Portuguese heraldry

Portuguese heraldry

Coat of arms of King Manuel I of Portugal, in the Livro do Armeiro-Mor, 1509
Heraldic tradition	Latin
Governing body	Heraldic Commission of the Portuguese Archaeologists Association

Portuguese heraldry encompasses modern and historic heraldic achievements in Portugal and in the former Portuguese Empire. Heraldry has been in use in Portugal at least since the 12th century. Portuguese heraldry initially developed among the Iberian branch of the Latin heraldic tradition, in the late 14th century being deeply influenced by the English heraldry, latter developing its own distinctive features. Most of its present general characteristics were fixed in the 16th century by the heraldic ordinances of King Manuel I of Portugal.

Unlike the highly stylized and macaronic language used in the heraldry of many other countries, the Portuguese blazon is described in plain language, using usually only Portuguese terminology.

Portuguese heraldry was born within the Iberian heraldry tradition, itself a constituent part of the Latin heraldry family, and has kept many of its features to the present day. In the late 14th century it came under significant influence from English heraldry, also absorving part of its features. Portuguese heraldry then evolved autonomously, and by the 16th century had many features of its own. These reached their peak with the ordinances of King Manuel I of 1521, which defined strict heraldic rules and established the statutes for the officers of arms.

Heraldry declined in Portugal from the 17th to the 19th century. However, in the late 19th century, and especially in the 20th, it had a strong revival, mainly driven by the high development of the civic, corporate and military heraldries.

Some features retained from the Iberian tradition include the frequent use of bordures, the use of the cauldron as a charge to represent the power of a nobleman to maintain and feed a military contingent, the frequent use of the castle as a charge to represent a place where an memorable action occurred and the appearance of mottos and legends inside the shield. However, Portuguese heraldry departs from that tradition in that almost all armorial bearings are granted with a crest, which is rare in the rest of Iberian and Latin heraldry. Additionally, it is characterized by the rarity of the granting of armorial bearings that include supporters, although non-official ones are commonly represented in their artistic displays.