page_title: Portuguese heraldry
section_title: Ecclesiastical heraldry
hierarchical_section_title: Portuguese heraldry / Ecclesiastical heraldry
caption_attribution_description: English: Coat of arms of Miguel de Távora, Archbishop of Évora, 1745 Português: Brasão de D. Frei Miguel de Távora, Arcebispo de Évora, 1745
context_page_description: 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, cities, Portuguese colonies, and other institutions. Heraldry has been practiced in Portugal at least since the 11th 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.
context_section_description: 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.
caption: Arms of Miguel de Távora, Archbishop of Évora; 1745.
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