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Flag of Yunquera de Henares, current and former versions - Images by Ivan Sache, 7 September 2019
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The municipality of Yunquera de Henares (3,755 inhabitants in 2015; 3,122 ha); municipal website) is located 20 km west of Guadalajara.
Yunquera is named for the Latin word luncaria, "a place planted with
rushes". The name of the town was completed in 1916 to Yunquera de
Henares for the sake of differentiation from other places called Yunquera.
Yunquera was most probably located in the Roman times of the road that
connected Emerita Augusta (Mérida) to Caesar Augusta (Zaragoza), via
Complutum (Alcalá de Henares), Arriaca (Guadalajara) and Segontia
(Sigüenza ). Together with the neighboring town of Hita, Yunquera was
reconquered from the Moors in 1081-1085 by Alfonso VI. Three centuries
later, the town was mentioned as part of the Community of the Town and
Land of Guadalajara. In 1428, Yunquera and another 11 villages were
separated from Guadalajara to form the dowry of Infante Catherine, the
daughter of John II of Castile, who married Infante Henry, the son of
Ferdinand of Aragón. The next year, the town was transferred to the
crown, maybe with the status of villa granted by the Infante.
On 18 August 1430, John II confiscated the 12 villages from her sister
and offered them to Yñigo López de Mendoza, Marquis of Santillana and
head of the powerful Mendoza lineage. Yunquera was transferred in 1491
to a lesser branch of the lineage, the Laso de Mendoza. Francisco Laso
de Mendoza, lord of Yunquera from 1502 to 1525, built a palace (today,
the Town Hall) and the Renaissance tower of the parish church.
The building of the Henares Canal (1862-1866) and the inauguration of the Madrid-Barcelona-Zaragoza railway initiated the economical development of the town. The farmers purchased in 1941 the arable lands from the Duke of Gor and established modern agriculture.
Ivan Sache, 7 September 2019
The flag of Yunquera de Henares (photo,
photo,
photo) is prescribed by an Order adopted on 28
February 2007 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on
13 March 2007 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 55, p.
6,449 (text).
The flag is described as follows:
Flag: Rectangular panel in proportions 2:3. Red with a yellow and green diagonal stripe running from the hoist's upper angle to the fly's lower angle, in height 1/5 of the total. In the center, the coat of arms of the town.
The flag of Yunquera was originally prescribed by an Order adopted on 10
November 2006 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on
21 November 2006 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 242,
p. 25,368 (text).
The flag was described as follows:
Flag: Rectangular panel in proportions 2:3, red; with a yellow and green diagonal stripe running from the hoist's upper angle to the fly's lower angle, in height 1/5 of the total.
The coat of arms of Yunquera de Henares is prescribed by an Order
adopted on 3 May 1995 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and
published on 12 May 1995 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha,
No. 24, p. 3,101 (text).
The coat of arms is described as follows:
Coat of arms: Per pale, 1. Quarterly per saltire, 1. and 4. Vert a bend gules fimbriated or, 2. and 3. Or the legend "Ave María Gratia Plena" azure on the two quarters, 2. Gules a church tower argent. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed.
The first quarter features the arms of the Mendoza, lords of Yunquera
since the 15th century. The second quarter features the tower of the
parish church (photo) as an identification symbol of the town.
[Jorge Hurtado Maqueda. 2008-2010. Vexilología local en Guadalajara. Wad-al-Hayara: Revista de estudios de Guadalajara 35-37, 475-505 ]
Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Figueroa (1415/1417-1479), the elder son of
Íñigo López de Mendoza, First Marquis of Santillana, was made Duke of the Infantado (full title, "Duque de las Cinco Villas del Estado del Infantado") in 1475; subsequently, the Dukes of the Infantado were made first-rank Grandees of Spain, and were therefore allowed to wear
their hat in the presence of the king. Íñigo de Arteaga y Martín (b. 1941) is the 19th Duke of the Infantado.
"Vert a bend gules fimbriated or" are the oldest known arms of
Mendoza; subsequently modified several times, the arms always included
a red bend on a green field. The arms quartered per saltire were
introduced by the first Marquis of Santillana and appear on a seal
dated 1440; the marquis quartered his father's arms (Mendoza) with his
mother's arms (de la Vega). His descendants were known as Mendoza de
Guadalajara or Mendoza de l'Ave María. In the representations of these arms, the first quarter is inscribed with "AVE MARÍA" while the third quarter is inscribed with "PLENA GRATIA" (or, at least "GRATIA").
[José Luis García de Paz (UAM), Los poderosos Mendoza]
The Royal Academy of History rejected a previous proposal of arms, "Per
pale Mendoza de la Vega and Luna", representing the 1st Duke of the
Infantado and his wife, Brianda de Luna, respectively, whose third son,
Garcilosa de Mendoza, was the root of the lords of Yunquera. While
admitted in some modern instances, especially with the arms of the
Mendoza, adopting for towns the arms of their former lords, without any
addition or difference, does not appear to be a good practice. Crowning
such arms with a Royal crown generates surprises and oddities. The
Academy recommended to add to the proposed arms an element significant
of the town. Another possibility, minimally altering the arms of Mendoza
and Luna, could be the addition of a bordure. Moreover, the arms of Luna
are not represented accurately in the proposed design; they should be
"Gules a crescent reverted argent and a base of the same", instead of a
shield divided per fess.
[Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia. 1994. 191:2,403]
Ivan Sache, 7 September 2019