Fleur de Lys
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The Mystery of the Fleur de Lys
At Stowe Craft gallery we had associated The Fleur de Lys with the French Royal Court. But, in point of fact, it's meaning traces back to the very origins of mankind! It turns out to be a powerful symbol linking modern America, Ancient Gauls, the Virgin Mary, West African tribesmen and Mespoatanian cultures. In fact, this distinctive symbol has been identified in all eras and all civilizations*:
Mesopotamian cylinders |
Dogon (West African) totems |
Sassanid textiles (Persian Empire) |
Ancient Mycean pottery |
Egyptian bas-reliefs |
Indonesian clothes |
Mameluk coins |
Japanese emblems |
The use for ornamental or symbolic purposes of the stylised flower usually called fleur de lis is common to many cultures. The many scholars who have researched the topic agree that it has little to do graphically with the lily, but disagree on whether it derives from the iris, the broom, the lotus or the furze, or whether it represents a trident, an arrowhead, a double axe, or even a dove or a pigeon. French historian Georges Duby says the three leaves represent the medieval social classes: those who worked, those who fought and those who prayed. As a religious symbol it can represent the Trinity or the Virgin Mary. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, explanation of how this lily decorative emblem became connected to the French people goes like this: One legend identifies Fleur de Lys as the lily given Clovis, king of the Franks (466–511) by the Virgin Mary. The lily was said to have sprung from the tears shed by Eve as she left Eden. From antiquity it has been the symbol of purity and was adopted by the Roman Catholic church to associate the sanctity of Mary with events of special significance. |
When Pope Leo III in 800 crowned Charlemagne as emperor, he is reported to have presented him with a blue banner covered with golden fleurs-de-lis.
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* In the Late Bronze Age, or the Mycenean period, around 1500 BC, the Greeks began to make pottery with Fleur de Lys designs on it.
Mesopotamia's fame in world history relates to it being one of the cradles of civilization, it is by many considered home to the very first civilization in history, predating even Ancient Egypt.
The Sassanid Empire, was a pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 CE to 651 CE. It was recognized as one of the two main powers in Western Asia and Europe, alongside the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, for a period of more than 400 years.
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France.
The Dogon are an West- African cliff-dwelling people who live in Southeastern Mali and Burkina Faso. This is where the fabled city of Timbuktoo is. Among the tribes in Africa they are unique in that they have kept and continued to develop their own culture even in the midst of Islamic invasions which have conquered and absorbed most of the other tribes. Until the 1930's the Dogon were very insolated from the outside world and resisted any foreign influence. They are known for their carved wooden masks and granery doors.
The Mamluk dynasty ruled the area that is now Syria and Egypt for over 300 years. (1250 – 1517) The Mamluks were former slave soldiers who expelled the remaining crusaders from the eastern Mediterranean coast and drove the Mongols out of Palestine and Syria. Culturally, historical writing and architecture flourished during their rule.
