The French Flags - Heraldica
This French flag is indeed Argent three fleurs-de-lys Or. (The Duke of Wellington pays a similar "rent", but he presents a French tricolor (bleu-blanc-rouge) each year.) References. See also the page on the French Flag on the Web site of the President of the French Republic. A good reference on military flags in 16th-18th c. France is:
The Fleur-de-Lys - Heraldica
The royal arms of France; hence also the French royal family, the French flag (before 1789), the French nation or government. flag , sb.1 Also 4-7 flagg(e, (5 flegge). [Of obscure origin; cf. Dutch flag, occurring in Bible 1637, Job viii. 11 margin (the Eng. Bible has the same word in this passage), also mod.Da. flaeg (in Dansk Ordb. 1802, but ...
The Arms of France - Heraldica
French Presidents have used personal standards since the 2nd Republic (1848-51), which usually consists of a square-shaped tricolor flag whose white field is charged with a design. Under the 3d and 4th Republics (1875-1940, 1946-58) the design was the initials of the president.
Index to French Heraldry
The French Flag; See also Les symboles de la République, on the Web site of the French Prime Minister (in French) Royalty; A Genealogy of the French Royal Family; Kings and Queens of France: a Portrait Gallery; The Bourbons; The succession to the French throne; Titles and Customs of the French Royal Family; The King's Household; Great Officers ...
The Oriflamme, Standard of the French kings - Heraldica
It was distinct from the heraldic banner of the French kings (semis of fleur-de-lys on azure, as expected). Its history is fairly continuous from 1124 onward, when it is first mentioned. It is first described in 1225. It consists of two parts: a gilded lance, to which is attached a silk banner, red with green fringes.
The Royal Arms of Great Britain - Heraldica
The quarter of France was a semy of fleurs-de-lys or (see the discussion of French royal arms) and changed to three fleurs-de-lys in 1405 or 1406 to reflect French practice. (The seal of Henry IV had a semy, but the arms on his tomb have three fleurs-de-lys, and the future Henry V bore three fleurs-de-lys on his arms as prince of Wales starting ...
History of Orders of Chivalry: a Survey - Heraldica
For some of the old military-monastic orders, the transition was at times abrupt. The Spanish orders, which had lost their primary purpose with the end of the Reconquista in 1492, were quickly brought under royal control, each time with papal assent (Santiago in 1476, Alcantara in 1474, Calatrava in 1489, Avis in 1550, Christ in 1551, Montesa ...
Napoleonic Titles and Heraldry
It resulted from the transformation of the French Republic, in existence since 22 Sept 1792, into an Empire. Strictly speaking, the Republic remained in name. The French Senate voted a law on May 18, 1804 whose first article reads: "The government of the Republic is vested in an Emperor, who takes the title of Emperor of the French." The second ...
Napoleonic Heraldry
As a curiosity, here are the arms conceded to Carlo-Alberto di Savoja-Carignano, Count of the French Empire (who would later become king of Sardinia): Gules a horse salient argent, in chief dexter the quarter of counts-landowners, namely on a quarter azure an ear of wheat on a stock or. Napoleon and Bees. Why all those bees in Napoleonic heraldry?
The Holy Roman Empire - Heraldica
The French Revolution and the European war that broke out as a result in 1792 ultimately led to the destruction of the Holy Roman Empire and the redrawing of the map of Europe. As a result of French victories in 1794-95, French troops occupied the whole Left Bank of the Rhine, including the Circle of Burgundy and other territories.