Make Arms Beautiful Again

Arms of Borja Vilallonga

What Is the Coat of Arms Thing About?

You have probably seen this coat of arms around and generally associated to my name. Indeed, I have family arms. I even took the time to have the arms officially registered. Unfortunately, my country doesn’t register nor grant arms since 2005. So, I went to the only country in the world accepting registrations from non-citizens: South Africa. In 2017 I successfully registered my arms and the State Herald of the Republic of South Africa sanctioned the registration. I got a beautiful certificate that today hangs in my office.

The arms are blazoned as it follows. Arms, chequy argent and sable, a bend gules. Crest, a demi-wyvern winged gules. Wreath and mantling, sable and argent. Motto, “Donec Perficiam.” The design is pretty old, which means that it reflects early medieval armories. I have ended up seeing some esoteric meaning in the arms, but I shall refrain myself in describing this publicly.

My additions consisted in the crest and the motto. The wyvern is not only a very popular legendary creature in Catalan folk traditions, but it is also a reference to my nickname. I will also pass in explaining this here. Lastly, the Latin motto “Donec Perficiam” is a well-known military motto in eighteenth-century Catalonia. It was used by Catalan supporters and troops of the Archduke of Austria during the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714). It loosely means “Till we achieve victory.” Throughout the years I have also used another motto, “Corona Veniet Delectis.”