The coat of arms of Spain: the history and significance of state symbols

Spain attracts with its culture and history many people from all over the world. To get acquainted with it more closely, it is worth studying the state symbols of the country.

The modern look of the coat of arms

For tourist information about this country is often limited to bullfighting, football and flamenco. Meanwhile, the history of the state is really impressive. It reflects and the coat of arms of Spain. In its modern version, the entire history of the emergence and development of the constitutional monarchy in the country is reflected. Each of the elements that create it is a symbol with a deep meaning. Thus, the coat of arms of Spain can be called a kind of encrypted message from the inhabitants of the kingdom.

It is a shield crowned by a crown. On its sides are two pillars, each of which is wrapped in red ribbon, and on its white field there are several emblems of various kingdoms, which eventually merged to become modern Spain.

The meaning of the central elements

For a better understanding it is worthwhile to disassemble each part separately. In the center of the coat of arms of Spain, photographs and drawings of which can be found on almost every souvenir from this country, is decorated with shields, symbolizing different regions of the country.

The history of the symbol leads to 1230, when the kingdoms of Castile and Leon united, noting the union with a shield, on which were depicted the signs of each of the lands - a three-tower castle and a lion with a golden crown on its head. It is not difficult to explain them. The first is the symbol of Castile, justified by the large number of castles in the territory. The second is slightly more complicated. Probably, the name of the kingdom is associated with the term "legion", which in the Romanesque period of history was extremely relevant, and eventually shrunk to a word similar to the name of the lion. Part depicting Aragon, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, shows on a gold background four scarlet stripes. Their meaning is explained by the old legend of the Normans, who attacked the Spanish coast. Cope with them helped the Aragonese Gottfried the Hairy, congratulating whom the Emperor Carl the Bald passed his hand, dirty in the blood from his wounds, over the golden shield.

Navarre is a shield that occupies the coat of arms of Spain in the lower right corner. It shows a gold forged chain, located on the red. In the middle of it is an emerald. Finally, Andalusia presents a pomegranate, the most typical fruit for Granada, even named in his honor. The fruit is shown dissected, which is intended to emphasize the availability of lands formerly occupied by the Arabs, for all Spaniards.

In the center of the coat of arms of Spain is decorated with a small blue shield with three gold lines. It symbolizes the Anjou branch of the Bourbons, which ruled the country from the eighteenth century to the present day.

The value of the side elements

The two pillars surrounding the shield are a stylized depiction of the pillars symbolizing the end of the world. In the same way, the Strait of Gibraltar was once designated, leaving the borders of which Europeans became only after Christopher Columbus traveled to America. The coat of arms of Spain, whose meaning is directly related to the monarchy in the country, is also supplemented by the royal motto. It is located on the ribbon crocheting ribbons, which are written in Latin "Plus ultra". The meaning of the statement is that beyond the symbolic borders the world does not end.

Finally, the composition crowns the crown, reminding that every Spaniard is a subject of the monarch. The Spanish king has his own coat of arms. On it instead of pillars is depicted the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and behind it is the red Burgundy Andrew's cross.

The modern look of the cloth

The flag and coat of arms of Spain perfectly reflect the nature of this Mediterranean country. The modern version of the standard seems to be filled with the sun - its main color is yellow. A wide strip of this shade, located horizontally, is in the middle of the flag, and narrow and narrower stripes frame it from above and below. They are made in red. At a distance of a third from the shaft is the image of the state emblem. This flag has been used for the last several decades without any changes.

The meaning and history of the painting

According to legend, in the distant past, when the flag and the Spanish coat of arms did not yet exist, the Aragonese king wanted to acquire his own banner. He ordered several variants to be worked out and selected among them a gold one, after which he ordered him to give him a goblet full of animal blood, and ran his fingers through the fabric, creating two red stripes. So scarlet and yellow became the heraldic colors of Aragon and Castile. Officially the cloth was taken in 1785 by King Charles III. It was used as a military flag in combination with the coat of arms of Castile and Leon. Since 1938, a modern version appeared, in which only minor changes were made after the restoration of the monarchical system in 1978. During the republic, the Spaniards used a tricolor with horizontal stripes of red, yellow and purple flowers of the same size. General Franco used a yellow-red cloth.