The arms of the conquistadores

Abstract

222 coats of arms granted to the conquistadores are analyzed, characterized by the use of: 1) symbolic charges, allusive both to the landscape where their feats took place and the protagonists and antagonists; 2) naturalistic representations showing those actions directly; 3) augmentations displaying the royal arms, devises and initials; and 4) a profusion of different bordures and helmet crests. The identity of the designers is unknown, but multiple correspondences between the heraldry of the conquistadores and that of the novelistic characters of the libros de caballería are pointed out.