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Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi
In fact it is not at all clear which version of the FDL is correct~ perhaps they are all to some degree, however, a treatise on the subject rolls out the various concepts at ~
http://www.heraldica.org/topics/fdl.htm
The window below is shown for interest.. and carries the following detail Quote"Stained glass window in the shape of a fleur-de-lys, Bourges cathedral, 15th c. Note the various themes: the Trinity, which the 3 petals were understood to recall, is represented; angels are bearing the shield as they are supporters of the arms of France, the dove descending from heaven recalls the legend of the baptism of Clovis when a dove brought the sacred ointment to Saint Remigius."Unquote. |
I was rather suspicious of this style of "remplage" (don't know the name in English, it's the sculpted stonework inside a gothic window bay), so I looked around. The Fleur de lys is an unusual motif in architecture, at least so proemininent, but when you see a shot of the whole top of the window bay, you understand much better why it's so proeminent and obvious. That chapel had been paid and built by Jacques Coeur, then "minister of finance" of the King of France Charles VII, and one of the richest man of the realm (that's how he got appointed as minister: he was the one actually loaning money to the king), and you see the super-large and super-clear fleur de lys, surrounded by two hearts. Coeur is French for heart. This remplage is a political statement of how close he his to the king, and how legitimate and powerful. But it didn't do him any good: his power was threatening the authority of the king, so he ended trialed and sentenced for crimes he probably did not commit, and much of his wealth was seized by the king.
In the very same cathedral, in another chapel, there is another remplage shaped in fleurs de lys, of a much more sober style, but I have no crunchy story for this one.