Coat-of-Arms (Basque Country, Spain)

Last modified: 2004-04-17 by santiago dotor
Keywords: spain | basque country | coat of arms | law |
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by Antonio Gutiérrez, taken with permission from the S.E.V. website

• Evolution from 1936 to nowadays
• The Arms of Navarre in the Basque Coat-of-Arms
• Coat-of-Arms 1936-1939 and 1978-1986
• Coat-of-Arms and Flag Decree of 1936
• Coat-of-Arms used by nationalist parties

See also:

• Basque Country (Spain)
• Spain

Other sites:

• Arms and Flags of the Basque Country by Aingeru Astui

Let me try a complete history of the basque coat-of-arms. The emblem was initially decreed on October 19th, 1936 (published October 21st) by the Provisional Government of Euzkadi. The text of this Decree is already on FOTW-ws. With the arrival of the new regime in 1939, the emblem, along with the flag and the autonomy, were suppressed. The symbols continued in use by the Basque Government in exile.

On January 4th, 1978, following the establishment of the democratic government in Spain, was instituted the Consejo General del País Vasco (General Council of the Basque Country), by Royal Decree-Law No. 1/78, published in BOE of January 6th. The Agreement of November 2, 1978 restablished the 1936 emblem.

Four years later (in 1982) came the request of the Navarran governement regarding the presence of the Navarran coat-of-arms on the basque emblem, resolved by the Constitutional Court in 1985 (also on FOTW-ws). This sentence was observed by the Basque government, and an Agreement of March 25th, 1986 modified the Arms, removing the Navarran chains leaving the fourth quarter plain red. The Decree 690/91, of December 17 oficialized the previous Agreement. Another Decree, the 117/93, of April 27 established the official design of the emblem.

There are some differences between the older and the new design, as follows:

1. On the first quarter both the designs of the castle and of the arm with sword were changed. Besides the castle is now on top of a grey rock, and the arm and sword are light blue in colour.
2. On the second quarter the field changed from red (gules) to argent, the bordure from argent to gold, the crosses form green (sinople) to red (gules) and the ground (terrase) from green (sinople) to maroon.
3. On the third quarter the field changed from argent to gold, and the ground (terrase) has been removed, leaving only the trees and the waves.

Antonio Gutiérrez, 10 December 1999

António Martins mentioned that the coat-of-arms referred by Dave Martucci might be the coat-of-arms of the Autonomous Government of the (Spanish) Basque Country 1936-1939, which was created by the Decree of 19th October 1936 concerning the adoption of the coat-of-arms and flag, shortly before the start of the Spanich Civil War, and disappeared at its end. He also suggested it might be the initially proposed coat-of-arms for the Basque Autonomous Community, which was later rejected by a 1981 Constitutional Court sentence which said the arms of Navarre could not appear on the Basque coat-of-arms (at least until Navarre decides to join the Basque Autonomous Community). It wasn't in 1981 that the Constitutional Court rejected the "Navarran coat of arms" out of the Basque coat of arms, but in 1985. It is the STC 94/1985 of 29th July. (Source: Boletín de Jurisprudencia Constitucional 52-53, Agosto-Septiembre 1985. Cortes Generales. Secretaría General del Congreso de los Diputados. Secretaria General del Senado. ISSN 0211-5921). The request of the Navarran governement was transmitted in 1982. The decision concerning the Navarran coat of arms is quite long (13 pages DIN A4). I cannot explain all but the judging was based on several points:

• the Spanish Constitution which allows the Communities to adopt their own emblems
• the fact that the Foral Community of Navarre is juridically speaking quasi a community
• the fact that the Basque Community spoke only about the flags and historical ensigns in his statute of autonomy
• the fact that a red shield with golden chains and an emerald is undoubtfully associated with Navarre through history
• the fact that the presence of the Navarran Arms in the coat of arms of the Basque governement is a vindication of Navarre by the Basque Government.

Pascal Vagnat, 24 October 1998

The coat of arms on official Basque Government flags no longer includes the arms of Navarre, following a legal suit from the Navarre Government (Navarre being an Autonomous Community, on the same legal footing as the Spanish Basque Country), who claimed that the usage of the arms of a region on the flag of another was illegal. The Constitutional Court (highest Court of Justice in Spain) agreed, and the Basque Government had to leave the 4th quarter empty, with a red background as had previously shown, but without the chains that stand for the ancient Kingdom of Navarre.

José Gabriel Barbero, 27 January 1999

Coat-of-arms charges are:

1. Álava [gold bearing a castle tower, an armored arm holding a sword rising out of the ground and a lion all on a green mound];
2. Biscay [the Guernica Oak on a green mound in front of a white cross on red with a border of white bearing eight green saltires];
3. Guipúzcoa [three green trees over blue and white waves on a gold field]; and
4. Navarre [gold chains on red].

Dave Martucci, 7 March 1998

The leaves are oak leaves, since the national symbol is the tree of Gernika which is an oak.

Mikel, 21 August 1999

Coat-of-Arms and Flag Decree of 1936

Here is the translated text of the 19th October 1936 Decree:

"STATEMENT
The Provisional Government of Euzkadi has amongst its functions that of providing the public entity which it represents with the insignia and emblems that the Basque Country shall use in official life. Amongst them must be the Government's emblem and the flag or banner. Both of uniform and compulsory use, symbols of that new entity which emerged to public official life with the announcement of the Autonomy Act approved in the terms foreseen in the Constitution of the Spanish Republic of December, 1931.

"Presently the Euzkadi territory is integrated by Araba, Gipuzkoa and Bizkaya [sic], the incorporation of Nabara [sic] to that territory being foreseen in the Act. Thus the emblem of the Government of Euzkadi must contain, removing all attributes standing for monarchical or lordly powers or symbolizing fratricidal fights of the Basque lands, the arms of Araba, Gipuzkoa, Bizkaya and Nabara, in a single blazon of four quarters surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves, a reminder of the tree of the Basque freedoms, that of Gernika.

"The flag must be that which gathers Basque unity and which the use, ever more frequent in the Basque lands, has sanctioned as such symbol of their unity. Designed by Arana-Goirítar Sabin [sic - Sabino Arana, no idea why h