Patron saints and city views: the american municipal heraldry in the XVIth century

Abstract

57 coats of arms granted by the Spanish crown to American cities during the interval 1508-1600 are analyzed. These were organized conforming to patterns previously established in those bestowed upon towns in the Granada kingdom and the Canary Islands, but their plastic design was characterized by a temporal increase of naturalistic representations. Four fifths represent the city view or the geographical surroundings of the site where it had been founded, the religious image of its patron, or a combination of both figures. Most of the remaining fifth shows lions, generally allusive to the courage of the conquistadores. Half the total incorporated the arms of the Castilla and Leon kingdoms, the initials of the monarchs or their devises.