And finally, white, represents purity, integrity, obedience, firmness, watchfulness, eloquence and victory. ![]() Yellow represents nobility, magnanimity, wealth, power, light, perseverance and wisdom. Regarding the colours, the red symbolises strength, victory, daring, highness and shrewdness. The castle, symbol of communal power and the defence of the people's freedoms, would be the Visigoth's representation of the working class, with its democratic, secular, agricultural and forestry tendencies. ![]() This way, it is perfectly expressed the appropriate union between the astur-leones Visigothic aristocracy, with its political, economical social and religious characteristics, as it was a monarchist, theocratic, military and feudal kingdom, that would be represented by a lion. On the other hand, the castle represents the grandeur and elevation, as well as shelter and protection.įor some experts, the coat of arms comes from a Visigothic culture that is still in mind, thanks to a right symbolic summary of all the elements that constituted the origin and driving force of our ancient history. According to this, the lion is a symbol of watchfulness, authority, domination, monarchy, sovereignty, magnanimity, majesty and bravery. ![]() The interpretation of colours and figures of Castilla y León flag is also given by the heraldic science. That aimed at symbolising the union, and that if they used to be two kingdoms, they were now just one.īut one thing is the alternation of the symbols and other their meaning. If the union between two kingdoms was considered as definitive, like the case of Castilla y León, then the flag or coat of arms had to be divided in four equal parts and the figures and colours of both kingdoms had to be alternated. In each part had to be the colours or figures of the kingdoms. When due to territory legacies and marriages between noble people, two kingdoms had the same monarch- even they had independent institutions, law, language, and customs-, the heraldic law established that the flag or coat of arms had to be divided in two. It will be a symbol of the union of both kingdoms. The definitive flag was designed once the two kingdoms are together (year 1230) under Fernando III called El Santo (the Saint). Since the XII century, the monarchs started to change the traditional cross for a lion (Alfonso VII) or a castle with three towers (used by Alfonso VIII in his stamps and coins). Even that this was not always the same- different shapes and colours- there was a predilection for the Latin or Greek cross, and the red, white and yellow colours. During the reconquest process against the Muslims, and until the end of the XI century, the Christian kings of the Iberian Peninsula used in their coat of arms and ensigns the cross sign. None of those elements were present in the official ensigns since the first moment. A little bit less romantic are other historic explanations that attribute the lion's origin to the own's León kingdom, whose name developed from the latin word "Legio" (due to the Legio VII Gemina that had there the camp) to the word "Leo".Īlso the castle has its own chronicle: the count Fernán González was the one who ordered to draw a castle in his shield, as a way to expressing that he had conquered Castilla when the king of León made his count title hereditary. The lion's heraldry figure passed to his descendants that were the Kings of Oviedo, and it passed then, to the Kings of León. This high medieval tradition, with the passing of the time, gave way to the appearance of coats of arms during the XI and XII century.Īccording to the legend, the king Pelayo ordered to draw a lion in his shield as an acknowledgement for killing one, when he was prisoner in Cordoba, after the Guadalete battle. In Spain, and contrary to what had been the German peoples -the Visigoths-, introduced the roman's custom: the tradition to decorate the shields with colours or symbolic figures. However, the most important thing was not the flag but the coat of arms that could be seen in the elevated cloth. The flag, raised in the military camps, was also a sign that helped the forces distribution, and the flag hoist in castles and ships, meant that the master was in that place. They decorated them with their colours, so that the fighters could see them during the confusing course of the battle. ![]() Cloths when kings and noblemen who went to the war, used to draw the figures of their coat of arms to identify their armies. The historic origin of the flags is related to the distinctive signs with military purposes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |