Kingdom of Spain, schema 4x3

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 image shows the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Spain and, surrounding it, the coats of arms that compose it, arranged radially in order to make their integration into the greater arms visually explicit, there are the arms of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Navarre, and Granada, together with the central inescutcheon of the reigning dynasty.

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

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

Bearer: Spain, Kingdom of.

Kingdom of Spain, schema 2x2

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.

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.

Spain, Kingdom of

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].

Escudo cuartelado: 1^o de gules, un castillo de oro, aclarado de azur, mazonado de sable [de Castilla]; 2^o de plata, un león rampante de púrpura, lampasado y armado de gules, coronado de oro [de León]; 3^o de oro, con cuatro palos de gules [de Aragón]; 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]; un escusón de azur, tres flores de lis de oro, 2 y 1, una bordura de gules [de Borbón].

Arms depicted by me, highlighted with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, with a semi-circular outer contour and with a freehand finish.

Arms of the Kingdom of Spain emblazoned by me. Although in the official blazon text it is blazoned as a point vert, and as a point what is painted 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.

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

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

Bearer: Spain, Kingdom of.

Columns of the Kingdom of Spain

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. Supporters: two columns Argent, capital and base Or, between in base waves Azure, in chief an imperial crown the dexter and a closed royal crown the sinister. Moto environing the columns and behind the shield: «Plus Ultra» Or over a scroll Gules.

Arms interpreted by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, with a semi-circular external shape and with a iridescent finishing.

Arms of the Kingdom of Spain emblazoned by me. On the arrangement of the crowns: a) Royal Decree 1511/1977, of 21 January, enacted during the so-called Transition and approving the Regulations on Flags and Standards, Guidons, Insignia and Distinctive Signs, states: «Rule No. 2. Coat of Arms of Spain… Accompanied by two columns Argent, with base and capital Or, set upon waves Azure or blue and Argent», «superado» «by an imperial crown on the dexter one and by a royal crown on the sinister one…». b) The subsequent Law 33/1981, of 5 October, regulating the current coat of arms of Spain, likewise states: «…Accompanied by two columns Argent, with base and capital Or, set upon waves Azure or blue and Argent», «superado» «by an imperial crown on the dexter one and by a royal crown on the sinister one». c) The term «superado» in the heraldic dictionaries in which it appears refers, as a synonym, to «surmontado». d) The definitions of «surmontado» include: «a charge which, at its upper part, has another above it but without touching it», «also said of superado», and «a figure that bears another above it, but without touching it». In light of a), b), c) and d), the two crowns should therefore be painted not touching the columns. However, in the illustrative drawing contained in Royal Decree 1511/1977 the crowns do touch the columns, contradicting its own wording, although in heraldry, when in doubt, the written blazon always prevails; and in most official representations the crowns do indeed touch the columns. Nevertheless, this personal interpretation of both the coat of arms of Spain and of the proper way to write its blazon, where the lateral crowns do not touch the columns, and then I decide that, following the same criterion, the central crown should not touch the shield either, so the result differs from the official version. The expression «waves Azure or blue and Argent», which appears both in the 1977 official definition and in the 1981 one, presents a double peculiarity: it combines the heraldic term «Azure» with the everyday term «blue», and it is also offered as an optional blazon, giving two alternatives, that the waves be only Azure, as I have painted them, or Azure and Argent; optional blazons are extremely rare and, in my view, perhaps not very advisable.

Blazon keywords: Gules, Azure, Purpure, Vert, Or, Argent, One, Two, 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, Supporter (thing), Supporter, Column, Shafted, Between, In base, Wave, In chief, Imperial crown, Dexter, Sinister, Motto, Environed, Behind the shield and Scroll.

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

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

Bearer: Spain, Kingdom of.

Kingdom of Spain, collage

Quarterly: 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; 3 Or, four pallets Gules; 4 Gules, a chain orlewise, crosswise, and saltirewise Or, charged in the fess point with an emerald Vert; enté en point Argent, a pomegranate proper, seeded Gules, slipped and leaved Vert; an inescutcheon Azure, three fleurs de lis Or, 2 and 1, a bordure Gules. Crest: A closed royal crown. Supporters: two columns Argent, capital and base Or, between in base waves Azure, in chief an imperial crown the dexter and a closed royal crown the sinister. Moto environing the columns and behind the shield: «Plus Ultra» Or over a scroll Gules.

Arms of the Kingdom of Spain. This image combines three photographs of this coat of arms on the façade of the Ministry of Defence building on the Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, just a few metres from my office, together with my own artistic interpretation of the same arms. In the version on the façade of the Ministry of Defence, the crowns above the columns do not touch the columns, which I believe is the correct way to depict them, although the central crown does appear to rest upon the shield of Spain. There are more interpretations that place the crowns resting on the columns than those that do not, and I photographed this particular version from the Ministry of Defence because it is especially relevant due to its size and institutional significance. On the arrangement of the crowns: a) Royal Decree 1511/1977, of 21 January, enacted during the so-called Transition and approving the Regulations on Flags and Standards, Guidons, Insignia and Distinctive Signs, states: «Rule No. 2. Coat of Arms of Spain… Accompanied by two columns Argent, with base and capital Or, set upon waves Azure or blue and Argent», «superado» «by an imperial crown on the dexter one and by a royal crown on the sinister one…». b) The subsequent Law 33/1981, of 5 October, regulating the current coat of arms of Spain, likewise states: «…Accompanied by two columns Argent, with base and capital Or, set upon waves Azure or blue and Argent», «superado» «by an imperial crown on the dexter one and by a royal crown on the sinister one». c) The term «superado» in the heraldic dictionaries in which it appears refers, as a synonym, to «surmontado». d) The definitions of «surmontado» include: «a charge which, at its upper part, has another above it but without touching it», «also said of superado», and «a figure that bears another above it, but without touching it». In light of a), b), c) and d), the two crowns should therefore be painted not touching the columns. However, in the illustrative drawing contained in Royal Decree 1511/1977 the crowns do touch the columns, contradicting its own wording, although in heraldry, when in doubt, the written blazon always prevails; and in most official representations the crowns do indeed touch the columns. Nevertheless, this personal interpretation of both the coat of arms of Spain and of the proper way to write its blazon, where the lateral crowns do not touch the columns, and then I decide that, following the same criterion, the central crown should not touch the shield either, so the result differs from the official version.

Blazon keywords: Gules, Azure, Purpure, Vert, Or, Argent, One, Two, 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, Supporter (thing), Supporter, Column, Shafted, Between, In base, Wave, In chief, Imperial crown, Dexter, Sinister, Motto, Environed, Behind the shield and Scroll.

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

Classification: Civic, Kingdom of Spain, Interpreted, Boa, Photographic and Collage.

Bearer: Spain, Kingdom of.

Point or emerald for the Navarre

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.

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.

Peregrina Corona, Dolores

Tierce: 1 Argent, two keys points upwards, in saltire, between in chief an escallop, and in base a mullet of five points environed at dexter by a crescent bendwise azure; 2 Azure, a dexter arm vested, issuant from sinister, grasping a pilgrim's staff palewise, issuant from base, tied to it a gourd bendwise Argent.

Escudo adiestrado: 1^o de plata, dos llaves alzadas en sotuer, acompañadas en jefe de una venera, y en punta de una estrella de cinco puntas, circundada a la diestra de un creciente puesto en banda todo de azur; 2^o de azur, un brazo diestro vestido, moviente de la siniestra, teniendo un bordón de peregrino puesto en palo, moviente de la punta, y atada a él una calabaza puesta en banda todo de plata.

Arms designed by me, in flat tinctures, contoured in Sable, with a semi-circular outer contour and with a texturized finishing.

Canting arms of Dolores Peregrina Corona designed by Juan Lanzagorta Vallín and me and emblazoned by me. In Castilian heraldic tradition, the «adiestrado» ~ «tierce» used in this coat of arms and its symmetrical «siniestrado» ~ «tierce sinister» are «irregular divisions of the field by one line» ~ «particiones irregulares». That is why I use «tierce» and «tierce sinister» in English. There is another possibility, which is to call the «adiestrado» ~ «pale in dexter flank» and the «siniestrado» ~ «pale in sinister flank», thus ceasing to be a type of «divisions of the field» ~ «particiones» and becoming «ordinaries» ~ «piezas fundamentales». This has implications, as the rule of tinctures would apply if it were considered a «pale» ~ «palo». In any case, I will write the blazon in both ways. Alternative blazon: Azure, a dexter arm vested, issuant from sinister, grasping a pilgrim's staff palewise, issuant from base, tied to it a gourd bendwise; on a pale in dexter flank Argent two keys points upwards, in saltire, between in chief an escallop, and in base a mullet of five points environed at dexter by a crescent bendwise azure.

Design rationale

These are canting arms because her surname is «Peregrina» ~ «pilgrim», and her coat of arms depicts the arm of a pilgrim, as she is one herself, with her staff and her gourd for carrying water, advancing towards the dexter, in order to reach the destination of her three most important life pilgrimages: Santiago de Compostela, Rome, and Jerusalem.

Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, One, Two, Tierce, Key, Point upwards, In saltire, Between, In chief, Escallop, In base, Mullet, Environed, Dexter, Crescent, Bendwise, Arm, Vested, Issuant from the sinister flank, Grasping, Pilgrim's staff, Palewise, Issuant from base, Tied and Gourd.