Coat of arms of the family "Villalobos - Solorzano"

The connection of the nobles with the monasteries was very important, because many of them were maintained thanks to the donations made by the wealthiest families in the area. As proof of this relationship, we can admire in the monastery church this shield belonging to the Villalobos-Solórzano family. In it we see two griffins that hold the shield itself, where we find a knight accompanied by a dog, the image of a castle and the wolves as symbols of said family.

Originally, heraldic shields were used to identify the knight in combat, however, from the 12th century on, they began to become hereditary and became the identifying symbol of a family, such as an identity card. The coat of arms became a sign of identity and also of family pride, that is why all noble houses adopted one and, with the passage of time, every person, not only nobles, who wants to highlight their status adopts a coat of arms . The coat of arms always appeared in all the buildings linked to the lineage, for example, in their homes, as is the case with this shield, but also in constructions that they sponsor, such as the church of San Miguel de Aguilar de Campoo, where the coat of arms of the Marquisate of Aguilar appear repeatedly.

In the case of the shield that we have in front of us, it does not come from this monastery, but from a large house in Aguilar, being ceded to this monastery by the family that owns it for display. The fact is that the coat of arms fits perfectly in this monastery since the Villalobos - Solorzano family was one of its great benefactors.

But not only in the shields do we find knights. In the sacristy you will see a nobleman riding his horse; we challenge you to find him.