heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

, a caldron (also known as cooking-pot) charge can be frequently found in the

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

of prominent

Spanish nobility Spanish nobles are persons who possess the legal status of hereditary nobility according to the laws and traditions of the Spanish monarchy and historically also those who held personal nobility as bestowed by one of the three highest orders of ...

. This is related to a tradition of king granting a

pennon A pennon, also known as a pennant or pendant, is a long narrow flag which is larger at the hoist than at the fly. It can have several shapes, such as triangular, tapering (square tail) or triangular swallowtail (forked tail), etc. In maritime ...

and caldron ( es, peñon y caldera) upon admittance to the upper crust of nobility, the

ricohombre The ricohombre (a magnate, literally, a Spanish word for "richman") was a high ranking nobility title in mediaeval kingdoms on the territories of modern Spain and Portugal, replaced by a title of grandee in the late 14th-early 15th century. The rico ...

s. Woodward & Burnett suggest to count the caldron among the military charges, as pennon was related to the ability of a noble to raise and lead troops, and caldron represented the ability to feed them. Caldron frequently issues multiple serpents (also can be interpreted as eels), forming the so-called es, caldera gringolada.

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* * * Heraldic charges {{heraldry-stub