Spanish Family Crests

Escudo de Armas! The tradition and art of heraldry first appeared in Spain at about the beginning of the eleventh century AD out of the need for knights and nobles to distinguish themselves from one another on fog of the battlefield.

Until the end of the middle ages only the paternal arms were used but later both the paternal and maternal arms were displayed. The arms of the maternal and paternal grandfathers were impaled (shield cut in half vertically, showing the respective arms on each half).

The ordinary Spanish nobility is divided into six ranks. From highest to lowest, these are: Duque (Duke), Marqués (Marquess), Conde (Count), Vizconde (Viscount), Barón (Baron), and Señor (Lord) (as well as the feminine forms of these titles).

Nobility descends from the first man of a family who was raised to the nobility (or recognized as belonging to the hereditary nobility) to all his legitimate descendants, male and female, in the male line. Thus, most persons who are legally noble, hold no noble title. Hereditary titles formerly descended by male-preference primogeniture, a woman being eligible to inherit only if she had no brother or if her brothers also inherited titles.

The first example is Garcia de Paredes. Diego Garcia de Paredes, born in 1466, was a Spanish infantry captain serving under Catholic Monarchs, who fought in wars in Granada, Navarre, Greece, Italy and North Africa. He had a reputation for physical strength, earning him the nickname The Extremaduran Samson. It was said that he held a bridge single-handed against 200 Frenchmen. For the service he rendered, he was awarded the title of Marquess of Colonnetta in Italy. He was named a Knight of the Golden Spur by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

The second example is Rodriguez de Vivar. This coat of arms features a blue shield an with an armorer arm, below which a head of a Moorish king is depicted beneath two red flags with silver crescents. This coat of arms ran in the lineage of Diego Rodriguez de Vivar, the only son of the legendary Spanish Knight, El Cid. Diego died in 1097 AD fighting alongside King Alfonso VI.

The third example is Rodriguez de Castanon. This coat of arms features a yellow shield with a chestnut tree, that has an armored arm coming out of it, holding a chain, from which a cauldron hangs. A similar coat of arms was borne by Juan Manuel Rodríguez Castañón, the Bishop of Zaragoza from 1752 until 1769, seen here in the apse of in the apse of the parish church of San Lourenzo de Oliveira, Ponteareas.

The fourth example is Agustín de Salazar y Muñatones, 1st Count of Monteblanco, who born in Lima, Pero in 1702. He was the Mayor of Chincha, Pero and a Knight of Santiago. He was a landowner and a Creole military man who held important political positions in the Viceroyalty of Peru, he was elected ordinary mayor during the Lima earthquake of 1746, demonstrating ability and leadership in reconstruction tasks, for which he was knighted in the Order of Santiago in 1753. Later in 1755, King Fernando VI granted him the title of Count of Monteblanco (1755). His daughter was Doña Rosa Maŕia Salazar y Gabiño (1749-1776) Countess of Monteblanco and Montemar. Here she is depicted for her wedding picture. She married Fernando Carrillo and had one son and three daughters with him.

Hidalgo is a title in the Spanish (or Portuguese) nobility, which in popular use, has come to denote a nobleman who doesn’t have a hereditary title. They owned little land and property, but were exempted from paying taxes. The rank originated during the Reconquista (711-1492), but the title lost its significant over the years: Kings often awarded the title to a man in exchange for personal favors.

The first, hidalgos de Sangre (by virtue of lineage) refers to immemorial nobles, or those nobles for whom no document exists confirming a grant. In other words, they descended from old noble families that were around hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

The second, hidalgo solariego (ancestral hidalgo) included individuals that proved all four of one’s grandparents were hidalgos.

The third, hidalgo de bragueta, were individuals for received tax exemption if they had SEVEN sons in legal matrimony.

The fourth, hidalgo de privilegio (by virtue of royal provision) and hidalgos de Real Provision (by virtue of meritorious acts), were granted by the King in his position as monarch and head of the military.

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