The

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

(also called the , , or ) is a heraldic symbol sometimes used as a charge, but most prominently used as a crest on or around the crown in municipal arms of the former

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

—specifically in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

and the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

Origins

The heraldic use of the bat has its origins in the "royal dragon" crest (') of the coat of arms of the Kings of Aragon. The royal helmet has a ', a traditional Catalan dragon, emerging from a crown as its crest. Although traditionally the dragon helmet is ascribed to king

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

(1208 – 1276), the winged dragon did not appear over the helmet until

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

's reign (1319 – 1387). This crest was then transformed into a bat by municipalities. There is also a legend of a bat that landed on the flag of King James I of Aragon in 1238, before he won a crucial battle against the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

s in which he conquered Valencia for his kingdom. In another legend, a bat landed on his tent; James I ordered it to be killed but it was not; later, the bat alerted the king to the Saracens’ surprise night raid. Another version has it that bats’ nighttime routines inspired James I to attack the Saracens at night. Or perhaps a bat flew in front of him as he entered Valencia after capturing it. In any case, the bat, formerly a sign of bad luck, became a symbol of good fortune. However, original documents state that the animal was a

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

and not a bat.Luis Tramoyeres Blasco, ''Lo Rat Penat en el escudo de armas de Valencia''
/ref> The heraldic bat of Albacete has a different origin. It comes from the transformation over time of two "winged hands", the heraldic emblem of the lords of Villena. Because bats eat mosquitos, a notable pest in these regions of Spain, some authors propose that bats on crests honor this ecological role in the local

food chain A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web, often starting with an autotroph (such as grass or algae), also called a producer, and typically ending at an apex predator (such as grizzly bears or killer whales), detritivore (such as ...

The bat in civic heraldry

The coats of arms of certain cities in eastern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, like

Palma, Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of M ...

and Fraga have the bat over the shield. Some smaller towns, like Catarroja and Novallas, also use this symbol. Formerly the

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

city coat of arms had a bat crowning it as well, but the bat was removed at the beginning of the 20th century for unknown reasons. The city of

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel (province), Teruel Province. It had a population of 35,900 as of 2022, making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain. It is noted for its har ...

used to have the bat surmounting the coat of arms' crown. There the bat represents a commemoration of the role of this city in the conquest of Valencia. The bat now rests just below the crown in Teruel's seal. While the use of the bat as a heraldic symbol is prevalent in the territories of the former Crown of Aragon it is rarely used elsewhere. However, it can be found in a few places, including in the coats of arms of the city of Albacete in Spain, the town of Montchauvet, Yvelines in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Fiefbergen in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and the former Borough of Brecknock and historic county of

Brecknockshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1 ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, UK. Outside of Europe, the coat of arms of Santa Fe de Antioquia,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

includes multiple bats; it was granted to the town in 1545 by Charles I of Castile and Aragon and his mother, Joanna of Castile.

Other uses

Based on the heraldic symbol of their city, certain Spanish

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club badges, like

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 5 July 1939, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish foo ...

, CD Alcoyano,

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

and

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

, have a bat on them. The oldest badge of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

used between 1899 and 1910 had a small bat crowning it as well. Valencia FC first used the bat on its badge from its foundation in 1919.

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

has raised suits against Valencia FC with the European Union Intellectual Property Office in 2013 and 2019, claiming commonality with the

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

logo, but these have not been successful. The

Burgee A burgee is a distinguishing flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to ...

of the Royal Valencia Yacht Club (Reial Club Nàutic de València) displays a bat on a golden field in its center. Lo Rat Penat, a political organization based in Valencia in 1878, was named after the heraldic bat. Established by Constantí Llombart, Teodor Llorente and Fèlix Pizcueta, its aim was originally to foster a movement similar to the Catalan Renaixença in the region of Valencia. The No. 9 Squadron RAF adopted the bat badge in 1917 along with the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

motto ''Per Noctem Volamus'' "We fly through the night". The badge was approved by King

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

in November 1936.

Gallery

File:Wakefield_Kendal_Coat_of_Arms.svg, Armorial Achievement of the Wakefield Baronetcy of Kendal File:Escut de València.svg,

city's arms File:Coat of Arms of the City of Palma, Majorca.svg, Present-day arms of

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

File:Novallas antiguo.svg, Old coat of arms of Novallas,

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

File:Coat of Arms of Teruel City.svg,

city coat of arms File:Coat of Arms of Fraga.svg, Coat of arms of Fraga File:Escut de Catarroja.svg, Coat of arms of Catarroja File:Flag of rcnv.png, Burgee of the Royal Valencia Yacht Club File:Escudo de Munera.svg, Coat of arms of

Munera Munera is a town and municipality in the province of Albacete, Spain; part of the autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constituti ...

File:Escudo de Novallas.svg, Coat of arms of Novallas File:Escut d'Emperador.svg, Coat of arms of Emperador File:Coat of Arms of Albacete.svg, Coat of arms of the city of Albacete File:Coat of Arms of Albacete Province.svg, Coat of arms of the

Province of Albacete Albacete () is a province of central Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. As of 2012, Albacete had a population of 402,837 people. Its capital city, also called Albacete, is by road southeast of Madri ...

File:Blason ville fr Montchauvet (Yvelines).svg, Coat of arms of Montchauvet, France File:DEU Fiefbergen COA.svg, Coat of arms of Fiefbergen, Germany File:Escudo de Pácora.svg, Coat of arms of Pácora, Colombia File:Escudo de Santa Fe de Antioquia.svg, Coat of arms of Santa Fe de Antioquia, Colombia File:Brecknockshire arms.png, Coat of arms of the historic county of

, Wales File:488 Intelligence Squadron patch.jpg, 488 Intelligence Squadron patch File:Spetsnaz_emblem.svg, Emblem of the Spetsnaz GRU, special forces of

GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...

File:Historic Coat of Arms of the City of Palma, Majorca.svg, Former arms of Palma de Mallorca with the winged dragon crown known as ''Cimera de la Festa de l'Estendard'' without the

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

. 17th century File:Coat of Arms of Barcelona (17th-18th Centuries).svg, Barcelona coat of arms (17th-18th Centuries) with the Royal Winged Dragon (Vibra) crown and the helmet File:Coat of Arms of Barcelona (c.1790-c.1870).svg, c.1790-1870 coat of arms already displaying a bat instead of a dragon on top of the helmet File:Escut-barcelona1882a.JPG, Late 19th century Barcelona coat of arms at Mercat de Sant Antoni, Barcelona File:Escudo del cantón de Tibás.svg, Coat of arms of Tibás Canton, Costa Rica

References

Barça N. 20

External links

* Blason de Valence * Cimera del Casal de Barcelona * Cimera de la Festa de l'Estendard * Barcelona coat of arms
FC Barcelona, old badges

Lo Rat Penat

{{Heraldic creatures Heraldic beasts Bats in culture Catalan symbols Legendary mammals