Coat of arms of Castile and León

Coat of arms of Castile and León

The coat of arms of Castile and León depicts the traditional arms of Castile (the yellow castle) quartered with the arms of León (the red lion). It is topped with a royal crown.

The lion design is attributed to Alfonso VII of León and Castile, who became king of León and Castile in 1126. The castle symbol is attributed to his grandson Alfonso VIII of Castile, In 1230, Ferdinand III of Castile united the two kingdoms and quartered the arms as a symbol of the union. Until the sixteenth century, a full castle, with walls and three towers, rather than the current town design, was used.

Its original elements are used not only in the current autonomous community of Castilla y León, but also in the coats of arms of many places which belonged to the kingdom of Castile and León, like Jaén or Los Angeles, California.

The abbreviated coat of arms of Spain under Philip V after 1700.

Today, as a symbol of the comundad autonoma, it represents the two cultural identities, the castle for Old Castile and the lion for the Leonese Country. Before the creation of the comunidades autonomas, the Castilians and the Leonese had their own regions.