Fleur-de-lis

Legend
The English translation of "fleur-de-lis" (sometimes spelled "fleur-de-lys") is "flower of the lily." This symbol, depicting a stylized lily or lotus flower, has many meanings. Traditionally, it has been used to represent French royalty, and in that sense it is said to signify perfection, light, and life. Legend has it that an angel presented Clovis, the Merovingian king of the Franks, with a golden lily as a symbol of his purification upon his conversion to Christianity.

The design can be found in many places long before heraldic times, as far back as Mesopotamia. It is essentially a stylized flower, and served as a decorative element and became associated over time with royalty, especially in the High Middle Ages.

As a heraldic charge, it dates from the 12th c. It is first adopted as a semis on a field by the French king Philippe II (1180-1214) with certainty, perhaps already by his father Louis VII (1137-80). At a minimum, the arms "azure, a semis of fleur-de-lis or" are associated with French kings from 1200.

The fleur-de-lys, as emblem (as opposed to heraldic charge) appears on coins and seals from the 10th c. at least. Typically, it forms the end of a scepter, or decorates the rim of a crown, or is held, over-sized, by the king along with a scepter. So there is, by the 11th-12th c., a strong association with royal sovereignty. In fact, coins of the Emperor Frederic I show him holding such a scepter. Moreover, supposing that it was already called a fleur-de-lys at the time, the lily flower had strong religious connotations, especially with the Virgin Mary, and later (in the 14th c.) with the Trinity.

This article is reprinted from the Bayonne 2008 Reunion Book and is presented both as a sample of edits for this blogsite and to afford those who did not get an opportunity to read the Book the article.