The coat of arms of Gibraltar was first granted by a Royal Warrant passed in Toledo on 10 July 1502 by

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 b ...

during Gibraltar's Spanish period. The arms consists of an escutcheon and features a three-towered red castle under which hangs a golden key.

Heraldic description

The arms were described in the Royal Warrant as consisting of: The arms consist of a shield parted ''per

fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ''fesse'', from Old French ''faisse'', from Latin ''fascia'', "band") is a charge on a coat of arms (or flag) that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shi ...

'': * 1st Division: Two thirds

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

, a triple-towered castle of

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

, masoned and ajouré of

Sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...

. * 2nd Division: One third Gules, a key of Or hanging by a chain also of Or from the castle. The castle has its roots in the heraldry of the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th ce ...

, the largest and most important medieval Spanish kingdom, of which Isabella was Queen. The preamble to the warrant granting the coat of arms to Gibraltar said: The idea of Gibraltar being the key to Spain or the Mediterranean originated well before the Spanish conquest. The followers of Tariq ibn Ziyad, who invaded Spain via Gibraltar in 711, are said to have adopted the symbol of the key when they settled in

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

. The coat of arms was accompanied by the inscription "Seal of the noble city of Gibraltar, the Key of Spain".

Use

Coat of Arms of the Government of Gibraltar

Today, the official coat of arms as used by the

government of Gibraltar His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every fo ...

consists of the original coat of arms with the addition of the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

''Montis Insignia Calpe'' ("Insignia of the Mountain of Calpe"; '' Mons Calpe'' was the Latin name of the Rock of Gibraltar), which was granted by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sover ...

in 1836 to commemorate the 1779–83

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants. The American war had e ...

. It is the oldest coat of arms in use in an overseas territory of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and is unique in that it is the only armorial insignia that dates from before the period of

British colonial The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

administration. The arms differ from the

seal of Gibraltar Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

, which is an image of the Rock of Gibraltar with a

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships ...

in the forefront. There is no evidence available as to when this image was created. From 1982, a banner of the arms has been used as the flag of Gibraltar. The arms also appear in the flag of the governor of Gibraltar. The arms of the government of Gibraltar are the same as the

royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Varia ...

combined with a badge featuring the coat of arms of Gibraltar.

Variations

A very similar coat of arms is in use by the nearby Spanish municipality of San Roque, using a slightly different version of the same main heraldic elements (the escutcheon with the castle and key), with the addition of the old Spanish Royal Crown above the escutcheon. When Gibraltar was captured by an Anglo-Dutch force on behalf of the pretender to the Spanish Throne, the Archduke Charles, in 1704, the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

and much of the population established a new town near the existing chapel of

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

to the west of Gibraltar, Coat of Arms of the Gibraltar Countryside Commonwealth

The Royal Warrant of 1502 which granted the coat of arms was taken by the city council to San Roque along with Gibraltar's standard and records, and is now in the San Roque municipal archives. The establishment became a new town in 1706, addressed by King

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mo ...

as "My city of Gibraltar resident in its Campo", and becoming the ''Spanish Gibraltar''. Therefore, they kept the old coat of arms granted to Gibraltar in 1502. In 2015, the Commonwealth of the Municipalities of the

Campo de Gibraltar Campo de Gibraltar (, "Gibraltar Countryside") is a comarca (county) in the province of Cádiz, Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of mainland Europe. It comprises the municipalitie ...

(

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

) adopted a coat of arms and a flag. This new coat of arms shows the elements of the coat of arms of Gibraltar with seven green stars that represent the municipalities of the Commonwealth, two equal horizontal stripes (green and

purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters ...

) with the colors of this organisation, and a bordure '' Or'' with its motto ''PRO GEOGRAPHIA, HISTORIA ET VOLUNTATE CONIVNCTI'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

: United by geography, history, and will). The modern Spanish Royal Crown is used as heraldic crest.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibraltar National symbols of Gibraltar British Overseas Territories coats of arms National coats of arms Coats of arms with buildings Coats of arms with keys

Heraldic description

Use

Variations

See also

Notes