Closed royal crown

Grand Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand.

Argent, a cross of Alcantara. Crest: A closed royal crown Or, with eight arches, visible five. Behind the shield the Laureate Grand Cross of Saint Ferdinand. Motto: «Hoec nubila tollunt obstantia sicut sol».

Escudo de plata, una cruz de Alcántara. Timbrado de una corona real cerrada. Acolada detrás del escudo la gran cruz laureada de San Fernando. Lema: «Hoec nubila tollunt obstantia sicut sol».

Coat of arms interpreted in the following manner: the shape of the shield is of a semicircular arch; the field is illuminated in metal Argent; the cross of Alcantara, the 4 swords and the 2 laurel branches are outlined in Sable and illuminated in Vert and Gules; the royal crown is closed, outlined in Sable and illuminated with the metal Or, Argent for the pearls, Azure and Or for the orb, Gules and Vert for the gems, Gules for the inner cloth, and Sable for the visible hollow at its base; and the whole has a iridescent finish.

Rif War, July 23, 1921, banks of the Igan River, North Africa

The Alcantara Regiment executed nine successive cavalry charges to protect the infantry's retreat, nine charges until they broke the enemy lines, outnumbering them. The last charge was on foot because all their horses were dead or exhausted. These heroic riders of Alcantara had fulfilled their duty of protecting the wounded infantry in their retreat to El Batel, but the price was appalling: of 691 riders, only 67 survived, and three months were necessary to recover hundreds of corpses.

For this reason, in 2012, the Alcántara Regiment was collectively awarded the Grand Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand.

Two lances behind the shield

Since 1987, the coat of arms of the cavalry regiments of the Spanish Army must carry two crossed lances accolade behind the shield. And indeed, this coat of arms of the Alcántara Cavalry Regiment has two lances behind the shield, but in my artistic heraldic interpretation, I did not paint them to avoid detracting from the prominence of the Laureate Cross.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Argent, Cross of Alcantara, Cross couped, Cross, Crest, Closed royal crown, Crown, Behind the shield, Four, Sword, Crosswise, Gules, Two, Branch, Laurel, Vert and Motto.

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

Classification: Interpreted, Military, Army and Navy and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Alcantara, Cavalry Regiment.

Disperse like the sun clears the clouds in your path.

Argent, a cross of Alcantara. Crest: A closed royal crown Or, with eight arches, visible five. Motto: «Hoec nubila tollunt obstantia sicut sol».

Escudo de plata, una cruz de Alcántara. Timbrado de una corona real cerrada. Lema: «Hoec nubila tollunt obstantia sicut sol».

Coat of arms interpreted in the following manner: the shape of the shield is of a semicircular arch; the field is illuminated in metal Argent; the cross of Alcantara is outlined in Sable and illuminated in Vert; the royal crown is closed, outlined in Sable and illuminated with the metal Or, Argent for the pearls, Azure and Or for the orb, Gules and Vert for the gems, Gules for the inner cloth, and Sable for the visible hollow at its base; and the whole has a slightly hammered metal finish.

Regiment's Motto

The Latin motto «Hoec nubila tollunt obstantia sicut sol» is often translated as «Ride like the sun, disperses the clouds in its path». I would like to offer the following observations on this translation:

• Instead of «disperse», I prefer the verb «scatter» which is more aligned with a cavalry regiment, [Royal Spanish Academy; 2001] «scatter, 3^rd meaning, transitive verb, military term: To break up, rout the enemy, causing them to flee and scatter in complete disorder».
• On the other hand, even though it is about cavalry, I do not find that the Latin motto makes reference to riding, a verb that is also not needed to understand the motto's meaning, and adding an extra word lengthens the motto, reducing its impact.
• Finally, I use «your», instead of «its», so that the motto is a direct and personal rallying cry and not a phrase directed at a third person.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Argent, Cross of Alcantara, Cross couped, Cross, Crest, Closed royal crown, Crown and Motto.

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

Classification: Interpreted, Military, Army and Navy and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Alcantara, Cavalry Regiment.

In this sign, you shall conquer.

Argent, a cross of Montesa. Crest: A closed royal crown Or, with eight arches, visible five. Motto: «In hoc signo vinces».

Escudo de oro, una cruz de Montesa. Timbrado de una corona real cerrada. Lema: «In hoc signo vinces».

Coat of arms interpreted as follows: the shape of the shield is a semi-circular arch; the field has been illuminated in metal Or; the cross of Montesa is outlined in Sable and illuminated in Sable and Gules; the royal crown is closed, outlined in Sable and illuminated the metal in Or, the pearls in Argent, the orb in Azure and Or, the gemstones in Gules and Vert, the inner cloth in Gules, and the visible hollow at its base in Sable; and the whole has a slightly beaten metal finish.

Regimental Motto

The Latin motto «In hoc signo vinces» is translated as «In this sign, you shall conquer».

Globus cruciger ~ Orb

It is called orb ~ «globus cruciger», the first in Spanish and the second in Latin, referring to the part of the royal crown, a jewel, or a jewel itself that recreates the shape of the globe topped with a cross.

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Or, Cross of Montesa, Cross couped, Cross, Crest, Closed royal crown, Crown and Motto.

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

Classification: Interpreted, Military, Army and Navy and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Montesa, Cavalry Regiment.

Party per pale: 1 Gules, a castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable; 2 Argent. Crest: A closed royal crown Or.

Arms painted by me, highlighted with lights and shadows, outlined in Sable, with an ogee external shape and with a freehand finish.

Design rationale

The coat of arms of Castilla-La Mancha was adopted in 1983, it is a recent design. This coat of arms is equal to the flag of Castilla-La Mancha officially approved in 1980 and designed by Ramón José Maldonado y Cocat. The 1^st quarter represents Castilla and the 2^nd quarter the great plane of La Mancha.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Argent, Or, Azure, Sable, One, Party per pale, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Crest, Closed royal crown and Crown.

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

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

Bearer: Castilla-La Mancha.