Portuguese coat of arms

Last modified: 2005-08-26 by jorge candeias
Keywords: coat of arms: inescutcheons | armilliary sphere | castle (yellow) | bezant | quinas |
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• History of the portuguese coat of arms
• "How did the cross get its spots"
• The armilliary sphere
• The quina
• The quinas cross
• The castles

• Portugal

History of the portuguese coat of arms

The first documented portuguese coat of arms goes back to the first half of the eleventh century, at the time of Sancho I and Sancho II. It was silver, charged by five blue escutcheons disposed in the form of a cross; the points of the side ones pointing toward the center. Each escutcheon was charged by silver dots, later called “bezants”.

From circa 1252, under Afonso III, the shield was added with the red border with the golden castles. On Afonso III coat of arms the eschuteons had six or more bezants and from eight to twelve castles. At the time of Afonso IV (1325-57), the bezants were many and the castles twelve.

In 1385, when the Avis dinasty reach the throne, João I added the green cross of Avis to the shield, with the castles grouped three by three in the corners of the red border.

Between 1485 and 1495 João II removed the Avis cross and tilted all the escutcheons vertically. From that time on a golden royal crown of ancient type appeared over the shield.

In 1557 King Sebastião modified the crown and fixed as seven the number of the castles and