SYM·0041 · Fleur-de-lis
Fleur-de-lis
royal, and also a brand
- Unicode
- U+269C fleur-de-lis
- Meaning
- A stylised lily or iris, and for eight centuries the emblem of French monarchy.
- History
- Attached to the French crown from the twelfth century and carried on arms, coins and banners until the Revolution — after which it survived as a regional and civic mark rather than a royal one. The entry has a second half that is usually left out: in the French penal system the fleur-de-lis was branded onto convicts, so the same mark meant sovereignty on a banner and a criminal record on a shoulder.
- Variants
- Two-leaf and three-leaf forms; the Florentine lily is distinct and pierced.
- Related
- ⚔ ⚑ the heraldic set — see Systems, Heraldry.
- Appears
- Quebec, Florence, New Orleans, Scouting, and French civic heraldry.
- Evolution
- Plant form → royal arms → penal brand → regional identity and a sports badge.
Sources · 3
- documented The fleur-de-lis in French royal arms from the twelfth century.
- documented Branding with the fleur-de-lis as a judicial punishment under the French ancien régime.
- folk That it is really a bee, a Frankish axe, or a dove. Recurring alternatives with no evidential basis; the lily reading is the one the sources support.