Personal coat of arms of David Pag (Montgomery, Great Britain). "In a silver field a black leopard lion with a gold crown, accompanied by three red heraldic lilies, two at the head, one at the tip. Above all a shield: four-part, in the first and fourth red field a gold lion with his head turned, in the second and third gold field three severed black boar's heads (2, 1)".
Heraldic lily - the meaning of the symbol, the image of the flower on the coats of arms of families and cities. Due to their important symbolic meaning, the stylized rose and lily, which are specifically defined as "heraldic," play a major role in heraldry, as will be discussed below. Here we will confine ourselves only to reporting that some authors express the suspicion that the French "lily" (fluer de lis, fr.) is not even associated with the lily flower by its name (giglio, it.), which remotely (very remotely) resembles the name of the iris flower (giageo-lo, it.; Iris florentina, lat.).
From toads to lilies
This story begins in 482, when the young Clovis of the Merovingian house became king of the Franks. He was anxious to bring all the lands of Roman Gaul under his rule, and therefore soon began a war with his neighbors.
But to lead his warriors into battle, he needed a symbol.
And Chlodwig chose an unusual banner for himself: white, with three golden frogs depicted on it. What the toads meant could only be guessed. But there was no shortage of unusual symbols among the leaders of barbarian tribes - and the Franks were one of them.
Battle of Tolbiac, fragment of a tapestry with the banners of Chlodwig (photo source)
According to the most common, though semi-legendary version, toads turned into lilies under the following circumstances. In 496, already famous for his victories, Clovis fought the Alemannic tribesmen at Tolbiac. The outcome of the battle was not in favor of the Franks, and the king vowed before his army to embrace Christianity with his people if Jesus would help him win. There were many Christians among Claudwig's warriors, and when they heard these coveted words, they began to fight so fiercely that they wrested victory from the hands of the Alemannes.
Clovis was baptized at Reims, which became the common coronation place of the kings of France. And in honor of this great event he changed the royal banner. His banner was now a blue banner dotted with golden lilies. The blue color was chosen in memory of St. Martin of Tours, revered by the Franks. According to legend, he was so merciful that he cut his blue cloak in half to cover a freezing beggar. The lilies symbolized the spiritual purification that baptism brings. Thus the most ancient emblem of Europe was born a thousand and a half years ago.
Richelieu's schemer and spy
Her life in Dumas' novel ended sadly but justly. Athos found out about the woman with the brand on her shoulder, which his friend D'Artagnan told him about. He guessed that his ex-wife was still alive and continuing to sow evil around her. He made up his mind to destroy her, but now he had to act for certain. Athos hired an executioner of Lille, who carried out his act of vengeance by beheading the unfortunate woman and drowning her body in the river.
As the character of "my lady," Alexandre Dumas took a real historical person, the schemer Lucy Hay. She was a court lady at the court of Charles I and a real spy for Cardinal Richelieu. Lucy Hay, aka the Countess of Carlisle, had an intimate relationship with the Duke of Buckingham. And when their affair was broken by the Duke's decision, the beautiful Countess was furious. She enlisted Richelieu to take purely feminine revenge on Buckingham.
"The Carolingian Golden Flame
In 751, Major Pepin the Short overthrew the last of the Merovingians and seized power in the Frankish kingdom. The new dynasty was named after Pepin the Short's son Charlemagne, one of France's most important rulers.
Charles created the Western Empire, for which he chose a new symbol, the so-called oriflamme. The banner got its name from the Latin words "gold" and "flame.
Charlemagne with oryflamma
Ninth-century mosaics in the Church of St. John on Lateran Hill show Christ giving Charlemagne the scarlet banner of the empire with a golden cross on its shaft. A description of this banner is preserved in the Song of Roland.
The Emperor and Joffrois of Anjou with the oriflam are leading them against the Arabs. This is Peter's banner: it used to be called "Roman", but now "Montjoie" is its name.
"Montjoie" is part of the military cry of the French, which sounded in full as "Montjoie Saint-Denis. The translation of these Old French words is unknown to historians. But it is suggested that they meant, "Our defense is St. Dionysius."
Judaism
The Hebrew "shushanna", "shushan"[3] in translations of biblical texts usually reads as "lily", but can also denote many other plants: amaryllis, narcissus, jasmine, rose, lotus, anemone, hyacinth, etc.
- The emblem of the tribe of Judah.
- Sign of the archangel Gabriel and trust in the Lord:
"I will be a dew for Israel; he shall blossom like a lily..." Book of Hosea 14:6
In King Solomon's temple, "And over the pillars he set up crowns made in the likeness of a lily" (Third Kings 7). Lily - desire, love, beauty. The lily is beauty, chosenness, exquisiteness.
The references to the lily[4] as an erotic symbol in the biblical Song of Songs (2:2; 5:13) go back to the ancient chthonic symbolism of fertility:
"What lilies among thorns, my beloved among maidens" Song of Songs (2:1-2) "Your belly is a round bowl in which fragrant wine is not exhausted; your belly is a pile of wheat furnished with lilies." ibid (7:2)
"Leluia" is a stylized lily, a traditional decorative motif in Jewish art from the period of the medieval ghettos in Holland.
The lily in Kabbalistics is the resurrection.
Lilies on the French coat of arms.
Under Charles's sons, his empire disintegrated. And in 987 on the throne of France was a new dynasty - the Capetings.
The era of the first Capetings coincided with the birth of European heraldry. When coats of arms spread in the 12th century, there was no need to invent anything in France - everyone knew the royal blue banner with golden lilies. The coat of arms of the French kingdom was a blue shield studded with many golden lilies.
It proved so popular that the coats of arms of many provinces and cities in France include lilies on a blue field. The lilies are in direct competition with eagles and lions for first place among the most common heraldic figures.
In Christian symbolism this flower meant purity and chastity, and on the coat of arms it was interpreted as a sign of royalty.
During the Hundred Years' War, English kings began to use French lilies on their coat of arms - as a sign that they were entitled to the crown of France.
Shortly after the Truce of Bruges in 1375, Charles V changed the coat of arms of the French kings, reducing the number of lilies. The blue shield now sported three large golden flowers. The symbol used by loyal subjects of the King of France was now markedly different from that carried by supporters of the English invaders.
Links
- There are media files on Wikimedia Commons about the Heraldic Lily
- Wikimedia Commons has media files on the subject of the Fleur-de-lis
- The Fleur-de-lis.
- The Origin of the Fleur-de-lis.
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Glorious King Henry
The next big changes happened after the end of the Catholic and Huguenot religious wars that ravaged France. The throne of the kingdom was unexpectedly the favorite of all the people - Henry IV.
The king was known for the fact that he changed his faith six times in his life - then switching to Protestants, then becoming Catholic again.
He was crowned the most Christian king of France and changed his coat of arms again.
After all, by birth Henry was the king of Navarre. This small Iberian kingdom on the border with France became not only part of a single state, but also the coat of arms, which joined the French lilies and Navarrean gold chains on a red field. Despite the fact that Navarre was poor and sparsely populated compared to France, the title of the ruler of Navarre was equal to that of the ruler of the French. Both coats of arms were in an equally honorable position.
Up to the Great French Revolution the state retained the lavish coat of arms of the house of Bourbon. Two shields, French and Navarre, supported by two angels and surrounded by a chain of the highest orders of France, St. Michael and St. Spirit, surmounted by a blue royal mantle with a gold crown.
Emblematics
| The lily, superior to most other flowers in the sweetness of its fragrance, slenderness and beauty "As Colombier says, it is considered the Queen of Flowers and the true sign of royal grandeur. Also a symbol of the Trinity - "her three petals symbolize the wisdom, loyalty and valor upon which the kingdom rests." EMSI tab.10-15, p.147 |
Lilies
"The symbol urges us to beware of excessive fascination with clothing and to try not to make it the most important thing in life. No matter how artfully you adorn yourself with the most exquisite garments a needle and a shuttle can make, every discerning and knowing eye, in spite of your vanity, will still prefer the beauty that lies beneath it. Do vow henceforth to follow recommendations based on the garishness of your dress and the cunning work of the needle. Put on humility, wear the adornment of the spirit of meekness and quietness, and let all the gifts you possess be eternal gifts." EMSI tab.37-13, p.263 |
Lilies .
| Lily A beautiful flower, possessing a marvelous fragrance. "The symbol represents a deeply hidden treasure, in which beauty, goodness, and other valuable qualities are united in one." EMSI tab.33-14, p.244 |
The white lily surpasses many flowers in luxury and splendor, but it does not last long. So also man must grow old and disappear, from which God's mercy and care will not save him" Hochberg, 1675.
The tainted symbol.
The revolution forced the state to abandon the "luxuries" of the old regime. In 1791 a constitution was adopted which limited the power of the king and transferred extensive powers to the National Assembly. In keeping with the new state a new coat of arms appeared - a simple oval shield with three golden lilies and a large inscription: "The Law and the King". In the opinion of the people, the monarch, until recently the autocratic ruler, was now in second place.
In 1792, the monarchy was abolished, and France became a republic. And in 1793, King Louis XVI was sentenced to death and climbed the scaffold. The Republic, in the opinion of the then rulers of thoughts, did not deserve to have an emblem, which was associated with the era of domination of the nobility and absolutism. Therefore, France acquired a symbol in the form of a lictoral bundle topped with a red Phrygian cap - symbolizing freedom. A bundle of linked branches with an axe embedded inside was associated with the Roman Republic, which the French wished to emulate.
Antiquity
The main attribute of the Minoan goddess Britomartis.
The white lily is the flower of Hera, which arose, like the Milky Way, from drops of her milk. The lily is the bed of Zeus and Hera. The Romans worshipped the white lily as a flower of Juno and an emblem of hope. As a sign of virginity lily belongs to Diana.
At the same time serves as an attribute of Aphrodite (Venus), who according to one legend gave the flower (branded ?) similarity with the phallus of a donkey, which associates the flower with erotic, carnal love and marriage.
White lilies are also woven into the cloak of Zeus the Olympic and into the hair of the Muses. The latter are also associated with the Levantine, Indian fragrance (honey with pepper) - it is believed to be particularly conducive to the soul and imagination.
Hades kidnaps Persephone as she picks lilies and violets[2].
Under the Banners of Napoleon
In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself emperor of the French and had his coronation ceremony in Notre Dame de Paris. The empire needed a new coat of arms. And Bonaparte, who revered ancient history, chose the golden Roman eagle. However, depicted on a shield of ancient blue. The mantle of the emperor was red, and the coat of arms was surrounded by the chain of the new highest order established by Napoleon - the Legion of Honor.
The eagle became a favorite symbol of the First Empire. It was portrayed on military banners, soldiers' tunics and helmets, buttons, medals and commemorative tokens. But after the Patriotic War of 1812 the French Empire fell into the abyss, and the Napoleonic heraldry had to be forgotten.
In the whirlwind of events
After the restoration of the Bourbons, the royal coat of arms returned with some variations. In 1830 a new revolution erupted which enthroned the "bourgeois king" Louis-Philippe of Orleans.
He tried to show himself to be a big democrat and decided to prove it with a coat of arms. Instead of lilies, a large tablet appeared on a blue shield with the inscription "Constitutional Charter. 1830." In the king's mind, this signified that the constitution now stood above the royal lilies.
In 1848, a new revolution began. France became a republic again, and the popular politician Louis-Napoleon (nephew of Napoleon I) was elected its first president.
In 1852, the president discarded the republican decorum and became Napoleon III. The era of the Second Empire began. Along with the emperor, the Napoleonic coat of arms returned.
The last Bonaparte lost the war with Prussia in 1870 and lost the crown. France has remained a republic ever since, until the present day. According to the old custom, it has no coat of arms, but has an unofficial symbol - a lictor's bundle.
During the occupation during World War II, the Vichy regime, led by the German protégé Marshal Henri Philippe Petin, chose as its symbol the labris - a two-bladed battle axe with a handle in the form of a lictorian bunch. And supporters of General Charles de Gaulle went into battle under the symbol of "Fighting France" - a red Lorraine cross with six ends.
Despite the turbulent history, the French lilies have not disappeared. They can be found not only on coats of arms, which are traditionally used by descendants of ancient aristocratic families. We see lilies on coats of arms and seals of cities, provinces and, of course, on numerous French souvenirs. Thus the heraldic flower that blossomed back in the fifth century continues its life with France.
The emblematic figure
The sign of the lily is part of the symbolism of the Spanish Bourbons; a number of noble coats of arms, such as the Poles of Hozdaw and the Russian Khrapovitsky; Eton College and the Scout Movement.
From the explanation of the coat of arms of the Khrapovitsky's, evidence of the significance given to the lily:
It is especially revered as a sign of good hope and pure living, and this flower is similar not only in its appearance, clean and fair color, but also in its inner property, pleasant smell, some useful force has, for this reason and those who use lilies in their coats of arms, have to be good, fair and honest.
— Laker A.B.
§ 23. Plants // Russian heraldry. - 1855. Archived August 10, 2009.
City symbols.
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The sign of the lily appears on the coats of arms and flags of the following cities (communes) and provinces:
- Baton Rouge;
- Wiesbaden;
- Daugavpils;
- Detroit;
- Montreal;
- New Orleans;
- Rokiskis;
- Santa Venus;
- St. Louis;
- Turku;
- Fleur-de-Lis[en]* (Malta);
- Florence (the city, whose coat of arms resembles an iris flower, is dedicated to Alexander Blok's poem "Florence, you are a gentle iris...");
Florence's coat of arms.
- Quebec (also the unofficial symbol of Franco-Canadians[14]);
- The Dutch province of Flevoland;
- Norwegian commune of Nærøy.
