Heraldry of León
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The first instance of a figure of the
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
as symbol of the
Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León; es, Reino de León; gl, Reino de León; pt, Reino de Leão; la, Regnum Legionense; mwl, Reino de Lhion was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when t ...
is found in minted coins of
Alfonso VII Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
, called ''the
Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
'' (1126-1157). Until then, the cross had a preponderant position on documents and coins of
Leonese monarchs Leonese may refer to: *Leonese people *Leonese language *Leonese Region *Leonese cuisine Leonese cuisine is a sub category of Spanish food that is considered to be very exotic and caloric. Embutidos *''Cecina'' from León is beef. In Leonese, '' ...
since that reign the cross was gradually displaced by the lion. The Spanish historian and heraldist
Martín de Riquer Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...
explained that the lion was already used as heraldic emblem in 1148. At the end of the reign of Alfonso VII, the figure of this animal began to appear on royal documents as personal device of the monarch and became pervasive during reigns of Ferdinand II (1157-1188) and
Alfonso IX Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
(1188-1230). The first reference to the lion as personal emblem of the monarch, and thus the kingdom find in '' Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris'', at the times of Alfonso VII, this chronicle when describing participants armies in the taking of
Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...
, the text literally says: The heraldic symbol of León is the prominent feature of flags of León, including the historical standards of the former
Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León; es, Reino de León; gl, Reino de León; pt, Reino de Leão; la, Regnum Legionense; mwl, Reino de Lhion was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when t ...
, the flags of the City of León and the
Province of León León (, , ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the cap ...
, and others representing the region known as León or the Leonese Country.


History


One of the earliest heraldic symbols in Europe

The development of the modern heraldic language cannot be attributed to a single individual, time, or place. Although certain designs that are now considered heraldic were evidently in use during the eleventh century, most accounts and depictions of shields up to the beginning of the twelfth century contain little or no evidence of their heraldic character. For example, the Bayeux Tapestry, illustrating the
Norman invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
of England in 1066, and probably commissioned about 1077, when the cathedral of Bayeux was rebuilt, depicts a number of shields of various shapes and designs, many of which are plain, while others are decorated with dragons, crosses, or other typically heraldic figures. Yet no individual is depicted twice bearing the same arms, nor are any of the descendants of the various persons depicted known to have borne devices resembling those in the tapestry.Fox-Davies, ''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'', pp. 14–16. The animals of the "barbarian" (
Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...
) predecessors of heraldic designs are likely to have been used as clan symbols. Adopted in Germanic tradition around the
fifth century The 5th century is the time period from 401 ( CDI) through 500 ( D) ''Anno Domini'' (AD) or Common Era (CE) in the Julian calendar. The 5th century is noted for being a period of migration and political instability throughout Eurasia. It saw the c ...
, they were re-interpreted in a Christian context in the western kingdoms of
Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in the 6th and seventh centuries. During the eleventh century, crosses appearing on seals of Spanish princes and were used for authentication privileges until King Alfonso VII started using a lion (1126), alluding to the name of his main realm ''
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
'' ( es, león), an example of
canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial allus ...
. The lion as a heraldic charge is present from the very earliest development of
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 ...
in the 12th century. One of the earliest known examples of armory as it subsequently came to be practiced decorates the tomb of
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Handsome, the Fair (french: link=no, le Bel) or Plantagenet, was the count of Anjou, Count of Tours, Touraine and Count of Maine, Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also Duke of Nor ...
, who died in 1151. An enamel, probably commissioned by Geoffrey's widow between 1155 and 1160, depicts him carrying a blue shield with golden lions rampant and wearing a blue helmet adorned with another lion. A chronicle dated to about 1175 states that Geoffrey was given a badge of a gold lion when he was knighted by his father-in-law,
Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
, in 1128. Alfonso VII's use of the lion as a heraldic emblem for León predates the earliest surviving
Royal Arms of England The royal arms of England are the Coat of arms, arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as Armorial of the House of Plantagenet, personal arms by the House of Plantagenet, Plantagenet kings who ruled ...
, a single lion visible on a half-shield depicted on the First Great Seal (1189) of
Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
, as well as the three pale blue
lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
passant of
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
(ca. 1194), the
heraldry of the Holy Roman Empire Over its long history, the Holy Roman Empire used many different heraldic forms, representing its numerous internal divisions. Imperial coat of arms Coats of arms of Holy Roman Emperors The ''Reichsadler'' ("Imperial Eagle") was the hera ...
(ca. 1200) and the French fleurs-de-lis coat (1211) although the fleur-de-lis was present on royal robes and ornaments since at least 1179. That Alfonso VII took the lion on his banners and arms was due to the dominance of León in the kingdom. When other parts of the ''Chronica'' refer to the raising the royal standards in the taken enemy fortress, it is referring to some flags which depicted the lion. It is disputed whether this animal represented to the monarch or kingdom, in the first case the strength of the sovereign but it seems a clearer identification between the words "''Legio''" and "''leo''" that would imply the adoption of the feline as image of the city and the kingdom. In favour of the second hypothesis is the fact that in the author of the ''Chronica'' made a rhyme with the words "''legionis''" and "''leonis''".


Historical characteristics of the lion and the flag

The flag used in 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 ...
is nothing like current ones. The lion was passant instead of
rampant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of an heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figure ...
. All lions that appear on coins, devices and seals of Leonese monarchs are passant (sometimes
dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...
, others
sinister Sinister commonly refers to: * Evil * Ominous Sinister may also refer to: Left side * Sinister, Latin for the direction " left" * Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see ...
). There are two exceptions, the lions rampant depicted on shields of Ferdinand II and
Alfonso IX Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
in their respective representations of the ''Tumbo A Manuscript'' of
Santiago de Compostela Cathedral The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The c ...
. These cases show lions rampant, the reason is that the heraldic charges should always arranged in such a way that they take up the greater part of the field. In the case of a shield/coat of arms, the size a lion passant is equivalent to one-third of the field. However, the figure in a vertical position, and enlarged, the figure takes up the available space. This also avoids '' horror vacui'', dominant in the medieval art, filling of the entire surface of a space or an artwork with detail. Relative to the
tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...
of the lion, in the representations of the ''Tumbo A Manuscript'', under the effigies of the monarchs are two lions passant in an attitude of attack and their color is
purpure In heraldry, purpure, () is a tincture, equivalent to the colour "purple", and is one of the five main or most usually used ''colours'' (as opposed to ''metals''). It may be portrayed in engravings by a series of parallel lines at a 45-degree angl ...
. In the case of Alfonso IX, this lion is framed in a flag whose background is ''
argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
'' and has a narrow purple border. In addition, on the shield carrying by the monarch, the lion is that same tincture and the background is ''argent'' and the two lions passant que shown in the saddle have the same colors. The purple lion and the field argent were retained after the
union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
with 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 centu ...
(1230) when the arms of the two kingdoms were combined in one shield displayed in a '' quartering'', during the reign of King Ferdinand III, called the Saint. There was no space for two visible lions passant at quarterings, so they were rampant to take up the divisions completely. This is the disposition of the lions that has come to the present day on the
coat of arms of Castile and León The coat of arms of Castile and León depicts the traditional arms of Castile (the yellow castle) quartered with the arms of León (the purple lion). It is topped with a royal crown. The lion design is attributed to Alfonso VII,Sancho IV (1284-1295).


Medieval standard of the Kingdom of León

File:Flag of Early Medieval Kingdom of Leon.svg, Modern reconstruction of a flag used during the reign of
Alfonso VII Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
(1105-1157)
File:Royal Banner of León.svg, Another late interpretation
The heraldic standard of the Leonese Monarch. It's one of the oldest heraldic flags; the documentation for the colours dates from ca. 1150. This flag, as a standard was not rectangular: it was a swallow-tailed flag and the
fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...
edge is pointed. It consisted of a lion passant purple filled the greater part of the field. The background was white, or grey very light (''Argent''). Armies from León,
Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
,
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 communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...
, Galician and even the
Castilians Castilians (Spanish: ''castellanos'') are those people who live in certain former areas of the historical Kingdom of Castile, but the region's exact limits are disputed. A broader definition is to consider as Castilians the population belonging ...
fought under this flag at times of King Alfonso VII, but it was not until 1065 that the County of Castile was separated from León and became a kingdom in its own right. León kept this sign, but Castile was forced to create a new one. In the beginning the Castilians used a simple cross until the
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab ( ar, معركة العقاب), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the ''Reconquista'' and the medieval history of Spain. The Christ ...
(1212) when
Eleanor of England Eleanor of England ( es, Leonor; – 31 October 1214), was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile. She was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II, King of England, and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Early life and fa ...
, wife of
Alfonso VIII Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at ...
, designed the
canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial allus ...
of the Kingdom of Castile:
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 ...
, a three towered castle or, masoned
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 ...
and ajouré
azure Azure may refer to: Colour * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 ...
.Menéndez-Pidal de Navascués, Faustino (2004) ''El Escudo de España'' he coat of arms of Spain Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía, Madrid. PP. 64-78. . The choice of colors was not random: Eleanor based them on the
Royal Arms of England The royal arms of England are the Coat of arms, arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as Armorial of the House of Plantagenet, personal arms by the House of Plantagenet, Plantagenet kings who ruled ...
. In addition, these colors contrasted with those of the Leonese on the battlefield.


Current coats of arms

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 of the
province of León León (, , ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the cap ...
is: ''Argent a lion rampant
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 ...
crowned, langued and armed Or''. The provincial arms has as
crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
a former royal crown, without
arches An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vault ...
, orb and cross (used until the 16th century). The arms of the city of León is described as follows: ''Argent a lion rampant Purpure, langued and armed Gules''. The arms of the capital of the province has a marquesal coronet instead the former royal crown, are ornamented and the lion is not crowned. Ferdinand III received the Kingdom of Castile from his mother, Queen Berengaria in 1217 and the Kingdom of León from his father
Alfonso IX Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
in 1230. From then on the two kingdoms were united under the name of the Crown of Castile. After the adoption of the quartering of the two kingdoms, King Sancho IV (1284-1295) introduced the crown on the head of the lion in the Leonese quarters. The field of the Castilian arms has led to the lion began to be wrongly ''gules'' (red). The
1833 territorial division of Spain The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided the country into provinces, in turn classified into "historic regions" ( es, link=no, regiones históricas).provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
.''Real Decreto de 30 de noviembre de 1833''
on Wikisource;
''Real Decreto de 30 de noviembre de 1833''
on the official web site of the government of the Canary Islands, accessed 2009-12-31.
Original announcement in th
''Gaceta num. 154.''
on th
''Agencia Estatal Boletin Oficial del Estado of Spain''
It was necessary to distinguish between the arms of the city and province. So it was decided to remove the crown from the lion used by the city, restoring the original. After the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, Juan José Fernández Uzquiza,''Nuevas páginas con tristeza''
ew pages with sadness Biblioteca Digital Leonesa. Fundación Saber.es, accessed 2018-08-15.
president of the Provincial Council, introduced in the arms of the province the tail facing the body of the lion.Chao Prieto Ricardo.
El origen de la actual bandera de León (20 May 2013)
', Corazón de León. Retrieved 15 August 2018.


Current flags

File:Bandera de León.svg, Flag of
León Province Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
File:Bandera de León (ciudad).svg, Flag of the city of León File:Bandera del País Leonés.svg, The ''purpurada'', a flag used by regionalists to represent León (Unofficial) File:Dixebriega final.png, Flag used by some
leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
groups to represent the
region of León The Region of León, Leonese region or Leonese Country ( Leonese: ''País Llionés'', es, región de León and ast, rexón de Llión) is a historic territory defined by the 1833 Spanish administrative organisation. The Leonese region encompa ...
(Unofficial) File:Leon flag.png, Flag used to represent the
Kingdom of Leon Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
(Unofficial)
The origin of the current flag is unknown, but probably not too old. The crimson flag with the royal arms in the center, proper of the Crown of Castile and the Hispanic Monarchy and it responds to a fairly late use. Secondly, the first description of a similar standard was found by the writer and linguist Waldo Merino Rubio in the ''Act of February 18, 1789'' of the Book of the Municipal Agreements (''Filandón, Diario de León'' June 5, 1987). According to ''Act February 18, 1789'' the standard of the city was crimson, with six small escutcheons ''Argent'' with lions ''Or'' and silk. In the past, it was frequently to renew the standards kept by the councils in every royal proclamation, so the number of escutcheons were variable. Something back is the standard that is kept in the office of the Mayor of León with the arms of the city, with a lion ''Or'' and two small escutcheons at the edges embroidered on crimson
damask Damask (; ar, دمشق) is a reversible patterned fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin ...
. According to the historian Ricardo Chao, this was the standard of the city of León and served as a model for the current Leonese flag in the nineteenth Century. After a time, it also became in the symbol of the province and the historical region of León. During 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 ...
a Leonese autonomy movement arose. This Leonesism movement uses a purple flag charged with a coat of arms in the center containing a crowned ''Purpure'' lion and a former royal crown as crest. The Leonese sovereigntist movement included the arms used by the autonomy movement within a yellow star and without crowns.


See also

*
Coat of arms of Castile and León The coat of arms of Castile and León depicts the traditional arms of Castile (the yellow castle) quartered with the arms of León (the purple lion). It is topped with a royal crown. The lion design is attributed to Alfonso VII,Flag of Castile and León The flag of Castile and León is the official flag of the Spanish autonomous community of Castile and León. It consists of the quartered coats of arms of Castile, represented by a castle, and León, represented by a lion. This flag is used ...
*
Heraldry of Castile The coat of arms of Castile was the heraldic emblem of its monarchs. Historian Michel Pastoureau says that the original purpose of heraldic emblems and seals was to facilitate the exercise of power and the identification of the ruler, due to what ...
*
Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León; es, Reino de León; gl, Reino de León; pt, Reino de Leão; la, Regnum Legionense; mwl, Reino de Lhion was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when t ...
*
Lion (heraldry) The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christia ...
*
List of oldest heraldry This list of oldest heraldry aims to include the oldest documented, non- attributed heraldic achievements for individuals, families, locations or institutions. Heraldry developed in the High Middle Ages (c. 1000-1250), based on earlier, "pre ...
*
Spanish heraldry The tradition and art of heraldry first appeared in Spain at about the beginning of the eleventh century AD and its origin was similar to other European countries: the need for knights and nobles to distinguish themselves from one another on t ...


Notes


References

* Chao Prieto, Ricardo:
La Bandera Medieval del Reino de León
' he medieval banner of the Kingdom of León ''Banderas'', No. 98, Spanish Society of Vexillology. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
''El león en la heráldica
' he lion in heraldry Libro de armoria, May 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2018.


External links


''Province of León (Castilla y León, Spain), Flags of the World''



''Vexileón: Coats of arms and flags of the province of León''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon Historical flags Spanish coats of arms Coats of arms of former countries Coats of arms with lions Royal arms of European monarchs Kingdom of León Leonese culture León, Spain Province of León Flags of Spain