Arms of BelinchĂłn, Spain
Granted 1996
Blazon: Per pale argent an archiepiscopal cross or ensigned by a galero of ten tassels vert and gules a pile of salt; all within a bordure of the first charged with the motto “FUERO DE LA VILLA DE BELINCHÓN. 1171” of the second
Setting aside the violations of the law of tincture, which no one was paying much attention to in the 1990s, I’m delighted that the original grant of these arms does give quite a bit of background on the reasons behind the choices.Â
The dexter half of the shield displays the regalia of the archbishops of Toledo, who ruled the city for “several centuries.” The galero is more typical of cardinals, but you’ll notice the archbishop’s galero is not red and has one fewer row of tassels - ten on each side, rather than fifteen. (I just want to point out that this depiction of the cross is almost certainly incorrect; the blazon refers specifically to a double cross, which is the archiepiscopal form; the three bars, as depicted here, are the papal cross, which, as the name implies, is only used by the Roman Catholic pope.)Â
The salt on the sinister side of the shield is a reference to the local salt flats - an extremely valuable resource dating back to Roman times - and the motto on the bordure cites the date the town was incorporated by Cerebruno de Poitiers, archbishop of Toledo from 1166 through 1180.
