Symbolism- The Lily

While googling I came across a book which helped me understand part of the symbolism in the fleur-de-lis image. There are several ways of interpreting meaning behind the lily image and this book covered several from color to its use as a heraldic emblem. The book validated what I have learned in my earlier research, chiefly that there is more than one nation which uses lilies in their emblem or arms. Here are some excerpts

The White Lily
" A fair imperial flower;
She seems designed for Flora's hands,
The sceptre of her power."
Cowper.

"Pliny ranks the Lily next in nobility to the Rose: Lilium nobilitate est, and , indeed, these two flowers are in the reality of floral nature universally regarded as respective queens."

" With the Jews the lily would seem to have been a favourite and sacred flower.Susis, of Persian and Scriptural fame, takes its name from the lily- shushan- and in Biblical descriptions of ecclesiastical architectural decoration, frequent reference is made to this flower."

" ...hence a common name for the lilium candidum, "Madonna Lily" or " our Lady's Lily," abbreviated by time to simply "Lady Lily"

" ...in " An Early Church Calendar of English Flowers" we read:
'From Visitation to St. Swithen's showers,
The lilie white reigns queen of flowers.' "

"...the angel Gabriel, announcing the wondrous tidings to the trembling Mary, carries in his

hand a branch of the lilium candidum, hence a common name for the flower, " Annunciation Lily."

" St. Cecilia is said to have received a miraculous crown of lilies and roses, and to the saints more especially distinguished for innoncence and devotion a white lily is assigned."

" In former times it was popularly believed that upon the grave of one unjustly accused a white lily has long been associated."

" As a heraldic emblem the lily, " plant and flower of light," has played an important part. The sceptres of the Carlovingian kings were surmounted by a lily, and although this flower and the iris are in heraldry two distinct bearings, and the latter is now generally considered to be the flower represented in the arms of the Bourbons, the white lily is, nevertheless, regarded by many as the veritable fleur-de-lis, or true lily of France. (CF. Fleur-de-lis.)"

" As early as the year 1048 the Order of the Knights of St. Mary of the Lily was instituted by Garcius, fourth king of Navarre, and in 1403 Ferdinand of Aragon also created an Order of the Lily, the collar of which was formed of lilies and griphons."

" Upon the arms of the city of Winchester, as also upon those of the college, three lilies argent figure. Dundee, too, carries lilies argent on its arms, and the emblem of lovely Florence is the giglio bianco, or " white lily." For this fair imperial flower, " clad but in the lawn of almost naked light," which, bending from its high stem, seems to demand and to obtain the homage of nature, the French know a peculiar reverence, regarding it not only as typical of beauty, of love, and of chaste delight, but, in its character of fleur-de-lis, of majesty, of abundance, of high aims, of stainless honour, and of divinity. With ourselves, too, " the Lady Lily looking gently down" has long held undisputed sway, and is commonly regarded as the emblem of purity, of moral excellence, and of innocence"
"Innocence, child beloved, a gift from the land of the
blessed,
Beautiful, and in her hand a lily."
Longfellow."

Flower Favorites Their Legends, Symbolism and Significance by Lizzie Deas

Piecing the puzzle

Trying to make sense of all the ideas about the fleur de lis that are running wild in my head. With the sources and sightings I am attempting to take a closer look at the meaning behind the fleur de lis image and move towards applying them into possible arguments, here is what I have come up with-
Argument
Is there a connection between the uses of the fleur de lis image?
What may have begun as an image denoting positions of prestige has been integrated into everyday use among the not so ordinary common people.

The widespread uses of the fleur de lis
A) Kings of France/England
B) America
Louisiana-Mardi Gras
George Washington's Inaugural Ball Silk Sash

Common place use of Kingly/Queenly imagery-
Idea of every man/women being a queen

Heraldry- how images represent many people

Coinage- people’s recognition of the fleur de lis as representing France but the image was used by people in a practical way just as well as the image is used today in various contexts.

-Burger King “There’s a new king in town”
- Epics to picture books (Fancy Nancy/Mary Engelbreit “it’s good to be queen”)

-Clothing from robes to: t-shirts, pants, sweaters, accessories worn by several

-Academic – sighting writing tools –you do not have to be royal to think or write

-De Loach- wine of world-class wine with the fleur de lis image on each bottle widespread availability-connection to the consumption of wine with nobility-
-Andy Warhol
“What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.”
From his 1975 book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, observations on the American perception of Coke.

Symbolism

Lily- An image chosen from a flower- accessible to all becomes regal through its stylization and association 3 petals, association with divinity and divine right to rule

Scout Emblem/folklore- Compass-guide (in reference to leadership/kings) Knowledge, light, truth, eagle

Meaning behind the Emblem

More Sources

So basicaly these are highlights from two different sources; Crown, cross, and 'fleur-de-lis': an essay on Pierre Le Moyne's baroque epic 'Saint Louis', and Heraldry and Genealogy. The book Crown, cross. is about an epic poem called Saint Louis which along with other poems really brought images of the fleur de lis about. The Heraldry and Genealogy article helps solve the puzzle of why it is that the image is not exclusive or does not represent only one thing. I have found the fire hydrant and it is a bit overwhelming all I know is that I want to somehow comment on the several uses of the fleur de lis and how the image has come to mean so many things and has such a vast history that we may never entirely know.

“…the tools of modern criticism-Freudian, Jungian, phenomenological, and
structuralist-are eminently appropriate for such purposes. We the children of
surrealism perhaps represent the ideal public for a Pierre Le Moyne, capable of
appreciating his strengths and of forgiving his failings.”
“It is certain that the writers of epic gave expression to a nostalgia for power and glory, for honor, heroic living, and knightly doings, but also that the nobility tried to
live up to such models of heroism in their own lives. In this period, as in the
twelfth century, heroic literature reflects and helps create wish-fulfillment on
the part of a threatened aristocratic class.”
“by 1641 Le Moyne conceived a project for a heroic poem on the subject of King Louis IX Egyptian Crusade. And from 1650 on he dwelt in the professed House of the Jesuit order, rue Saint-Antoine, on the Ile-Saint-Louis. The newly constructed house and church were dedicated to Saint Louis. Over the façade was placed a statue of Louis IX beneath the arms of France; inside were painting by Simon Vouet, one celebrating Saint Louis’ apotheosis, another depicting King Louis XIII as he offers the plans of the church to his ancestor in heaven. It was in this atmosphere that Father Le Moyne worked away on his nationalistic, dynastic, and religious poem.”

“The rules of epic in the seventeenth century and the particular mode of ceremonial heroic romance in which Tasso and Le Moyne chose to write required a happy ending. And Le Moyne himself, a man who in other contexts esteemed
himself to be a historian, proclaims in the dissertation the poet’s freedom with
regard to history. Le Moyne merely exercised that freedom given to all artists;
it is his privilege to write a heroic romance instead of a chronicle, to transform history into art.”

“Among the strongest impressions the reader receives from Saint Louis is one of splendor and magnificence.” “According to Maskell, seventeenth-century long poems can be divided into three categories: the annalistic epic, the heroic epic, and the romance.”
“Finally, when Le Moyne alters the facts of history, he does so out of patriotism and Christian faith.”
“ Finally, Le Moyne speaks of the laurel as an image of heroism, of the palm branch as an image of martyrdom, and , above all, of the French fleur-de-lis. He declares that King Louis’ victory will result in a grafting of the crown of thorns onto the crown of lilies, the fleur-de-lis. Ensuring that Louis’ descendants will sprout on the royal tree and that future kings and kingdoms shall put their names beneath the names of Louis’ and Bourbon’s descendants (books 1 and 8). And he praises Julie de Montausier, daughter of his patrons, the Marquis and Marquise of Rambouillet, who will bloom on the family tree and, crowned by myrtle, be allied with the fleur-de-lis. Christ and the French royal house are assimilated, for the lily, the emblem chosen by Clovis for his purification through baptism, stands for the Virgin Mary and the
annunciation of Christ’s coming as well as for the Capetian-Bourbon dynasty."

“physical light and the act of seeing are images of spiritual or moral insight…God and his angels are forces of light, while satan and his minions hide in darkness. The shadow of spiritual death, hell, sorcery, and vices contrast to the light that emanates from Christ, the Tree of Jesse, and the fleur-de-lis. For Le Moyne, the earth is often shrouded in night, but heaven is base in pure light, for fire and light are images of divine power, wisdom, and love. They destroy or transform, act as eternal wrath no less than as eternal grace, and they overcome the false light of human worldliness. In the second “Amour divin” the poet invokes the Holy Spirit, who as fire spoke to Moses in the Burning Bush. Love is conceived as God’s own vial principle, created from the flames of the Father and Son. It is the embodiment of divine creation and generation, and of his grace offered to sinners. The stars represent angels hovering around the divine sun, flying mirrors reflecting God, and human souls too, for Christ on the cross iss a torch whose sparks light up the world… The only riches that
Louis seeks in Egypt are a handful of miserable thorns. If he had sought more,
he would have been defeated a hundred times, but since he seeks thorns, he will
win the treasures of the Orient and, because of this pitiful, ironic crown, the
crown of France will remain in his family forever.”
“Louis undergoes symbolic death more than once, and, therefore, he lives. He imitates Christ, chooses his master’s crown, and thus becomes worthy of being Christ’s deputy in the world.”

Crown, cross, and ‘fleur-de-lis’: an essay on Pierre Le Moyne’s baroque epic ‘Saint Louis’By Calin, William

“Prior to the establishment of the English College of Arms on a royal
foundation, in the reign of Richard III, it was the practice of the great feudal
nobles (each of whom generally had his own herald, as Somerset, Warwich,
Clarence, Oxford, &C.), as a reward for service in the field or council, to
bestow on his chief vassals some portion of his own coat of arms, varied, more
or less, according to the rank of the individual or the nature of the service
preformed. These grants were recorded by the herald and his pursuivant or
scribe. Others received the armorial device in commemoration of some marked
event of their lives. Besides these arms proper, which were peculiar to
individuals, there were badges and devices attached to great houses, all the
members of which bore them… of the nature of badges are the different heathers of the Scottish clans, and the flowers adopted as such by various nations, as the lily of France, the rose, thistle, and shamrock of England, Scotland, and Ireland…Indeed, heraldry within its own demesne, makes but a poor appearance compared with its gorgeous blazon on the stained glass of the houses of parliament at Westminster, or on the panels of sumptuous equipages in Hyde Park. Yet, from the obscure recesses of the dusty court at Doctor’s Commons, emanate those marks of honor and of antiquity which are so much coveted by all classes, there, too, lies the secret, in some forgotten pedigree, which might cause the rich man and his poor neglected kinsman to change places... the national arms of the United states are remarkable as seeming to embody to some extent the paternal arms of the great man whose name is so prominent in their annals, and the stars and stripes is perhaps unique as being the only national coat of arms in the New World which is derived from the age of chivalry.”

Heraldry and Genealogy by J. Shelton Mackenzie http://www.jstor.org/stable/20487438

Wide Open

A perspective proposal below and the search for more sources, always ongoing- A wealth of information to choose from, direction seems to be the real question. Where should the research turn from here?
Hyacinthe Rigaud is the artist who painted the famouse portrait of Louis XIV and was responsible for creating portraits that captured the essence of importance. Which really helped to represent or embody this idea of absolutism a God given right to rule. This article helps to give shape and offer a connection between having objects of regalia- in this case the kings robe to verify that even if we do not see images of the fleur-de-lis as often they had some sort of impact on either those who design clothing bearing the image of the fleur-de-lis or those who unconsciously wear this type of clothing without knowing the history or reason why but who seem to choose these images because of their regalness.
Osborne, Harold and Marc Jordan . "Rigaud, Hyacinthe." The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford Art Online. 5 Mar. 2011 .
This clip from Antiques Roadshow may help in the discovery between the images transition from French to American
George Washington's Inaugural Ball Silk Sash, ca. 1789
Appraised Value: $3,000 - $6,000 /Appraised on: June 12, 2010 /Appraised in: San Diego, California /Appraised by: Leigh Keno /Category: Folk Art /Episode Info: San Diego, Hour 2 #1505 /Originally Aired: January 31, 2011 /IMAGE: 1 of 1 Form: Sash /Material: Silk /Period / Style: 18th Century

Artist/ jack of all trades by the name of Juste-Aurele Meissonnier used the Fleur-de-lis as his trademark. This article shows another usage of the Fleur-de-lis. It contributes to the overall ambiguity of the image which perhaps after I research more will be able to string some thread and see any similarities in the overall usage of the Fleur-de-lis.
Elaine Evans Dee. "Meissonnier, Juste-Aurèle." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 3 Mar. 2011 .

fleur-de-lis
[French, ‘lily flower’] a heraldic flower with three petals forming a stylized lily. It was a central emblem in the French royal arms from as early as the 12th century and was used in ornament from the Gothic period onwards. It was also the emblem of the powerful Italian Farnese family and of the city of Florence.
"fleur-de-lis." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Oxford Art Online. 3 Mar. 2011 http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t4/e729.
John A. Goodall. "Regalia." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 25 Feb. 2011

Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, the final day of feasting and festing before Ash Wednesday, when many Christians begin their fasting for Lent. Mardi Gras is observed around the world; the American celebration dates back to 1699.

From Taste of homes magazine Feb/Mar 2010
The article talks about what regalia is and how it is depicted and the image of prestige it creates for the person it attempts to define. I have found out what constitues as an object of regalia cheifly a sword, crown, sceptre, rod, orb, robes, rings, arm bands. Crowns were worn by so many people- kings of arms, crown princes, archdukes, dukes of grand dukes, and popes. Crowns were not used very often or for everyday wear but for more ceremonial purposes such as moment of crowning. The reason that we know about Louis XIV using the fleur de lis as an object of regalia at all is because an artist (Hyacinthe Rigaud) preserved an object of regalia (kings robe) in a portrait painting of the king. Here are some highlights from the rest of the article
John A. Goodall. "Regalia." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 1 Mar. 2011 http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T071111

FLEUR-DE-LIS AND DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE.
THE fleur-de-lis is such a hopeless puzzle that grave authorities regard it as the corrupted figure of a frog, others recognize a phallic emblem, others a bee with wings spread ; this last view com mended itself strongly to Napoleon. There are serious arguments and illustrations in favor of each origin; the one fact tolerably cer tain is
that Frankish kings bore a cognizance which has developed into the fleur-de-lis,
as soon as history gets a clear view of them. Almost certainly, however, that cognizance was not a flower of any sort in the beginning. The history of the double-headed eagle in Europe is known well enough. The German Emperor Conrad
saw it at Con stantinople when crusading in II47. Learning that the device represented sovereignty over East and West, he thought it adapted to his own
case, and annexed it. The counts of Flanders were equally struck in the next
Crusade, and followed the same course. It was finally appropriated by the House
of Austria in I345; after ward Prussia and Russia yielded to the fascination of
its beauty. But when we quit these modern inanities and seek the double-headed
eagle in its native home, we are led into the very beginning of things. Tracing
the symbol upward, it is found as a common orna ment among the Mamelukes of
Egypt, evidently introduced by the Mesopotamian artists whom they favored. In
the Museum at South Kensington are several exquisite works of that period
showing the double-headed eagle. It has' been suggested that Saladin bore it.
His cognizance was certainly an eagle, but one may think that Christian
chroniclers would have mentioned it had the bird been double-headed. But the
device appears at an earlier date on the coinage of the Prince of Singar, in
Mesopotamia; also it was sculptured on the walls of the city of Amia in that
region. Passing an indefinite number of centuries, we find it on. the golden
orna ments of Mycenae. But the original is identified, so far, among the most
mysterious of peoples, the Hittites. With them it was a very holy and powerful
symbol evidently, though the significance is not yet ascertained. On the
enormous monoliths of granite before the palace at Eyuk double-headed eagles are
carved, holding an animal. So in that wondrous cave-temple of Borghas-Keui,
where the gods are sculptured in procession, two of them ride upright on the
mystic bird. It is carved above the gates of cities and on their massive walls.
We shall know more, doubtless, in good time.-Pall Mall Gazette.

Fleur-de-Lis and Double-Headed Eagle
Pall Mall Gazette
The Collector and Art CriticVol. 1, No. 2 (May 1, 1899), p. 31
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25435194

From this source I think a connection can be made between the French translation of the Fleur –de-lis flower of light and Jesus Christ being the light of the world. There appears to be symbolism beyond the image. A line from A Carol of the Fleur-de-lis

Mary hath borne the Fleur-de-lys on Christmas night, when it was cold, our Lady
lay among beastes bold, And there she bore Jesu, Joseph told, And there she bare
Jesu, And there-of came the Fleur-de-lys.

Perhaps this is why the image is carried across cultures and time and given such importance.

A Carol of the Fleur-de-LysAuthor(s): Hubert Du PlessisSource: The Musical Times, Vol. 94, No. 1327 (Sep., 1953), pp. 1-8Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/933101 .Accessed: 10/03/2011

Fluer-de-lis
The power of the visual image is astounding and the impact an image has on humanity is even more so. How can one image be so successful that it in time comes to represent so many things? Fleur –de- lis is an image with many faces, how it has changed over time is most intriguing. The fleur-de-lis is seen in art, fashion, history, and has been a major part of culture. A symbol of many meanings to all who come across the fleur de lys. The questions I would like to address; what makes the image of the fleur -de-lis so successful? How does it lend itself to so many sources without weakening its strength or impact?Why do we never tire of seeing this image or fail to notice its existence? Does the appearance of the fluer de lis today have any possible connections with how the image was represented in times past?
Sightings to date:
notebook, book cover, Mardi Gras, De Loach, George Washington's Inaugural Ball Silk Sash

sighting

An add in the Organic Gardening magazine April/May 2011 vol.58, No. 2. More than anything these sightings seem to fuel my research. However, they do not help to narrow down the topic. So far I have five sightings and four articles to work with- got to find more!

The image behind the appraisal + another sighting

So what does the book cover image say? What is the association between the image of the Fleur-de-lis and the academic world? I am attempting to find any connections between all the sightings I have found.

Sighting

Still working towards reading through a few more sources and trying to see if I have enough sources to really start working on an initial proposal. Saw another sighting yesterday from the Antiques Road Show in San Diego California . A woman brought in an item that was identified as a sash for Washingtons inagural ball. I will try and get the vido/copy of the picture



George Washington's Inaugural Ball Silk Sash, ca. 1789
Appraised
Value:
$3,000 - $6,000
Appraised on: June 12, 2010
Appraised in: San Diego, California
Appraised by: Leigh Keno
Category: Folk Art
Episode Info: San Diego, Hour 2 #1505
Originally Aired: January 31, 2011
IMAGE: 1 of 1
Form: Sash
Material: Silk
Period / Style: 18th Century

Value Range: $3,000-$6,000

Appraised
By: Leigh Keno Furniture, Folk Art

Appraisal Transcript:

GUEST: My mother said this was a scarf worn at George Washington's inauguration. He did not wear it; the men got these and the women got the earrings.

APPRAISER: You have some distinguished ancestry, I should put it, right?

GUEST: I do. APPRAISER: Entirely possible that you would have some family member that went to that ball, right?

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: But you don't know exactly which one, right?

GUEST: No.

APPRAISER: We are looking at this, now framed and folded, a silk banner that
probably was seven feet long if you extend it. And it's all folded under itself
right here. It's really long.

GUEST: I did not realize that.

APPRAISER: When this showed up, I was so excited. Because, first of all, I love American folk art. I also love American history.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: This piece combines a great folk design with great history. So, as you know, President Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789. A week later, they held a big ball down near Wall Street in New York for the President. All the ladies wore their finest. Something like this certainly would not be unusual at that. We have this American eagle, painted eagle on the silk. And it's a classic stance with the
laurel branch in one claw symbolizing the peace and in the other claw the
arrows, symbolizing strength. And the eagle's banner here says "E pluribus"
written out in gold. There are 13 stars above that in yellow with blue outline.
And up here what looks like an abstract design. Somebody else actually pointed
out-- I can't take credit-- this is "G" and this is a "W".

GUEST: Oh, my heart.

APPRAISER: For George Washington.

GUEST: That's fabulous.

APPRAISER: Isn't that great?

GUEST: No, it's better than fabulous.

APPRAISER: It's better than fabulous because the G, if you look sideways, and then the W for George Washington. They're probably silver little bangles with glass beads. Each one is carefully sewn over the star for "GW" and the 13...

GUEST: That is so exciting.

APPRAISER: Isn't that neat? And above it, the French... fleur de lis.

GUEST: Fleur de lis.

APPRAISER: Now, a week after the major ball, Count de Moustier had
another ball, the French count.

GUEST: De Moustier.

APPRAISER: De Moustier. Now, we don't know, we certainly can't prove it, because these relics are so rare, but to my knowledge no other of these banners exist. But it's very possible that a banner like this would have been at that ball a week later. And I've checked with several experts here-- the silk, the fine silk, is of the period. The
bangles, it's all right. I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want
first?

GUEST: I think I'll take the good news today.

APPRAISER: You want the good news first? I think that's a good way to do it. The value, on a bad day, would be $3,000 to $6,000, and this is the kind of object that, in the right situation...

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: … could bring $10,000, $15,000 in an auction setting. Now I'm going to give you the bad news. These are costume jewelry from around... from after 1900.

GUEST: So they aren't... Mother lied to me.

APPRAISER: They didn't make clips like this, this ear clip, until after 1900.

GUEST: Okay, oh, that's interesting.

APPRAISER: Also, the metal's not gold and it's not even enamel. They're nice, decorative ear clips, but so these weren't made for the...

GUEST: So I can wear them without feeling like I'm...all right.

APPRAISER: You can wear them without worrying about losing them as much. But this you want to really preserve as you've always done.

GUEST: I'm excited, really. I just love it.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/201001A35.html 7th May 2011

The artists who first comes to mind

Hyacinthe Rigaud is the artist who painted the famouse portrait of Louis XIV and was responsible for creating portraits that captured the essence of importance. Which really helped to represent or embody this idea of absolutism a God given right to rule. This article helps to give shape and offer a connection between having objects of regalia- in this case the kings robe to verify that even if we do not see images of the fleur-de-lis as often they had some sort of impact on either those who design clothing bearing the image of the fleur-de-lis or those who unconsciously wear this type of clothing without knowing the history or reason why but who seem to choose these images because of their regalness.

Rigaud, Hyacinthe
(1659–1743).
French portrait painter, the rival of Largillierre and the outstanding court portraitist at the end of Louis XIV's reign. He was born in Perpignan and trained in Montpellier and Lyons. He arrived in Paris in 1681 and by 1688 had gained an influential clientele at court. Using patterns derived from van Dyck (and ultimately from Titian) he developed a style of sumptuous dignity that remained the norm for formal portraiture up until the Revolution and which was revived for royal images at
the Bourbon Restoration. His most famous work of this kind is the full-length
state portrait of the elderly Louis XIV (1701; Paris, Louvre). To modern eyes
this throughly Baroque image, so cruelly mocked in a caricature by Thackeray, epitomizes all that is most false in a tradition that places the symbols of rank above the personality of the individual. Nevertheless, within the bounds of decorum, Rigaud had a good eye for character, as is clear from one of his most spectacular portraits,
Cardinal de Bouillon (1709; Perpignan, Mus. Rigaud). Like his contemporary the
sculptor Coysevox, Rigaud also made alongside his official portraits a number of intimate studies of friends and family, which have a Rembrandtesque truthfulness about them. They include the double portrait Marie Serre, the Artist's Mother (1695; Paris, Louvre), which was, in fact, made for a bust by Coysevox.

Harold Osborne / Marc Jordan
Osborne, Harold and Marc Jordan . "Rigaud, Hyacinthe." The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford Art Online. 5 Mar. 2011 .

what is helpful what is not

Picked up the ILL's and was so happy to find that the length of the manageable for the time frame I have to read them in and that as I had hoped the text's were in English (HORRAY). At the same time I keep thinking what am I missing out on by not being able to read French. So far the google alert for fleur-de-lis has not been of value because the only alerts I receive have been the responses or comments I have received from member of the capstone I class :( I saw another sighting but it was not something I could scan into the computer to post. It was a hat someone was wearing on campus, not a baseball cap but more of a taxi driver English cap which was one solid color although I cannot remember what that was now. I am not really sure how to go about this sighting. On the one hand it seems simple enough just take a picture on the other I think I need to get the subjects ( persons) permission first and I think I need some sort of consent form but am at odds with that process. What if I look like a tourist carrying around a camera all the time to "get the picture?" Another dilemma is that I really want to take pictures to add to this sightings journal but what if the image I am capturing happens to be located on the back pockets of a persons jeans (awkward)?

Fleur-de-lis update

Disclaimer- I will be doing a little venting and describing the wall- read on at your own peril.The ILL's I requested have arrived much sooner than I expected and I will pick them up tomorrow.I am still trying to annotate but I do not know if I am really making any progress my topic does not seem to be doing anything but widening. Articulating a revised thesis to present to possible advisors seems daunting because I am lost in research but I still do not know if I have the right type of sources because most of mine are articles. My sightings journal continues to peak my curiosity and it at times helps to drive my research but I do not know if you could consider it a real source.
In a nutshell an artist/ jack of all trades by the name of Juste-Aurele Meissonnier used the Fleur-de-lis as his trademark

French designer, architect and goldsmith. He was apprenticed to his father Etienne Meissonnier, a sculptor and silversmith of some importance, before making his way to Paris, arriving in 1714. He worked there as a die-cutter and medallist, progressing through the ranks of the metalworkers’ guild. He was variously described as a chaser, a designer and, in 1723, as a maker of watchcases; he worked for ten years at the royal furnishings factory of Gobelins, Paris. In September 1724 Louis XV appointed him by brevet a master of the Corporation des Marchands-Orfèvres Joailliers. It would appear, however, that his main occupation was as a chaser. His mark, a crowned fleur-de-lis, j o m and two grains de remède, has been found on only one piece, a gold and lapis lazuli snuff-box (1728; Geneva, J. Ortiz Patino priv. col., see Snowman, pl. 146). In spite of this scarcity of signed pieces, it is reasonable to assume that he closely supervised the work that he contracted to other goldsmiths. In 1735 Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston (1711–73), commissioned a pair of silver tureens (Madrid, Mus. Thyssen-Bornemisza; Cleveland, OH, Mus. A.) that bear the marks of the silversmiths Henry Adnet (1683–1745) and Pierre-François Bonnestrenne (1685–after 1737/8) and inscriptions that identify Meissonnier as the designer. Silver pieces with the mark of Claude Duvivier (1688–1747), made after
designs by Meissonnier, show an extremely close relationship between the
executed object and the engraved design.
In 1726 Meissonnier was appointed Dessinateur de la Chambre et du Cabinet du Roi in succession to Jean Berain the younger (1678–1726). The duties involved the designing of all court festivities, an activity Meissonnier apparently enjoyed; he had already in 1725 created a fireworks display near the Orangerie at Versailles to celebrate the King’s recovery from illness. Another festivity that Meissonnier orchestrated, to celebrate the birth of the Dauphin, took place at Versailles in 1729.

It was in the ideal compositions depicted in the engravings that Meissonnier’s fullest originality was exploited. His designs, developed from the basic form of the cartouche, stretched the bounds of fantasy and caprice. Diagonal perspective, asymmetry and elastically curved and spiralling lines are combined with such characteristic elements of the Rococo as shell forms, rocks, cascades, fountains and broken scrolls, to create an elegant and graceful world. As the first to incorporate irregularity of a picturesque nature into his designs, Meissonnier bore the brunt of attack from those critics who preferred straight lines and perpendicularity. For them, ornament was subordinate to structure, and Meissonnier’s asymmetry and spiralling lines were objectionable. He is now considered, however, to be the most versatile and brilliant practitioner of the genre pittoresque.

Elaine Evans Dee. "Meissonnier, Juste-Aurèle." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 3 Mar. 2011 .

Not sure how helpful this article is other than it shows another usage of the Fleur-de-lis. It contributes to the overall ambiguity of the image which perhaps after I research more will be able to string some thread and see any similiarities in the overall usage of the Fleur-de-lis.

Self explainitory definition

fleur-de-lis
[French, ‘lily flower’] a heraldic flower with three petals
forming a stylized lily. It was a central emblem in the French royal arms from
as early as the 12th century and was used in ornament from the Gothic
period onwards. It was also the emblem of the powerful Italian Farnese family
and of the city of Florence.

"fleur-de-lis." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Oxford Art Online. 3 Mar. 2011 http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t4/e729.

Would like to annotate more but midterms are underway and my brain is fried

Fluer-de-lis an image of regalia

I finished reading the article Regalia. Before I described the artical saying "the article talks about what regalia is and how it is depicted and the image of prestige it creates for the person it attempts to define." Now I have found out much more of what constitues as an object of regalia cheifly a sword, crown, sceptre, rod, orb, robes, rings, arm bands. I gained some more insight as to crowns before reading this article I thought that kings and queens were the only people who wore them and I thought that they wore them most of the time. However, crowns were worn by so many people- kings of arms, crown princes, archdukes, dukes of grand dukes, and popes. Crowns were not used very often or for everyday wear but for more ceremonial purposes such as moment of crowning. The reason that we know about Louis XIV using the fleur de lis as an object of regalia at all is because an artist (Hyacinthe Rigaud) preserved an object of regalia (kings robe) in a portrait painting of the king. Here are some highlights from the rest of the article

It is clear from inventories that, in the late Middle Ages, kings had
several crowns made for general use; while the crowns are described in some
detail, they do not specify the occasions on which they were used. The
coronation crown, often regarded as a relic of a sainted ancestor, was reserved
for investiture alone. Some crowns were kept in churches as votive offerings,
or, having relics set in them, were preserved as reliquaries. Crowns were also
made for consorts, usually modelled on the major house, family or country
ornament; they were usually made for each wearer.

Popes used a crown, or papal tiara, with a tall pointed cap, with fillets or ribbons at the back similar to a mitre, augmented in the 14th century with a second and finally a third crown. Successive pontiffs were crowned with ornaments of this style and wore them during processions but put them aside during liturgical rites. In the 16th
century the original conical form became broader at the top, and all surviving
papal tiaras are of this type (examples in Rome, Vatican, Sistine Chapel; see
also Vestments, ecclesiastical).

Crowns were also worn by crown princes, for example in England, France and Sweden. Other European sovereigns, such as Austrian archdukes and the dukes and grand dukes of Tuscany, had the right to wear a crown. Unique to the doges of Venice was the zoia (two examples in Venice, Correr), a fabric cap with a horn that was embroidered and decorated with jewels. The crowns of Germanic princes, who were sovereigns, were ermine and velvet caps with a scalloped edge turned over a single arched circlet. On the Continent some abbesses of royal monastic houses not only had the right to use a coronet heraldically but also wore crowns or coronets when taking part in imperial and royal coronations. The abbesses of the convent of Frauenchiemsee, Bavaria, are depicted wearing two-arched crowns in a series of
portraits preserved at the convent. During the 16th and 17th centuries most
dioceses in France and the Holy Roman Empire were granted ducal or comital
titles, and coronets were added to the appropriate ecclesiastical insignia of
rank.

In the Middle Ages the wearing of coronets, circlets and special hats
to denote status became widespread, although the codification of patterns for
different ranks of feudal society did not take place before the 16th and 17th
centuries, when their principal use was in heraldic art. Such coronets of
nobility could be very elaborate and, like kings, greater nobles would have
several of varying degrees or richness. In the United Kingdom peers and
peeresses use their coronets only at coronations, placing them on their heads at
the moment of crowning. Crowns are also worn by the Kings of Arms, as
representatives of their sovereign...In England two sceptres, one with a cross-head (seen on silver pennies; London, N.P.G.) and the other with a dove (seen on the Great Seal of Edward the Confessor), were being used before 1066. The former may have been combined with the orb (see §4 below) by the Norman kings, and later a sceptre with a fleur-de-lis was introduced by William II. At the end of the 10th century the French kings were depicted on their seals holding a short rod tipped with a fleur-de-lis, which after 1108 was lengthened to reach the floor. By 1314 they had adopted the ivory hand of justice; this was also used by the kings of Navarre, by some officials in the Habsburg lands and later by Napoleon I at his coronation in 1804 .Sceptres were used by dukes from an early date, both for being invested and to signify a transfer of power ...Sceptres were used by dukes from an early date, both for being invested and to signify a transfer of power ...Coronation orders show that the new ruler was vested in the church with certain of the robes; and a 10th-century Anglo-Saxon order specifically refers to the pallium, later called the stole. The English kings used the same types of robe, but in France the stole is not mentioned in the 14th-century coronation book of Charles V. The robes described in the coronation books for Eleanor of Austria as Queen of France in 1530 and for Henry II of France in 1575 show how richly jewelled the robes and all the dresses of the court were. Henry’s mantle was worked with a deep border of his personal devices in pearls and, like all the French coronation mantles, would have been embroidered with golden fleurs-de-lis.

John A. Goodall. "Regalia." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 1 Mar. 2011 http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T071111.

To sum it all up this article was very usefull because it reinforces a possible conclusion and connection I want to make in my final report and that is that people today wear apparel and clothing that has the same fleur de lis image on it that was worn by the VIP of old. I still haven't figured out why there has been this revival of the fleur de lis image but I am convinced that it is all tied up with this concept of power. For Louis XIV it symbolized absolutism his God given right to rule perhaps people today unknowingly are drawn to wear clothes containing this image because it makes them feel refined and of importance.