The Catholic Monarchs are two of the most well-known figures in Spanish history. At the end of the 16th century, this marriage successfully achieved great conquests, reformed the administration of the kingdom and secured the union of much of the Iberian Peninsula thanks to their descendants. That is why throughout centuries different images have been projected about them, often for convenience.
One of these objectively questionable uses was promoted by the Francoist regime. The regime had abruptly broken with the previous political system, so it needed to look back into the past to find arguments that would legitimize them in power.
The military victories and the personal union of Castile and Aragon turned the Catholic Monarchs into the perfect embodiment of national unity, one of the main dogmatic points of the Francoist regime. Additionally, by financing the discovery of America and beginning settlements that would lead to the expansion and control of most of the American continent, a symbol of Christian faith, and above all of Hispanidad (Baisotti, 2016).
The Catholic Monarchs were represented in many formats during the Francoist regime, but perhaps one of the most relevant was in the reinterpretation of their coat of arms. The arms of Isabel and Fernando evolved throughout their reign, but the most well-known consisted of a quartered shield with the arms of Castile-León in the first and third quarters, and those of Aragon and Aragon-Dual Sicilies in the second and fourth, with Granada at the base (Menéndez Pidal de Nascués, 2011, pp. 319-330). This shield was supported by the eagle of St. John, a symbol of their devotion to the apostle (Vidotte, 2019). On February 2, 1938 Franco decreed the use of a coat of arms inspired by this one, but substituting Aragon-Dual Sicilies with the chains of Navarre (Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, 2004, pp. 259-260).
It also added to the coat of arms the yoke and arrows, the most well-known mottoes of Fernando and Isabel respectively. The yoke, accompanied by the famous slogan «Tanto monta» referred to a myth where Alexander the Great, to untie the Gordian knot which according to prophecy would legitimize him as future king of Asia, broke it with his sword affirming that it was just as good to break as to untie. The meaning of Isabel's arrows is less clear but possibly refers to unity since several arrows are harder to break than one (López Poza, 2012).
It is possible that the subjective use of the Catholic Monarchs by the Francoist regime was influenced by the Falange. For the movement, the Catholic Monarchs were personifications of their national values. The movement reinterpreted the mottoes considering the yoke as the political situation Spain suffered and agrarianism, and the arrows as militarism. They also claimed that they formed a cross (Soler Gallo, 2019, pp. 29-33). Apart from inventing meanings for the mottoes that the Catholic Monarchs could not have devised, these arms were not superimposed in the sixteenth century so they could not form a cross.
As cultural propaganda message, the Catholic Monarchs appeared on all sorts of objects disseminated by the regime such as stamps or banknotes (Galella, 2023, pp. 143-145 and 150-152). However, the propaganda use of Queen Isabella's image was much greater than that made of her husband.
In addition to everything already expressed about what symbolized the marriage as a whole, the Catholic Queen was for the regime an exemplary model of feminine behavior. A subjective and altered vision was highlighted in which her faith and supposed self-denial were appreciated, along with her presumed role as devoted mother and wife, although she is recognized for political work that knew how to reconcile with private life and family. The figure of the Catholic Queen was used as an example of women's role within the regime; first, these had to transmit official values (religion and to a lesser extent politics) to girls, and subsequently to their husbands. To disseminate the image of Isabel I, the creation of works of art, films, and studies (both historiographical and popular) about her figure was promoted (Maza Zorrilla, 2014; Soller Gallo, 2019, pp. 33-37; Vicente Sánchez, 2021).
This image of Queen Isabel as a docile and compliant woman towards her husband does not seem to fit the true image of the sovereign. One of the events that best demonstrates how she was capable of opposing her husband is the Concordia of Segovia on January 15, 1475. When Isabel I came to the throne, some people defended that it should be King Fernando who ruled as a man (Nieto Soria, 2006), to which Queen Isabel opposed herself as the legitimate heir. Only after her position was reflected in the concord with her husband did she grant him the same authority, though in her name (Francisco Olmos, 2002, pp. 129-130). Therefore, although both held power, the queen did not show herself as the submissive wife that the regime imagined.
Despite the passage of time, the use of the Catholic Monarchs by Francoism remains a reason for current relevance. Not few are the cases in which blazons of the Catholic Monarchs are confused with those of the regime. One of the most prominent cases due to media repercussion occurred in 2010 when the Cáceres city council ordered the removal of a shield from the monument to Extremaduran conquerors. Although the shield was made in 1958, and thus it must be assumed that it had an intentional propaganda purpose, it consisted of the arms of the Catholic Monarchs (Mayoralgo y Lodo, 2010).
A similar case occurs at the Spanish embassy to the Holy See. This was founded by the Catholic Monarchs in 1480. Therefore, although the current location is later, their arms were placed on the floor of one of its rooms. Despite the controversy generated on social media, the Spanish government did not receive any complaints and there are no intentions to remove the shield (Bayo y Marco, 2024).
Also, the yoke and arrows have been reinterpreted. In 2021 the Guadix city council approved a municipal flag with these elements, recalling that the Catholic Monarchs had given permission to the municipality to use these mottoes. This was criticized by the Memorialist Assembly, which considered it Francoist iconography (Polémica en Granada…, 2021).
In conclusion, the prominent role of the Catholic Monarchs has prompted subsequent political movements to use their figures for propagandistic purposes, for consolidation in power and identity construction. In the case of the Francoist regime, whether influenced by the Falange or on its own initiative, it constantly exploited the memory of these monarchs. Their symbols were used with a different context and their biographies and milestones were adulterated to reinforce their own discourses. The association of the Francoist regime with the Catholic Monarchs has led to significant errors in the present by people who have not conducted any research. Therefore, while a symbol can be reused over centuries, a critical review of its initial context is necessary before making value judgments that could lead to serious misunderstandings. Consequently, for this context we highlight the great work carried out by various historians.
Bibliography
Baisotti, P. (2016). National “arm”, fatherland arm. Francoist Hispanidad (1936-1943). Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies, 41(1), 43-66.
Bayo, B., & Marco, S. (8 February 2024). It is not a Francoist shield, it is the shield of the Catholic Monarchs. Radio Televisión Española, https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20240208/escudo-no-franquista-escudo-reyes-catolicos/15962072.shtml.
Francisco Olmos, J. M. (2022). The succession of the Catholic kings (1475-1504): Texts and documents. Cuadernos de investigación histórica, 19, 129-166.
Galella, L. (2023). Elements of medieval aesthetics in Franco’s graphic discourse. Revista De Artes Y Humanidades UNICA, 24(51), 143–164.
López Poza, S. (2012). Companies or mottoes of Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragon (the Catholic Monarchs). Janus, 1, 1-38.
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Polémica en Granada por el uso del yugo y las flechas: ¿tiene símbolos franquistas la nueva bandera de Guadix? (3 August 2021). Granada Hoy. https://www.granadahoy.com/zona_norte/Polemica-yugo-flechas-simbolos-franquistas-bandera-Guadix_0_1598241709.html.
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Vicente Sánchez, D. (2021). Isabel the Catholic in the historical memory of Francoism. «Founder of Spain» and model of femininity for women under Francoism. In M. Cabrera Espisona & J. A. López Cordero (Eds.), XIII Virtual Congress on Women's History (pp. 573-590). Archivo Histórico Diocesano de Jaén.
Vidotte, A. (2019). Sub umbra alarum tuarum protege nos. The eagle of St. John in the mottoes of the Catholic Monarchs. In A. Vidotte & L. da Silva Vargas (Coords.), Nature and art: Studies on environmental iconography from the Middle Ages to contemporary times (pp. 20-36). Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora.
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