Arrano Beltza

Or, a eagle displayed Sable.

Escudo de oro, un águila de sable.

Arms painted by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, and with a freehand finish.

Coat of arms of the Arrano Beltza, the black eagle in Basque, emblazoned by me.

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Blazon keywords: Or, Sable, One, Eagle and Displayed.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Illuminated and Freehand.

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

Bearer: Arrano Beltza.

Michael Merrigan, MA, FGSI, «Heraldry and Marriage Equality», Annual Journal of the Genealogical Society of Ireland, volume 25, pages 157 to 164 ISSN 2712-0228, familyhistory.ie, Published by the Genealogical Society of Ireland, Dublin, December of 2019.

The 2024 Annual Journal of the Genealogical Society of Ireland has been published, spanning 186 pages, familyhistory.ie. This Annual Journal has been delivered to all members and deposited in the Copyright Libraries across Ireland and the United Kingdom.

It includes the article «Heraldry and Marriage Equality» by Michael Merrigan, MA, FGSI, on pages 157 to 164, where, alongside Martin Goldstraw, JP, FRSA, I have had the honor of being cited, along with 2 coats of arms designed by me.

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Bibliographical reference of century XXI.

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

Author: Merrigan, Michael.

External resource:

• familyhistory.ie journals.

Internal resources: 20241202.JournalGenealogicalSocietyIreland.2024.pdf Annual Journal and 20241202.JournalGenealogicalSocietyIreland.2024.pag.157.164.pdf Article.

Azure, in chief a moon with human face Argent, in base a crescent chequey Sable and Argent; overall a she-wolf ululant, sejant on the crescent proper, armed and the udders Gules.

The coat of arms of Teresa Otxoa Magaña designed by her and her husband Juan Lanzagorta Vallín, and emblazoned by me with an oval shape in 3 steps: ratios, outlined, and tinctures.

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Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, Sable, Gules, One, Chief, Moon, With human face, Base, Crescent, Chequey, Overall, She-wolf, Ululant, Sejant, Proper, Armed and Udder.

Style keywords: Ratio, Outlined, Outlined in sable, Plain tincture and Oval.

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

Bearer: Otxoa Magaña, Teresa.

Azure, in chief a moon with human face Argent, in base a crescent chequey Sable and Argent; overall a she-wolf ululant, sejant on the crescent proper, armed and the udders Gules.

The coat of arms of Teresa Otxoa Magaña designed by her and her husband Juan Lanzagorta Vallín, and outlined by me.

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Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, Sable, Gules, One, Chief, Moon, With human face, Base, Crescent, Chequey, Overall, She-wolf, Ululant, Sejant, Proper, Armed and Udder.

Style keywords: Outlined, Outlined in sable and Oval.

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

Bearer: Otxoa Magaña, Teresa.

Azure, in chief a moon with human face Argent, in base a crescent chequey Sable and Argent; overall a she-wolf ululant, sejant on the crescent proper, armed and the udders Gules.

Arms emblazoned by me, in plain tinctures, outlined in Sable, with an oval external shape and with a texturized finish.

The coat of arms of Teresa Otxoa Magaña designed by her and her husband Juan Lanzagorta Vallín, and emblazoned by me. Blazon written in Italian by Vittorio Gifra, «Arma: d'azzurro, alla luna figurata d'argento posta in capo, accompanata in punta da un crescente montante scaccato di nero e d'argento; alla lupa di nero sul tutto, seduta su esso crescente, armata e mammellata di rosso».

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Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, Sable, Gules, One, Chief, Moon, With human face, Base, Crescent, Chequey, Overall, She-wolf, Ululant, Sejant, Proper, Armed and Udder.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Plain tincture and Oval.

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

Bearer: Otxoa Magaña, Teresa.

Azure, in chief a moon with human face Argent, in base a crescent chequey Sable and Argent; overall a she-wolf ululant, sejant on the crescent proper, armed and the udders Gules.

Escudo de azur, en jefe una luna figurada de plata, en punta un creciente ajedrezado de sable y plata; brochante sobre el todo una loba aullante, sentada en el creciente al natural, armada y ubres de gules.

Coat of arms emblazoned by me, highlighted with lights and shadows, outlined in Sable, with an oval external shape and with a watercolor finish.

The coat of arms of Teresa Otxoa Magaña designed by her and her husband Juan Lanzagorta Vallín, and emblazoned by me. The primitive arms of the Otxoa lineage feature wolves, as the name derives from the Basque word «otso» meaning wolf and she-wolf, therefore, both the arms of the lineage and hers are «canting arms», though hers specifically feature a she-wolf.

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Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, Sable, Gules, One, Chief, Moon, With human face, Base, Crescent, Chequey, Overall, She-wolf, Ululant, Sejant, Proper, Armed and Udder.

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

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

Bearer: Otxoa Magaña, Teresa.

Azure, in chief a moon with human face Argent, in base a crescent chequey Sable and Argent; overall a she-wolf ululant, sejant on the crescent proper, armed and the udders Gules. Motto around the shield: «Linaje Lanzagorta Otxoa · Bizkaia · México» Sable over a scroll Argent.

Arms depicted by me, in plain tinctures, outlined in Sable, with an oval outer contour and with a texturized finish.

The coat of arms of Teresa Otxoa Magaña designed by her and her husband Juan Lanzagorta Vallín, and emblazoned by me.

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Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, Sable, Gules, One, Chief, Moon, With human face, Base, Crescent, Chequey, Overall, She-wolf, Ululant, Sejant, Proper, Armed, Udder, Within, Motto (identification) and Scroll.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Plain tincture and Oval.

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

Bearer: Otxoa Magaña, Teresa.

Design ideas

The heraldic art often involves resolving design challenges while maintaining both aesthetic balance and adherence to tradition. The coat of arms illustrated here draws inspiration from the Dethick-Dethicke family arms of Derbyshire, though it features distinct differences. This design explores the placement of water-bougets, a medieval water vessel, in a 2+2 arrangement, with a fess vair.

One key consideration when arranging charges in heraldry is proportionality. In this case, the fess occupies 1/3 of the coat of arms's width and is positioned 1/3 of the height from the chief, rather than at the exact center, allowing the charges to balance harmoniously. The shape of the shield itself also plays a role: rounded shields can accommodate a 2+2 arrangement more comfortably than shields with a pointed base, which are better suited to 2+1 arrangements, this is de case of Dethick's arms.

Another challenge in heraldic design is asymmetry. To address the natural curves of the shield, the water-bougets may vary slightly in size or placement. This intentional asymmetry can help create a visually appealing composition that respects both tradition and the unique constraints of each design, because, heraldry is not only about rules but also about creativity.

Gules, a fess vair between four water-bougets Or, two in chief and two in base.

Escudo de gules, una faja de veros acompañada de cuatro pares de odres de oro, dos en jefe y dos en punta.

Water-bouget

In German, they are called «Wasserschlauch» in English «water-bougets» or «oges», and in French «bouses» or «chantepleures».

There is no specific heraldic term for them in Castilian. Based on «chantepleures», one could use «cantimploras», which are metallic or at least rigid. On the other hand, «oges» could translate as «odres», as they are typically made of leather as in this case. Additionally, since «water-bouget» are designed as a pair to be carried by a donkey or other animal, I have decided to use «par de odres» to convey the idea of one on each side of the animal.

In English, when there is a single charge, that is, a pair of water vessels, it is written in singular as «water-bouget», as can be seen in [Fox-Davies, A. C.; 1909; figure 551]. [Friar, S.; 1987; page 68] defines «bouget» as «...a stylized representation of a yoke supporting two leather waterbags».

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Blazon keywords: Gules, One, Fess, Vair, Between, Four, Water-bouget, Or, Two, In chief and In base.

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

Classification: Interpreted, Schema and Coat of arms.

Continue with: John Stuart, schema 2x3.