Señal del rey de Aragón en el Libro del conocimiento

The so-called Bars of Aragon, Royal sign of Aragon, Royal arms of Aragon, Four Bars, Red Bars or Coat of arms of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...

, which bear four red

pallets A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. A pallet is the structural foundat ...

on gold background, 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 fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

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 (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

and the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

; the fourth quarter of the Spanish autonomous community of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

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

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

and

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...

(whose department of the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. ...

regroups the old provinces of

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the reg ...

and Upper Cerdanya); and in the Italian provinces of

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

and

Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), 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 p ...

in Calabria, and

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

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 the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes forti ...

); 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 the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

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). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

''. In heraldry, the escutcheon is commonly known as that of the ''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 late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

armorial A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of 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 mid-13th centur ...

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 the one 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, Gelre Folio 62r

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

Arms of Aragonese Monarchs (13th-15 centuries)

Originally it was the familiar emblem of the

and

Counts of Barcelona The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...

. In 1137, when

and the

County of Barcelona The County of Barcelona ( la, Comitatus Barcinonensis, ca, Comtat de Barcelona) was originally a frontier region under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona became progressively independent, heredi ...

merged by

dynastic union A dynastic union is a type of union with only two different states that are governed under the same dynasty, with their boundaries, their laws, and their interests remaining distinct from each other. Historical examples Union of Kingdom of Arago ...

by the marriage of

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

and

Petronila of Aragon Petronilla (29 June/11 August 1136 – 15 October 1173), whose name is also spelled Petronila or Petronella ( Aragonese: ''Peyronela'' or ''Payronella'', and ca, Peronella), was Queen of Aragon from the abdication of her father, Ramiro II, ...

, 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, hi ...

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 coast of northeastern 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 ci ...

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 time of Alfonso II (king of Aragon and count of Barcelona) reign"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. 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 who brought about the union of the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the Crown of Ara ...

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

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' 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 , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

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

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

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

. 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 Catalonia.svg, Coat of arms of

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

File:Escudo de la Provincia de Alicante.svg, Coat of arms of the

Province of Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province. Likewise, the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Community (Alica ...

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, Lérida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's p ...

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:Blason département fr Lozère.svg, Coat of arms of the department of Lozère File:Blason département fr 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

File:Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Province_of_Catanzaro.svg, Coat of arms of the

Province of Catanzaro The province of Catanzaro ( it, provincia di 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 a total of 80 ...

File:Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Province_of_Lecce.svg, Coat of arms of the

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

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 ( it, Provincia di 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 ...

Arms of Cities

File:Armes de Ais de Provença.svg, Coat of arms of

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

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 Sier ...

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

Alcañiz Alcañiz () is a town and municipality of Teruel province in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. The town is located on the banks of the river Guadalope. Alcañiz is the unofficial capital of the Lower Aragon historical region. It lies som ...

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

Alghero Alghero (; ca, label= Alguerese, L'Alguer ; sc, S'Alighèra ; sdc, L'Aliera ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ...

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

File:Escudo de Cariñena.svg, Coat of arms of Cariñena File:Coat of Arms of Caspe.svg, Coat of arms of

Caspe Caspe is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, part of the autonomous community of Aragon (Spain), seat of the comarca Bajo Aragón-Caspe. As of 2018 it had a population of 9,525 inhabitants (INE 2018) and its municipality, of 503.33&nbs ...

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:Escudo de Cuarte de Huerva.svg, Coat of arms of

Cuarte de Huerva Cuarte de Huerva is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2013 census the municipality has a population of 11043 inhabitants. It is named after the Huerva River. See also * Zaragoza Comarca *List of ...

File:Blason du comté de Foix.svg, Coat of arms of

Foix Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, 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 Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwe ...

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

Fraga Fraga (; ) is the major town of the ''comarca'' of Bajo Cinca ( ca, Baix Cinca) in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. It is located by the river Cinca. According to the 2014 census, Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) the municipality ha ...

File:Escut de Girona.svg, Coat of arms of

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

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

Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...

File:Escudo de Palma de Mallorca.svg, Coat of arms of

Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...

File:Blason ville fr Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales).svg, Coat of arms of

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

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 at ...

File:Escudo heráldico de Salamanca.svg, Coat of arms of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

File:Escut de Tamarit de Llitera.svg, Coat of arms of

Tamarite de Litera Tamarite de Litera, ca, Tamarit de Llitera, is the first major town of the ''comarca'' of La Litera in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2014 census, Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) the municipality has a population ...

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, in Aragon, Spain. It is the capital of the Tarazona y el Moncayo Aragonese comarca. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarazona. H ...

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

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

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. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with a ...

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

Utebo Utebo ( an, Utevo) is a town located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. At the time of the 2011 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 18,602 inhabitants, being the third most populous town of the province, only surpassed by ...

File:Escut de València.svg, Coat of arms of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

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