«On the Coats of Arms of the City of Merida» by B. Moreno de Vargas (17th century)
In the heraldic treatise of B. Moreno de Vargas' «Discursos de la nobleza de España», one chapter is devoted to the coat of arms of his hometown, Mérida. Moreno de Vargas favored not the medieval coat of arms of Mérida, but, in keeping with the tradition of modern scholars, its ancient prototype, embodied on ancient coins minted between 25 and 87 b.C. The city was founded as the Roman Colonia Iulia Augusta Emerita, and until the 8th century it was the center of first Roman and then Visigothic Lusitania, and until the early 16th century it remained one of the main western centers of the Roman Empire. The early 4th century saw one of the most significant episodes in Mérida's Christian history: the martyrdom of the 13-year-old Saint Eulalia of Mérida, whose veneration endured for a long time. Saint Eulalia is a generalized image of the patron saint of all Christian troops, which emerged after the recapture of Mérida from the Moors. Moreno de Vargas pays tribute to her, seeing in her the helmet emblem (timbro) of the city's coat of arms. His text on the city's coat of arms is the result of a new understanding of coats of arms that emerged during the 16th century debate about nobility. Discussing the coat of arms of Mérida as the coat of arms of any Spanish family, the author expresses a theological concept of nobility, according to which true nobility is achieved through adherence to Christian values and norms. In connection with the coat of arms, he succeeded in introducing a confessional note into the understanding of nobility; this interpretation of the coat of arms lent it additional weight. The Appendix contains the first Russian translation of «Discourse XXIV. On the Coats of Arms of the City of Mérida» from B. Moreno de Vargas Discursos de la nobleza de España (Discourses of the Nobility of Spain). Madrid, 1795.
References
Вергилий. Буколики. Георгики. Энеида. Перевод с латинского С.В. Шервинского. Москва: Художественная литература, 1979. Vergiliy. Bukoliki. Georgiki. Eneida. Perevod s latinskogo S.V. Shervinskogo. Moskva: Khudozhestvennaya literatura, 1979. [Bucolics].
Толковая Библия, или Комментарии на все книги Св. Писания Ветхого и Нового Завета: в 7 т. / под ред. А. П. Лопухина. Москва: Дар, 2009. Tolkovaya Bibliya, ili Kommentarii ko vsem knigam Sv. Pisaniya Vetkhogo i Novogo Zaveta: v 7 t. / pod red. A. P. Lopukhina. Moskva: Dar, 2009. T. 5. [The Explanatory Bible, or Commentaries on all the Books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments].
Черных А.П. Легенда королевского герба Португалии // Signum / Центр гербоведческих и генеалогических исследований; Институт всеобщей истории РАН. Отв. ред. А.П. Черных. Вып. 8. М.: ИВИ РАН, 2015. С. 36–86. Chernykh A.P. Legenda korolevskogo gerba Portugalii // Signum / Tsentr gerbovedcheskikh i genealogicheskikh issledovaniy; Institut vseobshchey istorii RAN. Otv. red. A.P. Chernykh. Vyp. 8. M.: IVI RAN, 2015. S. 36–86. [Legend of the Royal Coat of Arms of Portugal]
Черных А.П. Арагонская летучая мышь и другие истории про сеньеру // Латиноамериканский исторический альманах. М.: ИВИ РАН. Выпуск 41. 2024. С. 7–38. Tchernik A.P. Aragonskaya letuchaya mysh i drugiye istorii pro senyeru // Latinoamerikanskiy istoricheskiy almanakh. M.: IVI RAN. Vypusk 41. 2024. S. 7–38. [The Aragonese Bat and Other Stories ofthe Señera]
Черных А.П. Армиллярная сфера в идеологии позднего Средневековья и раннего Нового времени // Электронный научно-образовательный журнал «История». – 2023. – T. 14. – Выпуск 6 (128). [Электронный ресурс] – Режим доступа: URL: https://history.jes.su/s207987840027170-6-1/. (дата обращения: 15.09.2025) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840027170-6. Tchernik A.P. Armillyarnaya sfera v ideologii pozdnego Srednevekovya i rannego Novogo vremeni // Elektronnyy nauchno-obrazovatelnyy zhurnal «Istoriya». – 2023. – T. 14. – Vypusk 6 (128). [Elektronnyy resurs] – Rezhim dostupa: URL: https://history.jes.su/s207987840027170-6-1/. (data obrashcheniya: 15.09.2025) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840027170-6] [The armillary sphere in the ideology of the late Middle Ages and early modern times]
Alciati A. De singulari certamine liber. Lvgdvni: Ioannes & Franciscus Frellonii, 1543.
Alciatus A. Emblematum Liber. Milano, 1522; Augsburg, 1531.
Baronio C. Martyrologium Romanum: ... Gregorii XIII. P. M. iussu editum. Romae: Basa, 1586.
Cassaneus B. Catalogus gloriae mundi / D. Bartholomæi Cassanæi, Burgundi ... in quo multa præclara de prærrogatiuis, præeminentijs, maioritate, præstantijs, & excellentijs, continentur ... in XII libros diuisum. Francofurti ad Moenum: impensis Sigismundi Feyerabendij: apud Georgium Coruinum, 1579.
Cordero Alvarado P. Evolición historica de escudo de armas de la cuidad de Badajoz //Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía. Vol. IX. Año 2005–2006. Madrid, 2006.
De Morales A. La coronica general de España. Alcala, 1574–1577.
De Villegas A. Flos Sanctorum. Pt. I–III. Barcelona: en casa de la viuda de Joan Pau Menescal, 1588–1589.
Flavio Josefo. Antigüedades de los judíos. Anvers, 1553.
Morales-Pogonowski M. J.A. Escudo de armas y enseñas de la ciudad de Mérida. Badajoz: Departamento de Publicaciones de la Diputación Provincial de Badajoz, 2001.
Moreno de Vargas B. Discursos de la nobleza de España. Madrid, 1622; 2a ed. Madrid: En la imprenta de Don Antonio Espinosa, 1795.
Moreno de Vargas B. Historia de la cuidad de Mériada. Mérida: por la viuda de Alonso Martin, 1633. Переиздано: Moreno de Vargas B. Historia de la Ciudad de Mérida dedicada á la misma ciudad. Mérida, 1892; Valliadolid, 2005.
Paulli Diaconi. Liber de vita et miraculis patrum Emeritensium a multis hactenus desideratus, nunquam editus ad veteres Gothorum et Latinorum membranas collatus, & notis illustratus. Antverpiae, 1638.
Rerum hispanicarum scriptores aliquot. Fráncfort: Andreas Wechel, 1579.
Sáenz de Buruaga J.Á. El escudo de Mérida y su origen romano // Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos. T. LX, nº1. Madrid, 1954.
Schott A. Roderici archiepiscopi toletani De Rebus Hispaniæ. Fráncfort: Claudium Marnium, 1603.