Arms

The following municipalities of the archipelago have their own arms: Funchal, Machico, Porto Santo, Ponta do Sol, Santa Cruz, Calheta, São Vicente and Câmara de Lobos.

The original arms of the municipality of Funchal consisted of five sugar loaves on a field of silver, arranged in a cross, with a sugar cane on each side of the shield. Later one of the canes was replaced by a vine branch. The old arms, however, appear on a bronze quintal (old weight of four arrobas, c. 59 kg) weight dated 1580, which served as the standard weight in the municipality (concelho) of Funchal, and also on the copper coins struck in 1750 for circulation solely in the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores.

The arms of the municipality of Machico are the armillary sphere; those of Porto Santo, the dragon tree; those of Ponta do Sol, the sun; those of Santa Cruz, five castles, and above the shield, beneath which is the date 1515, a small escutcheon bearing the quinas of Portugal; those of Calheta (‘small cove’), the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove; those of São Vicente, the saint of that name; and those of Câmara de Lobos, two wolves, between which appear the shield with the castles and the small escutcheon with the quinas of Portugal.

Dr Azevedo says in his notes to the ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra) that everything suggests the original arms of Funchal were granted by Manuel I. This is partly because that king ennobled the city as much as he could, and partly because the arms themselves show that they date from the time when the growing of sugar cane and the making of sugar were the wealth of the island of Madeira and its sole claim to fame.

In 1750 one of the canes had not yet been replaced by a vine branch, since, as we have already said, the original arms appear on the Madeiran coins struck in that year. In 1798 the two sugar canes still featured in the arms of the municipality of Funchal, as can be seen on a silver inkstand in the old chamber where the council sessions were held. By 1837, however, one of the canes had been replaced by a vine branch, although no resolution authorising this change is recorded in the minute books. The presence of the Council’s arms, already modified, on the spines of many old books in the municipal archive means nothing, for everything suggests that these books were bound only in the 19th century. The record (auto) of a vow transcribed on p. 726 of the ‘Longing for the Homeland’ shows that in 1523 it was resolved that the image of St James the Less should be painted ‘na bamdeyra & sello da çidade’ (on the banner and seal of the city), but we have no proof whatever that this resolution was ever carried out.

After the proclamation of the Republic, the ducal coronet that crowned the arms of the city of Funchal was replaced by a star on the Council’s stamps. This change, which no serious reason could justify, lasted only a very short time.

The sphere in the arms of Machico was the emblem of Manuel I, and this monarch presented the Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal) of that town (vila) with a silver signet bearing the said sphere, which is still in use today. As for the arms of the other municipalities, we can only say that those of Câmara de Lobos were adopted recently, and that the two wolves shown in them appear to be an emblem taken from the coat of arms of the Câmara family.

To shed further light on this matter, we shall transcribe an article by Mr Armando de Matos, published on p. 54 ff. of vol. IV of the Arquivo Histórico da Madeira (‘Historical Archive of Madeira’) under the title ‘Uma nótula sôbre as Armas do Funchal’, although we may disagree with some of the distinguished writer’s assertions. ‘I know of no printed or manuscript text that refers to the composition or symbolism of the insignia of municipal autonomy of the city of Funchal. There is neither a written document nor a sigillographic specimen old enough to allow us, as would be desirable, to base a series of comments on it. Nevertheless, with the little that remains to us, the question of revising the seal of the municipality of Funchal must be addressed.’

“

…The shape of the shield, the coronet that surmounts it and the ornaments that surround it are inappropriate. There is no need to repeat the reasons why, for they have been stated so many times already. And this applies both to the embossed seal and to the oil-ink stamp.

“

The oldest iconographic evidence to which we can turn is found on a 17th-century salver kept in the Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal) of that city. It is the oldest, and indeed the only, example we have to draw on. The others are merely variants of it, and distort it.

“

The first charter (foral) of Funchal dates from 1451 and was granted by Afonso V. That is to say, only after this date, the beginning of the second half of the 15th century, can the seal of the municipality of Funchal have been created.’ ‘The oldest record, as I have said, belongs to the 17th century.

On it we find five cones arranged in a cross, their tips pointing towards the base of the shield. Placed palewise, between the central and the side cones, are two sugar canes.’ As for the identification of the cones, it is generally said that they represent either sugar-loaf moulds or the loaves themselves. This primitive arrangement, set in a fanciful shield, is surmounted by a cross pattée, certainly a poor representation of the Cross of Christ.

Let us first examine the cones. We see that there are five of them, arranged in a cross. This arrangement recalls that of the small shields of the Portuguese quinas. The fact that their bases face the chief of the shield possibly suggests that they are nothing more than those very small shields, incoherently stylised and carelessly represented on the salver that serves as our starting point. At the same time, it is unusual, not to say unprecedented, for the arms of a lordship of the mid-15th century to display as their main symbols the same ones as the central power. If they are not small shields, we must adopt the idea of sugar-loaf moulds. Were they the loaves themselves, it would be logical for the cones to appear base downwards, and not inverted. Yet this is seen only in the later iconographic evidence, which seems to tell us that their being taken for loaves had an influence. This idea naturally arose after their meaning had been lost. What is beyond doubt in this case is that the oldest is the one most worth weighing.’ There is yet another fact, slighter though it is, which I must not forget. The cones depicted on the salver clearly show the outline of the base, which is no longer seen in the later drawings. These charges clearly give the idea of vessels or containers.’

“

…The cones, which to me are sugar-loaf moulds and which I shall call such from now on, together with the sugar canes, represent the great wealth of Funchal, the reason for its progress, owed to the beneficent interest of Henry the Navigator, who had sugar cane acclimatised on the island. Spreading extraordinarily in the island’s most fertile soil, the cane brought Funchal such importance, and so spurred its growth, that in 1508 King Manuel raised Funchal to the rank of city.

“

The meaning of the moulds and the canes is thus well combined in a complete symbolism, whose principal fact to be commemorated was the wealth of the island, arising from the sugar trade.

“

The good men (homens bons, local notables eligible for municipal office) of Funchal chose these motifs wisely. Having no feats of arms or military or naval exploits to record in the collective memory, they turned to another subject, the chief reason for their common pride and for the growing importance of their municipality (concelho): the economic value of sugar. It was this that had to represent their prosperous municipality. Was the Cross of Christ part of the composition proper? I cannot say. Nevertheless, its appearance is reasonable and logical, for it recalls Prince Henry, to whose will the island owes its becoming part of the Portuguese world. And he was the master of the Order of Christ, whose revenues drove the caravels along the glorious path of the discoveries.’ ‘This is what the oldest iconographic document of the arms of Funchal suggests.

Let us now see how, within the tradition, a solution can be devised for settling the definitive arrangement of the arms of Funchal.

“

Being of the opinion that the form and arrangement of the arms engraved on the 17th-century salver should be preserved, I would suggest that the sugar loaves should remain set in a cross, but flanked by the two sugar canes. It seems to us that the aesthetic effect is better this way than if they alternated with one another. In this way, too, the cross formed by the small escutcheons of the quinas stands out more clearly, and it can never be marked too well.’ ‘In a chief I would place the Cross of Christ, which I believe ought to appear in all the arms of the dominions of the adjacent archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores. This feature would carry the same spirit of difference as the crowned heads in the arms of the Algarve municipalities, the star in those of the Serra da Estrela region, or the bordure in the arms of our overseas dominions. It would be the way to set the lands of the Islands clearly apart. Even without a motto they would be recognised.

“

It remains to speak of the colours that should adorn the component charges of these arms.’ The sugar loaves in sable, representing the abundance derived from the sugar trade. The canes should be proper, that is, vert. The chief, charged with the Cross of Christ, argent. He would thus present the following as the design for the arms of Funchal: ‘Argent, five sugar loaves sable, set in a cross, and flanked by two sugar canes vert, couped. On a chief argent, a Cross of Christ, and a mural crown argent of five towers, as a city. Motto in black on a white scroll: CIDADE DO FUNCHAL. Flag white, gyronny of green.’ ‘As has been seen, the absence of documents is almost total; it comes down to a single trace, which is the salver of the Council of Funchal.’ ‘Any solution put forward must therefore seek to explain the tradition as far as possible and to respect it. Nor can the general heraldic rules be forgotten, or those already laid down for the modern revision of the arms of dominion.’ ‘The Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal) of Funchal, at its ordinary session of 6 February 1936, in compliance with instructions from higher authority, resolved to reform its arms, flag and city seal, adopting for this purpose the design drawn up by Mr Afonso de Ornelas, which had received the full approval of the Heraldry Section of the Association of Archaeologists (Associação dos Arqueólogos) at its meeting of 20 December 1935.

From that report, published in the press, the following is transcribed: ‘Arms – Vert, five sugar loaves Or, heightened in spiral, with bases purpure, set in a cross, cantoned by four bunches of grapes Or, stalked and leaved of the same metal, each bunch charged with a quina azure charged with five bezants argent in saltire. Mural crown argent of five towers. White scroll bearing the words Cidade do Funchal in black.

“

Flag – Quartered in four pieces of yellow and four of purple, with the words Cidade do Funchal. Cords and tassels of gold and purple. Spearhead and staff gilt. ‘Seal – Circular, bearing in the centre the charges of the arms without indication of the tinctures. Around them, within concentric circles, the words Câmara Municipal do Funchal.’ The report of Mr Afonso de Ornelas, which because of its length we cannot transcribe here, contains valuable material for the study of this subject and was published in the Diário de Noticias of Funchal of 7 February 1936.