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Re: La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain)

Posted: 06 Sep 2015, 16:35
by Mike_Oettle
Without wishing to defend the mess that is used as a logo by Escaldes-Engordany, I feel the artist could have made a better job of the plant emblems on the dexter, as they appear to be nopales (prickly pear “leaves”). I presume the things on the sinister side are meant to represent a grain crop.
The prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) is an import from the Americas, but it is no surprise to find it in a Spanish emblem. It even appeared in a regrettable South African coat of arms — see http://www.geocities.ws/muurkroon/PEDC.html
On the other hand the purple colour of the dots above each green blob might suggest olives . . .

Re: La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain)

Posted: 07 Sep 2015, 02:06
by Iain Boyd
Re "la Cruz de la Victoria" see -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Cross.

Iain Boyd

Re: La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain)

Posted: 07 Sep 2015, 09:41
by Chris Green
Tomorrow (8 September) the Vuelta takes a rest day in Burgos, historic capital of Castile. The arms of the city are a riot of various images of castles, including what appear to be two escutcheons argent each with a three towered castle or:

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The name Burgos, not surprisingly, comes from the same root as burg, burgh and borg: a fortified town or village. The text on the ribbon is "Caput Castellae/Camera Regia/Prima Voce et Fide, which I take to mean "Capital of Castile/The Seat of Government/First with the Voice and the Faith". "Prima Voce" may refer to the claim that the original (and purest?) Castilian Spanish was that of Burgos. The king is I think Alfonso III of León who recaptured the city from the Moors sometime during the mid-900s AD and built a number of castles (hence "Castile").

The Province of Burgos has arms that recall King Alfonso and his castles:

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Re: La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain)

Posted: 07 Sep 2015, 22:44
by Leonardo Almeida
If I'm not wrong, the Prima voce is due to ancient privilege of its representatives speaking before the others in the Courts.

Re: La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain)

Posted: 08 Sep 2015, 06:39
by Chris Green
Leonardo Almeida wrote:If I'm not wrong, the Prima voce is due to ancient privilege of its representatives speaking before the others in the Courts.


My own conclusion as to the reason for those words was pure conjecture.

Re: La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain)

Posted: 09 Sep 2015, 06:47
by Chris Green
Today (9 September) the Vuelta stays in Burgos, but tomorrow it moves on to the province of Segovia whose CoA consists of the arms of the five judicial areas that form the province: Segovia, Sepúlveda, Cuéllar, Riaza and Santa Maria Real de Nieva.

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Escudo de la provincia de Segovia (Castilla y León, España): Cuartelado: 1. de gules, el castillo de oro donjonado de tres homenajes de lo mismo fabricado de sable y aclarado de azur, acostado de dos llaves altas de plata, que son las armas de la villa de Sepúlveda; 2. de plata, el busto de un caballo bordado con su collera en sus colores, que son las armas de la villa de Cuéllar; 3. partido, la superior de azur y la inferior ondas de plata cargadas de dos truchas nadantes en sus colores, que son las armas de la villa de Riaza; 4. de azur, la jarra de plata con asas de oro, saliente de ella tres ramas floridas de azucenas con sus colores, que son las armas de la villa de Santa María de Nieva. Sobre todo, el escusón de azur con el acueducto de plata fabricado de sable y, encima, una cabeza con melena en sus propios colores, perfilada de plata, que son las armas de Segovia. Timbrado el todo de corona real de oro con sus piedras preciosas en sus colores. (Corona real abierta)


https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escudo_de_la_Provincia_de_Segovia

The Spanish blazon of the arms of the city of Segovia give a slightly different description of the head:

En campo de azur, un acueducto de plata, mazonado de sable y sumado de una cabeza de doncella, de su color natural.


Who the maiden may have been remains a mystery - to me at least.

Incidentally the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, the most stunning ancient engineering work in Spain, was built without the use of mortar, so the "mazonado de sable" (or "fabricado de sable") is incorrect.

Re: La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain)

Posted: 09 Sep 2015, 14:34
by JMcMillan
Chris Green wrote:Who the maiden may have been remains a mystery - to me at least.


Perhaps it is intended to represent of the statue of the Virgin Mary that stands in a niche at the base of the top tier of arches. My Spanish-English dictionary translates doncella as "maiden, virgin."

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Incidentally the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, the most stunning ancient engineering work in Spain, was built without the use of mortar, so the "mazonado de sable" (or "fabricado de sable") is incorrect.


Technically true, but do we have an alternative heraldic term to "masoned" to indicate the outline of the stones comprising such a structure?

Re: La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain)

Posted: 09 Sep 2015, 14:46
by Chris Green
Perhaps it is intended to represent of the statue of the Virgin Mary that stands in a niche at the base of the top tier of arches. My Spanish-English dictionary translates doncella as "maiden, virgin."


Possibly, but the statue is one tier lower than the maiden's head in the CoA. Without knowing which came first, CoA or statue, the mystery remains, though the likelihood of the head being of the BVM is quite high given the devotion to Catholicism of these parts.

Technically true, but do we have an alternative heraldic term to "masoned" to indicate the outline of the stones comprising such a structure?


As far as I can recall, brickwork isn't usually defined as "mortared argent" although it is, so there seems no need to describe stonework as "mortared sable" when it isn't. Or am I being pedantic - again?

Re: La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain)

Posted: 09 Sep 2015, 22:48
by JMcMillan
Perhaps if the object is blazoned as a "stone bridge," or "stone aqueduct," or such, the indication of the individual stones may be taken for granted. Given modern trends, however, something blazoned simply as "a bridge argent" might end up emblazoned to look like this:

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Definitely "a bridge argent!"

Re: La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain)

Posted: 09 Sep 2015, 22:56
by JMcMillan
A somewhat more artistic emblazonment courtesy of the Spanish post office:

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