"The illustrious Sanchez Family... is descended from one of a number of Gothic knights (caballeros) who in the year 714 escaped from the ‘barbara furia’ of the Mohammedan invasion and took up their residence in the hills of Leon, Galicia, Asturia, Burgos, and the Pyrenees.

From here they passed down into Navarre and Aragon..."[1] In the 8th century, Duke Lupus Sanchez assisted the first Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne, in capturing the fortress city of Barcelona from the Muslims.

Duke Lupus Sanchez commanded military assets comparable to or greater than those of Alfred the Great of Wessex (England) and was able to mobilize a militia of 27,000 or more to garrison the fortress cities of Gascony.

Interestingly, Garcia III Sanchez, the King of Navarra, had an illegitimate son, whose grandson married the daughter of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar ("El Cid").

The most widespread coat of arms features a crowned gold eagle on a field of azure (royal blue).