Links With The Past: Braga Helmet & Pennant
On the occasion of Leicester City’s Europa League fixture against SC Braga on 26 November, 2020, the Club received two artefacts from the Portuguese side.
Both items represent the links between SC Braga and the city of Braga’s rich cultural and historic past.
The model of the Roman helmet references the fact that, like the City of Leicester, Braga was founded by the Romans who called the town ‘Bracara Augusta’, The Bracarenses were the Celtic people who occupied the site before the Romans arrived. Even today, one of the club’s nicknames is ‘Bracarenses’.
The pennant, presented to Kasper Schmeichel at kick-off, displays SC Braga’s club crest, which also references Braga’s cultural and historic past.
It is based on the city of Braga’s coat of arms.
On the top of the crest is a crown in the form of city walls. Initially a Roman military decoration, this symbol appears on much European heraldry. In Portugal, a silver crown with five towers, as in Braga’s case, represents a city.
The towers on the shield represent the Castle Tower in the city. This is all that remains of Braga’s 13th century castle.
The figure in the centre is Mother Mary with baby Jesus. This reflects Braga’s historical importance as a main centre of religious heritage in Portugal.
The background to the crest is red and white, rather than the blue background on the city’s crest. This is because in 1946 the club adopted the red and white Arsenal strip. This explains another of SC Braga’s nicknames: the ‘Arsenalistas’.