Conjugal arms

Berenguela of Castile and Alfonso IX

[ Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules ] accolé with [ Gules, a castle triple towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable ].

[ Escudo de plata, un león rampante de púrpura, armado y lampasado de gules ] acolado de un [ escudo de gules, un castillo de oro, aclarado de azur, mazonado de sable ].

Arms of the King of Leon and Queen of Castile, as interpreted by me with: the two shields shaped with rounded arches; the fields of both coat of arms, the lion, and the castle illuminated; and the whole composition featuring a watercolor finish.

Representation of the coats of arms of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile as accolé arms ~ «escudos acolados». King Ferdinand III created his coat of arms, based on the coats of arms of his parents, through the marshalling of their arms ~ «composición de sus armas». For this purpose, the saintly king invented a type of composition, which later became widely used, known as quarterly ~ «cuartelado». Other ways to combine the coats of arms of two spouses are:

Creating a new dimidiated shield ~ «dimidiado».
Creating a new impaled shield ~ «partido».
Adding one coat of arms to another as an escutcheon of pretence ~ «escusón de pretensión», in this case, rather than a claim, there was full ownership.

Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Argent, Purpure, Gules, One, Lion, Rampant, Armed, Langued, Or, Azure, Sable, Castle, Port and windows and Masoned.

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

Classification: Interpreted, Personal, Escudos acolados, Kingdom of Castile and Kingdom of León.

Bearer: Berenguela of Castile.

Ferdinand III, invention of quartering

Quarterly: 1 and 4 Gules, a castle triple towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable; 2 and 3 Argent, a lion rampant Purpure, armed and langued Gules.

Escudo cuartelado: 1^o y 4^o de gules, un castillo de oro, aclarado de azur, mazonado de sable; 2^o y 3^o de plata, un león rampante de púrpura, armado y lampasado de gules.

A symbolic image representing, through 3 coats of arms, the creation of the coat of arms of the King Ferdinand III the Saint from the arms of Alfonso IX, King of León, and Berenguela, Queen of Castile. The shapes of all three shields are rounded; all their components are illuminated; and the whole composition features a watercolor finish.

Ferdinand III the Saint was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. During his reign, the crowns of Castile and León were united forever. When, in 1230, Ferdinand III succeeded his father, he adopted a quarterly coat of arms, placing his mother's arms, the castle, in the 1^st and 4^th quarters, and his father's arms, the lion, in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters. His goal was likely to achieve balance between the two kingdoms and to give his coat of arms a greater sense of continuity over time compared to impaled arms. The coat of arms of Ferdinand III the Saint was the first quarterly shield in history, and the idea spread into the heraldry of Spain and other kingdoms, such as Aragon-Sicily, Brabant, England, Navarre, and Bohemia.