One of the earliest heraldic symbols in Europe of the "
Forum or Offer" Ceremony'' The development of the modern heraldic language cannot be attributed to a single individual, time, or place. Although certain designs that are now considered heraldic were evidently in use during the eleventh century, most accounts and depictions of shields up to the beginning of the twelfth century contain little or no evidence of their heraldic character. For example, the
Bayeux Tapestry, illustrating the
Norman invasion of England in 1066, and probably commissioned about 1077, when the cathedral of Bayeux was rebuilt, depicts a number of shields of various shapes and designs, many of which are plain, while others are decorated with dragons, crosses, or other typically heraldic figures. Yet no individual is depicted twice bearing the same arms, nor are any of the descendants of the various persons depicted known to have borne devices resembling those in the tapestry. The animals of the "barbarian" (
Eurasian) predecessors of heraldic designs are likely to have been used as
clan symbols. Adopted in
Germanic tradition around the
fifth century, they were re-interpreted in a
Christian context in the western kingdoms of
Gaul and
Italy in the 6th and
seventh centuries. During the eleventh century, crosses appearing on seals of Spanish princes and were used for authentication privileges until King Alfonso VII started using a lion (1126), alluding to the name of his main realm
lion (), an example of
canting arms.
purpure, device of Alfonso IX (Tumbo A)''. The lion as a heraldic charge is present from the very earliest development of
heraldry in the 12th century. One of the earliest known examples of armory as it subsequently came to be practiced decorates the tomb of
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, who died in 1151. An enamel, probably commissioned by Geoffrey's widow between 1155 and 1160, depicts him carrying a blue shield with golden lions rampant and wearing a blue helmet adorned with another lion. A chronicle dated to about 1175 states that Geoffrey was given a badge of a gold lion when he was knighted by his father-in-law,
Henry I, in 1128. Alfonso VII's use of the lion as a heraldic emblem for León predates the earliest surviving
Royal Arms of England, a single lion visible on a half-shield depicted on the
First Great Seal (1189) of
Richard I, as well as the three pale blue
lions passant of
Denmark (ca. 1194), the
heraldry of the Holy Roman Empire (ca. 1200) and the
French fleurs-de-lis coat (1211) although the fleur-de-lis was present on royal robes and ornaments since at least 1179. That Alfonso VII took the lion on his banners and arms was due to the dominance of León in the kingdom. When other parts of the
Chronica refer to the raising the royal standards in the taken enemy fortress, it is referring to some flags which depicted the lion. It is disputed whether this animal represented to the monarch or kingdom, in the first case the strength of the sovereign but it seems a clearer identification between the words "
Legio" and "
leo" that would imply the adoption of the feline as image of the city and the kingdom. In favour of the second hypothesis is the fact that in the author of the
Chronica made a rhyme with the words "
legionis" and "
leonis".
Historical characteristics of the lion and the flag The flag used in the
Middle Ages is different from current ones. The lion was passant instead of
rampant. All lions that appear on coins, devices and seals of Leonese monarchs are passant (sometimes
dexter, others
sinister). There are two exceptions: the lions rampant depicted on shields of
Ferdinand II and
Alfonso IX in their respective representations of the
Tumbo A Manuscript of
Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. These cases show lions rampant, the reason being that the heraldic charges should always be arranged in such a way that they take up the greater part of the field. In the case of a shield/coat of arms, the size a lion passant is equivalent to one-third of the field. However, the figure in a vertical position, and enlarged, takes up the available space. This also avoids
horror vacui, dominant in the medieval art, filling of the entire surface of a space or an artwork with detail. Relative to the
tincture of the lion, in the representations of the
Tumbo A Manuscript, under the effigies of the monarchs are two lions passant in an attitude of attack and their color is
purpure. In the case of Alfonso IX, this lion is framed in a flag whose background is
argent and has a narrow purple border. In addition, on the shield carried by the monarch, the lion is that same tincture and the background is
argent and the two lions passant shown in the saddle have the same colors. The purple lion and the argent field were retained after the
union with the
Kingdom of Castile in 1230 when the
arms of the two kingdoms were combined in one shield displayed in a
quartering, during the reign of King
Ferdinand III, called the Saint. There was no space for two visible lions passant at quarterings, so they were rampant to take up the divisions completely. This is the disposition of the lions that has come to the present day on the
coat of arms of Castile and León, but the crowned lions were adopted by King
Sancho IV (1284–1295).
Medieval standard of the Kingdom of León File:Flag of Early Medieval Kingdom of Leon.svg|Modern reconstruction of a flag used during the reign of
Alfonso VII (1105–1157) File:Royal Banner of León.svg|Another late interpretation The heraldic standard of the Leonese monarch is one of the oldest heraldic flags; the documentation for the colours dates from c. 1150. This flag, as a standard, was not rectangular: it was a
swallow-tailed flag and the
fly edge is pointed. It consisted of a lion passant purple (
purpure) filling the greater part of the field. The background was white, or very light grey (
argent). Armies from
León,
Extremadura,
Asturias,
Galician and even the
Castilians fought under this flag at times of King Alfonso VII, but it was not until 1065 that the County of Castile was separated from León and became a kingdom in its own right. León kept this sign, but Castile was forced to create a new one. In the beginning the Castilians used a simple cross until the
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) when
Eleanor of England, wife of
Alfonso VIII, designed the
canting arms of the Kingdom of Castile:
gules, a three towered castle
or, masoned
sable and ajouré
azure. The choice of colors was not random: Eleanor based them on the
Royal Arms of England. In addition, these colors contrasted with those of the Leonese on the battlefield. == Current coats of arms ==