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      Excerpt from the book

 

   HERALDRY OF THE WORLD

 

       Written and illustrated by

          Carl Alexander von Volborth , K.St.J., A.I.H.

                    Copenhagen 1973

 

       Internet version edited by   Andrew Andersen, Ph.D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portugal

(pp. 118-119, 209-211)

 

Heraldry came to Portugal in the second half of the twelfth century. In the course of the following centuries heraldic authorities may also have been established, for about 1400 King John I (1385-1433) issued detailed instructions to the heralds as to their duties and the territories in which they were to exert their authority. He was probably prompted in this by his father-in-law, the English prince John of Gaunt. His decisions however met with strong opposition among the nobility of the country, among the lesser nobility especially, who were incensed that the king should thus interfere in the way their coats of arms were designed.

 

The arguments about this continued and at the beginning of the sixteenth century Manuel I (1495-1521) laid down rules for Portuguese heraldry. Commoners were forbidden to bear arms, and an official register was established, the Livro do Armeiro Mor, of all approved bearings. New arms were only rarely granted, the reason perhaps being that it is quite usual in Portugal to bear the arms of female ancestors if one so wishes (see below). In this manner far more people can inherit a coat of arms than if they were only hereditary through the male line, and thus the number of people without arms was far fewer.

 

 

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626

626. The arms of Portugal.

The shield is backed by an armillary sphere, an old nautical instrument.

 

 

 

627

627. Duke's coronet

 

628

 

628. Pattern for a viscount.

 

 

629

 

629. Pattern for a baron.

 

 

 

 

 

630

630. Coronet of a marquis.

631

 

631. Pattern for nobility without title. In Portugal the coronet may rest on the helmet or the shield

 

 

 

 

632

632. Coronet of a count.

 

 

 

 

In its final form heraldic administration in Portugal was organised as follows: there were three Kings of Arms, three heralds and three pursuivants (see p. 180). Two of the officials in each group were in charge of their own part of the home country, while the three remaining had authority in Portugal's territories in India, Goa and Cochin. This is possibly the only known example of European heralds having a sphere of activity exclusively outside Europe (apart from England's Carolina Herald appointed in 1705).

 

The quarrel between the royal heralds and the aristocracy continued right up to 1910, when both the monarchy and all aristocratic privileges were abolished. Since then anybody who wishes to assume armorial bearings has been able do so. In 1930 however the republican government instituted an office, the Gabinete de Heraldica Corporativa, which was responsible for the arms of corporations and professional organisations. These are of great importance in Portugal, where numerous public and private bodies have armorial bearings. Municipal heraldry is supervised by the heraldic commission of the Associaciao dos Arqueologos Portugueses.

 

One of the rules that were laid down was that no civic coat of arms should consist of more than one field: the charge or charges should be set on an undivided shield. The royal coat of arms or the republican edition of it (Fig. 626) must not be included in a civic coat of arms, with the exception of the centre five blue shields with their five roundels (called quinas in Portuguese heraldry) which could be retained if justified on historical grounds (see Fig. 635). There were also rules for the use of mural crowns (p. 119): Lisbon and the provincial capitals bear the crown in gold with five towers, other towns a silver crown with four or five towers.

 

 

633

 

633. Arms of the capital Lisbon with the collar of the Order of the Tower and Sword. The provincial capitals also have a mural crown in gold. Other cities have a silver crown.

 

 

634

 

634. Arms of the country town of Arganil.

 

 

635

 

635. Arms of a province overseas: Goa, in India. (The waves in base should be shown white and green.)

 

 

 

 

In Portugal people are of the sensible opinion that a person is descended as much from his female ancestors as through the male line. Hence a person can choose to bear his mother's surname, or that of any other ancestor for that matter, as well as his father's. Quite often a son does not use the same surname as his father and frequently two or more brothers have different names.

 

Heraldry is considered in the same light. The eldest son usually bears the coat of arms of the male line, either by itself or combined with other escutcheons. Younger sons, on the other hand, can choose from among all the arms of their ancestors, using one or more, but no more than four, different coats at a time. They are however expected to indicate by a mark of cadency which ancestor's arms they are bearing or, if they combine a number of bearings on one shield, which is the one in the first field. A certain mark indicates that it is that of the paternal grandfather, another, the paternal grandmother, a third, the maternal grandfather, a fourth, the maternal grandmother, etc. Sometimes these marks of cadency — lily, half-moon, ring, canton, demi-canton etc. (a label was only used by the royal family) - are also accompanied by a letter of the alphabet, as a rule the initial letter of the ancestor's name in question. The system goes back to King Manuel Fs directive in the sixteenth century.

 

In the nineteenth century it was customary for some of the nobility to use a robe of estate, black lined with ermine.

 

The Instituto Portugues de Heraldica, Largo do Carmo, Lisboa 2, is a private organisation which aims at bringing together people interested in heraldry.