The coat of arms of

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

is the official

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 A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall un ...

of Asturias, an

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

within the kingdom 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") , ...

. It was adopted as such on 27 April 1984. The oldest attributed arms of the Principality of Asturias date from the 16th century, and show a quartered shield with the castle of the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th ce ...

, the lion of León and a goblet. But this Coat of Arms is wrongly attributed to the Prince and the Principality of Asturias, as proved

Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (born Gaspar Melchor de Jove y Llanos, 5 January 1744 – 27 November 1811) was a Spanish neoclassical statesman, author, philosopher and a major figure of the Age of Enlightenment in Spain. Life and influence of ...

, author, philosopher and main figure of the Age of Enlightenment in Spain. This Coat of Arms appeared in printed books and maps, even It was included in the ''Encyclopédie'' of Denis Diderot.

Description

The arms consist of a field of azure with the

Victory Cross The Victory Cross ( Asturian and Spanish: ''Cruz de la Victoria'') is an early 10th century Asturian crux gemmata or jewelled cross, given by King Alfonso III of Asturias, who reigned from 866 to 910, to the Cathedral of San Salvador of Ovied ...

( es, Cruz de la Victoria) of Or adorned by

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...

s. The cross is the symbol of the re-conquest of Spain from the Moors. The cross was used, according to the legend or tradition, by the local

Visigoth The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kn ...

ic governor Pelagius of Asturias, in the initial battles against the Moors. It was claimed that the cross had brought victory, and it was later gold-plated. However, there is no historical evidence that Pelayo used exactly this same cross. The

Greek letters The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as we ...

alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whi ...

and

omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/ isopsephy ( gematria), it has a value of 800. The ...

are suspended from the left and right bars, respectively. Accompanying the cross is the legend : "This sign safeguards the pious. This sign conquers the enemy." The arms are "ensigned of a

Spanish Royal Crown The Spanish Royal Crown may refer to either the heraldic crown, which does not exist physically, or the crown known as the ''corona tumular'', a physical crown used during Spanish royal proclamation ceremonies since the 18th century. It is neve ...

Usage

In 1985 a simplified version of the shield was legislated for exclusive use in the Administration of the Principality. The arms must appear ''de jure'' in: *Documents that contain the Laws of the General Meeting that the President of the Principality of Asturias in name of the King of Spain promulgates. *Documents, forms, seals and letterheads of official use of the autonomous community. *Official publications by the Principality of Asturias. *Official symbols used by the authorities of the autonomous community. *Diplomas or titles of any class sent by authorities of the autonomous community. *Buildings and establishments of the Asturian autonomous community according to the law that regulates it, the shield cannot be used as a symbol of identification by any other public or deprived institution that is not the Principality of Asturias. Any use is not admitted that goes in reduction of its high meaning. One stays the existing shields in those declared buildings historical-artistic monuments. Also those that appear in those others that they form substantial part of the ornato and decoration. The Shield of the Principality enjoys the same degree of protection as that of the other symbols of Spain.

Gallery

File:Símbolo del Gobierno de Asturias.svg, Simplified image used by the Administration of the Principality. File:Escudo Web del Gobierno de Asturias.svg, Second version.

Notes

References

* * * {{Asturias topics Asturian culture

Description

Usage

Gallery

See also

Notes

References