Why does the Portuguese coat-of-arms bear five small shields?
The five small shields (called escutcheons or quinas) have evolved over time. The original coat of arms on which the Rportuguese coat-of-arms was based came from Henry of Burgundy, and was a blue cross. “King (then Count) Afonso Henriques, son of the previous, inherited his father’s shield in 1139, but when he was recognized as King of Portugal in 1143, he added to it the silver bezants, that stand for coins and symbolize the right of their bearer to issue currency — the privilege of a King. … The added bezants, in fact large-headed silver nails, were set in five groups of 11 — the author doesn’t give any explanation for this number. Later, in 1573, the bezants were fixed to five — meanwhile their number changed quite a lot through the times.” It is suggested that wear and tear in battle led to the loss of parts of this emblem, leaving the blue bits held in place by the silver nails as the remnant of the original blue cross. (This evolution is a lot clearer with pictures – see link.)
