After Chris Froome's victory in today's stage the Vuelta starts tomorrow (Thursday) from
Los Corrales de Buelna, south-west of Santander and makes its eastwards way through the hills to
Bilbao.
Los Corrales' arms exhibit two mysteries, perhaps three: are there two arms marshalled together; do the gules f-d-l on azure constitute a breach of the tincture "rule" (if indeed such a "rule" exists in Hispanic heraldry); what is the strange circular charge in the sinister half?
Blazon: Escudo partido, primero en campo de gules, siete flores de lis, de azur. Segundo, de sinople con la Estela de Lombera en oro. timbrado con la corona real española.
Taking the last first. The charge is unique to Los Corrales and represents one side (supposedly the reverse) of one of three carved stones called "primera, segunda y tercera estela de Lombera".
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segunda_estela_de_LomberaI am not sure about the tincture conventions in Hispanic heraldry, but would only say that this is I think the first example of colour on colour that I have come across in this series of posts. Moreover the Spanish Wiki entry says:
El escudo se organiza en campo de oro con siete flores de Lis de azur y en otro cuartel campo de Sinople, la riqueza agraria y ganadera del valle con la Estela de Lombera en Oro. So perhaps the emblazonment is wrong.
I can find no evidence that the two halves are two shields marshalled together.
Bilbao has two CoAs, one for the old town, the other for the modern "Greater Bilbao". Oddly those responsible for the new arms chose simply to use the old arms but on an oval shield:
Blazon: En campo de plata un puente de dos ojos, sumado de la iglesia de San Antón de su color y a su siniestra dos lobos de sable andantes y en palo, sobre ondas de azur y plata. Al timbre una corona real abierta o antigua que es un círculo de oro engastado de piedras preciosas y decorado de ocho florones, visible, interpolados de perlas; la corona forrada de gules. El todo rodeado de dos ramas cruzadas, en la diestra de laurel, de sinople frutada de gules, y en la siniestra de olivo, de sinople frutada de sable.
For once the bridge is not protected by a castle but by the church of St Anthony. Why two wolves are flying in formation over the bridge is another unresolved mystery I fear.