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Spanish Realms in the "Book of All Kingdoms," Late 14th Century

Last modified: 2009-11-21 by eugene ipavec
Keywords: spain | españa | historical | book of all kingdoms | castille |
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A few remarks about the Catalan Atlas: it was a donation from king Pedro IV. to his friend, king Charles IV. of France. The map is surprisingly exact in the description of the Mediterranian Sea but has nothing to do with reality in regions far away. So the Atlas is not simply a collection of maps, but an image of the system of the world, what the ancient Greeks would have called κοσμος ("cosmos"). Some “information” about far regions is taken from the Holy Bible, some parts are mere fantasies of the producers.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 19 June 2009

Aragon (Aragón), Late 14th Century

As Shown In 2005 Illustrated Transcription [f0f05]
[Aragón in the Book of All Kingdoms (Spain, Late 14th Century)]
image by Eugene Ipavec, 08 Apr 2009
As Shown In Siegels Flag Chart [sig12]
[Aragón in the Book of All Kingdoms (Spain, Late 14th Century)]
image by Eugene Ipavec, 08 Apr 2009
 
 

The 24th flag mentioned and illustrated in the in the illustrated transcription of the Book of All Kingdoms [e9s50] is attributed to Aragón (usual Spanish form of Aragon). This is depicted in the 2005 Spanish illustrated transcription [f0f05] as a vertically striped yellow and red flag, with five red stripes alternating with five yellow stripes, the latter slightly narrower, the flag shown in the ogival default shape of this source.

The anonymous author of [e9s50] describes the flag thusly:

«E el rey dende á por señales nueve bastones amarillos e bermejos atales.»
"And its king has for sign nine bars, yellow and red, like these."

Considering the history of the Aragonese-Catalan flag, this depiction is unexpected on two acounts: the stripes orientation being parallel to the pole, and the even number of stripes. Furthermore, the text mentions nine stripes, surely the usual "quatre barres" (four bars) on yellow (legendary four blood-soaked fingers on gold).

António Martins-Tuválkin, 15 Nov 2007

A yellow ogival pennant with four red bars.

Source: Siegels Flag Chart [sig12], flagchart 17, row 2, column 3; based on "Conocimiento de todos los reinos" [e9s50]

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 07 Nov 2008

Castille (Castilla), Late 14th Century

[Castille in the Book of All Kingdoms (Spain, Late 14th Century)]
image by Eugene Ipavec, 08 Apr 2009

The next flag mentioned and illustrated in the Book of All Kingdoms [e9s50] is that of Castille; essentially the same flag as the one we show for "Kingdom of Castile and Leon 1230-1516," down to the pendon shape detail. The lions in [f0f05] are solid black, though.

The text is succint and does not mention the colors:

«por señales un pendón con dos castillos e dos leones fechos en cuarterones, tales como estos que adelante se siguen»
"for sign a pendon with two castles and two lions on quarters, as those here below"

However, the original's frontispice illuminure shows two shields with the same armourial bearings (Castille and Leon, quartered) and there on the lions are clearly red, in the same shade as the background of the adjacent quarters of Castille. The black lions are therefore a meaningless error.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 06 and 10 Nov 2007

Ceuta (Cepta), Late 14th Century

As Shown In 2005 Illustrated Transcription [f0f05]
[Ceuta in the Book of All Kingdoms (Spain, Late 14th Century)]
image by Eugene Ipavec, 08 Apr 2009
As Shown In Siegels Flag Chart [sig12]
[Ceuta in the Book of All Kingdoms (Spain, Late 14th Century)]
image by Eugene Ipavec, 08 Apr 2009
 
 

The 63rd flag mentioned and illustrated in the Book of All Kingdoms [e9s50] is attributed apparently to Ceuta, though perhaps to Gibraltar; the sentence is far from clear. This as depicted in the 2005 Spanish illustrated transcription [f0f05] as a red flag with two large white keys standing upwards, in the ogival default shape of this source. The anonymous author of [e9s50] describes the flag thusly:

«El rey d'esta cibdat á por señales un pendón bermejo con dos llaves blancas a tales.»
"The king of this city has for device a red pendon with two white keys like these."

FotW doesn't mention this flag, either under Ceuta nor at Gibraltar. The "keys" motive seems to indicate that this may be the 14th-century flag of Gibraltar, while the unclear paragraph of [e9s50] seems to refer to Ceuta:

...«llegué a la fuerte cibdat de Cepta. E sabet que Cebta es en derecho de Algezira e de Gibraltar, logares del reino de España. E pasa entre esta Cepta e Gibraltar el golfo del mar que llaman el angostura del azocaque. El rey d'esta cibdat á por señales un pendón bermejo con dos llaves blancas a tales.

Sallí de Cebta e fui...»

António Martins-Tuválkin, 27 Nov 2007

A red lanceolate with two golden keys of total height, horizontally ordered.

Source: Siegels Flag Chart [sig12], flagchart 17, row 4, column 2; based on "Conocimiento de todos los reinos" [e9s50]

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 Sep 2008

Granada, Late 14th Century

As Shown In 2005 Illustrated Transcription [f0f05]
[Granada in the Book of All Kingdoms (Spain, Late 14th Century)]
image by Eugene Ipavec, 08 Apr 2009
As Shown In Siegels Flag Chart [sig12]
[Granada in the Book of All Kingdoms (Spain, Late 14th Century)]
image by Eugene Ipavec, 08 Apr 2009
 
 

The 23rd flag mentioned and illustrated in the Book of All Kingdoms [e9s50] is attributed to Granada. This as depicted in the 2005 Spanish illustrated transcription [f0f05], a red flag yellow Arabic letters, in the ogival default shape of this source. The exact shape of the letters, as depicted in [f0f05], seems to be bogus, or at least severely misshapen.

The anonymous author of [e9s50] describes the flag thusly:

«E las señales d'este rey son un pendón bermejo con letras de oro arávigas como las traía Mahomad su profeta, e son estas que se siguen.»
"And the sign of this king are a red pendon with golden arabic letters like those sported by Mahomad his profet (sic!) and which are those which follow."

No mention of a flag like this on the Historical Flags of Andalusia page, but on the other hand we seem to have no information about Hispanic Arab flags at all.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 14 Nov 2007

Both National Geographic 1917 (p. 390) and the Hakluyt Society version of the text (p. 14) indicate that the lettering is recorded in error by the friar and should represent "No conqueror but God" in Arabic.

Phil Nelson, 17 Nov 2007

The abovementioned scan include the supposedly original text in Arabic and Latin transliteration in the footnote on the page numbered 14. The transliteration reads "Wa il galib ill Allah."

Željko Heimer, 19 Nov 2007

From the Hakluyt edition [e9s12], in a note in p.14 subscribed by C.R.M.: "و لا جالب للا الله" (spelled "u la jalb lla allh").

Probablly the flag our friar sought to depict included this writing in full, with all vowel marks, as the extra dots on the image seem to imply (markless writing has only two dots, in "b" and "j;" the flag shows a third dot, under the "la" ligature, and two squiggles on the fly tip).

That is well above my limited abilities, but we get the idea that the original flag had the usual intrincate calligraphic features one might expect.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 20 Nov 2007

A red ogival pennant with a golden Arab inscription.

Source: Siegels Flag Chart [sig12], flagchart 17, row 3, column 2; based on "Conocimiento de todos los reinos" [e9s50]

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 Sep 2008

Majorca (Mayorcas), Late 14th Century

[Majorca in the Book of All Kingdoms (Spain, Late 14th Century)]
image by Eugene Ipavec, 08 Apr 2009

The 61st flag mentioned and illustrated in the Book of All Kingdoms [e9s50] is attributed to Mayorcas, in English Majorca, the largest of the Balears, currently part of Spain, at the time of this source part of independent Aragon (Catalonian Countries). This as depicted in the 2005 Spanish illustrated transcription [f0f05] as a vertically stripped flag in the ogival default shape of this source, with six green stripes alternating with six black ones (green at the hoist).

The annonymous author of [e9s50] tersly describes the flag thusly:

«El rey d'ella á por señales bastones verdes e prietos.»
"And its king has for device green and black bars."

FotW-ws doesn't mention this flag at or under the Balearic Islands. At Jose Barral's blog, a commenter says that the striped green and black are the Burdils family arms and points to here, where can be seen a CoA «Sable three bendlets Azure» (my blazoning, though the latter may be a miscoloring for green) and confirmation that this family was active and powerful in Majorca on the date in question.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 25 Nov 2007

Navarre (Navarra), Late 14th Century

[Navarre in the Book of All Kingdoms (Spain, Late 14th Century)]
image by Eugene Ipavec, 08 Apr 2009

The next flag mentioned and illustrated in the Book of All Kingdoms [e9s50] is Navarre, depicted in the 2005 illustrated transcription [f0f05] as a BoA in the ogival shape default and showing unusual colors: white background (instead of red), red chains (instead of golden), rings filled with yellow and stylized to circles and absent chain segments making up in the orle. Apart from the weird coloring, this design agrees with the (unclear) reports we have in the Navarre historical pages.

The anonymous author escaped the chore of describing the flag, stating only that

«el rey »de Navarra« á por señales estas que se siguen»
"The king (of Navarra) has for signs these which follow."

António Martins-Tuválkin, 07 Nov 2007