Last modified: 2015-01-17 by ivan sache
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![[Flag]](../images/e/es-va-vi.gif)
Flag of Villalar de los Comuneros - Image by Ivan Sache, 22 April 2011
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The municipality of Villalar de los Comuneros (459 inhabitants in 2010; 4,274 ha) is located in the west center of Valladolid Province, 45 km from Valladolid.
Villalar was resettled as the village of Villalakt / Villa Lale,
located on the border of Castile with León. In 1230, the knights of
Toro recognized in Villalar Ferdinand III as the King of León.
Villalar subsequently belonged to the Order of Saint James.
Villalar was the place of the last battle fought by the revolted
Comuneros, led by the three caudillos Bravo (Segovia), Padilla
(Toledo) and Maldonado (Salamanca), against Charles V's troops; on 23
April 1521, the Comuneros, marching from their stronghold of
Torrelobatón against Toro and Valladolid, were defeated in the place
named Puente el Fierro. The three caudillos were sentenced, beheaded
and buried in Villalar the day after the battle (El Heraldo de Soria, 22 April 2009).
Villalar was renamed Villalar de los Comuneros in 1921.
Ivan Sache, 22 April 2011
The flag and arms of Villalar de los Comuneros are prescribed by a
Decree adopted on 30 May 1997 by the Valladolid Provincial Government,
signed on 10 June 1997 by the President of the Government, and
published on 20 June 1997 in the official gazette of Castilla y León, No. 117 (text).
The symbols are described
as follows:
Flag: Quadrangular flag, with proportions 1:1, crimson. In the middle is placed the municipal coat of arms in full colors.
Coat of arms: Shield in Spanish shape. Gules a pillory or masoned sable a terrace azure two keys or tied by a chain of the same, a bordure argent charged with eight crosses gules (of the Order of Saint James). The shield surmounted with a Royal Spanish crown.
The pillory (rollo) is indeed the obelisk (modelled on the traditional pillories symbolizing municipal liberty, photo) erected in 1899 on the caudillos' execution place by the municipality to honor the Comuneros. The obelisk bears the writing "A la memoria de Doña María Pacheco, Padilla, Bravo y Maldonado, L.P.F." María de Pacheco, Padilla's widow, maintained the Comuneros' spirit in Portugal until her death in Porto in 1531. To commemorate the battle, the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León proclaimed the 23 April the Community Day; every 23 April, the Villalar obelisk is decorated with flowers during a popular ceremony celebrating the Castilian-Leonese identity.
Ivan Sache, 22 April 2011