From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coat of Arms of Puerto Rico
The coat of arms of Puerto Rico were first granted by the Spanish Crown in 1511, and are the oldest arms still used in the New World. It was officially re-adopted by the Commonwealth government of Puerto Rico in 1976.
On the shield, the green background represents the island's vegetation. The lamb (of God) and flag on the shield are those of St. John the Baptist, while the book with the seven seals on which the lamb sits represents the Book of Revelation, generally attributed to John the Evangelist. The border is made up of several different elements: castles and lions to represent Castile and León (Crown of Castile) and a flag with the arms of Aragon and Sicily (for the Crown of Aragon). The Cross of Jerusalem stands for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose succession rights passed to the Kingdom of Sicily, and henceforth to the Spanish Crown. The F and the arrows (Spanish: flechas) represent Ferdinand II of Aragon while the Y and the yoke (Spanish: yugo) represents Joanna (in Old Spanish = Yoanna) = Joanna I of Castile, who originally granted the arms. The Latin motto, "Joannes Est Nomem Ejus" (a quotation from the Vulgate of Luke 1:63), means "John is his name", referring to St. John the Baptist or San Juan Bautista, the original name of the island.
All U.S. states employ a seal as their official emblem. A seal of Puerto Rico exists, but it has been replaced with the traditional coat of arms as the main emblem of the commonwealth. The seal shown at right, as opposed to the original coat of arms (above right), was de-Christianized. In the seal, the lamb is missing its halo and carries a white banner instead of one with a red cross. The lamb's staff does not have the cross mounted on top. The book the lamb sits on does not have the seals of the Book of Revelation.
[edit] See also
