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Excerpt from the book HERALDRY OF THE WORLD Written and illustrated by Carl Alexander von Volborth ,
K.St.J., A.I.H. Copenhagen 1973 Internet version edited by Andrew Andersen, Ph.D. |
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France (pp.
82-89 and 197-200) The heraldic lily is in people’s minds so
readily associated with France that it is simply known as the French lily or fleur-de-lys. Lilies were the device
of the French kings (pp. 82 and 85) and as such have made an impression which
has never been erased, either by the French Revolution (which abolished them)
or by two Napoleonic empires and a number of republican constitutions (which replaced
them with other devices). And the fact that such lilies are common to the
heraldry of nearly every country, not just to that of France, has had no
influence on the popular conception that such lilies are ‘French’. The lily was used as a symbol by the French
royal house even in pre-heraldic times. At the beginning of the twelfth
century it appeared on the coronation robes, the crown and the sceptre. From
the end of the twelfth century it was shown on the royal standard, but it is
only from the beginning of the thirteenth that proper royal arms bearing the fleur-de-lys are known (on a seal). Originally an unspecified number of fleurs-de-lys were strewn over the
field, as can be seen in derivatives of the arms (see Figs 429 and 447), but
from the close of the fourteenth century three was the accepted number (Fig.
424). In civic heraldry the fleur-de-lys still
lives on throughout the whole of France, especially as an augmentation (see
p. 54) as a chief in the armorial bearings of certain towns of some
importance (see Figs 454-7). As already mentioned the arms of Paris contain a
chief with the fleurs-de-lys in
their ancient form, and they are similarly included in the arms of all
departments of the central province of France, the lie de France, which,
however, is of a more recent date. In the Middle Ages the French royal house
differenced its arms for the various princes or lines (see also p. 181). The heir
apparent, le dauphin (= dolphin),
had the royal arms quartered with a blue dolphin on a gold field (see Fig.
444), and there is a story behind this unusual title. A noble family in the
South of France, the Dauphins de Viennois, owned among other estates the
province that had been called ‘le Dauphine’ after them. In 1349 the last male
of the line bequeathed this to the king on condition that the French king’s
eldest son should bear the family’s arms and name to all eternity. The figure
of a dolphin was later included in the crown of the French heir apparent
(Fig. 426). Another way of differencing was with the
aid of marks of cadency. Charles of Anjou, a younger brother of Louis IX
(Saint Louis), bore a red label. When he conquered Southern Italy and established
a kingdom there a chief with fleurs-de-lys
and the Anjou label became the badge of his followers (see Fig. 718).
Subsequent Dukes of Anjou used the difference of a red bordure (Fig. 447) and
several hundred years later the label was used once more by the French prince
who in 1700 became King of Spain as Philip V. A white label was borne in the fifteenth
century by the Dukes of Organs (Fig. 448) and this difference has since
remained a constituent of the arms on the Orleans side of the French royal
house. Another famous mark of difference in the French royal arms is the red
bend of the Dukes of Bourbon (Fig. 446). Differencing was originally used by people
other than members of the royal family, but it gradually fell into disuse. In France coats of arms are protected by
law, and it is punishable to use the arms of others. On the other hand
everybody is free to assume armorial bearings, provided they are not already
in existence. The Association de la
Noblesse Francaise was established in 1932 and to be a member you have to
prove that you belong to the aristocracy. There is no institution for the
registration and supervision of coats of arms. In former times there was, however, for in
1407 King Charles VI instituted a college for the French heralds, at the head
of which was a specially appointed heraldic official. In 1616 the office of Juge General d’Armes de France (Judge General for French
Arms) was established and the holder had two main tasks. He had to deal with
disputes between people who could not agree on who had the right to a certain
coat of arms, and he had to ensure that new coats were designed in conformity
with the rules of good heraldry. The conferment of new arms and the
confirmation of existing arms were also his responsibility. From 1641 up to
the French Revolution in 1789, when all traditional heraldry was abolished
and prohibited, it was always the same family, that of d’Hozier, who held
this office of heraldic judge. Among burghers, merchants, craftsmen and
farmers coats of arms were common as early as the thirteenth century and in
1696 their number was greatly increased. That year King Louis XIV, in order
to obtain money for his wars, introduced a tax on escutcheons, and many who
did not already possess one immediately had a coat of arms bestowed on them.
From the purely heraldic point of view the result was, among other things, a
tremendous list, the Armorial General, which still exists. Of its c. 110,000
coats of arms, about ninety per cent of which are those of commoners, it is
believed that about two-thirds were created for the occasion, to provide
money for the Treasury. It should be noted, however, that commoners were
forbidden to use a helmet and crest. Quite contrary to the Armorial General and to the country’s traditions, King Louis XV
tried in 1760 to enforce that only the aristocracy were entitled to bear
arms, but the attempt failed. However, thirty years later the Revolution, as
mentioned above, abolished all traditional heraldry, both for commoners and
for the nobility. After Napoleon became Emperor in 1804 he introduced his
own, imperial heraldry, the most characteristic feature of which was a
consistent regimentation and regulation (see pp. 90-3 and 201 ff.). After
Napoleon the old heraldry was to some extent revived. When the monarchy was
restored and the second empire established, offices were instituted which
among other things had to deal with titles of nobility and armorial bearings,
but these offices no longer exist. Nowadays there is a great interest in
civic heraldry. Before the Revolution the French kings bore
a gold helmet with raised visor, red on the inside and set affronty (Fig.
440). It was as a rule surmounted by the royal crown, was richly decorated
and had the collar of the Order of the Holy Spirit around the neck. Nobles
had silver or steel-coloured barred helmets with edges and grills of gold.
Dukes and marquises had the helmet affronty, counts and lesser ranks, in
profile (p.88). The number of bars might indicate the rank, from eleven for a
duke to three for a noble without title, but the system varied and was not
always adhered to. The visored helmet in profile was the rule for new
aristocracy without a title (Figs 458 and 461), but it could also in certain
cases be used affronty by dukes. A coronet was set above the shield
surmounted by a helmet (Figs 459 and 460), but later it became the custom to set
the coronet on the helmet or omit the helmet altogether (Figs 462 and 463).
Members of the nobility without title have no coronet. Pair de France was originally an office,
and later became an honorific title which could be bestowed on a noble
regardless of his rank. A pair de France was entitled to a robe of estate
(Figs 459 and 464). Under the restored monarchy at the beginning of the
nineteenth century the robe was blue, bordered and decorated with gold and
lined with ermine, and surmounted by a coronet (Fig. 434). Supporters are common in the armorial
bearings of the French aristocracy, but unusual for commoners; there are
however no hard and fast rules for their use. If there is a motto, and it
stems from a war-cry, it is as a rule set above the achievement. Heraldic association: Societe Française d’Heraldique et de Sigillo- graphie, 113 Rue de
Courcelles, Paris 17. |
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