The coat of arms of Andorra (

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

: ''Escut d'Andorra'') is the heraldic device consisting of a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...

divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the ways that numbers are combined to make new numbers. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. At an elementary level the division of two natural numbe ...

quarterly by the arms of the

Bishop of Urgell The Diocese of Urgell is a diocese in Catalonia (Spain) and Andorra in the historical County of Urgell,

and the

Count of Foix The Count of Foix ruled the independent County of Foix, in what is now Southern France, during the Middle Ages. The House of Foix eventually extended its power across the Pyrenees mountain range, joining the House of Bearn and moving their cour ...

– who have historically been the two

co-princes of Andorra The co-princes of Andorra are jointly the heads of state ( ca, cap d'estat) of the Principality of Andorra, a landlocked microstate lying in the Pyrenees between France and Spain. Founded in 1278 by means of a treaty between the Bishop of Ur ...

– in addition to the emblems 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 no ...

and the Viscount of Béarn. Utilized unofficially since 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 ...

, its status as the

coat 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 ...

of the Principality 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 ...

was formalized in 1993 upon the implementation of their new constitution. The escutcheon is featured on the

flag of Andorra The national flag of the Principality of Andorra ( ca, Bandera d'Andorra) features a vertical tricolour of blue, yellow, and red with the coat of arms of Andorra in the center. Although the three vertical bars may at first appear to be of eq ...

Official description

Andorran law describes the coat of arms as follows: The coat of arms of the Principality of Andorra has been traditionally formed by four quarters, two of which are the ones of the two Co-Princes. The four traditional quarters are: a) that of the

Bishopric In 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 provinces were administratively associate ...

, represented by a golden mitre and a golden crosier on a red background; b) that of

; c) that 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 southw ...

; d) that of

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three B ...

. The arms can have at the bottom the motto "Virtus Unita Fortior". The arms can have an aureola, a scroll or it can be crowned by the lord's emblems (crown, chapeau).

History

The usage of the arms of the

Bishop of Urgell The Diocese of Urgell is a diocese in Catalonia (Spain) and Andorra in the historical County of Urgell,

and the

stems from a settlement made in 1278 concerning territory sandwiched between the lands they had jurisdiction over. The two parties agreed to protect the principality jointly as co-princes. The arms of

and

were added, and a "centuries-old carving" of this four-part quartered emblem is featured on the exterior of the country's parliament building – the

Casa de la Vall Casa de la Vall is a historical house in Andorra la Vella, Andorra. It is the headquarters of the General Council of Andorra. It lies just to the southwest of the Andorra National Library. It is a heritage property registered in the Cultural H ...

– which served as the meeting place of the General Council until 2014. It was also found on the

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of ...

of a house in

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 c ...

dating back to 1761. However, its status was not official until it was designated as the principality's coat of arms under Article 2(2) of the

Constitution of Andorra The Constitution of Andorra ( ca, Constitució d'Andorra) is the supreme law of the Principality of Andorra. It was adopted on 2 February 1993 and given assent by the Andorran people in a referendum on 14 March 1993. According to the Constitution ...

, which was approved in a 1993 referendum and came into force that same year.

Design

Construction

Symbolism

The top two quarters depict the arms of the "two traditional protectors" of the principality – the Count of Foix and the Bishop of Urgell. While the latter title is still extant and its holder continues to rule Andorra as a co-prince, the former was absorbed, first into the title of

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the fir ...

, and subsequently transferred to the

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...

. The quarters at the bottom – of Catalonia and Béarn – allude to the other territories that Andorra has historically been reliant upon. At the bottom is the country's

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

– Strength united is stronger ( la, Virtus unita fortior).

Uses

The coat of arms is employed on the centre yellow band of the

. It also features extensively on coins minted by Andorra.

Variations

File:Coat of arms of Andorra (Before 16th Century).svg, Coat of arms before the 16th century File:Coat of arms of Andorra (1580).svg, Coat of arms, 1580 File:Historical Coat of Arms of Ecclesiastic Co-Prince of Andorra.svg, Ecclesiastical version (for Bishop of Urgell), 1800–1959 File:Historical Coat of Arms of French Prince of Andorra.svg, Coat of arms of the French Co-Prince of Andorra (historical), 1870–1959 File:Coat of Arms of Andorra (c.1800-1949).svg, Coat of arms, 1800–1949 File:Coat of arms of Andorra - Flag Version (1931-1949).svg, Coat of arms (flag version), 1931–1949 File:Coat of Arms of Andorra (1949-1959).svg, Coat of arms, 1949–1959 File:Coat of Arms of Andorra.svg, Coat of arms, 1959–1993

References

External links

{{Coats of arms of Europe National symbols of Andorra