Previous arms of the UB

The origin of these arms goes back to the nineteenth century and the Moyano Act (1857), which set up the university districts. It shows the arms of the four Catalan provinces and the Balearic Islands (the Barcelona university district consisted of all this territory) as well as a female head corresponding to Medusa, one of the three Gorgons. Medusa appears on the shield of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and intelligence, and is one of her attributes.

The figure of Minerva appeared on the emblem of the institution, accompanied by the Latin motto “Perfundet omnia luce”, which can be translated as "wisdom impregnates everything with light". It is the adaptation of a passage from the work De rerum natura, written by the philosopher and Roman poet Lucretius.

This motto is the one incorporated by the UB in the period when the Paranymph Hall works were being completed and it is how it appears on the Paranymph Hall dais and on the tapestry on the upper landing of the main staircase.