Португалияның геральдикасы: тарихы мен ерекшеліктері

Portuguese heraldry encompasses the modern and historic traditions of heraldry in Portugal and the Portuguese Empire. Portuguese heraldry is part of the larger Iberian tradition of heraldry, one of the major schools of heraldic tradition, and grants coats of arms to individuals (usually members of the Portuguese Royal Family or the Portuguese nobility), cities, Portuguese colonies, and other institutions. Heraldry has been practiced in Portugal at least since the 12th century, however it only became standardized and popularized in the 16th century, during the reign of King Manuel I of Portugal, who created the first heraldic ordinances in the country. Like in other Iberian heraldic traditions, the use of quartering and augmentations of honor is highly representative of Portuguese heraldry, but unlike in any other Iberian traditions, the use of heraldic crests is highly popular.

Portuguese heraldry was born within the Iberian heraldry tradition, itself a constituent part of the Latin heraldry family, and has kept many of its features to the present day. In the late 14th century it came under significant influence from English heraldry, also absorbing part of its features. Portuguese heraldry then evolved autonomously, and by the 16th century had many features of its own. These reached their peak with the ordinances of King Manuel I of 1521, which defined strict heraldic rules and established the statutes for the officers of arms. Heraldry declined in Portugal from the 17th to the 19th century. However, in the late 19th century, and especially in the 20th, it had a strong revival, mainly driven by the high development of the civic, corporate and military heraldries. Some features retained from the Iberian tradition include the frequent use of bordures, the appearance of mottos and legends inside the shield and the frequent use of some specific charges like the cauldron to represent the power of a nobleman to maintain and feed a military contingent and the castle to represent a place where a memorable action occurred. However, Portuguese heraldry departs from that tradition in that almost all armorial bearings are granted with a crest, which is rare in the rest of Latin heraldry. Additionally, it is characterized by the rarity of the granting of armorial bearings that include supporters, although informal ones are commonly represented in their artistic displays. With the beginning of the Age of Discovery in the 15th century, many coats of arms came to include charges related to Portuguese overseas expansion. These included padrões, ships, flags and weapons, Moorish and African heads, exotic animals and other motifs. Another feature of Portuguese heraldry is that when an achievement of arms includes a coronet, it is represented over the helm when it is represented and not below it (as is common in English heraldry, for example).

Since very early, the round bottom shield has been the preferred shape to display the coat of arms in Portugal, causing this shape to often be referred as the "Portuguese shield". In 1911, it was adopted as the standard shield shape for the national coat of arms, and in 1930 became mandatory for the coats of arms of local governments. In the past, however, other formats were frequently used, such as the modern French style in the late 19th century, the cartouche (oval) in the early 19th century, the Italian style (horse head shape) in the 18th century, the heater shield in the 14th century and the Norman shield (almond shape) in the 12th century. Women's coats of arms are always represented in a lozenge (lisonja), with the single exception of those of the Portuguese queens (regnants or consorts), which are represented in a shield.

The Portuguese system of heraldic cadency originates in the regulations of King Manuel I. These regulations state that the head of a lineage, whether royal or common, is the only person to have the right to bear the full arms of the lineage without defacement. No other person can bear such full and undifferentiated arms, not even the heir apparent of the lineage. The system of cadency for the royal family has the same features as similar systems of other European countries, using labels to identify the order of the children of the monarch. However, the system of cadency of non royal lineages is unlike any other. This system aims not to identify the place of the owner in the line of succession of each lineage, but instead aims to identify from which of his/her grandparents the coat of arms was inherited, this origin being signed by a specific mark of cadency, or brisure. Although it is true that the brisure personalizes the arms, in Portugal anyone is entitled to choose their surname and coat of arms from any of their ancestors, not necessarily the same ancestor for both.

It was common for Portuguese monarchs to grant augmentations of honour to the achievements of arms as a reward or recognition to their bearers. The most common of these augmentations was the inclusion of elements of the arms of Portugal: the escutcheon of Portugal ancient (arms of Portugal without the bordure), quinas (escutcheons Azure charged with five plates), or castles Or in Gules field. Occasionally, some augmentations were done with the inclusion of elements of the arms of other kingdoms in whose royal houses the Portuguese Monarchs had ancestors. In the late 19th century, some augmentations were done by the marshaling of the full and un defaced arms of Portugal with the original arms of the bearers, which was a clear infraction of the heraldic rules that limit the use of those arms to the Monarch.

As tinctures, Portuguese heraldry uses the two metals ( Or [gold] and Argent [silver]), the five traditional colours (Gules [red], Azure [blue], Purpure [purple], Sable [black], and Vert [green]) and the furs (ermine, vair and their variations). Additional tinctures that are used in some other countries (like tenné, sanguine or orange) are not used. However, some new armorial achievements, granted in the 19th century, broke with the heraldry rules in including unconventional tinctures like azul celeste (sky blue) and carmesim (crimson). The carnation tincture is also occasionally used in the blazoning of human beings, and the description "proper" ("de sua cor") is also sometimes used to indicate the blazoning of animals or trees in their natural colors. White (branco) is not considered a different tincture from Argent. However, probably by an heraldic error, it is so represented in some coats of arms, like those of the municipality of Santiago do Cacém (in which the white of the fallen Moor's clothing and the knight's horse is distinguished from the argent of the distant castle) and in those of the Logistical and Administrative Command of the Portuguese Air Force. In Portuguese heraldry, the terms de ouro (Or [gold]) and de prata (Argent [silver]) are however replaced, respectively, by amarelo (yellow) and branco (white) in the description of flags. The rationale behind this is that metal materials do not enter in the composition of flags, which are made entirely of cloth.

Some particular charges are frequently used in Portuguese heraldry, with some of them being referred by specific terms. Most of these are related with the coat of arms of Portugal or other heraldic emblems, being occasionally used as augmentations of honor. A quina is one of the five escutcheons Azure charged with five plates of the arms of Portugal. Quina is the Portuguese term for quincunx (the 5 face of a gaming die); it began to be used to designate the escutcheons of the Portuguese arms when the number of plates charging them was fixed at five in the late 14th century. Before that, each escutcheon was represented as Azure semée of plates. By synecdoche, the whole arms of Portugal are frequently refereed as the Cinco Quinas (Five Quinas) or simply as the Quinas. Similarly, the Portuguese flag is often referred as the Bandeira das Quinas (Flag of the Quinas). The Portugal antigo (Portugal ancient) is the version of the shield of Portugal without the bordure Gules charged with castles Or. This designation is however misleading, as the Portugal ancient is not the real old version of the Portuguese coat of arms. The real old version of the Portuguese arms before the introduction of the bordure with castles was similar to the Portugal ancient, but with the dexter and sinister escutcheons lying horizontal and pointing to the center, with all the escutcheons being semée of plates and not just five plates. This real old version is occasionally also referred as "Portugal ancient". From the introduction of the bordure with castles in the arms of Portugal by King Afonso III until the introduction of the heraldic rules of King Manuel I, the Portugal ancient was often used as the coat of arms of the illegitimate children of the Monarchs. From then on, it was used as an augmentation of honor to a coat of arms granted by the Monarch. The esfera armilar (armillary sphere) is also a charge that frequently appears in Portuguese heraldry, usually represented in Or. The armillary sphere was granted by King John II to Duke Manuel of Viseu as his personal badge when he was appointed heir of the Crown. When Manuel became King of Portugal in 1495, he continued to bear the armillary sphere. This reign coincided with the height of Portuguese overseas expansion and might, with the armillary sphere being widely displayed, alone or together with the Portuguese arms, in public buildings, documents, flags and other environments. The armillary sphere was so common in this period that it came to be considered not only as a royal personal badge but as a symbol of the country and of its overseas empire, with its use continuing even after the death of King Manuel I. The cross of the Order of Christ, often referred to simply as the cruz de Cristo (cross of Christ), is a cross patty Gules charged with a small cross Argent. It is the symbol of the Portuguese Order of Christ, deriving from the old cross of the Knights Templar (ancestors of the Knights of Christ). As Prince Henry the Navigator was governor of the Order of Christ, the early Portuguese overseas maritime expeditions were sponsored by this Order, with the participating ships carrying the cross of Christ painted in their sails. The symbol was so heavily and prominently used in the Portuguese overseas expansion that it came to symbolize it and Portugal as a whole. As the government of the Order came into the hands of the King himself during the reign of Manuel I, the cross of Christ came to be also considered a royal badge (during that reign, being frequently represented together with the armillary sphere and the royal coat of arms) and later also as a national symbol. The cross of the Portuguese Order of Aviz, referred simply as the cruz de Avis (cross of Aviz), is a cross fleury vert. As a heraldic badge, this cross had a high importance during the reigning of the House of Aviz. The founder of this House was King John I, who was the Master of the Order of Aviz before ascending to the throne. John I introduced this cross in the arms of Portugal, with its fleur de lis verts points appearing over the bordure of the shield. This inclusion was however considered as heraldically incorrect, and the points were removed from the shield during the reign of John II. The castles or over a bordure gules were introduced by King Afonso III as a charge of the coat of arms of Portugal. Initially the bordure was charged with a semée of castles, but in the early 16th century the number of castles was reduced to eight and later was fixed at seven. There is a common myth that the bordure with castles represent the Portuguese reconquest of Algarve from the Moors, which was completed during the reign of Afonso III. However, today it is commonly accepted that the bordure of castles was taken by Afonso III from the arms of his mother (Urraca of Castile) and used by him as a differentiation of the arms of Portugal because its legitimate user would be his brother Sancho II. The castles were also later used as augmentations of honor.

Royal heraldry refers to the coats of arms of the members of the Portuguese Royal Family, including the Monarchs, the consorts, the princes and the infantes. Until the 14th century, no clear rules existed for Portuguese royal heraldry. However, it was a practice of the children of the Monarchs to use a variation of the royal coat of arms (at that time field argent, five escutcheons azur with each semée of plates). This variation could be obtained by rearranging the elements of the Royal Coat of Arms and/or by adding to it additional elements as ordinaries or bordures. The main currently accepted theory is that the present coat of arms of Portugal was precisely originated in one of these variations, used by the future Afonso III while he was merely the brother of King Sancho II. This theory assumes that the future Afonso III assumed a coat of arms that consisted of the royal coat of arms differenced with a Gules border semée with castles Or, taken from the arms of his mother Urraca of Castile, this coat of arms being maintained after Afonso III deposed Sancho II and assumed the throne in 1248, becoming the Royal Arms of Portugal. In the 14th century, the royal coat of arms began to be represented topped by a crown. Later, a crest was introduced, this being a wyvern Or. In the reign of John I, a system of cadency for the coat of arms of his children was introduced. This consisted in differentiating the royal arms through the inclusion of a label, which field was different for each child of the King. Besides the use of coats of arms, the use of personal heraldic badges by the members of the Royal Family was also introduced in this reign. One of these badges the armillary sphere of King Manuel I obtained the status of a national insignia, being later included in the national achievement of arms. The definitive system of royal heraldry was established by King Manuel I in its ordinances for the officers of arms of 1521. It follows strict rules that include a fixed system of cadency to distinguish the coat of arms of the different members of the royal Family. According to the system, the Monarch of Portugal is the sole user of the undifferentiated full coat of arms of Portugal. No other person is authorized to use the full arms of Portugal, not even the Prince heir. The consort of the Monarch uses a coat of arms with a field parti per pale, with the Portuguese arms in dexter and her/his family arms in sinister. In the Portuguese heraldry system, Queens (either regnants or consorts) were the only women whose arms were represented in shields and not in lozenges. The male children of the Monarch use the arms of Portugal differentiated by a label. The eldest son, as the Prince heir of Portugal, uses the label with all its points empty. The cadets (infantes) have the points of the label charged with arms of their ancestors (usually the arms of the lineage of their mother), other than the arms of Portugal. The first infante has only the dexter point of the label charged, the second one has the sinister and dexter points charged and the third and following infantes have all the three points charged. The eldest son of the Prince heir uses the coat of arms of Portugal defaced by a label with each of its points charged with a heraldic rose. The female children of the Monarch use a lozenge instead of a shield. This applies both to the Princesses and to the infantas. The field of the lozenge is parti per pale, with the arms of Portugal in sinister. The dexter of the shield remains empty (field argent) while the owner is single and is filled with the arms of her husband when she marries. The members of the cadet branches had the right to include the differentiated arms of Portugal in their coat of arms until the fourth generation, when they ceased to have the status of members of the Royal Family. From the second generation on, their coat of arms would be the differentiated arms of Portugal quartered with the arms of the other non royal ancestors of the person. The differentiated arms of Portugal always occupy the first quarter of the field of the shield. The illegitimate children of the Monarchs also bear the arms of Portugal, but defaced with special marks of distinction. These marks varied accordingly with the old Portuguese usages of classifying illegitimate children either as natural children when both parents were not married, as bastards when just one of the parents was married, as adulterine when both parents were married but not to each other, as incestuous when the parents were close relatives or as sacrilegious when one or both parents had taken religious vows. The corresponding defacing marks would be a bend dexter for natural children, a baton sinister for bastards, a bend sinister azur for adulterine, a bend sinister vert for incestuous and a bend sinister gules for sacrilegious children. In the late 17th century, the system of crowns and coronets to be used in the coat of arms of the members of the Royal Family was defined. From then on the royal crown (with four arches) was to be included in the coat of arms of the King and of the Queen. The princely crown (with two arches) was to be used in the coat of arms of the Prince heir (titled Prince of Brazil from 1645 to 1815 and Prince Royal from then on) and of the eldest son of the Prince heir (titled Prince of Beira since 1734). The ducal coronet was to be used in the coats of arms of the infantes. From the 19th century on, it was common to represent the achievement of arms of the Monarchs with a pavilion issuing from the royal crown, which formed a backdrop for the shield. The Royal pavilion was purple with an ermine facing. Occasionally it was charged with elements of the coat of arms of Portugal, like quinas and castles.

Until the reign of King John I there were apparently no restrictions on the use of burgher arms in Portugal. The first restriction appeared in this reign, with the ban of the use of the or tincture in these type of arms. During the reign of King Afonso V, burgher arms were restricted to the use of colours only, with both metals being banned. This restriction would become irrelevant when King Manuel I forbade the use of arms to those who were not of the Portuguese nobility. This restriction against burgher arms in Portugal lasted until the end of the Monarchy in 1910, although, by that time, it was very common to a burgher who stood out in politics, commerce, industry, agriculture, military or other matters, to be ennobled and so to become entitled to bear a coat of arms.

Portuguese national heraldry evolved from the royal heraldry, with the royal coat of arms gradually coming to be considered a national coat of arms. The present national achievement of arms of Portugal was established in 1910, after the replacement of the Monarchy by the republic. As its central element, the traditional Portuguese shield was kept. This was placed over an armillary sphere. The achievement of arms has three main versions. The simpler includes only the shield over the armillary sphere, and is so displayed in the National Flag. In the second version, used in the national colors of military units, the armillary sphere is surrounded by two branches of laurel, tied in the base with a white scroll with Camões' verse "Esta é a ditosa Pátria minha amada" (This is my beloved famous Motherland). The final version, intended to be used in seals, coins and other badges, is similar to the second version, but the scroll does not include the verse and is usually represented in red and green. The Portuguese shield itself is the result of about 300 years of evolution, from the 12th to the 15th centuries. The putative initial shield used by Afonso Henriques, who became the first King of Portugal, was field argent with a cross azur. This evolved to a field argent with five escutcheons azur forming a cross, the dexter and sinister ones pointing to the center, with each escutcheon semée of plates. When Afonso III became King in 1247, he maintained the shield he used as brother of King Sancho II: the then Portuguese shield added with a bordure gules semée of castles or. When the master of the Order of Aviz became King in 1385, as John I, the cross of the order (cross vert with fleur de lis in its points) was inserted in the shield, with its points appearing in the bordure gules, between the castles or. Later, the semée of plates of each of the five escutcheons gradually evolved to fixed five plates disposed in saltire and, because of this, each of these escutcheons started to be known as quina (the face "five" of a dice). By synecdoche, the Portuguese shield started to be referred as the five quinas or simply as the quinas. Finally, in 1481, King John II ordered the correction of the Portuguese shield, eliminating its features identified as heraldic errors. So, the cross of the Order of Aviz was taken off and the dexter and sinister escutcheons were set upright. Later the semée of castles or of the bordure evolved to seven fixed castles, this being the version in use today.

Military heraldry is the youngest branch of Portuguese heraldry. Each branch of the Armed Forces and the Republican National Guard (GNR) has its own system of heraldry, that also includes their heraldic vexillology. Before the 20th century, the Portuguese military made only rare use of heraldry, besides use of the royal and national coats of arms. In contrast with the usage of other militaries, even the use of particular badges, insignia or mottos was rare in the Portuguese military units. In the late 1920s, the Portuguese Army started a policy of reviving its units' historical traditions. As part of its policy, mottos were introduced for some units in the late 1920s, and units' semi heraldic guidons were introduced in the early 1930s. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the first unit's coat of arms were introduced, although in most cases these consisted of non heraldic designs. In 1953, the Portuguese Institute of Heraldry proposed a system of rules to construct heraldically compliant coats of arms for the Army. Some units adopted coats of arms following these rules. In 1964 the Army finally started to experiment with the implementation of a regulation of heraldry and symbology, establishing strict heraldic compliance rules for the creation of coats of arms and heraldic flags for the units. A particular characteristic of these rules was the use of the heater shield in the coat of arms, instead of the traditional Portuguese shield with a round point proposed in the 1950s. Although an Army heraldic coronet was established, this was rarely used, with the coat of arms usually represented in a similar way to personal heraldry, with the shield topped by a helm and this by a crest. These regulations became official in 1969. The other branches of the Armed Forces followed the Army in implementing processes of heraldic regulation. In 1960, the Portuguese Air Force established a regulation of vexillology that also defined the unit's coat of arms to be inserted in their guidons. Most of these coats of arms consisted of non heraldic designs. The Portuguese Navy established several regulations for the guidons of their units in the 1960s, but not rules for coats of arms. The Navy adopted its own heraldic regulation in 1972, similar to the Army regulation but preferring the use of round bottom shields, and with the units' coats of arms being always represented topped by a naval coronet. The Air Force implemented its own heraldic regulation in 1985, based on the Army standards but with the unit's coat of arms always represented topped with an aeronautical coronet. Meanwhile, the Army changed its heraldry regulation in 1987, with deep changes in heraldic vexillology and also some changes in the heraldry itself. These changes were not adopted by the other branches, which makes the Army's heraldry, especially the vexillology, markedly different from those of the Navy and the Air Force.

The present regulation of Army heraldry was established in 1987, replacing the regulation of 1969. The new regulation marked a deep change in the Army heraldic vexillology, that incidentally became substantially different from the vexillology of the other branches of the Armed Forces that continued to be based on the Army's 1969 standards. However, it did not cause substantial changes in the standards of the coat of arms. The coat of arms of the Army is gules, a lion rampant or holding an ancient sword argent with a handle or, the crest of the achievement being the figure of the shield. The badge of the Army is this coat of arms, but represented in a round shield surrounded by a laurel wreath in dexter and oak wreath in sinister, topped by the Army's coronet, with or without the crest. The Army's coronet is a mural crown with eight towers, five of them apparent, interspersed by cannonballs. Each independent body of the Army has the right to bear a coat of arms and a flag to be flown. The coat of arms is represented in a heater shield (referred to as "classical shield"). The field is blazoned accordingly with the general rules of Portuguese heraldry, but mottoes, legends and monograms are not allowed inside the shield, and partitions of the field are only allowed without any charges on them. The complete achievement of arms of an body is represented by the shield, helmet, torse, mantling and crest, scroll with motto and, optionally orders, supporters, compartment and a war cry. Alternatively, the achievement can be represented by the shield topped by the Army's coronet and optionally the crest on its top, without any other elements including the helmet. The previous 1969 Army heraldic regulations also envisioned the existence of personal coats of arms for certain general officers. These included rank or office insignia to be put under or on the sides of the shield. Examples of those insignia were two crossed batons under the shield for marshals, two crossed cannon under the shield for the director of the artillery branch, two towers in the dexter and sinister of the shield for the director of the engineering branch, a Greek cross under the shield for the director of the military health service and a collar with flaming grenades and cog wheels around the shield for the director of the ordnance service. However, the present regulations include only achievements of arms for bodies. The heraldic flags used by the bodies of the Army are the flags to be flown, the standards (estandartes) and the pennants (flâmulas). The standards of the independent bodies are square (75 cm × 75 cm), being a quadrature of the respective coat of arms. The flags to be flown are similar, but their dimensions can vary. The standards of the sub units of battalion size have the center of the field occupied by the quadrature of its mother unit coat of arms, with a bordure of the main metal of the arms, with the angles occupied by a color or fur which identifies the order of the sub unit inside the unit. It is notable that while the battalion flags were traditionally referred as "guidons" (guiões), this new designation implemented in 1987 broke with that tradition. The company size sub units bear a pennant (75 cm × 25 cm forked flag) with a quadrature of its mother battalion near the host and the tips with a specific color that identifies the company inside the battalion. Independent companies bear battalion type standards and not pennants. The Portuguese Army has its own heraldic authority, the Directorate of Military History and Culture, through its Section of Heraldry.

Besides the National Republican Guard and the former Fiscal Guard, other Portuguese security forces and services make use of military type heraldry, despite most of these having a civil nature. The coat of arms of the Public Security Police (PSP) was approved in 1982. It was Azure with a star of six points Argent, a helm Argent, torse and mantling Azure and Argent, a flying falcon Argent for a crest, the collar of the Order of the Tower and Sword and a scroll with the motto Pela Ordem e pela Pátria (For the Order and for the Motherland). In the same year, the PSP Command initiated a process of creation of coat of arms for the several units and commands of the body, with the support of Colonel Jorge Guerreiro, head of the Army's Heraldic Office. Col. Guerreiro designed a specific PSP coronet, consisting of a ring topped by four stars of six points (three visible) with displayed falcons in their intervals, all in Or. The achievements of arms of most of the units (including of all territorial commands) were then represented as a heater shield topped by the PSP coronet and a scroll with a motto under the shield. However, the heraldic standardization was not universal as, besides the PSP's own coat of arms, the coats of arms created for a number of units did not follow the PSP heraldic standards. The Portuguese intelligence system (SIRP) and its constituent services also make use of coats of arms. That of the Secretary General of the SIRP was established in 2007 as being a shield Sable with a wall with three doors Argent, accompanied by two lamps in the chief and an armillary sphere in the base all Or, a helm Argent, the crest being a phoenix Argent crowned Or issuing from flames Gules, a scroll with the motto E com força e saber, que mais importa (And with strength and knowing, what matters most). The coat of arms of the Internal Security Intelligence Service (SIS) is Sable, an eagle head Argent beaked Or, a bordure Or with eight castles Sable, an ancient crown Or, a scroll with the motto Principiis Obstare (To hold the front line). The coat of arms of the external intelligence service (SIED) is Gules, an armillary sphere Or, a helm Argent, the crest an owl Or and a scroll with the motto Adivinhar Perigos, e Evitallos (To foresee dangers and avoid them). The achievements of arms of the three bodies are represented with round bottom shields. A heraldic emblem was granted to the Border and Immigration Police (SEF) in 1989. This is a shield Azure with an armillary sphere Or, helm Argent, torse and mantling Azure and Or, the crest a flying swallow proper, a scroll with the motto Sub Lege, Libertas (Under the law, freedom). The Economic and Food Security Authority (ASAE) also wished to have a heraldic insignia. The entity adopted a coat of arms in 2012, although the adopted design does not comply with the rules of heraldry. It includes a round bottom shield with a dancetty field with the logo of the ASAE, two crossed halberds over the shield, two griffons on top the shield, a scroll with the motto Pro Lege (For the Law) and the coat of arms of Portugal under the achievement, all involved by laurel wreaths.

The members of the Portuguese Catholic Church have made use of heraldry since it was first introduced in Portugal. One of the first known ecclesiastical heraldic insignia appears in the seal of Soeiro Mendes, the first bishop of Évora after its reconquest from the Moors in 1165. Portuguese ecclesiastical heraldry follows the general standards established for the heraldry of the Roman Catholic Church. However, some national features stand out. One such feature is that the Patriarchate of Lisbon is the only Catholic see besides the Holy See itself that has the right to bear the Papal tiara in its achievement of arms. The coat of arms of the Patriarchate of Lisbon differs from that of the Holy See only in combining the tiara with a processional cross crossed with a pastoral staff, while the Holy See combines the crossed keys of Saint Peter. The Patriarchs themselves have the right to bear the Papal tiara in their personal coat of arms; however this has fallen into disuse, with the latter holders of the office (who, by tradition, are always made cardinals) preferring the use of the red ecclesiastical hat (galero) of cardinal. Another feature is that the Portuguese bishops and archbishops often don't use the standard entirely green ecclesiastical hat, but use instead a Portuguese specific model that is black with the facing and tassels in green. With fifteen tassels, the black and green galero may also be used in the coats of arms of the Primates of Braga and of the Patriarchs of Lisbon if they are not cardinals. Ecclesiastical coats of arms are often represented in oval shields. However, the use of round bottom ("Portuguese shield"), heater and other shapes of shield is also common. In the past, most ecclesiastical coats of arms consisted of family coats of arms, often representing the lineages from which the holder descended. This reflected the noble origin of most of the high ranking officials of the Portuguese Church. As there were few legal restrictions regarding the ecclesiastical coat of arms, many officials of the Church bore arms that they were not supposed to be entitled to bear, e. g., the undefaced family arms, in theory reserved to the heads of lineages. There were also many cases of officials of the Church that adopted the family coat of arms corresponding to their surnames, although not even belonging to that lineage. Other officials of the Church bore instead Arms of Faith (Armas de Fé), with elements that represented their religious devotions and philosophies. These have become more common, as a growing number of non noble persons ascended to the high ranks of the Church. There were also coats of arms created through the marshaling of Arms of Faith with family arms. The bishop of Coimbra João Galvão was made count of Arganil, by King Afonso V in 1472. Since then the title has remained associated with the ecclesiastical office, with its holders being known as "bishops counts". Because of their singular status as holders of both an ecclesiastical and a secular title, the bishops counts of Coimbra used a coat of arms in which the shield was topped by a count's coronet, and that was topped by a bishop's ecclesiastical hat. Following the ban on the use of noble titles by the members of the Catholic Church, the bishops of Coimbra dropped the use of the title and the use of the respective coronet in their coat of arms. Another peculiar mixed ecclesiastical and secular coat of arms was that of by the Cardinal King Henry of Portugal. Being the youngest son of King Manuel I, Henry followed the ecclesiastical life, later becoming a cardinal. When his great nephew King Sebastian died in the battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578, Henry was the next in the line of succession and became King of Portugal, although maintaining his ecclesiastical standing. As a cardinal and King, Henry bore the Royal Arms of Portugal, with a cardinal hat over the royal crown.

Other Portuguese corporations that also make significant use of heraldry are the misericórdias (holy houses of mercy). The traditional achievement of arms used by the misericórdias consisted of two shields represented in courtesy. The sinister shield is usually the coat of arms of Portugal, while the dexter shield is usually the particular coat of arms of the misericórdia itself. This contains heraldic charges representing the attributes of the institution, the most common being: cross (representing God and the support to the sick during their life), skull and crossed bones (representing spiritual comfort given in death), the legend "MIZA" (old abbreviation for misericórdia "mercy"), the allegoric figure of the Mercy, the image of Our Lady and images of Saints. The two shields are usually oval and represented in a cartouche, surrounded by a laurel wreath and frequently topped by the Portuguese royal crown (representing the royal tutelage of the misericórdias since their foundation). After the implantation of the republic, some misericórdias opted by less "monarchic" achievement, eliminating the royal crown and instead placing the two shields in courtesy over the armillary sphere of the present Portuguese coat of arms. Besides this, many variations occur, like the representation of the arms of the misericórdia and of Portugal in the same shield parti per pale, or the replacement of the arms of Portugal by those of the local municipality. In the early 1930s, the heraldist Afonso Dornelas of the Section of Heraldry of the Association of Portuguese Archeologists proposed a model for the heraldry to be bore by the misericórdias, but this not implemented by most of them. In the 1990s, the heraldist J. Bernard Guedes proposed a new heraldic model that has been accepted and implemented by a number of misericórdias. Accordingly, with this model, the achievement of arms is composed of a round bottom shield, a Marian crown and a scroll with the designation of the institution. The charges included in this model of coat of arms are more heterogeneous than in the old one, although some of them, such as the shrimping net (heraldic badge of Queen Eleanor, founder of the misericórdias), are frequently repeated. Bernard Guedes also established the model for the heraldic flags, which have a white field with a saltire azur (taken from the crest of the family coat of arms of Friar Miguel Contreiras, the mythical creator of the misericórdias), a bordure in the main color of the coat of arms, with the cantons in the main metal charged with the abbreviation "MIZA" in the I and IV and with diverse charges in the II and III.

During the period of the Monarchy (until 1910), the heraldic authorities of the Kingdom were the officers of arms and the Nobility Register Office. The Portuguese Monarchs had officers of arms at their service since the 14th century or earlier. The first known holder of the office of Portugal King of Arms was probably an Englishman named Harriet, during the reign of John I. At that time, the granting of arms was not reserved to the Monarch. Several nobles not only assumed their own arms, but also granted arms to their vassals. So besides the Monarchs, several princes and other members of the high nobility also had private officers of arms in their service. This ended in 1476, when King Afonso V decreed that all grants of arms were to be made through the Portugal King of Arms. The heraldic ordinances of King Manuel I of 1521, not only regulated the heraldry itself, but also strictly regulated the organization of the corporation of officers of arms of the Crown. The corporation was to be headed by a principal king of arms whose role was to be fulfilled by the already existing Portugal King of Arms and was to further include additional kings of arms, heralds and pursuivants. The corporation of the officers of arms came so to include three kings of arms, three heralds and three pursuivants. The kings of arms were named after the three constituent states of the Portuguese Crown (the Kingdom of Portugal, the Kingdom of Algarve and the State of India), the heralds after their respective capital cities and the pursuivants after a notable town of each of the states. So, there were the Portugal King of Arms (Rei de armas Portugal), the Algarve King of Arms (Rei de armas Algarve), the India King of Arms (Rei de armas Índia), the Lisbon Herald (Arauto Lisboa), the Silves Herald (Arauto Silves), the Goa Herald (Arauto Goa), the Santarém Pursuivant (Passavante Santarém), the Lagos Pursuivant (Passavante Lagos) and the Cochin Pursuivant (Passavante Cochim). The Silves Herald was later retitled Tavira Herald (Arauto Tavira), when the capital of Algarve was moved to this city. Also, in the course of the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil, the India King of Arms was retitled America, Africa and Asia King of Arms (Rei de armas América, África e Ásia) in 1808, returning to the original title in 1825. Besides the officers of arms proper, the heraldic authority of the Crown also included the Scrivener of the Nobility (Escrivão da Nobreza) and the High Armorer (Armeiro mor). The former headed the Nobility Register Office (Cartório da Nobreza), being responsible for keeping the registers of all the coats of arms of the Kingdom and for the signing of new grants. The High Armorer, besides his main role of maintaining the personal armor and weapons of the King, had the heraldic responsibility of keeping a roll of arms for the King's immediate consultation. From the late 17th century, associated with the beginning of a period of decadence of heraldry in Portugal, the role of the officers of arms became increasingly merely ceremonial. The offices were often filled by persons with little heraldic knowledge, instead of the highly literate officers of arms in the past. From then until the end of the Monarchy, the responsibility for the heraldic authority function fell mainly on the Scrivener of the Nobility and his Nobility Register Office.

With the introduction of the republican regime on the 5 October 1910, the body of officers of arms and the Nobility Register were disbanded. Since then no central heraldic authority has existed in Portugal. However, some sectorial heraldic authorities were later established. In 1930, the Heraldic Section of the Association of Portuguese Archeologists (AAP) was appointed by the Ministry of Interior as the authority for municipal heraldry. The municipal heraldry law of 1991 anticipated the establishment of a State Office of Municipal Heraldry that would become the authority in these matters. However, as this office was never created, the Heraldic Section of the AAP continued to fulfill that role until today. This section also serves as heraldic adviser for other entities, but with no formal authority. In the 1940s the Office of Corporate Heraldry was established within the FNAT (the workers' leisure organization during the Corporatist Estado Novo). This office became the authority for corporate heraldry, including the heraldry used by labor groups such as trade unions, guilds, and professional orders. Besides the corporate heraldry, this office was also required by the Ministry of the Overseas to serve as the authority for the Overseas municipalities heraldry. The Office of Corporate Heraldry was disbanded in 1974, following the overthrow of the Estado Novo and the end of Portuguese corporatism. The Institute of the Portuguese Nobility is the heraldic authority for the personal and family coats of arms of the descendants of the old Portuguese nobility. It was established in 2004 by members of Portugal's titled nobility, with Duarte Pio, Heir to the Portuguese Crown as its honorary president, as a replacement for the previous Council of Nobility. As a private institution with no formal powers granted by the State, it is not an official authority, although its technical know how and its decisions in these matters have been accepted by the Portuguese courts of Justice and by other official authorities. There are other private institutions that are frequently required to act as heraldic advisers for public and non public entities, like the Portuguese Institute of Heraldry and the Portuguese Academy of Heraldry. However, these institutions have no formal heraldic powers.