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| Coat of arms of Portugal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Versions | |
.svg) Version without laurels (for use on the national flag, naval Jack and some governmental flags) | |
 Version with theCamões verse "This is my blissful beloved Fatherland" on the scroll, for use on military colours and passports | |
| Armiger | Portuguese Republic |
| Adopted | 30 June 1911 |
| Shield | Argent, fiveescutcheons in cross azure each charged with as many plates insaltire, all within a bordure gules charged with seven golden triple-towered castles |
| Other elements | Behind the shield, anarmillary sphere between two laurel branches embowed Or bound together in base by a ribbon vert and gules. |
Thecoat of arms of Portugal also referred, in Portugal, as thequinas[1] are the main heraldic insignia ofPortugal. They are used by themilitary and thegovernment, including the courts.
There are three versions of the coat of arms. One is used on thenational flag and the naval Jack, another is used on regimental colours of military units and onpassports, and the third was intended to be used inseals,coins and otheremblems. The shield, present on all three versions of the arms, is based on the royal arms used bythe monarchy since theMiddle Ages. The present model wasde facto adopted on 1 December 1910, andde jure on 19 June 1911, specifications were published on 30 June 1911.[2][3]
The present model of the coat of arms of Portugal was designed by the painterColumbano, a member of the commission appointed on 15 October 1910 to present the project for a newNational Flag, following the establishing of thePortuguese republic on the 5 October 1910. The models chosen by the commission were approved by the Provisional Government of the Republic on 29 November 1910, confirmed by the Constituent Assembly through the decree of 19 June 1911, with its details being specified in theDiário do Governo (official journal) no. 150 on 30 June 1911.
Three versions of the coat of arms were established, intended for different types of use. As its central element, all three include the shield of the traditional Portuguese arms placed over a goldenarmillary sphere.
The basic version consists of only the Portuguese shield over the armillary sphere. This version was intended for the National Flag and the naval jack. From 23 September 1911, this version was also used on the naval distinctive flags of the President of the Republic, ministers and other state authorities, the latter being also used on some governmental and state flags created afterwards. Occasionally, this version is unofficially referred to as the "lesser arms of Portugal".
The second version consists of the Portuguese shield over the armillary sphere, with this being surrounded by two branches of laurel, tied in the base with a white scroll with theCamões verseEsta é a ditosa Pátria minha amada ("This is my beloved merry homeland"). This version was intended to be used on the regimental colours of the military units.
Finally, the third version is similar to the second one but the scroll does not include the verse and is usually represented in red and green. This version was intended to be used inseals,coins and otheremblems.
Quina (pluralquinas) is thePortuguese word forquincunx, meaning either five-twelfths or, more usually, a pattern of five parts.
After theofficial recognition of theKingdom of Portugal as a kingdom in 1143 (it had been self-declared as so in 1139), silverbezants were added to the blue cross of the shield, symbolising coins and the right of the monarch to issue currency, as leader of a sovereign state. Eventually, and given the enormous dynamism ofmedievalheraldry, it is believed that the shield degraded and lost some elements in battle, eventually losing the cross format. This is how KingSancho I inherited the shield from his father,Afonso Henriques, with the cross replaced byescutcheons with the silver bezants. A traditional legend explains that these escutcheons represent the five moor kings defeated by KingAfonso I of Portugal in theBattle of Ourique.
The number of silver bezants in each escutcheon varied extensively, with versions representing four up to eleven. In the late 14th century, however, the number of bezants was fixed in five. Late explanations interpret them as the five wounds ofJesus Christ and/or thethirty pieces of silver (with the five bezants in the middle escutcheon counted twice).
From the fixation of the number of bezants in five, the groups of the five escutcheons, each with five bezants of the Portuguese shield became popularly referred asquinas. Bysynecdoche, the term "Quinas" came to be used as an alternative designation of the coat of arms of Portugal and came even be used as a reference to anything that represents Portugal (e.g. the Flag of Portugal often referred as the "Flag of theQuinas").
The redbordure featuring golden castles (not towers, as some sources state) was added during the reign ofAfonso III. Although the number of castles could vary between eight and fourteen,Sebastian I fixed them at seven definitively. They supposedly represent theMoorish castles conquered by Portugal during theReconquista. Their origin is probablyCastilian Afonso III was the second son of KingAfonso II of Portugal and thus was not expected to inherit the throne, which first went to his elder brother KingSancho II of Portugal. Afonso III combined both the arms of his father and the arms of his motherUrraca of Castile, thus the Castillan red border with golden castles, around the Portuguese arms inherited from his father.
An important element of Portuguese heraldry since the 15th century, thearmillary sphere was many times used in Portuguese naval and colonial flags, mainly inBrazil. It was a navigation instrument used to calculate distances and represents the importance of Portugal during theAge of Discovery, as well as the vastness of its colonial empire when theFirst Republic was implemented.
The use of the armillary predates the current flag by centuries. It was the personal emblem of King Manuel I. It was first added to the flag in 1815 as part of the flag of theUnited Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.
The 1910 commission appointed by the government to study the symbols of the new republic suggested the armillary sphere as "the eternal standard of our adventurous spirit".[4]
The current design, adopted in 1910, of the coat of arms of Portugal incorporates a pair of laurel branches forming a wreath.[5] It is the only element of the coat of arms with a non-native meaning as they were intended to represent theroman crown of laurel with the commission responsible for the new flag briefly referring to them as a "triumphal symbol".[6] In some older renditions, the supporters are distinct.
The national heraldry of Portugal evolved from the royal heraldry, with the royal coat of arms gradually coming to be considered a national coat of arms.
The Portuguese coat of arms itself is the result of almost a millennium of modifications and alterations. Starting with the crossazur on fieldargent, which constituted the putative shield ofHenry,Count of Portugal in the 12th century, successive elements were added or taken, culminating with the complex heraldic design that was officially adopted in 1911 (after theRepublican Revolution of 1910).
The main and constant element of the coat of arms of Portugal is and has always been the Portuguese shield. This resulted from around 300 years of evolution, from the 12th to the 15th centuries.
The heraldic shield used byAfonso Henriques, who became the first King of Portugal, is believed to have beenArgent, a cross azure (a blue cross on a white field), apparently the same as that used by his father, Count Henry.
The original shield evolved toArgent, five escutcheons crosswise the dexter and sinister ones pointing to the center azure each semée of plates (a fieldargent with fiveescutcheonsazure forming a cross, thedexter andsinister ones pointing to the center, with each escutcheonsemée ofplates). This is the earliest verifiable form of the Portuguese shield. Apparently it was introduced during the reign of Afonso Henriques (Afonso I) and definitely was used during the reign of his successor KingSancho I (1185–1211), during the period in which heraldry came into widespread use throughout western Europe.
There are several legends which seek to explain the significance of the five escutcheons and of the plates. The escutcheons are said to represent either theFive Holy Wounds of Christ on the Cross, the five wounds suffered by Afonso Henriques in theBattle of Ourique or the five Moorish kings defeated by him in that battle. The plates are supposed to represent either thepieces of silver received byJudas Iscariot to betray Jesus or the sovereignty of the Portuguese Kings, symbolized by the right to issue their own money. A more mundane theory suggests that the heraldry represents merely the physical fabric of the battle-shield of Afonso Henriques, which may have comprised two blue leather bands nailed to a white base; after having been repeatedly hit in battle, most of the bands had become cut off, except for the five pieces on top of the clusters ofnails. These remaining five pieces of blue leather with the bright heads of the nails showing through, are thus proposed as the origin of the five escutcheonsazur, eachsemée of plates.
When the futureAfonso III of Portugal asserted his claim to the throne occupied by his brother Sancho II, he adopted as his coat of arms the Portuguese shielddifferenced by the addition of a borduregules semée of castles or. When Afonso III eventually became King in 1247, he retained use of this differenced shield, instead of reverting to the original shield without the bordure. There are several theories which seek to explain the significance of the castles within the bordure, the most popular one being that they represent the last castles conquered in the Algarve from the Moors by that king, completing the PortugueseReconquista. However, the most common presently accepted theory is that the bordure was merely a mark ofcadency to signify that Afonso was not the head of the Royal family, the castles probably having been suggested as suitable elements from thearms of his motherUrraca of Castile. Later the number of castles within the bordure became fixed at seven, this being the version of the shield still in use today.
During the1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum, one of the emerging candidates to the throne wasJohn, master of theOrder of Aviz, an illegitimate son of KingPeter I of Portugal. John was elected Regent and Defender of Kingdom in 1383 andacclaimed King of Portugal in 1385, asJohn I and during his reign the royal Portuguese shield was added to by the inclusion of the insignia of the Order of Aviz, namely a cross flory vert (a green cross with afleur-de-lys at the end of each arm). This was effected in various ways: by insertion within the bordure, alternating with the castles; more commonly inserted within the shield, and occasionally shown outside the shield with the latter laying over it.
Finally, in 1485, KingJohn II ordered the correction of the Portuguese shield, eliminating features identified as heraldic errors.[7] Thus the cross of the Order of Aviz was removed and thedexter andsinister escutcheons were set upright, lest left couchée they might be assumed to symbolize bastardy, which was not appropriate in the case of that monarch. Furthermore, thesemée of plates on the field of each of the five escutcheons was fixed in number at five as a reference to theFive Holy Wounds ofChrist, being the personal devotion of that monarch, and were arranged in saltire thus forming aquincunx. Thus, the arrangement of five escutcheons, each with five plates started to be known asquinas, signifying "groups of five", and bysynecdoche, the Portuguese shield itself started to be referred as thequinas.
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During some periods of effective or claimed Royal union of Portugal with other states, the Portuguese shield was used marshaled with the coats of arms of those states.Beatrice of Portugal, who claimed the Portuguese crown during the 1383-1385 interregnum, used the Portuguese arms in the II and III positions of the shield, marshaled with the arms of her husband KingJohn I of Castile in the I and IV. KingAfonso V of Portugal, who claimed thecrown of Castile during the 1475–1479 period, used the Portuguese arms in the I and IV, marshaled with thearms of Castile and León in the II and III. During the period of theIberian Union (1580–1640), the Portuguese shield was placed in the honour point of the complex coat of arms of theHouse of Habsburg. These marshaled coats of arms had, however, a very limited use, with the simple Portuguese coat of arms being used in the national context and the marshaled arms being only used when they intended to represent personally the monarch.
When the status ofBrazil was raised from that of state to a constituent kingdom of the Portuguese Monarchy, giving origin to theUnited Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, the Royal coat of arms was altered by the addition of an armillary sphereor over a fieldazur, these being the Brazilian arms. The new Royal achievement of arms consisted therefore of the Portuguese shield (representing Portugal and the Algarves) over the armillary sphere (representing Brazil), all topped by the Royal crown. Although displayed as a supporter of the Portuguese shield and not as part of it, it is controversial if the armillary sphere should be considered or not part of the main field of the new achievement. This achievement of arms was used in Portugal from 1815 to 1826 (despite Brazil having achieved independence in 1822, only when KingJohn VI died in 1826 did Portugal revert to the use of the old coat of arms).
Following theoverthrown of the monarchy in 1910, the new government decided to replace the national flag, and since the shield was kept in the new flag, the color tonalities of its components, something that was not established until then, where chosen in order to accommodate with the colors of the new national flag, the design of the castles was also standardized, another aspect of the shield that was not established previously, namely their visual representation, and that the doors, in the national flag, were to be represented as closed (displayed as yellow), while in the national colors were to be represented as open (displayed as blue). Until 1911 even though the design of the castles in the shield, and its overall visual aspects, differed from manufacturer to manufacturer, they were all represented with their doors being open.
Until the early 14th century, the achievement of arms of Portugal consisted solely in the shield, with no external elements surrounding it being represented.
A crown over the shield started to appear in some representations of the Portuguese coat of arms in the 14th century. Initially, a crude open crown was represented, this evolving to a crown similar to the presentcoronet ofduke, so consisting of a circlet surmounted by leaves. The crown come to appear more and more in the representations of the coat of arms of Portugal, becoming virtually inseparable from the Portuguese shield. In most of the cases the crown was represented laying directly over the shield, although in the rare occasions in which the helmet was represented, the crown was placed over it. From the 16th century until the establishment of the republican coat of arms in 1910, the Royal crown was virtually present in all representations of the coat of arms of Portugal, being also the only constant external element of the shield. In the reign ofKing Sebastian (1557–1578), the open Royal crown was replaced by a crown closed with a singlearch. This latter evolved to a crown with two arches. The final model of heraldic crown was adopted in the reign ofPeter II (1683–1706), this being a crown closed with four arches, surmounted by a globe topped with a cross. At the same time, the previous crown with two arches became the crown of the Prince apparent heir of the Portuguese crown.
Other external elements surrounding the shield, started to be also represented in the Portuguese coat of arms from the 14th century, although none of them has reached the status of a constant element, as the Royal crown.
One of the most important of these elements was theheraldic crest, which at least from the reign of John I became adragon, probably associated to the adoption ofSaint George as the patron saint of Portugal. Until the 17th century, the dragon was represented inor, but since then, it started to be represented invert. This change of color was probably due to the ascension to the throne, in 1640, of theHouse of Braganza, which had thegreen as itslivery color, this also becoming the national color of Portugal. During the period of the House of Braganza, two dragonsvert became frequently used as the supporters of the Portuguese Royal shield.
Other of the external elements was thehelmetor with bars, that was frequently represented between the 14th and the 16th centuries, but rarely appearing in the achievement afterwards. Both thetorse and themantling that appeared in the helmet were represented inargent andgules during the reign of KingManuel I (1495–1521), these being his livery colors. In latter representations of the Royal achievement of arms, the torse and the mantling included the four colors of the Portuguese shieldargent,gules,or andazur.
Supporters also were frequently represented in many artistic representations of the Portuguese coat of arms. The most frequently represented supporters until the 18th century were the angels. Usually two angels were represented, one indexter and the other insinister, but in some representations the shield is supported by a single angel. Occasionally, the supporter angel was represented using atabard orsurcoat with the Portuguese arms, what may indicate that he was not a generic angel but specifically theGuardian Angel of Portugal. From the reign of King Manuel I forward, it was common to represent the angels handling armillary spheres andcrosses of the Order of Christ or handlingflags with those badges. From the 18th century onwards, the dragonsvert that served as the Portuguese crest became also the most often represented supporters in the achievement of arms of Portugal. In latter representations of the Portuguese coat of arms, the dragonsdexter andsinister carry each one a flag with elements of the Portuguese shield, thedexter beingargent with the five escutcheons and thesinister beinggules with seven castlesor.
In the reign of King Manuel I, his personalheraldic badge (thearmillary sphere) and his insignia as master of theOrder of Christ (thecross of this order) started be intensively represented, usually as elements surrounding the Portuguese shield. These two heraldic insignia were so intensively used that they evolved from being mere personal insignias of Manuel I to be considered national insignias, continuing to be used even after the end of the reign of this king. Occasionally, the armillary sphere was represented as the supporter of the Portuguese shield, in a similar composition to those that, centuries later, would be used in the arms of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves and of the Portuguese Republic.
During the reign ofHenry, a peculiar Royal achievement of arms was used, which included a red ecclesiastical hat (galero) and respective tassels, combined with the Royal crown, to reflect thecardinal standing of the King.
During the 1815-1825 period, the Royal coat arms were changed to reflect the establishment of theUnited Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, starting to include also thearmillary sphereor over a fieldazur, which was adopted as the coat of arms of the newly createdKingdom of Brazil. The new achievement consisted so of the Portuguese shield (representing Portugal and the Algarve) over the armillary sphere (representing Brazil), all topped by the Royal crown. The armillary sphere appeared so as a kind of supporter of the shield, although it is controversial if it should be really considered a supporter or part of the main element of the arms.
From the second half of the 19th century, the Royal coat of arms became commonly represented with the shield covered by apavilionpurple linedermine issuing from the Royal crown.
 | Dragonor crest, helmetor and mantlinggules,or,azur andargent in aThesouro da Nobreza armorial representation of the Portuguese achievement of arms |
 | Angels as supporters of the 15th century shield (House of Aviz) |
 | Cardinal hat on the top of the Portuguese arms used in the reign ofKing Henry |
.svg) | Green wyverns as supporters of an 18th-century model shield (House of Braganza) |
.svg) | The armillary sphere as supporter of the Portuguese shield in the Coat of arms of theUnited Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves |
.svg) | Achievement with green wyverns, banners and crest |
 | Pavilion in a 19th-century model coat of arms |
_-_Lesser.png) | Royal Coat of arms surrounded by a laurel wreath, commonly used in coins and official documents |
 | Cross of the Order of Christ as the supporter of the Portuguese arms in the badge of theOrder of the Colonial Empire |
.jpg) | Supporters wearing a tabard bearing the insignia of theSash of the Three Orders and holding a banner of the cross of the Order of Christ and the standard of KingManuel I in a 20th-century model coat of arms (Estado Novo) |
.jpg) | Supporters surmounted by Cross of the Order of Christ (sinister) and armillary sphere (dexter) in a 20th-century model coat of arms (Municipality of Macau) |
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