The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the

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 ...

bears four red pallets on a gold background, and it depicts the familiar coat of the

Kings of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...

." Léon Jéquier. Actes du II Colloque international d'héraldique". Breassone.1981. Académie internationale d'héraldique. Les Origines des armoiries. Paris. . It differs from the

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 the graphic design employed, and fla ...

because this latter instead uses bars. It is one of the oldest coats of arms in Europe dating back to a seal of Raymond Berengar IV, Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon, from 1150.Faustino Menéndez-Pidal. "Palos de oro y gules" in Studia in honorem prof. M. de Riquer (pars quarta). Quaderns Crema.1991.p669. Today, this symbol has been adopted and/or included in their arms by several former territories related to the Crown of Aragon, like the arms of Spain, which wears it in its third quarter (whereas the Kings of Spain are heirs of those of Aragon); or the arms of Andorra, which shows it on two of its quarters. It is also the main element of the arms of the present Spanish autonomous communities of

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 ...

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

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, ...

; the fourth quarter of the Spanish autonomous community of

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, ...

; it is present on the arms of the French administrative regions of

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

and

Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...

(whose department of the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

regroups the old provinces of

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

and Upper Cerdanya); and in the Italian provinces of

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

and

Catanzaro Catanzaro (; or ; ), also known as the "City of the two Seas" (), is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its province and the second most populated comune of the region, behind Reggio Calabr ...

in Calabria, and

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

in Apulia. It figures also in numerous located municipal blazons in the former territories of the Crown, either by explicit concession of the king, or because they were cities or towns of ''realengo'' (that is, directly dependent on the Crown and subject to no kind of

manorialism Manorialism, also known as seigneurialism, the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "Land tenure, tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features incl ...

); and others outside it, in which case the symbol is because of the presence of the king or knights of the Crown at some moment of their local history.

Heraldic description

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

of the arms is: ''Or, four pallets 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). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

''. In heraldry, the escutcheon is commonly known as that ''of Aragon''. These pallets of gules are commonly named in popular usage and culture as the ''"red bars"'' or the ''"four bars"''. It has been described on the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

armorial A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coat of arms, coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms. The oldest extant armorials date to the m ...

s as in "Armorial du Hérault Vermandois", 1285–1300, as that of the King of Aragon, naming specifically Peter III as one of the bearers, is described as ''These are the arms of the Counts of Barcelona who acquired Aragón by marriage (...)'', the one of Count of Barcelona is the same ''or three pallets gules'',Armorial du Hérault Vermandois, Le Royaume d Arragon, Nos 1047 – 1061
see 1047 Le Roy d Arragon and 1051 the entry for the Conte de Barsellonne the arms of the King of Majorca are those of Aragon, with the coat of arms of James II, King of Majorca being ''or four pallets gules a bend azure''Armorial du Hérault Vermandois, Rois
King of Majorca entry and that of the King of Ternacle ''d Aragon et Ternacle en flanquiet lun dedans lautre (...) Per pale or four pallets gules and argent (...)''. The coat of arms with the four red pales on a gold background appears on several other coats of arms, named as "of Aragon".
see 1054 Le Duc de Monblanc, 1055 Le Conte de Daigne Marquis de Villames, 1056 Le Conte d Ourgel, 1057 Le Conte de Prades, 1058 Le Compte d Ampures, Also mentioned in Armorial de Gelre, 1370–1395, the coat of arms of Peter IV ''Die Coninc v nArragoen'' is golden with four pallers of gulets or the Armorial d'Urfé, 1380, ''sont les armes de le Conte de Cathalogne'', and in armorial de Charolais, 1425, ''arms conte de Barselongne'' and armorial Le Blanq (sources from 1420 to 1450) ''venant des contes de Barselone'', armorial Wijnbergen, King of Aragon ''or four pallets gules''

History

Originally it was the familiar emblem of the

and

Counts of Barcelona The count of Barcelona (, , , ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as Prince#Prince as generic for ruler, p ...

. In 1137, when

and the

County of Barcelona The County of Barcelona (, ) was a polity in northeastern Iberian Peninsula, originally located in the southern frontier region of the Carolingian Empire. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona progressively achieved independence from F ...

merged by

dynastic union A dynastic union is a type of union in which different states are governed beneath the same dynasty, with their boundaries, their laws, and their interests remaining distinct from each other. It is a form of association looser than a personal un ...

by the marriage of Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona and Petronila of Aragon, these titles were finally borne by only one person when their son

Alfonso II of Aragon Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida» p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, h ...

ascended to the throne in 1162. Slowly the various entities and territories over which the House of Aragon-

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 ...

ruled and came to rule came to be called the

. "The new ruler of the united dynasty (Raymond Berenger IV of Barcelona) called himself count of Barcelona and "prince" of Aragón." The son of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronila, Alfonso II, inherited both the titles of King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona, in a style that would be maintained by all its successors to the crown. Thus, this union was made while respecting the existing institutions and parliaments of both territories. It constitutes the third quarter section of the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Spain.

Theories of origin

Theories of Catalan origin

The oldest evidence where the arms can be seen is from 1150, in a seal of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona. The seal evidence is disputed by some Aragonese authors who claim that the first documented evidence dates from the reign of Alfonso II, king of Aragon and count of Barcelona."Palos de Aragón"
Entry on Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa As a pre-heraldic symbol, the ''red bars'' on a yellow background are found on the Romanesque tombs of Barcelona's Count Ramon Berenguer II Cap d'estopes, who died in 1082, and his great-grandmother Ermessenda, who died in 1058, wife of Count Ramon Borrell I, both of whose tombs were at the portico of the old Romanesque Cathedral of Girona; it is not sure that the 15 bars of gold appearing in a painting are contemporary to the tombs. It is a proof that relates the arms to the Counts of Barcelona lineage and the pre-heraldic forms indicate pre-heraldic times, before the second third of the 12th century.

Theories of Aragonese origin

The exact origin of the ''four bars'' symbol is obscure, and for long it has been explained by legends, now proven false. According to some Aragonese scholars, the first undisputed evidences are from the Alfonso II (king of Aragon and count of Barcelona) reign. Even though a purely Aragonese origin for the ''four bars'' symbol has been proposed, the main point held by Aragonese authors (Fatás, Ubieto, Montaner), partially supported by some Catalan historians like Ferran de Segarra,Ferran de Sagarra, ''Sigillografia catalana'', 1932, apud F. Menéndez Pidal de Navascués (2004)
''El escudo de España''
Madrid: Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía; Hidalguía, p. 107. is that the key evidence for the Catalan origin, the Marseilles seals, is dubious. The lines in the monochrome Marseilles seals are interpreted as mere scratchings by some, and as representation of a shield reinforcement by others. This theory was rejected by Aragonese member of the International Heraldry Academy Faustino Menéndez-Pidal. A second point put forward by Aragonese authors is that

Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV (; c. 1114 – 6 August 1162, Anglicized Raymond Berengar IV), sometimes called ''the Saint'', was the count of Barcelona and the consort of Aragon who brought about the union of the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of ...

was the ''de facto'' ruler of Aragon, even if only his son Alfonso II would become ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' king of Aragon. Therefore, any symbol associated with Ramon Berenguer IV can also be attributed to the then budding

Variations

Arms of sovereign states

File:Coat of Arms of Andorra.svg, Coat of arms of

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

File:Coat of Arms of Spain.svg, Coat of arms of

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 ...

Arms of modern administrative regions

The Bars can be seen in the arms of several administrative divisions of Spain, France and Italy, all of them former territories of the

Spain

File:Official Coat of Arms of Aragon.svg, Coat of arms of

File:Coat of Arms of Balearic Islands.svg, Coat of arms of the

File:Coat of Arms of Valencian Community.svg, Coat of arms of the

File:Coat of Arms of Alicante Province.svg, Coat of arms of the

Province of Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: / ) is a province located in eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province, containing the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Co ...

File:Coat of Arms of the Barcelona Province.svg, Coat of arms of the

Province of Barcelona Barcelona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .Province of Tarragona Tarragona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lleida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's po ...

= France

= File:Arms of the French Region of Languedoc-Roussillon.svg, Coat of arms of

File:Arms of the French Department of Ariège.svg, Coat of arms of the department of Ariège File:Escut de Gavaldà.svg, Coat of arms of the department of Lozère File:Arms of the Pyrénées-Orientales.svg, Coat of arms of the department of Pyrénées-Orientales File:Arms of the French Region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.svg, Coat of arms of

= Italy

= File:Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Province_of_Catanzaro.svg, Coat of arms of the

Province of Catanzaro The province of Catanzaro (; Catanzarese: ) is a province of the Calabria region of Italy. The city Catanzaro is both capital of the province and capital of the region of Calabria. The province contains 80 '' comuni'' (: ''comune''). Catanza ...

File:Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Province_of_Lecce.svg, Coat of arms of the

Province of Lecce The province of Lecce (; Salentino: ) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. The province is called the "Heel of Italy". Located on the Salento peninsula, it is the second most-populous province in Ap ...

File:Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Province_of_Reggio-Calabria.svg, Coat of arms of the

Province of Reggio Calabria The province of Reggio Calabria () was a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was the southernmost province in mainland Italy and is separated from the island of Sicily by the Strait of Messina. The capital was the city of Reggio. It w ...

= Overseas

= File:Coat of arms of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (variant).svg, Variant

Coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

Arms of Cities

File:Coat of Arms of Albarracín (Teruel).svg, Coat of arms of

Albarracín Albarracín () is a Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants. Albarracín is the capital of the mountainous Si ...

File:Coat of Arms of Alcañiz.svg, Coat of arms of Alcañiz File:Alghero-Stemma.svg, Coat of arms of

Alghero Alghero (; ; ; ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian province of Sassari in the north west of the island of Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ''Aleguerium'', which is a mediaeval Latin word m ...

File:Escudo de Alicante corona abierta.svg, Coat of arms of

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

File:Coat of Arms of Badalona.svg, Coat of arms of

Badalona Badalona (, , , ) is a municipality in Barcelonès county, in Catalonia (Spain). It is located to the north east of Barcelona, on the left bank of the Besòs River and on the Mediterranean Sea, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. By population, ...

File:Coat of Arms of Barcelona.svg, Coat of arms of

File:Coat of Arms of Barceloneta.svg, Coat of arms of Barceloneta File:Coat of Arms of Canela.svg, Coat of arms of Canela, Chile File:Cariñena Coat of Arms.svg, Coat of arms of Cariñena File:Coat of Arms of Caspe.svg, Coat of arms of Caspe File:Coat of Arms of Castellón City.svg, Coat of

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (in ), or simply Castellón (), is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Costa del Azahar by the Mediterranean Sea. Th ...

File:Coat of Arms of Cervera (since 2018).svg, Coat of arms of

Cervera Cervera () is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. The title Comte de Cervera is a courtesy title, formerly part of the Crown of Aragon, that has been revived for Leonor ...

File:Cuarte de Huerva Coat of Arms.svg, Coat of arms of Cuarte de Huerva File:Coat of arms of Cullera.svg, Coat of arms of Cullera File:Arms of the Counts of Foix.svg, Coat of arms of

Foix Foix ( , ; ; ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the prefecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwestern France ...

File:Coat of Arms of Fraga.svg, Coat of arms of

Fraga Fraga (; ) is the major town of the ''comarca'' of Bajo Cinca () in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. It is located by the river Cinca. According to the 2014 census, the municipality has a population of 14,926 inhabitants. King Alfonso I ...

File:Girona Coat of Arms.svg, Coat of arms of

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

File:Coat of Arms of Mataró.svg, Coat of arms of

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the Maresme county in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, Maresme coast, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, north-east of Barcel ...

File:Coat of Arms of Lleida.svg, Coat of arms of

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

File:Coat of Arms of Palma de Mallorca.svg, Coat of 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:Coat of arms of Orihuela.svg, Coat of arms of

Orihuela Orihuela (; ''Corpus Toponímic Valencià''. Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. 2009, València.) is a city and municipality located at the foot of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. The c ...

File:Arms of Perpignan.svg, Coat of arms of

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

File:Coat of Arms of Sabiñánigo.svg, Coat of arms of

Sabiñánigo Sabiñánigo (''Samianigo'' in Aragonese) is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragón, Spain, capital of the comarca of Alto Gállego. Formerly, the region was called Serrablo, hence the demonym "serrablese". Sabiñánigo is ...

File:Coat of Arms of Salamanca.svg, Coat of arms of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

File:Escudo de San Germán.svg, Coat of arms of

San Germán, Puerto Rico San Germán () is a historic San Germán barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality located in the Sabana Grande Valley of southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüez and Maricao, Puer ...

File:Tamarit de Llitera Coat of Arms.svg, Coat of arms of Tamarite de Litera File:Coat of Arms of Tarazona.svg, Coat of arms of

Tarazona Tarazona is a town and municipality in the Tarazona y el Moncayo comarca, province of Zaragoza (province), Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain. It is the capital of the Tarazona y el Moncayo Aragonese comarca. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Dio ...

File:Escudo de Tarragona.svg, Coat of arms of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

File:Coat of Arms of Tarragona City Silver Crown.svg, Coat of arms of Tarragona File:Coat of Arms of Teruel City.svg, Coat of arms 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 ...

File:Utebo Coat of Arms.svg, Coat of arms of Utebo File:Coat of Arms of Valencia (Spain).svg, Coat of arms of

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 ...

Notes

References

* Retrieved on 9 September 2007. * Retrieved on 9 September 2007. * Retrieved on 9 September 2007. * Retrieved on 9 September 2007. * Retrieved on 9 September 2007.

External links

"The Coat of Arms of Catalonia" by the Catalan Genealogical Society

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aragon Spanish coats of arms Coats of arms of former countries Coats of arms with pales Royal arms of European monarchs

Heraldic description

History

Theories of origin

Theories of Catalan origin

Theories of Aragonese origin

Variations

Arms of sovereign states

Arms of modern administrative regions

Spain

= France

= Italy

= Overseas

Arms of Cities

See also

Notes

References

References

External links