Supporter (human form)

Key Characteristics in Castilian Heraldry

Some of the main characteristics of the heraldry of Castile are:

• the rounded shapes, with a semicircle at the base,
• the importance of bordures,
• the inclusion of words and also letters in the coat of arms,
• the 2^nd most common animal, after the lion, is the wolf [Valero de Bernabé, L.; 2010], and, of course,
• our castle triple-towered Or, port and windows Azure, masoned Sable [Valero de Bernabé, L.; 2009a].

The following image shows 4 examples of coats of arms, each of which has some of these characteristics, including one Castilian castle.

Comparing Castilian and English Heraldry

In the United Kingdom, there are several heraldic traditions, one of them being English heraldry.

In the Kingdom of Spain, there are several heraldic traditions, for example, the Castilian tradition.

In my humble opinion, we should compare at the same level, English heraldry with, for example, Castilian heraldry, but not with all Spanish heraldry. We shouldn't do it for the same reason we don't mix Scottish heraldic tradition with English, as they are so different.

In the case of Castilian heraldry, the 8 main differences with English heraldry are:

• The rounded shapes, with a semicircle at the base.
• The importance of bordures and the existence of the diminished bordure, called in Castilian «filiera».
• The inclusion of words and also letters in the coats of arms.
• The wolf is the 2^nd most common animal, after the lion.
• The castle, triple-towered, which is different from the English and French types of castles.
• We can inherit arms from our mother and/or father; for example, the castle in the 1^st quarter of the coat of arms of Castile and the coat of arms of Spain comes from a mother, Queen Berenguela of Castile, mother of King Fernando III, the Saint.
• There are 3 kinds of supporters with their owns heraldic names: «tenantes», human forms; «soportes», animals; and «sostenes», plants and things.
• Our quarterings do not necessarily mean that the arms are marshalled by inheritance. [Williams, N.; 2017; page 135, paragraph 26.02] describing the arms of Éamon de Valera, 1882-1975, President of Ireland, writes «Those arms are Spanish in appearance. The quartering without functions as a means of marshalling, is distinctively Iberian».

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Categories: Criterion, Semi-circular, Bordure, Letter, Lion, Wolf, Castle, Triple-towered, Port and windows, Masoned, Or, Azure, Sable, Diminished bordure, Quarterly, Supporter (human form), Supporter (animal) and Supporter (thing).

Selection of photos of supporters with human forms from the city of Ubeda, Jaen, Andalusia.

In international heraldry groups, I often notice that tenantes are discussed almost as a heraldic rarity, something very uncommon, reserved only for certain types of corporations or high-ranking individuals. This can be seen, for example, in phrases like «tenant is not a heraldic term, whereas supporter is» or humorous expressions such as «I do have tenants, they pay me rent» or «our tenants living on our land and who pay us rent do not wear our badges».

Therefore, to spread the idea that tenantes are not uncommon in Castilian heraldry, I thought a good image would be worth a thousand words. So, I created a montage of images from Úbeda alone and published it with the phrase «This is a selection of tenants photos from only one single city, Úbeda, Jaén, Andalusia», and I am sure that there are even more tenantes in Úbeda.

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Categories: Criterion and Supporter (human form).

Gules, a cross Argent charged with four ermine spots in cross Sable, in the dexter of the chief a lion’s head erased Or. Crest: Upon a helm befitting his degree issuant from a crown of Baron above the shield, with a chapeau Gules turned up ermine, a demi-lion, double queued Or, grasping in its dexter paw a pennon Gules, bearing a canton Azure, charged with a saltire Argent. Mantling: Gules doubled Argent. War cry above the crest: «ΑΛΑΛΑ ΑΛΑΛΑ». Motto: «Mieux vaut s’user que rouiller». Supporters: Two knights in three-quarter armour affronty proper, each holding with his outer hand a spear Argent bearing a banner, the dexter Sable, a panther rampant guardant Argent, incensed Or, collared, pendent therefrom a bell Azure, the sinister a banner barry of six Or and Azure, a canton Ermine.

Arms emblazoned by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, with a pointed outer contour and with a freehand finish.

G0116, Chief Herald of Arms of Malta's grant for the arms of Andrew Ronald McMillan Bell of Auchinreoch, United Kingdom. These arms have been emblazoned by me for such grant.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Argent, Sable, Or, Azure, One, Four, Six, Cross, Charged, Ermine, In cross, Dexter, Chief, Lion, Head, Erased, Crest, Upon (wreath), Helm, Issuant, Crown of Baron, Crown, Above the shield, Chapeau, Demi, Double queued, Grasping, Canton, Saltire, War cry, Above the crest, Motto, Supporter (human form), Knight, Affronty, Proper, Spear, Panther, Rampant, Guardant, Enflamed, Collar, Suspended, Bell and Barry.

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

Classification: Personal, Interpreted, Boa, Coat of arms, Pennon, Flag and Banner of arms.

Bearer: McMillan Bell of Auchinreoch, Andrew Ronald.

Gules, a cross Argent charged with four ermine spots in cross Sable, in the dexter of the chief a lion’s head erased Or. Crest: Upon a helm befitting his degree issuant from a crown of Baron above the shield, with a chapeau Gules turned up ermine, a demi-lion, double queued Or, grasping in its dexter paw a pennon Gules, bearing a canton Azure, charged with a saltire Argent. Mantling: Gules doubled Argent. War cry above the crest: «ΑΛΑΛΑ ΑΛΑΛΑ». Motto: «Mieux vaut s’user que rouiller». Supporters: Two knights in three-quarter armour affronty proper, each holding with his outer hand a spear Argent bearing a banner, the dexter Sable, a panther rampant guardant Argent, incensed Or, collared, pendent therefrom a bell Azure, the sinister a banner barry of six Or and Azure, a canton Ermine, terraced Vert semé of Maltese Rock Centaury (Cheirolophus crassifolius) slipped proper.

Arms interpreted by me, illuminated with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, with a pointed outer contour and with a freehand finish.

G0116, Chief Herald of Arms of Malta's grant for the arms of Andrew Ronald McMillan Bell of Auchinreoch, United Kingdom. These arms have been emblazoned by me for such grant. The English term «terraced», sometimes used in blazon, is equivalent to the term «compartment». In Castilian blazon we use the term «terrazado», in this case as an element outside the shield, while «terrazado» also exists inside the shield in base.

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Blazon keywords: Gules, Argent, Sable, Or, Azure, Vert, One, Four, Six, Cross, Charged, Ermine, In cross, Dexter, Chief, Lion, Head, Erased, Crest, Upon (wreath), Helm, Issuant, Crown of Baron, Crown, Above the shield, Chapeau, Demi, Double queued, Grasping, Canton, Saltire, War cry, Above the crest, Motto, Supporter (human form), Knight, Affronty, Proper, Spear, Panther, Rampant, Guardant, Enflamed, Collar, Suspended, Bell, Barry, Compartment, Semé and Slipped.

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

Classification: Personal, Interpreted, Boa, Coat of arms, Pennon, Flag and Banner of arms.

Bearer: McMillan Bell of Auchinreoch, Andrew Ronald.