The International Association of Amateur Heralds

The arms of the explorer Christopher Columbus possibly contain more augmentations of honour than any other:



His original arms (Or a bend Azure and a Chief Gules) creep in enté en point. Quarter 1 is Castile, quarter 2 Léon, quarter 3 golden isles in the sea, and quarter 4 five anchors 2/1/2 their shackles sinister. In Spanish: Escudo cuartelado: 1: las armas de Castilla (en campo de gules un castillo de oro aclarado de azur); 2; la armas de León (en campo de plata un león rampante de gules coronado de oro); 3: en una mar de azur unas islas de oro; 4: en campo de azur cinco áncoras de oro puestas en faja con la traba a siniestra, y colocadas en aspa; el escudo entado en punta con las armas primitivas de Colón (en campo de oro una banda de azur y jefe de gules).

Here is another emblazonment:



Note that quarter 2 (Léon) depicts the lion rampant as gules (as in the Spanish blazon above), although the arms of Léon more commonly have the lion purpure.

The Leon quarter in the second version is also missing the coronet cited in the Spanish blazon

According to a very interesting article at Cuadernos de Ayala #26 (published by Spanish Genealogy and Heraldry Federation), by Félix Martínez Llorente, the original grant of arms made by Catholic Kings was rather different, having Columbus assumed slightly different and "nobler" arms.