Overseas Elements in Portuguese Armorials from the Modern Era

• Main Author: Seixas,Miguel Metelo de
• Publication Date: 2017
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1645-64322017000200001
• topic: Heraldry; Overseas; Iconography of power; Visual culture; Modern Era

The aim of this article is to analyze the presence of overseas elements in the armorials compiled in Portugal between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Such representations frequently took the form of elements inserted into the coats of arms of families linked to overseas expansion, both through the addition of already existing insignia and the creation of new devices. However, from a certain time onwards, they also included the coats of arms attributed to the political entities exercising power in overseas territories that were either subject to the authority of the king of Portugal or subsidiary thereto. This was the case, for example, with some attempts at heraldic acculturation on the part of a restricted but significant group of municipalities.