The Eagle of Saint John ( es, Águila de San Juan) is a

heraldic 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 branc ...

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

associated mostly with the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

which was later prominently used during

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

(1939–77) and the

Spanish transition to democracy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

(1977–81). It is

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...

with an or halo and feet 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). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...

, the author of the

fourth gospel The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

account, is symbolized by an

, often with a

halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

, an animal may have originally been seen as the king of the birds. The eagle is a figure of the sky, and believed by Christian scholars to be able to look straight into the sun. The better known heraldic use of the Eagle of St. John has been the single supporter chose by Queen Isabella of Castile in her armorial achievement used as heiress and later integrated into the

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 ...

of the

. This election alludes to the queen's great devotion to the evangelist that predated her accession to the throne. There is a magnificent tapestry with the armorial achievement of the Catholic Monarchs in the Throne Room of the

Alcazar of Segovia Alcazar or variant spellings may refer to: * Alcázar, a type of Islamic castle or palace in Spain and Portugal ** ** Arts, entertainment and literature * Alcazar (group), a Swedish europop/dance music group * '' Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortres ...

. The Eagle of St. John was placed on side of the shields used as English consort by

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

, daughter of the Catholic Monarchs,

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

and King Philip as English monarchs. In Spain, Philip barely bore the Eagle of St John in his armorial achievements. The Eagle of the Evangelist was recovered as single supporter holding in 1939, 1945 and 1977 official models of the armorial achievement of Spain and it was removed in 1981 when the current coat of arms was adopted.Act 33/1981
5 October (

BOE BOE, BoE or Boe may refer to: Abbreviations, acronyms or initialisms * Bank of England, the central bank of the United Kingdom * Bank of English, a representative subset of the 4.5 billion words COBUILD corpus * Barrel of oil equivalent, a uni ...

No 250, 19 October 1981). Coat of arms of Spain {{in lang, es. The use of the eagle of St. John was exploited by the Spanish dictator

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

, who used it as a symbol of his regime. Prominent examples of the use of St. John's Eagle in heraldry across the world include the heraldry or emblems of: Valparaíso City (

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

);

Boyacá Department Boyacá () is one of the thirty-two departments of Colombia, and the remnant of Boyacá State, one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia". Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the moun ...

(

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

); Catholic Archdiocese of Besançon (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

);

Mallersdorf-Pfaffenberg Mallersdorf-Pfaffenberg ( bar, label=Central Bavarian, Mollaschdorf-Pfoffaberg) is a municipality in the district of Straubing-Bogen in Bavaria, Germany and has around 7000 inhabitants. Mallersdorf-Pfaffenberg is located in the heart of Bavaria i ...

(

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

); Lima City (

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

);

Kisielice Kisielice (german: Freystadt in Westpreußen) is a town in northern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with 2,183 inhabitants (2017). Geographical location Kisielice is located on a hill in the vicinity of a small lake in the south o ...

, Kwidzyn District and

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, Oleśnica Town and

(

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

);

Gata Davionte Ganter, known professionally as GaTa, is an American rapper and actor known for his role in the FXX TV series ''Dave'', as well as for being the hype man for rapper Lil Dicky throughout his career as well as on the show. Early life a ...

and the 29th Infantry Regiment " Isabel la Católica" (Spain);

Lääne county Lääne County ( et, Lääne maakond or ''Läänemaa'', literally "Western land"; german: Wiek; la, Rotalia) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in western Estonia and borders the Baltic Sea to the north, Harju County to the north-ea ...

, Haapsalu town and Kuressaare town (Estonia); and the St. John's College (

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

). File:Escudo de Isabel de Castilla 1473.JPG, Coat of Arms of

Isabella of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 b ...

as Princess of Asturias. File:Escudo de los Reyes Católicos de 1491.jpg, Coat of arms of the Catholic Monarchs. File:Alcázar de Segovia - 16.jpg, A coat of arms with the Eagle of Saint John in the

Alcázar of Segovia The Alcázar of Segovia ("Segovia Castle") is a medieval castle located in the city of Segovia, in Castile and León, Spain. Rising out on a rocky crag at the western end of the old town, above the confluence of rivers Eresma and Clamores at ...

. File:Compilacio-constitucions-catalunya-1493.jpg, The 1494 Constitutions of Catalonia, with the Eagle. File:Coat of Arms of Ferdinand II of Aragon as Lord of Biscay.svg, Coat of Arms of

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

Lord of Biscay The Lordship of Biscay ( es, Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. On ...

. File:Ornamented Coat of Arms of Queen Joanna of Castile.svg, The Eagle of Saint John and two lions, in an ornamented version of the coat of arms of

Joanna I of Castile Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad ( es, link=no, Juana la Loca), was the nominal Queen of Castile from 1504 and Queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was married by arrangement to Phi ...

. File:Coat of Arms of Catherine of Aragon.svg, The Eagle of Saint John in the coat of arms of

, Queen of England. File:Coat of Arms of England (1554-1558).svg, The Eagle of Saint John in the coat of arms of

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

after her marriage with Philip II. File:Coat of arms of Spain (1945–1977).svg,

Coat of arms of Spain The coat of arms of Spain represents Spain and the Spanish nation, including its national sovereignty and the country's form of government, a constitutional monarchy. It appears on the flag of Spain and it is used by the Government of Spain, the Co ...

from 1945 to 1977. File:Flag of Spain 1945 1977.svg,

Flag of Spain The national flag of Spain ( es, Bandera de España), as it is defined in the Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle ...

from 1945 to 1977. File:Coat of arms of Lima (1537).svg, Coat of arms of Lima. File:Escudo de Valparaíso (Chile).svg, Coat of arms of

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

. File:Escudo de Boyacá.svg, Coat of arms of the

. File:Coat of Arms of the 29th Light Infantry Regiment Isabel la Católica (Ornamented variant).svg, Coat of Arms of the ''Regimiento de Infantería "Isabel la Católica" n.º 29'' (Spanish Army). File:Herb diecezji Ozylii.svg, Coat of arms of the

Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

. File:Läänemaa vapp.svg, Coat of arms of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. File:Haapsalu coat of arms.svg, Coat of arms of

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. Description Haapsalu has been well known for centuries for its w ...

, Estonia.

References

Heraldic eagles Fascist symbols

See also

References