Letter

Key Characteristics in Castilian Heraldry

Some of the main characteristics of the heraldry of Castile are:

• the rounded shapes, with a semicircle at the base,
• the importance of bordures,
• the inclusion of words and also letters in the coat of arms,
• the 2^nd most common animal, after the lion, is the wolf [Valero de Bernabé, L.; 2010], and, of course,
• our castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable [Valero de Bernabé, L.; 2009a].

The following image shows 4 examples of coats of arms, each of which has some of these characteristics, including one Castilian castle.

Comparing Castilian and English Heraldry

In the United Kingdom, there are several heraldic traditions, one of them being English heraldry.

In the Kingdom of Spain, there are several heraldic traditions, for example, the Castilian tradition.

In my humble opinion, we should compare at the same level, English heraldry with, for example, Castilian heraldry, but not with all Spanish heraldry. We shouldn't do it for the same reason we don't mix Scottish heraldic tradition with English, as they are so different.

In the case of Castilian heraldry, the 8 main differences with English heraldry are:

• The rounded shapes, with a semicircle at the base.
• The importance of bordures and the existence of the diminished bordure, called in Castilian «filiera».
• The inclusion of words and also letters in the coats of arms.
• The wolf is the 2^nd most common animal, after the lion.
• The castle, triple-towered, which is different from the English and French types of castles.
• We can inherit arms from our mother and/or father; for example, the castle in the 1^st quarter of the coat of arms of Castile and the coat of arms of Spain comes from a mother, Queen Berenguela of Castile, mother of King Fernando III, the Saint.
• There are 3 kinds of supporters with their owns heraldic names: «tenantes», human forms; «soportes», animals; and «sostenes», plants and things.
• Our quarterings do not necessarily mean that the arms are marshalled by inheritance. [Williams, N.; 2017; page 135, paragraph 26.02] describing the arms of Éamon de Valera, 1882-1975, President of Ireland, writes «Those arms are Spanish in appearance. The quartering without functions as a means of marshalling, is distinctively Iberian».

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Categories: Criterion, Semi-circular, Bordure, Letter, Lion, Wolf, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Or, Azure, Sable, Diminished bordure, Quarterly, Supporter (human form), Supporter (animal) and Supporter (thing).

Party per pale: 1 Gules, in base a castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, and masoned Sable; 2 Argent, in base a lion rampant Gules, crowned Or; overall a psi letter sable; a diminished bordure Or.

Escudo partido: 1^o de gules, en punta un castillo de oro, aclarado de azur y mazonado de sable; 2^o de plata, en punta un león rampante de gules, coronado de oro; brochante sobre la partición una letra psi de gules; una filiera de oro.

Arms depicted by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, with a semi-circular outer contour and with a iridescent finishing.

Coat of arms of Crepsi, military psychology, former Central Military Region, Kingdom of Spain, where I was stationed during my military service. These arms were designed by my lieutenant colonel and friend Miguel Angel Nuñez Amador, and in this image, they have been emblazoned by me. The Crepsi was a pioneer in its functions: a) the identification of soldiers at psychological risk, among tens of thousands of soldiers, using advanced information systems, including Artificial Intelligence (an area where I contributed during my service in 1989), and b) the evaluation and individualized attention of soldiers at risk through mobile units. The Crepsi has provided trained personnel and methods that are being used for the psychological care of troops deployed to conflict zones and for the psychological care of civilians in massive humanitarian disasters such as terrorist attacks or plane crashes with hundreds of affected people.

Design rationale

The psi letter of psychology and the arms of the Central Military Region: 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. These two fields, in turn, Gules and Argent, charged with a castle triple-towered and a crowned lion, originate from the Kingdom of Castile and León. The diminished bordure is for difference.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Argent, Or, Azure, Sable, Party per pale, In base, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Lion, Rampant, Crowned, Overall, Letter and Diminished bordure.

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

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

Bearer: Crepsi.

Blazon of the lineage Lazcano in the Canary Islands.

Vert, nine Poplar leaves ordered, in chief a «T» letter Or.

Illuminated and leather finishing.

It can be consulted at [Chaparro D'Acosta L.; 1979; página 251].

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Vert, Letter, Poplar leaf, Or and Nine.

Style keywords: Leather, Outlined in sable and Illuminated.

Classification: Interpreted.

D'or à un arbre arraché de sinople, accosté à dextre de la lettre capitale «D» et à senestre de la lettre capitale «L» du même, et une étoile d'azur posée au canton dextre de la pointe.

Or, a tree eradicated Vert between a capital letter «D» and a capital letter «L» Sable, in the dexter of the base a mullet Azure.

Illuminated with lights and shadows and with a leather finish.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Or, One, Tree, Erased, Vert, Between, Letter, Sable, Canton, Dexter, Base (lower 1/3), Mullet, Five and Azure.

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

Classification: Interpreted, Lineage and Kingdom of France.

Quarterly: 1 and 4 Gules, a lion rampant, double queued Argent, armed, langued, and crowned Or; 2 Azure, a letter «G» Or; 3 Azure, a coronet trefoiled Or

Escudo cuartelado: 1^o y 4^o de gules, un león rampante, de cola horquillada de plata, armado, lampasado y coronado de oro; 2^o de azur, una letra «G» de oro; 3^o de azur, una corona trebolada de oro

This coat of arms is illuminated with lights and shadows and has a finish like glass.

The Hradec Králové Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic. It is located in the historical region of Bohemia. Its capital is Hradec Králové, whose Latin name is «Gradicium», hence its old name «Gradec». The letter «G» seen in both the coat of arms of the Hradec Králové Region and the coat of arms of its capital originates from this historical name. The lion rampant Anrgent, double queued and crowned in the 1^st and 4^th quarters is the symbol of Bohemia, and it also appears in the 1^st and 4^th quarters of the coat of arms of the Czech Republic. «Králové» means «of the queen» in Czech and there is a trefoiled crown in the 3^rd quarter

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Blazon keywords: Quarterly, Gules, One, Lion, Rampant, Tail, Double queued, Argent, Armed, Langued, Crowned, Or, Azure, Letter, Coronet trefoiled, Ancient coronet, Crown and Trefoiled.

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

Classification: Civic and Interpreted.

Bearer: Hradec Králové Region.

Argent, the letters «GVA» conjoined Sable, a trimount in base Vert; on a chief Azure, three mullets of eight points Or, 1 and 2.

Escudo de plata, un monte de tres peñas de sinople, moviente de la punta, surmontado de las letras «GVA» unidas de Sable; en un jefe de azur, tres estrellas de ocho puntas de oro, 1 y 2.

Coat of arms painted by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, with an ogee external shape and with a freehand finish.

R0067, Chief Herald of Malta's register of the coat of arms of Mario Antonio Guallini. This coat of arms has been emblazoned by me.

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Blazon keywords: Argent, Vert, Sable, Azure, Or, One, Three, Eight, Letter, Conjoined, Trimount, In base, Chief, Mullet and Disordered.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Illuminated, Ogee and Freehand.

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

Bearer: Guallini, Mario Antonio.

Registered by The International Register of Arms, 1^st of December of 2022, Registration number 0690, Volume 4.

In Spanish heraldry, there are three terms for supporters: «sostenes» for objects or plants, «tenantes» for human figures, and «soportes» for animal forms. The following applies to sostenes, tenantes, and soportes. Unlike other heraldic traditions such as English heraldry, in Spanish heraldry there are no rules for the use of supporters; their use is at the armiger's discretion, without specific restrictions. Supporters are not reserved only for nobility; their use is free for all.

In the words of [Cadenas y Vicent, V. de; 1975; page 173] «there is no rule that determines the use of tenantes, soportes, and sostenes».

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Categories: Armorial roll, Party per fess, Azure, One, Book, Open, Or, Leaved, Argent, Charged, Mullet, Gules, Tree, Erased, Between, Two, Apple, Diminished bordure, Embattled, Crest and mantling, Helm, Fimbriated, Wreath, Mantling, Dexter, Sinister, Crest, Pegasus, Rampant, Nascent, Flame, Supporter (animal), Lion, Langued, Quill, Claw, Parchment (scroll), Rolled, Seal, Letter, War cry and Motto.

External resource:

• Fernando Marán Bié at The Armorial Register.

Root: The Armorial Register.

Lino Chaparro D'Acosta, «Heráldica de los Apellidos Canarios», foreword by Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent, 2 volumes, Volume I from A to L, 285 surnames, 293 pages, Volume II from M to Z and a heraldic dictionary, 387 surnames, 439 pages, edited by Estudios Tecnicos del Blason, ISBN of the complete work 84-300-2000-4, ISBN of Volume I 84-300-1989-8, ISBN of Volume I II 84-300-418010-8, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1979.

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Bibliographical reference of century XX.

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

The author is Chaparro D'Acosta, Lino.

Bibliographical reference mentioned in the following article:

• Lazcano, lineage of the Canary Islands

Dyes

This tartan has more black and yellow because these are the color Sable-black and metal Or-yellow of my coat of arms. Also, it has the other two colors Gules-red and Azure-blue, and one metal Argent-grey of my crest.

Structure

Over the black background, its main visual structure is a thin red line, a thick yellow line, and a thin red line because of the flag of Spain.

It is mostly symmetrical tartan because I am a heraldic artist and I love the symmetry and geometry. But there is a bit of asymmetry, two thin lines grey and blue, to break the uniformity.

Thread count

It is based in the 5 first terms (1, 2, 3, 5, 8) of the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...). This sequence is intimately connected with the golden ratio, 1.61803... that I use frequently in my designs. But for the thread count, I multiple the Fibonacci sequence by 6 to obtain more than 5 inches, then I use the numbers 6=(1x6), 12=(2x6), 18=(3x6), 30=(5x6), and 48=(8x6).

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Blazon keywords: Quarterly, Or, Sable, One, Letter, Two, Wolf, Passant, In pale and Number.

Style keywords: Semi-circular, Illuminated, Outlined in the field tincture and Freehand.

Classification: Tartan, Created and Personal.

Bearer: Salmerón Cabañas, Antonio.