understood to refer to Castilla y León.

The 2^nd part of this armorial was made between 1270 and 1285 and, being Alphonse X king of Castile and Leon from 1252 to 1284, it is to Him that the title «Le roy Despaingne» seems to refer.

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Blazon keywords: Quarterly, Gules, Or, Azure, Sable, One, Castle, Port and windows, Masoned, Argent, Purpure, Lion, Rampant, Armed and Langued.

Style keywords: Ogee, Plain tincture, Outlined in sable and Fabric.

Classification: Interpreted, Personal, Coat of arms and Kingdom of Castile and Leon.

Bearer: Alphonse X of Castile.

Banner Quarterly: 1 and 4 Gules, a castle triple towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable; 2 and 3 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules, crowned Or.

Pendón cuartelado: 1^o y 4^o de gules, un castillo de oro, aclarado de azur, mazonado de sable; 2^o y 3^o de plata, un león rampante de púrpura, armado y lampasado de gules, coronado de oro.

Banner interpreted by me as follows: a rectangle with proportions between its width and height of 5x6; the field is illuminated in flat tinctures Gules and Argent; the two castles and the two lions are illuminated; the lion and its crown are outlined in the colour of the field; the castle is masoned in Sable; and the whole has a parchment-like finish.

In the armorial for the coronation of [Edward IV of England; 1461; column 2, row 25] a banner of these characteristics can be found, the reason for which was Edward IV’s aspiration to this kingdom, an aspiration inherited from his predecessors.

This armorial was produced by different artists, and the one who was assigned to paint the banner of Castile and León seems to have depicted the lions in gold, although this gold is not as yellow as that which colours the castles, whose castles have two very small windows and a door Azure. Because of this difference in shade between lions and castles, one might consider the hypothesis of a degradation of an original purple tincture into an ochre hue.

At the beginning of the armorial these lions also appear in an equestrian representation of Edward IV, where a pinkish tone could recall an original purple and, therefore, support the hypothesis of such degradation.

Finally, there is a third appearance of these lions in another banner combining the arms of Castile and León with those of England, where the colour of the lions more closely resembles that of the banner than that of the equestrian representation.

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Blazon keywords: Quarterly, Gules, Or, Azure, Sable, One, Castle, Port and windows, Masoned, Argent, Purpure, Lion, Rampant, Armed, Langued and Crowned.

Style keywords: Illuminated, Rectangular and Old parchment.

Classification: Interpreted, Civic, Flag, Banner of arms, Kingdom of Castile and Leon and Canting.

Bearer: Castile and León.

Party per pale: 1 Gules, a castle triple towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable; 2 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules, crowned Or.

Escudo partido: 1^o de gules, un castillo de oro, aclarado de azur, mazonado de sable; 2^o de plata, un león rampante de púrpura, armado y lampasado de gules, coronado de oro.

Civic coat of arms interpreted by me as follows: the shield has a semicircular (round) base; the field, the castle and the lion are illuminated; the lion and its crown are outlined in the colour of the field; the open royal crown and the castle are outlined in Sable, in the case of the castle because it is masoned; and the whole has a canvas texture.

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Blazon keywords: Party per pale, Argent, Purpure, Gules, Or, Azure, Castle, Lion, Port and windows, Masoned, Rampant, Armed, Langued, Crowned, Crown and Open royal crown.

Style keywords: Semi-circular, Illuminated and Fabric.

Classification: Interpreted, Civic, Coat of arms and Kingdom of Castile and Leon.

Bearer: Cáceres, Province of.

Party per pale: 1 Gules, a castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, and masoned Sable; 2 Argent, a lion rampant Gules, crowned Or.

Coat of arms (1984-1997 and 1997-2002) of the former Central Military Region, where I serve. I interpreted now this coat of arms with a pointed shape. This kind of shape for this coat of arms are not usual.

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Blazon keywords: Party per pale, Gules, One, Castle, Or, Port and windows, Azure, Masoned, Sable, Argent, Lion, Rampant and Crowned.

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

Classification: Interpreted, Military, Army and Navy, Coat of arms and Kingdom of Castile and Leon.

Bearer: Central Military Region.

Son of Berenguela, Queen of Castile, and Alfonso IX, King of León.

Quarterly: 1 and 4 Gules, a castle triple towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable; 2 and 3 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules.

Escudo cuartelado: 1^o y 4^o de gules, un castillo de oro, aclarado de azur, mazonado de sable; 2^o y 3^o de plata, un león rampante de púrpura, armado y lampasado de gules.

Arms of King Ferdinand III of Castile, as interpreted by me, with the following characteristics: the shield’s shape is rounded; the field, the two castles, and the two lions have been illuminated; and the whole composition features a watercolor finish.

It is with King Ferdinand III the Saint of Castile when «the emblematic system reaches its highest degree of perfection, acquiring two characteristics: realism, which becomes a hallmark of Spanish heraldry,... and the tendency to combine coats of arms» with the appearance of quarterly divisions replacing the cadency marks used in the rest of Europe [Valverde Ogallar, P. B.; 2001; page 100].

Shield in flat ink and illuminated metallic finish

Design of a heraldic document

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Blazon keywords: Quarterly, Gules, Or, Azure, Sable, One, Castle, Port and windows, Masoned, Argent, Purpure, Lion, Rampant, Armed and Langued.

Style keywords: Semi-circular, Illuminated and Watercolor.

Classification: Interpreted, Personal, Coat of arms and Kingdom of Castile and Leon.

Bearer: Ferdinand III of Castile.

Marshal of Castile, first Lord of Baena and plenipotentiary ambassador to the court of Portugal (1355–1435).

Or, three fesses Gules.

Escudo de oro, tres fajas de gules.

Coat of arms del que fue mariscal de Castilla interpreted as follows: the shield has a semicircular (round) base; the field is illuminated in flat metal Or; its three fesses illuminated in Gules y outlined in Sable; y el conjunto con un plastered finish.

He served under the kings John I of Castile, Henry III of Castile, and John II of Castile.

These three bars of the Fernández de Córdoba lineage are found, for example, in the first quarter of the coat of arms of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba y Enríquez de Aguilar, known as *El Gran Capitán*.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Or, Fess and Gules.

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

Classification: Interpreted, Personal, Coat of arms and Kingdom of Castile and Leon.

Bearer: Fernández de Córdoba y Carrillo, Diego.

Blazon equivalent to: Berry of Molland.

Faustino Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, «Medieval Spanish Heraldry I: The Royal House of Leon and Castile», illustrations by Jaime Bugallal y Vela, edited by the Salazar and Castro Institute, (C. S. I. C. Higher Center for Scientific Research), published by Hidalguía, 271 pages, size 24 x 17 cm, includes color plates, Legal deposit M. 22.165-1982, ISBN 84-00-05150-5, printed by Imprenta Sáez, Madrid, 1982.

Index

• Introduction, page 11.
• Abbreviations, page 22.
• Alfonso VII, page 23.
• Fernando II, page 39.
• Alfonso VIII, page 47.
• The spread of the arms of Castile, schema between pages 48 and 47.
• Alfonso IX, page 71.
• Fernando III, page 87.
• Alfonso X, page 109.
• Origins of differentiated arms, schema between pages 48 and 47.
• Sancho IV, page 129.
• Fernando IV, page 139.
• Alfonso XI, page 141.
• Pedro I, page 157.
• Henry II, page 165.
• John I, page 177.
• Henry III, page 185.
• John II, page 189.
• Henry IV, page 195.
• Isabella and Ferdinand, page 199.
• Children of the Catholic Monarchs, page 207.
• Evolution of the arms of Spain, page 213.
• The House of Austria, page 239.
• The Houses of Two Sicilies and Parma, page 241.
• Arms of Castile and Leon outside the Royal House, page 243.
• Index nominum, page 265.
• Index rerum, page 271.

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Bibliographical reference of century XX.

Classification: Black and white with color plates and Castilian language.

The author is Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, Faustino.

Internal resources: Physical book in paper.

Known as the Brave, king of Castile and León from 1284 to 1295.

Quarterly: 1 and 4 Gules, a castle triple towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable; 2 and 3 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules, crowned Or.

Escudo cuartelado: 1^o y 4^o de gules, un castillo de oro, aclarado de azur, mazonado de sable; 2^o y 3^o de plata, un león rampante de púrpura, armado y lampasado de gules, coronado de oro.

Pre-existing arms interpreted by me as described below: the shield of arms has a rounded (semicircular) base; the field, the two castles and the two lions are illuminated; and the whole has a parchment-like finish.

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Blazon keywords: Quarterly, Gules, Or, Azure, Sable, One, Castle, Port and windows, Masoned, Argent, Purpure, Lion, Rampant, Armed, Langued and Crowned.

Style keywords: Rounded, Illuminated and Parchment.

Classification: Interpreted, Personal, Coat of arms and Kingdom of Castile and Leon.

Bearer: Sancho IV of Castile.

Pedro Serra i Rosell, architect and Vice President of the SCGHSVN, «Transmission of armorial bearings in the Kingdom of Castile in the 13th century. The arms of Don Enrique de Castilla, son of Fernando III the Saint.», published in Paratge, quaderns d'estudis de genealogia, heràldica, sigil·lografia i nobiliària, published by the Societat Catalana de Genealogia, Heràldica, Sigil·lografia, Vexil·lologia i Nobiliària, SCGHSVN, pages 187-192, issue 29, ISSN 1130-3395, Sant Cugat del Vallès, 2016,

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Bibliographical reference of century XXI.

Classification: Article, Castilian language and Black and white and color illustrations.

Author: Serra i Rosell, Pedro.

Internal resources: SerraiRosellP2016.TransmisionCastilla.pdf PDF Format.