Ferdinand II, imaginary coat of arms

Argent, a lion sejant erect Purpure.

Escudo de plata, un león sentado de púrpura.

Imaginary coat of arms of King Fernando II of León, which I have developed based on his seal and the arms of his successor, with: the shape of the coat of arms is semi-circular; the field enameled in flat argent; the lion enameled in purpure and illuminated; and the whole rendered with a watercolor finish.

For this imaginary coat of arms I have chosen a representation of the lion in a posture similar to that of the great seal appearing in [Fernando II de León; 1167], which is sejant ~ «sentado» in Castilian, although beginning to rise «sejant erect».

It should be noted that we are in a pre-heraldic period where the possible attitudes of the lion were not yet clearly defined, although several of them are already anticipated in the great seals of Fernando II, as can be seen, for example, passant in [Fernando II de León; 1181] and in other attitudes in the photographs of [Martín Fuertes, J. A.; 2002].

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Argent, Lion, Purpure and Sejant.

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

Classification: Interpreted, Imaginary, Coat of arms and Kingdom of León.

Imaginary bearer: Ferdinand II of Leon.

Selection of various lion attitudes: passant, statant, sejant, almost rampant and in one case regardant, in 6 examples of the great seals of King Fernando II of León from 1160 to 1187.

These 6 seals come from the following 3 sources: [Fernando II de León; 1167], [Fernando II de León; 1181] and [Martín Fuertes, J. A.; 2002].

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Categories: Personal, Seal, Round, Kingdom of León, Without divisions, One, Lion, Passant, Statant, Sejant, Rampant, Regardant and Motto (identification).

Root: Ferdinand II of Leon.

Layout and tincture:

• This stage's goal is to draw freehand the ordinaries and charges which will be placed upon the blazon and tincture them in plain colors and metals.
• The result is the definitive coat of arms in plain tincture.

Ornamentation and accompaniment:

• It aims the creation of the ornament and, where appropriate, of their complementary heraldic objects, for example, seal, badget, flag, bookplate, etc., all of them determined by the final composition of the coat of arms.
• Its result is the shield with its ornament and its additions in plain colors and metals.

Lighting and final art:

• Its objective is, depending on the cases, lighting or shading of ordinaries, figures, crest, etc., and give the final finish to the heraldic objects.
• The result is the shield, its ornament and complements finished as plastic work reviewable by the future owner. This could drive to a refining cycle returning to some of the earlier phases.

Fernando II, King of León, «Carta Puebla de Benavente», Historical Archive of the City Council of Benavente, dated November 1167.

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It is a document in which King Fernando II of León grants privileges to Benavente with the aim of repopulating this town.

The original document is a parchment measuring 60 x 43 centimeters, adorned in the upper right corner, right according to the heraldic criterion, with a Chi Rho from which hang an alpha and an omega. In what could be considered the navel of the charter is a rolled seal of the king formed by a lion, which I consider closer to rampant than passant, surrounded by a circular motto that reads «Signum Fernandi Regis Hispanorum» ~ «Sign of Fernando, King of the Spains». Additionally, this rolled seal is accompanied by the names of members of the chancery and prelates of the Kingdom of León, to confirm the grants recorded in the «Carta Puebla de Benavente».

This charter, also called the «Fuero de Benavente», is a beautiful example of local law and, since its promulgation in 1167, served as a model for other towns. In the following years, similar charters to that of Benavente were adopted in other towns of León, Asturias, and Galicia, with the one in La Coruña being a notable example.

The objective of the provisions of this charter was to favor the repopulation and settlement of new settlers in the town of Benavente, and its successful operation in this aspect led to its application in other places.

The original document is kept in the Municipal Archive of Benavente, forming part of its collection of royal privileges of Benavente. There is also a «facsimile» edition, like the one that illustrates this bibliographic reference, published in 2002 by the Benavente City Council on the occasion of the Commemoration of the VIII Centenary of the Benavente Courts.

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Bibliographical reference of century XII.

Author: Fernando II de León.

Here are the articles quoting this reference:

• Attitudes of the lion of Ferdinand II
• Ferdinand II of Leon
• Ferdinand II, imaginary coat of arms

External links:

• Benavente remembers Fernando II of León.
• Churches in the parish of Renueva.
• Facsimile of the Carta Puebla de Benavente.
• Carta Puebla in PDF.

Internal resources: FernandoII.24.Facsimil.CartaPueblaBenavente.pdf in armorial, Fernando II of León, key 104..

Fernando II, King of León, «Privilegio de Ampliación del Alfoz de Benavente», Historical Archive of the City Council of Benavente, 1181.

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Bibliographical reference of century XII.

Author: Fernando II de León.

The following articles cite this bibliographic reference:

• Attitudes of the lion of Ferdinand II
• Ferdinand II of Leon
• Ferdinand II, imaginary coat of arms

External resource:

• Benavente remembers Fernando II of León.

José Antonio Martín Fuertes, Universidad de León, «El Signum Regís en el Reino de León (1157-1230), Notas Sobre su Simbolismo (I)», Revista Argutorio, 4^th year, number 9, pages 15 to 19, Cultural Magazine edited by the Monte Irago Cultural Association, Astorga, 2^nd half of 2002.

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Bibliographical reference of century XXI.

Author: Martín Fuertes, José Antonio.

Here are the articles quoting this reference:

• Attitudes of the lion of Ferdinand II
• Ferdinand II of Leon
• Ferdinand II, imaginary coat of arms

External links:

• Rioja University.
• Rioja University: PDF format.

Internal resources: MartinFuertesJA2002.SignumRegis.pdf.

Antonio Sevilla Gómez, «Las paremias heroicas: la divisa, el lema y el mote», Paremia Magazine, number 9, pages 75 to 80, Madrid, 2000.

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Bibliographical reference of century XX.

The author is Sevilla Gómez, Antonio.

The following article cites this bibliographic reference:

• Arco y García, F. del; 1996a

External link:

• Paremia Magazine.

Internal resources: SevillaGomezA2000.DivisaLemaMoteGritoGuerra.pdf.

Henry II Plantagenet, King of England, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, and Count of Nantes.

Gules, a lion rampant Or.

Escudo de gules, un león rampante de oro.

Existing arms interpreted by me as follows: the shield's shape is pointed; the field has been enamelled in flat Gules; the lion in Or has been outlined in Sable; and the whole composition has a rough texture finish.

It is believed that Henry I was the first King of England to have a coat of arms, featuring a single lion rampant, but no documentary evidence has yet been found [Rabbow, A.; 1999; paragraph 8].

[Ailes, A.; 1982; page 62] argues that Henry II may have used three different versions of his arms featuring a) a single lion rampant, b) two leopards, and c) three leopards. However, it remains unclear whether these versions were used sequentially over time or concurrently. For this interpretation, I have chosen the version with the lion rampant.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Gules, One, Lion, Or and Rampant.

Style keywords: Pointed, Plain tincture, Outlined in sable and Rough.

Classification: Interpreted, Coat of arms, Personal, House of Plantagenet and Kingdom of England.

Bearer: Henry II of England.

Continue with: Ailes, A.; 1982.