Brazilian heraldry

Brazilian heraldry

Former Imperial Coat of arms of Brazil
 
Heraldic tradition Portuguese
Governing body Non existent

The Brazilian heraldry was established in 1822, when Brazil became independent as an Empire, under the reign of the House of Braganza. Being formerly a part of the Portuguese Empire and being reigned by the same Royal House that reigned in Portugal, Brazilian heraldry followed the tradition of the Portuguese heraldry.

Family heraldry

The family heraldry refers to the coat of arms used by the Brazilian nobility. This included Brazilians that were members of Portuguese noble lineages and Brazilian citizens ennobled during the period of the Brazilian Monarchy (1822-1889). In most cases, the concession of new arms was associated to the concession of titles. As most of the Brazilian coat of arms bearers had Portuguese ancestors and surnames, their arms were usually taken from the arms of the corresponding Portuguese lineages.

Civic heraldry

The civic heraldry refers to the coat of arms bear by Brazil, by its states and by its municipalities.

There are no official standards regulating the civic heraldry of Brazil. However, the general standards to govern the Portuguese municipal heraldry - established in 1930 - have been followed in most of the modern coat of arms created for the Brazilian municipalities. Some older municipal coat of arms were also corrected to conform with those standards. So, in general, the Brazilian municipal coat of arms are displayed in a round bottom shield (Portuguese shield) and are topped by a mural crown, with a scroll under the shield usually including the name of the municipality. As all Brazilian seats of municipalities have the status of "city" (in comparison with Portugal, where most still have only the status of "town"), only mural crowns with five apparent towers are generally used. Golden mural crowns are attributed to state capitals, while silver crowns are attributed to the other cities. By the other side, the restrictions that apply to Portuguese municipal coat of arms regarding the inclusion of the Arms of Portugal and the division of the field in several partitions are generally ignored in Brazil. Also, many of the Brazilian municipal coat of arms include a motto in the scroll under the shield, what is rare in Portugal although allowed. Besides this, a number of Brazilian municipal coat of arms include supporters, whose application is not foreseen in the Portuguese municipal heraldry standards.

The majority of the coat of arms of the Brazilian states were adopted in the late 19th century and do not follow heraldic standards. The same happens with the modern coat of arms of Brazil, adopted after the implementation of the republic in 1889.

Brazilian coats of arms

See also

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