Chain

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.

Bibliographical reference mentioned in the following article:

• 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.

Party per fess: 1 party per pale: 1 quarterly: 1 and 4 Gules, a castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable [for Castile]; 2 and 3 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules, crowned Or [for Leon]. 2 quarterly: 1 Or, four pallets Gules [for Aragon]; 2 quarterly per saltire: 1 and 4 Or, four pallets Gules; 2 and 3 Argent, an eagle displayed Sable [for Aragon-Sicily]. 3 Argent, a cross potent cantoned of four crosslets Or [for Jerusalem]. 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]. 2 quarterly: 1 Gules, a fess Argent [for Austria]; 2 Azure semé of fleurs de lis Or within a bordure compony Argent and Gules [for Burgundy modern]; 3 bendy Or and Azure within a bordure Gules [for Burgundy ancient]; 4 Sable, a lion rampant Or, armed and langued Gules [for Brabant]; overall an inescutcheon party per pale: 1 Or, a lion rampant Sable, armed and langued Gules [for Flanders]; 2 Argent, an eagle displayed Gules, crowned, armed, beaked, langued and membered Or, charged on the wings with two trefoiled stems Or [for Tyrol]. Crest: An imperial crown with two fanons Argent, fringed Or. Behind the shield a double-headed eagle displayed Sable, nimbed, beaked and armed Or, langued and membered Gules, enfiled by an open royal crown above the shield. Supporters: two columns Argent between in base waves Azure, in chief an imperial crown the dexter and a closed royal crown the sinister. Moto environing the columns: «Plus Ultra» Or over a scroll Gules.

Coat of arms depicted by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, with a semi-circular outer contour and with a freehand finishing.

Arms of Charles, Holy Roman Emperor, emblazoned by me. The decision to depict both Pillars of Hercules in Argent arises from a strictly technical and artistic process. My objective was to paint the commander’s badge of the Imperial Hispanic Order of Charles V, a piece that is entirely made of Argent. Working directly on a fully Argent surface made the visual reading of the whole difficult, so I decided, as a preliminary step, to paint the coat of arms in its proper tinctures and, once the chromatic composition was resolved, to convert it into Argent. The commander’s badge of this order is based on its coat of arms and emblem as interpreted and painted by the heraldist and heraldic artist Fernando Martínez Larrañaga. In that interpretation, Fernando represented the Pillars of Hercules entirely in Argent. For the sake of coherence with this model, which is the direct reference for the badge, I followed the same solution and painted the pillars in Argent. I have also painted this same coat of arms with the pillars having Argent shafts and Or bases and capitals.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Azure, Sable, Argent, Purpure, Or, Vert, One, Two, Four, Party per fess, Party per pale, Quarterly, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Lion, Rampant, Armed, Langued, Crowned, Pale, Quarterly per saltire, Eagle, Displayed, Cross potent, Cross couped, Cantoned, Crosslet, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Enté en point, Pomegranate, Proper, Seeded, Slipped, Leaved, Fess, Semé, Fleur de lis, Bordure, Compony, Bendy, Overall, Inescutcheon, Beaked, Membered, Wing, Trefoiled, Stem, Crest, Imperial crown, Crown, Fanon, Fringed, Behind the shield, Double-headed, Nimbed, Enfiled, Open royal crown, Above the shield, Supporter (thing), Supporter, Column, Shafted, Between, In base, Wave, In chief, Dexter, Closed royal crown, Sinister, Motto, Environed and Scroll.

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

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

Bearer: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

Azure, a terraze in base Or, overall a gazelle springing Argent, collared with a chain streaming to sinister Or conjoined to the cross of the Cruz family bendwise.

De azur terrazado de oro, brochante sobre el todo una gacela brincante de plata, acollarada de una cadena extendida hacia la siniestra de oro unida a la cruz de la familia Cruz puesta en banda.

Coat of arms of Rosalía Cruz Carballo designed by Juan Lanzagorta Vallín and refined and emblazoned by me. In heraldry, a gazelle springing represents a broader and more dynamic leap than a gazelle salient, since in the springing attitude none of the hooves touch the ground, whereas in the salient attitude the hind legs, usually held close together, remain grounded while propelling the body upward. The English heraldic term «springing» is commonly used to describe a quadruped depicted in mid-leap, with all four legs clear of the ground, since there is no fully established Castilian translation for this heraldic attitude, I translate it as «brincante». The broad and energetic leap of the gazelle reflects Rosalía’s sporting spirit, vitality, and fondness for running and overcoming obstacles. The gazelle bears around its neck the cross designed by Jon Lanzagorta for his co-father-in-law, Mr. Cruz, her father. For this reason the cross is referred to in the blazon as the cross of the Cruz family and is not specifically blazoned in this case, although it could be described as a cross patty whose arms are each formed by three compony pallets Argent, Purpure and Or.

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Blazon keywords: Azure, Or, Argent, One, Terrace in base, Gazelle, Springing, Collared, Chain, Sinister, Conjoined, Cross couped and Bendwise.

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

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

Bearer: Cruz Carballo, Rosalia.

Publication of my interpretation of the arms of His Majesty King Felipe VI with the Order of the Garter on the blog Twelve Lineages of Soria with the following text: Magnificent interpretation of the coat of arms of H.M. the King of Spain, with the Order of the Garter, made by the prestigious heraldist and member of the International Heraldry Society, Mr. Antonio Salmerón Cabañas.

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Categories: Link, Or, Four, Pale, Gules, Azure, Sable, One, Castle, Port and windows, Masoned, Argent, Purpure, Lion, Rampant, Armed, Langued, Crowned, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Vert, Closed royal crown, Crown, Inescutcheon, Fleur de lis, Bordure, Enté, In base, Pomegranate, Proper, Seeded (pomegranate), Slipped and Leaved.

Root: Twelve Lineages of Soria.

Azure, a terraze in base Or, overall a gazelle salient Argent, collared with a chain streaming to sinister Or conjoined to the cross of the Cruz family.

De azur terrazado de oro, brochante sobre el todo una gacela saltante de plata, acollarada de una cadena extendida hacia la siniestra de oro unida a la cruz de la familia Cruz.

Coat of arms of Julia Íñiguez Cruz designed by Juan Lanzagorta Vallín and refined and emblazoned by me. In heraldry, a gazelle «salient» ~ «saltante» represents a more restrained and less dynamic leap than a gazelle «springing» ~ «brincante», since in the salient attitude the hind legs, usually held close together, remain grounded while propelling the body upward, whereas in the springing attitude all four legs are depicted clear of the ground in mid-leap. The gazelle, like that of her mother Rosalía Cruz Carballo, bears around its neck the cross designed by Jon Lanzagorta for his co-father-in-law, Mr. Cruz, her grandfather. For this reason the cross is referred to in the blazon as the cross of the Cruz family and is not specifically blazoned in this case, although it could be described as a cross patty whose arms are each formed by three compony pallets Argent, Purpure and Or.

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Blazon keywords: Azure, Or, Argent, One, Terrace in base, Gazelle, Salient, Collared, Chain, Sinister, Conjoined and Cross couped.

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

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

Bearer: Íñiguez Cruz, Julia.

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.

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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.

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 whole debruised by a label of three points Azure.

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]; brisado de un lambel de tres pendientes de azur.

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

This is the coat of arms of Her Royal Highness Doña Leonor Princess of Asturias, Princess of Girona, and Princess of Viana, heiress of the throne of Spain as the elder daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. This version of her coat of arms has been emblazoned by me. The coat of arms of the Princess of Asturias is the same as her father's, the King, but with a mark of cadency which, in heraldic terms, is also know as brisure. In this case, the cadency mark is a label Azure with three points, which will be removed in due course. The label of three points is the main and most classic of the brisures, usually assigned to the eldest heir. It is said to originate from a piece of cloth the son would tie at the top of his shield to distinguish it from his father's. Other common brisures include the crescent, the mullet of five point, the marlet, the annulet, or the fleur de lis. In addition to these simple brisures, there are also combined brisures, which are brisures charged with another or others. For example, a crescent charged with a fleur de lis. Labels may also have their points charged with other marks. Many cadency systems become more complicated as generations progress and branches open up, so they tend to be rarely used except in very clear cases like this one.

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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, Bordure, Cadency and Label of three points.

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

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

Bearer: Leonor Princess of Asturias.

Gules, a chain orlewise, crosswise, and saltirewise Or, charged in the fess point with an emerald Vert.

Escudo gules, una cadena puesta en orla, en cruz y en sotuer de oro, cargada en el centro de una esmeralda de sinople.

Coat of arms interpreted with: a semicircular (round) base; the field in flat Gules; the chains and the emerald illuminated in Or and Vert and outlined in Sable; and the whole executed with a raised-stroke finish.

This coat of arms, except for the emerald, corresponds to the blazon written in [Avilés, J.; 1780a; page 412 and figure 260] which says «Gules, a chain placed in orle, cross, and saltire Or, which some blazon differently», leaving me, as a reader, curious to know what that other way he refers to might be.

Then, [Avilés, J.; 1780a; pages 412–413] writes his version of the origin of the arms, saying that «...it was borne by Sancho VIII, called the Strong, and twenty-first King of Navarre, in the year 1212, for the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in Sierra Morena ...given to him by the King of Castile, Don Alfonso IX, whose aid he had joined...», which we would say Alfonso VIII of Castile, «the one of Las Navas».

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Gules, One, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Or, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald and Vert.

Style keywords: Freehand, Illuminated and Outlined in sable.

Classification: Interpreted, Civic and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Navarre.

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.

Coat of arms depicted by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, with a semi-circular external shape and with a freehand finishing.

The arms of His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain emblazoned by me. Francisco Domingo Larrosa Gil reminds me that in the original design, the pearls in the center of the crown's rosettes of acanthus leaves were always painted white, as were the pearls interspersed between these rosettes. However, recently, they have been colored azure. For instance, in the Official State Gazette, BOE of Spain, of June 21, 2014, which established the guidon and the banner of His Majesty King Felipe VI, the interior of the fleurons is colored azure, so much so that they assign it Pantone blue P-301. As we know, assigning Pantones makes no sense heraldically. In this version, I paint as pearls both those in the center of the rosettes and those interspersed between them. The definition provided by the Royal Household does not specify what lies in the center of the fleurons, which could potentially be empty; thus, the Royal Household states: «a closed crown, which is a circle of gold, with an inset of precious stones in their colours, composed of eight rosettes of acanthus leaves, of which five are visible, interspersed with pearls in their own colour, issuing from which are eight pearl diadems, of which five are visible, which converge in a blue orb, with gold semi-meridian and equator, surmounted by a gold cross, the crown lined with red», in my blazon, I limit myself to defining it as a closed royal crown.

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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, Bordure, Closed royal crown and Crown.

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

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

Bearer: Felipe VI of Spain.

Quarterly: 1 and 4 Vert, a crescent within eight mullets in lozenge Or; 2 and 3 Azure, a chain fesswise throughout between three fleurs de lis, 2 and 1, all the links and fleurs de lis per pale Or and Argent; an inescutcheon Azure, bearing a crown of count, charged with an eagle displayed within a bordure Or. Crest: A crown of Baron. Behind the shield the cross of a Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.

Coat of arms emblazoned by me with a pointed shape, illuminated, and with a watercolor finishing.

G0067, Chief Herald of Malta's grant of Robert George Alexander Balchin's arms, whose full achievement has been emblazoned by me for such grant.

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Blazon keywords: Quarterly, Vert, One, Crescent, Eight, Mullet, In lozenge, Or, Azure, Chain, Fesswise, Throughout, Between, Three, Fleur de lis, Ordered, Party per pale, Argent, Inescutcheon, Crest and mantling, Crown of Count, Crown, Charged, Eagle, Bordure, Crown of Baron, Behind the shield and Cross.

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

Classification: Personal, Interpreted and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Balchin, Robert George Alexander.

Azure, between two palm fronds in pile reversed a Lady of Mercy grasping in her sinister hand a broken chain Argent, and charged on the chest with an escutcheon per fess, 1 Gules, a cross patty Argent, and 2 Or, four pallets Gules.

Coat of arms designed by me, in flat tinctures, outlined in Sable, with a semi-circular external shape and with a texturized finishing.

This is the coat of arms of Sister Esperanza Vega Lanzagorta, designed by Juan Lanzagorta Vallin and painted by me. Alternative blazon: «Azure, between two palm fronds in pile reversed a Virgin of Mercy grasping in her sinister hand a broken chain Argent, and charged on the chest the Mercedarian coat of arms».

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Credits: Juan Lanzagorta Vallin is the designer of the coat of arms.

Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, Gules, Or, One, Two, Our Lady of Mercy, Grasping, Sinister, Hand, Broken, Chain, Charged, Chest, Escutcheon, Party per fess, Cross patty, Cross couped, Between, Palm frond and In pile reversed.

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

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

Bearer: Vega Lanzagorta, Sister Esperanza.

Emblem Azure, Saint Michael Argent, vested and nimbed Or, grasping in his dexter hand a spear Or, point downward, and in his sinister hand bearing [ Gules, a chain orlewise, crosswise, and saltirewise Or, charged in the fess point with an emerald Vert, of Navarre ], upon a dragon Vert, armed, langued, fanged, and the eyes Gules.

Emblema de azur, un San Miguel de plata, vestido y nimbado de oro, teniendo en su diestra una lanza de oro, con la punta hacia abajo y en su siniestra trae [ escudo gules, una cadena puesta en orla, en cruz y en sotuer de oro, cargada en el centro de una esmeralda de sinople, de Navarra ], sostenido por un dragón de sinople, armado, lampasado, fierezado y encendido de gules.

Emblem interpreted by me as follows: an oval shape with proportions 5x6, wider than the original; the field illuminated in Azure; its charges outlined in Sable and illuminated in the colours Gules and Vert and the metals Argent and Or; the Archangel Saint Michael vested in Or, unlike others who appear in Argent; his emerald simplified into an area enameled Vert; and the whole emblem has a lightly beaten metal finish.

Due to its special characteristics, the difficulty in complying with the first rule of heraldry concerning metals and colours, and out of prudence, I categorize it as an emblem rather than a shield.

In a relief of the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Estella, Saint Michael can be seen fighting a dragon that represents the devil, in a similar but mirrored arrangement to that of this emblem. In that relief, the Archangel Saint Michael bears a pre-heraldic shield with its umbo. According to [Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, F.; 1963], the umbo of the shield is a reinforcing element that is the predecessor of what would later become the pommelly carbuncle of the shield of the Kingdom of Navarre.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Azure, Male figure, Angel, Archangel, Argent, Vested, Nimbed, Or, Grasping, Dexter, Spear, Point downwards, Sinister, Gules, One, Chain, Orlewise, Crosswise, Saltirewise, Charged, In the fess point, Emerald, Vert, Upon, Dragon, Armed, Langued, The fangs and The eyes.

Style keywords: Oval, Illuminated, Outlined in sable and Soft metal.

Classification: Interpreted, Socioeconomic, Education, Emblem and Kingdom of Navarre.

Bearer: University of Navarra.

Justice and High Sheriff of Castile, first knight of the realm, warden of the fortress of Burgos, administrator of the mastership of the Order of Alcántara, nobleman of Castile, 1410–1488.

Argent, a bend Sable; overall a chain orlewise Or.

Escudo de plata, una banda de sable; brochante sobre el todo una cadena puesta en orla de oro.

Coat of arms of Álvaro de Zúñiga y Guzmán, which I have interpreted as follows: the shield has a semicircular (round) base; the field and the bend are illuminated in flat tinctures Argent and Sable; the chain is illuminated in Or; and the whole is rendered with a raised-stroke effect.

For the crafting of the chain in this coat of arms, which has a total of 16 links, of which 8 are long and 8 are round, I have followed the two coats of arms of Álvaro de Zúñiga y Guzmán that appear in what was his copy of [Alfonso X of Castile; 1265; page 6 of the later pencil numbering].

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Argent, Sable, Or, One, Bend, Chain, Orlewise and Overall.

Style keywords: Freehand and Illuminated.

Classification: Interpreted, Personal and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Zúñiga y Guzmán, Álvaro de.