The coat of arms of Galicia is described in the

Spanish 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, Can ...

Law 5 of 29 May 1984, the ''Law of the symbols of Galicia.''

Description

The coat of arms of Galicia includes, enclosed in a field of azure, a

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

with a

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

host, accompanied by seven silver

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

es, three on each side and one in the center of the shield (representative of the seven historic provinces of Galicia). The royal

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

in gules, i.e. red, enclosed in a golden ring set with precious stones, made up of eight acanthus leaf fleurons, out of which five are visible. Each leaf is set with pearls, and five tiaras are born from them to converge in a globe of azure, with the semi-meridian and the equator in gold, topped by a golden cross.

History

The historians Faustino Menéndez-Pidal and Juan José Sánchez Badiola find the first references to it in two

rolls of arms Roll or Rolls may refer to: Movement about the longitudinal axis * Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis ** Roll (aviation), ...

from the late 13th century – in ''Segar's Roll'' and in the ''Armorial du Hérault Vermandois'' – which attribute the coat of arms to the

king of Galicia Galicia is an autonomous community and historical nationality in modern-day northwestern Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, which was a major part of the Roman province known as Gallaecia prior to 409. It consists of the provinces of A Coruña, ...

, although by that time it no longer existed as a separate title. The first source describes three uncovered

s, whereas the second only describes one covered chalice. Since the Middle Ages, the concept of the chalice as a

canting ' (IPA: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax ( jv, ) in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely ''batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional '' ...

linguistic metaphor spread: ''chalice'' = ''Galice''; many European authors eventually theorized about this fact from the 16th to the 18th centuries, a fact the

Romanticist Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

Galician author

Manuel Murguía Manuel Antonio Martínez Murguía (17 May 1833 – 2 February 1923) was a Galician journalist and historian who created the Real Academia Galega. He was one of the main figures in Galician ''Rexurdimento'' movement. He is also remembered as R ...

would later echo. Later rolls of arms also make reference to it, e.g. the ''Armorial Gymnich'' of Flanders (1445), and, especially, the ''Armorial Bergshammar'', a compilation of some 3300 coats of arms belonging to states and families of almost all over Europe as of 1436. In that roll of arms it says "in the fourth turned sheet... a well-stylized big cup occupying as much space of the field as possible". Above the composition the word ''Galiscién'' (Galicia) is written. The most ancient remaining representations of the coat of arms in Galician civil architecture are also from the 15th century depicted in the Royal hospital of

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

Betanzos Betanzos () is a municipality in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain in the province of A Coruña. It belongs to the comarca of Betanzos. In Roman times Betanzos was called Flauvium Brigantium or ''Brigantium''. During the ...

town hall, Corunna walls, Lugo Cathedral's organ,

Noia Noia () is a town and municipality in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of the comarca with the same name. It has a population of 14,947 inhabitants (2010),Laxe Laxe () is a northwestern municipality of Spain in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallae ...

. From the 16th century onwards, crosses were added around the chalice as ornamentation. Joseph de Avilés, in "Heroic science", defined the coat of arms: "''The kingdom of Galicia in Spain includes a field of azure with scattered crosses and a big golden cup and chalice''". File:ArmorialsegarXIII.jpg, Coat of arms of the kings of Galicia (''Segar's Roll''). 13th century. File:Escudo reino de galicia.jpg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Galicia (''L'armorial Le Blancq'', c. 1560 AD). File:GaliceCharlesV.jpg, Flag and arms of the Kingdom of Galicia (16th century). The picture shows the funerals of the emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

, also king of Galicia (''Funerals of Charles V'', by Lucas Doetecum). File:Escudo-reyno de galizia.jpg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Galicia (c. 1625 AD). File:Escudo Reino de Galiza Betanços 2.JPG, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Galicia.

, 16th century. File:Escudo Reino de Galiza Betanços 1.JPG, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Galicia. Betanzos. File:Escudo Galiza Betanzos interior.jpg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Galicia. Betanzos.

Use

According to the text of the aforementioned Law of symbols, the coat of arms of Galicia shall be included: * In the flags referred to in the fifth article of the law. * In the laws of Galicia promulgated, in name of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, by the President of the Xunta of Galicia. * In the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

of the

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 ...

administration buildings. * In embossed and lacquer stamps of the Autonomous Community. * In supporting documents of Galician decorations. * In official publications. * In documents, forms, stamps and letterheads in official use in the Autonomous Community. * In diplomas and degree certificates.

Bibliography

* F. MENÉNDEZ PIDAL, El origen inglés de las armas de Galicia, en Galicia en la Edad Media, Madrid, 1990. * J. J. SÁNCHEZ BADIOLA, Desmontando España, Madrid, 2005.

External links

Description of the coat of arms by the government of Galicia (Spanish and Galician)
{{Spanish coat of arms Galician symbols Galicia History of Galicia (Spain) Galicia Galicia Galicia

Description

History

Use

See also

Bibliography

External links