Brazilian heraldry as a distinct form of heraldry dates to 1822, when

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

became independent as an

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, under the reign of the

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Am ...

. Being formerly a part of the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

and being ruled by the same Royal House that reigned in Portugal, Brazilian heraldry followed the tradition of

Portuguese heraldry Portuguese heraldry encompasses the modern and historic traditions of heraldry in Portugal and the Portuguese Empire. Portuguese heraldry is part of the larger Iberian tradition of heraldry, one of the major schools of heraldic tradition, and gra ...

Heraldry of the nobility

The

Brazilian nobility Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may al ...

included Brazilians that were members of Portuguese noble lineages and Brazilian citizens ennobled during the period of the

Brazilian Monarchy Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may al ...

(1822-1889). In most cases, the concession of new arms was associated with the concession of

titles A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

. As most Brazilian armigers had Portuguese ancestors and

surnames In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

, their arms were usually taken from the arms of the corresponding Portuguese lineages. The system of heraldry of the Brazilian non-royal nobility applies those lineages that were not part of the Imperial Family, and includes specific coronets of rank.

Civic heraldry

Civic heraldry refers to the coat of arms borne by the government of Brazil, by its states and by its municipalities. There are no official standards regulating civic heraldry in Brazil. However, the general standards that govern modern Portuguese municipal heraldry - established in 1930 - have been followed in most of the modern coat of arms created for Brazilian municipalities. Some older municipal coat of arms were also corrected to conform with those standards. In general, Brazilian municipal coats of arms are displayed in a round bottom shield (Portuguese shield) and are topped by a mural crown, with a scroll under the shield usually including the name of the municipality. As all Brazilian seats of municipalities have the status of "city" (in comparison with Portugal, where most still have only the status of "town"), only mural crowns with five apparent towers are generally used. Golden mural crowns are attributed to state capitals, while silver crowns are attributed to other cities. Restrictions that apply to Portuguese municipal coat of arms regarding the inclusion of the Arms of Portugal and the division of the field in several partitions are generally ignored in Brazil. Also, many Brazilian municipal coats of arms include a motto in the scroll under the shield, which is rare in Portugal (although allowed). Besides this, a number of Brazilian municipal coats of arms include supporters, whose application is not foreseen in the Portuguese municipal heraldry standards. The majority of the coats of arms of Brazilian states were adopted in the late 19th century and do not follow heraldic standards. The same applies to modern

coat of arms of Brazil The coat of arms of Brazil ( pt, Brasão de Armas do Brasil) was created on 19 November 1889, four days after Brazil became a republic. It consists of the central emblem surrounded by coffee (''Coffea arabica'', at the left) and tobacco ('' ...

, adopted after the implementation of the republic in 1889.

Royal heraldry

Royal heraldry refers to the coats of arms of the members of the

Brazilian imperial family The Brazilian Imperial Family (Brazilian Portuguese: ''Família Imperial Brasileira'') is a Brazilian Dynasty of Portuguese origin that ruled the Empire of Brazil from 1822 to 1889, after the proclamation of independence by Prince Pedro of Braga ...

, including the Monarchs, the consorts and princes.

Brazilian coats of arms

National

File:Armas Reino Unido Portugal Brasil Algarves.svg, Coat of arms of the

United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was a pluricontinental monarchy formed by the elevation of the Portuguese colony named State of Brazil to the status of a kingdom and by the simultaneous union of that Kingdom of Brazil ...

, with the

armillary sphere An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of ...

representing Brazil. File:Blason du Royaume du Brésil (1815-1822).svg, Coat of arms of the

Kingdom of Brazil The Kingdom of Brazil ( pt, Reino do Brasil) was a constituent kingdom of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves. Creation The legal entity of the Kingdom of Brazil was created by a law issued by Prince Regent John of Portu ...

within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves File:COA Regent Prince of Brazil.svg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Brazil, after the declaration of independence File:CoA Empire of Brazil (1822-1870).svg, Coat of arms of the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

File:Coat of arms of the United States of Brazil.svg, Coat of arms of the

First Brazilian Republic The First Brazilian Republic, also referred to as the Old Republic ( pt, República Velha ), officially the Republic of the United States of Brazil, refers to the period of Brazilian history from 1889 to 1930. The Old Republic began with the d ...

File:Coat of arms of Brazil.svg, Modern coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Brazil

Brazilian Imperial Family

File:Coat of arms of the Empire of Brazil.svg, Coat of arms of the

Emperor of Brazil The monarchs of Brazil ( Portuguese: ''monarcas do Brasil'') were the imperial heads of state and hereditary rulers of Brazil from the House of Braganza that reigned from the creation of the Brazilian monarchy in 1815 as a constituent kingdom o ...

File:Coat of Arms of Maria Leopoldina of Austria, Empress of Brazil.svg, Coat of arms of

Maria Leopoldina of Austria , issue = , issue-link = #Children , issue-pipe = , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily , religion = Roman Catholicism , si ...

, empress of Brazil File:Coat of Arms of Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (Order of Maria Luisa).svg, Coat of arms of

Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil , house = Braganza , father = Pedro II of Brazil , mother = Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies , birth_date = , birth_place = Palace of São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , death_date = , death_place = ...

File:Coat of Arms of Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil (Order of Maria Luisa).svg, Coat of arms of Maria Amélia, princess of Brazil

Brazilian nobility

File:COA Count of Porto Alegre.svg, Coat of arms of the count of Porto Alegre File:COA Duke of Caxias.svg, Coat of arms of the

duke of Caxias Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

File:COA Duke of Santa Cruz.svg, Coat of arms of the

duke of Santa Cruz Duke of Santa Cruz was a title of nobility of the Empire of Brazil created by Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, dated from 5 November 1829, for his brother-in-law, Prince Auguste de Beauharnais, brother of Pedro's second wife Empress Amélie. Five year ...

File:COA Viscount of Rio Branco.svg, Coat of arms of the

viscount of Rio Branco A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

File:COA Marquess of Paraná.svg, Coat of arms of the marquess of Paraná File:COA Viscount of Beaurepaire-Rohan.svg, Coat of arms of the viscount of Beaurepaire-Rohan

Brazilian states

File:Brasão do Acre.svg, Coat of arms of the state of

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

File:Brasão do estado da Bahia.svg, Coat of arms of the state of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-larges ...

File:Brasão do Maranhão.png, Coat of arms of the state of

Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins a ...

File:Brasão de Mato Grosso.png, Coat of arms of the state of

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

File:Brasão de Mato Grosso do Sul.svg, Coat of arms of the state of

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...

File:Brasão de Minas Gerais.svg, Coat of arms of the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

File:Brasão do Pará.svg, Coat of arms of the state of

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana a ...

File:Brasão do Paraná.svg, Coat of arms of the state of Paraná File:Brasão do estado de Pernambuco.svg, Coat of arms of the state of

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the ...

File:Brasão do Rio Grande do Sul.svg, Coat of arms of the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a state in the southern region of Brazil. It is the fifth-most-populous state and the ninth largest by area. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is border ...

File:Brasão de Santa Catarina.svg, Coat of arms of the state of Santa Catarina File:Brasão do estado de São Paulo.svg, Coat of arms of the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

Brazilian municipalities

File:Brasão da cidade do Rio de Janeiro.svg, Coat of arms of the municipality of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

File:Brasão da cidade de São Paulo.svg, Coat of arms of the municipality of

File:Brasao Santos SaoPaulo Brasil.svg, Coat of arms of the municipality of Santos File:Brasão da Cidade de Campinas.png, Coat of arms of the municipality of

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian municipality in São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's population is 1,213,792, making it the fourteenth most populous Brazilian ...

File:Brasão de Itu.PNG, Coat of arms of the municipality of

Itu The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union ...

File:Brasão de Salvador.svg, Coat of arms of the municipality of

Salvador Salvador, meaning " salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

Armed forces

Coat of arms of the Brazilian Air Force.svg, Coat of arms of the Brazilian Air Force Coat of arms of the Brazilian Army.png, Coat of arms of the Brazilian Army Coat of arms of the Brazilian Navy.svg, Coat of arms of the Brazilian Navy Coat of arms of the Brazilian Marine Corps.png, Coat of arms of the Brazilian Marine Corps

Universities

File:Webysther 20170627 - Brasão USP.svg, Coat of arms of the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the bes ...

File:Brasão da UFBA.png, Coat of arms of the

Federal University of Bahia The Federal University of Bahia ( pt, Universidade Federal da Bahia, UFBA) is a public university located mainly in the city of Salvador. It is the largest university in the state of Bahia and one of Brazil's most prestigious educational institu ...

File:Brasão oficial da Universidade Federal de Viçosa.gif, Coat of arms of the

Federal University of Viçosa The Federal University of Viçosa (UFV; pt, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, spelled with a c-cedilla) is a Federal University with the main campus located in the city of Viçosa, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The university began as the Highe ...

File:Brasão da UFPE.png, Coat of arms of the Federal University of Pernambuco