The Estanyol family: etymology and heraldy
This is a continuation of that post, about nature motifs. @asongofstarkandtargaryen
To start, the word estanyol means "small pond or lagoon" in catalan. It's a diminutive of estany (pond).
In addition, if we talk about the coat of arms of the Estanyols, first shown in some banners in episode 6 of La Catedral del mar, it's a swan in a red field and below, a six-pointed yellow star on blue field, and it's shown in some other items during the sequel.
And it's interesting because that sigil is based/inspired in some sigils of the historical Estanyols:
Catalan. Cut: 1st, from... a silver... star, a sable bird.[Ms B-87]
Catalan. Of gold, a mallard of ..., on a terrace, with bushes and herbs at the foot of the water and two crossed fish, of silver; in chief a star of azure. [Ms 3410]
Catalan. Cut: 1st, of azure, an eight-pointed star, of gold; 2nd, silver, a sable bird. [p. Coast, ms] [A. G. Carraffa]
Catalan. of Monells. Of gold, a natural mallard between reeds and cattails of sinople, shores of a great pool of silver, shaded in azure with two tench counterpassing one over the other, in gules, on the forehead an azure star. [Fr. X. de Garma] [A. G. Carraffa]
Catalan. From... a castle of... Seal of Marc Estanyol, a. 1418. [F. of Sagarra]
Catalan. From Sardinia. From azure, a gold star. Coat of arms of Pedro Estanyol, Conseller of the University of the castle of Cáller, a. 1426. [J. Gramunt]
Of Catalonia. It comes from the place of Estanyol, from the judicial district of Girona. Also from a solar house in the town of Monells, in the judicial district of La Bisbal in Girona. Based on references from historians of the time and others found by Araldis in the registry archives of cities and other private ones, we could affirm, but not guarantee, that this shield or another very similar to it, initially appeared from the 11th to the 14th century, particularly in the composition of the troops with which Jaume II conquered Alicante, Elche and Murcia at the end of the 13th century. The references of this family seem to be specified more frequently from the 15 to the 19th centuries, especially the events of Barcelona and Berga, on September 11 and 12, 1714, in which the dynastic war between the Austrians and the Bourbons tragically ended. All this seems to coincide with the family memory of some of the members of the family branch. The study of the family heraldic coat of arms "tells" us about those who formed the origin of the Estanyol family, since that was their function, to show others their differential elements, since the inclusion of the star element is the most widespread figure in the heraldry, its meaning is imprecise, as far as the Peninsula is concerned, but it seems to demonstrate its fidelity to the Church of Rome, by analogy to the meaning in Lombardy and Tuscany, which was membership in the Guelph party (of the Pope of Rome). The enamels of the coat of arms of the Estanyol family proclaim the following values: Azure corresponds to the symbol of water, of the continuity of life, it is a color of nobility, beauty, chastity and fidelity, in addition to other virtues that characterized the family, such as financial abundance, perseverance, luck, fame.
Catalan Heraldry from 1150 to 1550, Martí de Riquer 1983 (8485704347)
While I was doing a bit of research about the family's heraldry, I discovered a genealogy web page with some historical Estanyols, and I found some women during the 16-17th centuries, named Caterina Estanyol, and now my headcanon is that maybe Arnau Jr. will name his daughter or grandaughter after Caterina.