Last modified: 2015-11-21 by ivan sache
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![[Flag]](../images/e/es-se-lm.gif)
Flag of Los Molares - Image after the Símbolos de Sevilla website, 29 May 2014
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The municipality of Los Molares (3,522 inhabitants in 2013; 4,274 ha; municipal website) is located 45 km south-east of Seville.
Los Molares, then called El Molar, was conquered from the Moors by King Ferdinand III the Saint. In 1310, Ferdinand IV made Lope de Haro "El Chico" "heir of El Molar" as a reward for his bravery during the battle of Algeciras. His son, Lope Gutiérrez de Toledo, made the first lord of Los Molares, erected in 1323 a castle and initiated the settlement of the place. A settlement charter was granted in 1336 by Alfonso XI. Acquired in November 1430 by Diego Gómez de Ribera, Adelantado Mayor of Andalusia, Los Molares would be ruled by the Ribera lineage until the suppression of the feudal system.
On 30 May 1465, Henry IV allowed the organization of the Silk Fair in Los Molares, soon the most important in Spain, visited by traders from Genoa, Venice, Germany and Portugal. The fair was suppressed in the 19th century.
Perafán de Ribera, Adelantado and Notario Mayor of Andalusia, was made Count of Los Molares in 1476 by the Catholic Monarchs. The title was transferred in 1639 to the Dukes of Medinaceli, following the marriage of Antonio Juan Luis de la Cerda, 7th Duke of Medinaceli, and María Luis E. de Ribera, 9th Countess of Los Molares.
The poet Baltasar del Alcázar, from Seville, was commander of the castle and judge of the town fro 1569 to 1584. He wrote there most of his works, including A la fiesta de Toros en Los Molares, one of the first taurine chronicles.
Ivan Sache, 29 May 2014
The flag of Los Molares (photo, photo, photo), adopted on 17 March 1994 by the Municipal Council, corrected on 8 May 1997 after rejection on 17 October 1996 by the Royal Academy of Córdoba (for not having specified the origin of the colours), and eventually validated on 30 October 1997 by the Academy, is prescribed by Decree No. 53, adopted on 3 March 1998 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 7 April 1998 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 39, p. 4,117 (text). This was confirmed by a Decree adopted on 30 November 2004 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 20 December 2004 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 246, pp. 28,986-29,002 (text).
The flag is described as follows:<.P>
Flag: Rectangular, of 18 units in length (from hoist to fly) on 11 units in width. Divided perpendicularly to the hoist in three stripes of equal width, the first, flag green, the second, reseda yellow, and the third, crimson red. Charged in the center with the municipal coat of arms.
The coat of arms of Los Molares, adopted on 30 June 1994 by the Municipal Council and validated on 17 October 1996 by the Royal Academy of Córdoba, is prescribed by Decree No. 515, adopted on 10 December 1996 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 11 January 1997 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 5, p. 254 (text). This was confirmed by a Decree adopted on 30 November 2004 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 20 December 2004 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 246, pp. 28,986-29,002 (text).
The coat of arms is described as follows:
Coat of arms: Per pale, 1. Or three fesses vert, 2. Argent a castle gules port and windows or in base a boar's head sable. The shield surmounted by a Royal Spanish crown closed.
The municipality started in 1956 to use an ink seal featuring the arms of the Ribera lineage ("Or three fesses sinople"), lords of Los Molares from 1430 to the 19th century. Antonio Moreno Curado changed the seal in 1965 for the national arms of Spain, whose use, was, however, sporadic. The lord's arms were soon returned to use, a Spanish-shaped shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed replacing the whimsical, former versions (French-shaped or Carlist-shaped shield, surmounted either with no crown or a Ducal coronet).
The modern arms were proposed on 2 November 1994 by Juan José Antequera Luengo. The lord's arms were retained in the municipal arms as an historical symbol, complemented by other charges for the sake of differentiation. The molars (amoladeras) of the boar, sharpened against the stones used in the cement of the Las Aguzaderas castle, make the arms canting. The Royal Academy of Córdoba expected some bibliographical quote for the boar's legend, to which the designer answered that his account was the first report of the well-established, oral tradition in a written document.
The companion proposed flag was made of five parallel stripes of equal width perpendicular to the hoist, green, yellow, white, black and red, with the coat of arms centered. As stated in the Decree, the Academy rejected the proposed flag because the rationale of the colours was not given. The designer replied that the colours of the flag had been, obviously, derived from the coat of arms [the resubmission, however, included a flag with only three stripes remaining].
[Juan José Antequera Luengo. Heráldica oficial de la provincia de Sevilla]
Ivan Sache, 29 May 2014
