The coats of arms of Mallorca’s villages and their fascinating stories
We have always been accustomed to seeing royal houses and ancient noble families with a coat of arms to represent them. But countries, cities and even the smallest villages have their own coats of arms too, and of course, we have them on our island as well.
If you stroll through the villages of Mallorca and look closely at the façades of the most iconic buildings, you’ll discover some very intriguing symbols. These are the coats of arms of Mallorcan villages, with details that conceal stories, traditions and references to the island’s past. Today we’ll tell you about some of the most distinctive ones.
The origin of coats of arms and what they represent
Although some symbols were already used on banners in Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, it was in the 12th century, in the midst of the Middle Ages, that heraldry truly came into its own.
It is very common for coats of arms to feature military motifs (weapons, castles, walls, etc.), powerful or mythological animals (lions, eagles, dragons or griffins) or even Christian motifs such as crosses or lambs. But some are different and very special.
Some interesting coats of arms of towns in Mallorca
Many of the coats of arms of towns in Mallorca feature red and yellow vertical stripes. This stems from the flag of the Crown of Aragon and from the time when King James I conquered the island.
Furthermore, we also find that some of the old names from the Muslim period were retained or altered very little following the conquest. In some cases, these names subsequently served as a clear source of inspiration for the design of the corresponding coat of arms.
Alaró
The name of this village is clearly of Arabic origin. The coat of arms is divided down the middle; on the left there is a wing and on the right a tower. The latter is very clear and represents Alaró Castle, whilst the wing may have been a way of representing the article ‘Al’ from the ancient Arabic name ‘Al.Rum’.
Andraitx
The coat of arms clearly features a large, radiant sun. As the westernmost municipality on the island, it is the last place in Mallorca from which the sun can be seen before it sets.
Bunyola
There are various theories about the origin of the word ‘Bunyola’, but what is clear is that the word’s phonetics were directly incorporated into the coat of arms. The image we see is… 5 fritters! (bunyols in Mallorcan).
Manacor
It seems that this name dates back to the Muslim period, as an important Berber family, the Al-Manquri, gave the village its name. Following the Christian conquest, the name evolved into the present-day Manacor, which in Mallorcan means ‘hand’ (man) and ‘heart’ (cor). From there, it is easy to see how the coat of arms was designed.
Sant Llorenç d’es Cardassar
The coat of arms of this small village pays homage to a Christian martyr, Saint Lawrence, who was burned to death on a gridiron. In addition to the gridiron, it also features a feather and a thistle, a clear reference to ‘Es cardassar’ (field of thistles).
You probably hadn’t given much thought to the coats of arms of Mallorca’s villages until now. When you visit our island and its villages, if you look a little more closely, you might discover some interesting stories through their heraldry.
Discover a village in Mallorca that was once a royal village. Follow the link to find out more about this fascinating story: Sineu, a royal village