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 grants coats of arms to individuals (usually members of the Portuguese Royal Family or the Portuguese nobility), cities, Portuguese colonies, and other institutions. Heraldry has been practiced in Portugal at least since the 12th century, however it only became standardized and popularized in the 16th century, during the reign of King Manuel I of Portugal, who created the first heraldic ordinances in the country. Like in other Iberian heraldic traditions, the use of quartering and augmentations of honor is highly representative of Portuguese heraldry, but unlike in any other Iberian traditions, the use of heraldic crests is highly popular.
Characteristics
Portuguese heraldry was born within the Iberian heraldry tradition, itself a constituent part of the Latin heraldry family, and has kept many of its features to the present day. In the late 14th century it came under significant influence from English heraldry, also absorbing part of its features. Portuguese heraldry then evolved autonomously, and by the 16th century had many features of its own. These reached their peak with the ordinances of King Manuel I of 1521, which defined strict heraldic rules and established the statutes for the officers of arms.
Heraldry declined in Portugal from the 17th to the 19th century. However, in the late 19th century, and especially in the 20th, it had a strong revival, mainly driven by the high development of the civic, corporate and military heraldries.
Some features retained from the Iberian tradition include the frequent use of bordures, the appearance of mottos and legends inside the shield and the frequent use of some specific charges like the cauldron to represent the power of a nobleman to maintain and feed a military contingent and the castle to represent a place where a memorable action occurred. However, Portuguese heraldry departs from that tradition in that almost all armorial bearings are granted with a crest, which is rare in the rest of Latin heraldry. Additionally, it is characterized by the rarity of the granting of armorial bearings that include supporters, although informal ones are commonly represented in their artistic displays.
With the beginning of the Age of Discovery in the 15th century, many coats of arms came to include charges related to Portuguese overseas expansion. These included padrões, ships, flags and weapons, Moorish and African heads, exotic animals and other motifs.
Another feature of Portuguese heraldry is that when an achievement of arms includes a coronet, it is represented over the helm - when it is represented - and not below it (as is common in English heraldry, for example).
Shape Since very early, the round bottom shield has been the preferred shape to display the coat of arms in Portugal, causing this shape to often be referred as the "Portuguese shield". In 1911, it was adopted as the standard shield shape for the national coat of arms, and in 1930 became mandatory for the coats of arms of local governments. In the past, however, other formats were frequently used, such as the modern French style in the late 19th century, the cartouche (oval) in the early 19th century, the Italian style (horse head shape) in the 18th century, the heater shield in the 14th century and the Norman shield (almond shape) in the 12th century. Women's coats of arms are always represented in a lozenge (lisonja), with the single exception of those of the Portuguese queens (regnants or consorts), which are represented in a shield.
Cadency The Portuguese system of heraldic cadency originates in the regulations of King Manuel I. These regulations state that the head of a lineage, whether royal or common, is the only person to have the right to bear the full arms of the lineage without defacement. No other person can bear such full and undifferentiated arms, not even the heir apparent of the lineage. The system of cadency for the royal family has the same features as similar systems of other European countries, using labels to identify the order of the children of the monarch. However, the system of cadency of non-royal lineages is unlike any other. This system aims not to identify the place of the owner in the line of succession of each lineage, but instead aims to identify from which of his/her grandparents the coat of arms was inherited, this origin being signed by a specific mark of cadency, or brisure. Although it is true that the brisure personalizes the arms, in Portugal anyone is entitled to choose their surname and coat of arms from any of their ancestors, not necessarily the same ancestor for both.Stephen Slater: The Complete Book of Heraldry. Lorenz Books 2002, p. 120Carl-Alexander von Volborth. Heraldry: Customs, Rules, and Styles. (Blandford Press, Dorset: 1981), p. 79. Von Volborth gives also pictures of all these difference marks.
Augmentations It was common for Portuguese monarchs to grant augmentations of honour to the achievements of arms as a reward or recognition to their bearers. The most common of these augmentations was the inclusion of elements of the arms of Portugal: the escutcheon of Portugal ancient (arms of Portugal without the bordure), quinas (escutcheons Azure charged with five plates), or castles Or in Gules field. Occasionally, some augmentations were done with the inclusion of elements of the arms of other kingdoms in whose royal houses the Portuguese Monarchs had ancestors. In the late 19th century, some augmentations were done by the marshaling of the full and un-defaced arms of Portugal with the original arms of the bearers, which was a clear infraction of the heraldic rules that limit the use of those arms to the Monarch.
Tinctures As tinctures, Portuguese heraldry uses the two metals ( Or [gold] and Argent [silver]), the five traditional colours (Gules [red], Azure [blue], Purpure [purple], Sable [black], and Vert [green]) and the furs (ermine, vair and their variations). Additional tinctures that are used in some other countries (like tenné, sanguine or orange) are not used. However, some new armorial achievements, granted in the 19th century, broke with the heraldry rules in including unconventional tinctures like azul celeste (sky blue) and carmesim (crimson). The carnation tincture is also occasionally used in the blazoning of human beings, and the description "proper" ("de sua cor") is also sometimes used to indicate the blazoning of animals or trees in their natural colors.
White (branco) is not considered a different tincture from Argent. However, probably by an heraldic error, it is so represented in some coats of arms, like those of the municipality of Santiago do Cacém (in which the white of the fallen Moor's clothing and the knight's horse is distinguished from the argent of the distant castle) and in those of the Logistical and Administrative Command of the Portuguese Air Force.
In Portuguese heraldry, the terms de ouro (Or [gold]) and de prata (Argent [silver]) are however replaced, respectively, by amarelo (yellow) and branco (white) in the description of flags. The rationale behind this is that metal materials do not enter in the composition of flags, which are made entirely of cloth.
Terminology In English and some other countries' heraldry, achievements of arms are usually blazoned in a specialized jargon that uses derivatives of French terms. In Portuguese heraldry, however, achievements of arms are usually described in relatively plain language, using only Portuguese terms and tending to avoid specialized jargon. Examples include the use of Portuguese azul and verde for blue and green, as compared to the French-derived azure and vert used in English blazon. The hatchings in the right-hand half of the tincture illustrations are used to indicate the tincture in monochrome renderings. Tinctures English Or Argent Azure Gules Vert Purpure Sable Ermine Vair Portuguese Ouro Prata Azul Vermelho Verde Púrpura Negro Arminho Veiros
OrdinariesEnglishPaleFessBendBend sinisterCrossSaltireChevronBordurePortuguesePalaFaixaBandaContrabandaor barraCruzAspa or sautorAsnaBordadura
Divisionof the fieldEnglishParty per fessParty per paleParty per bendParty perbend sinisterQuarterlyParty per saltireGyronnyPortugueseCortadoPartidoFendidoTalhadoEsquarteladoFranchadoGironado
Particular charges
Some particular charges are frequently used in Portuguese heraldry, with some of them being referred by specific terms. Most of these are related with the coat of arms of Portugal or other heraldic emblems, being occasionally used as augmentations of honor.
A quina is one of the five escutcheons Azure charged with five plates of the arms of Portugal. Quina is the Portuguese term for quincunx (the 5 face of a gaming die); it began to be used to designate the escutcheons of the Portuguese arms when the number of plates charging them was fixed at five in the late 14th century. Before that, each escutcheon was represented as Azure semée of plates. By synecdoche, the whole arms of Portugal are frequently refereed as the Cinco Quinas (Five Quinas) or simply as the Quinas. Similarly, the Portuguese flag is often referred as the Bandeira das Quinas (Flag of the Quinas).
The Portugal antigo (Portugal ancient) is the version of the shield of Portugal without the bordure Gules charged with castles Or. This designation is however misleading, as the Portugal ancient is not the real old version of the Portuguese coat of arms. The real old version of the Portuguese arms - before the introduction of the bordure with castles - was similar to the Portugal ancient, but with the dexter and sinister escutcheons lying horizontal and pointing to the center, with all the escutcheons being semée of plates and not just five plates. This real old version is occasionally also referred as "Portugal ancient". From the introduction of the bordure with castles in the arms of Portugal by King Afonso III until the introduction of the heraldic rules of King Manuel I, the Portugal ancient was often used as the coat of arms of the illegitimate children of the Monarchs. From then on, it was used as an augmentation of honor to a coat of arms granted by the Monarch.
The esfera armilar (armillary sphere) is also a charge that frequently appears in Portuguese heraldry, usually represented in Or. The armillary sphere was granted by King John II to Duke Manuel of Viseu as his personal badge when he was appointed heir of the Crown. When Manuel became King of Portugal in 1495, he continued to bear the armillary sphere. This reign coincided with the height of Portuguese overseas expansion and might, with the armillary sphere being widely displayed, alone or together with the Portuguese arms, in public buildings, documents, flags and other environments. The armillary sphere was so common in this period that it came to be considered not only as a royal personal badge but as a symbol of the country and of its overseas empire, with its use continuing even after the death of King Manuel I.