FRANCE
THE
ROYAL SYMBOL - LE SYMBOLE DU ROI
Royal Portraits |
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Royal Arms |
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Gaul |
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The Roman Era |
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Hadrian |
117-138 |
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For a
long time it has been thought that on this coin of the Emperor Hadrian was a
female holding a lily in her hand
which at the same time was thought to be the emblem of France named in the
legend being, “Restutori Galliæ”. However,
on this coin there is a scene of a warrior submitting himself to a man in
senatorial dress, which could well be the Emperor, presenting him an object
what may be a bill or treaty. In any
case there is no lily to be seen and therefore the theory that the lily was
the symbol of France as early as roman times cannot be true. Triumphal
Arch of Orange 20-25 BC Armoury captured, sword, standard, trumpets This
arch displays many six-cornered shields, trumpets with animal heads (carnyx), standards in
the shape of wild boars and several swords with eagle hilts. As the triumphal
arch is probably erected for the victory over local tribes in that part of
Gallia, for example the Cavares federation,
we may suppose that an early (southern) Gallic emblem was a wild boar. On the
other hand these tribes had also eagles for badges of rank, very much
resembling Roman eagle sword hilts. As such they fitted into a wider celtic
cultural basin. Æ Hear also for the war sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCwX4Z3Ujqk. Denarius
of Hadrian (125-128) With
the symbol of a head of state |
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The Gallic Empire |
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The
Gallic Empire (Imperium Galliarum) is the modern name for a
breakaway part of the Roman Empire that functioned de facto as a separate
state from 260 to 274. It was established by Postumus in 260 in the wake of
barbarian invasions and instability in Rome, and at its height included the
territories of Germania, Gaul, Britannia, and (for a time) Hispania. After Postumus'
assassination in 268 it lost much of its territory, but continued under a
number of emperors and usurpers. It was retaken by Roman emperor Aurelian
after the Battle of Châlons in 274. Æ More: Wikipedia: Gallic Empire |
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The Tetrarchy |
284-312 |
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By
Diocletian (284-305) the Roman Empire was divided in four prefectures. One of
them was Gaul which was divided into four dioceses (Brittanny, Gaul, Vienna
and Spain). On 1 March 293 the Tetrarchy was created by which the government
of the Empire was divided between 2 “Augusti” and 2 “Caesares” the last succeeding the first and being appointed new caesares. Four
tetrarchs are represented on sculptures robbed from Constantinople in 1204 at
the fourth crusade by the Venetians and now on San Marco square in Venice.
The tetrarchs are in military dress
with swords with hilts of eagle’s heads at their sides. Such eagle headed
hilts were also on the swords of earlier Roman Emperors statues of which are
preserved in the Musei Capitolini in Rome. On their heads there have been
diadems, or kepi’s (pill boxes) probably decorated with badges or gems. Gold coins with portraits of the tetrarchs represent them with a
pointed sun-crown. The
Tetrarchs on San Marco Square in
Venice The one on the right Constantius I
Clorus |
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Constantius
I Chlorus (293/305-306) made Treves his residence in 293 be it that, forced
by political circumstances, he temporarily resided in York (Brittanny).
Treves became the capital of one of the newly created administrative
territories (dioceses) comprising the then more than 100 provinces of the
Empire. The diocese Galliarum as as
the territory governed from Treves was called, comprised eight provinces.On
an unknown moment, likely shortly before the year 400, the Prefecture was
moved to Arles. Because of the retreat of the troops in 406 the country
became almost defenceless so that the invasion of German tribes crossing the
Rhine at the turn of the year 406-407 and later moving further west, could
not be halted. |
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The
Western Roman Empire |
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Honorius |
395-423 |
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Ivory consular diptych of Anicius Petronius Probus.
Rome, 406 Right part depicting the
Roman emperor Honorius, crowned and nimbused, with commander’s staff, sword and shield. On his breast a gorgoneion and the hilt of
his sword an eagle’s head . Museo del Tesoro della
Cattedrale in Aosta, Italy. Present
France comprises the roman dioceses of Galliae and Vienennesis, parts of the
larger praetorian prefecture of Gaul (praefectura
praetorio Galliarum) |
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Gaul |
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The Diocese of Gaul (Dioecesis Galliarum, “diocese of the Gaul [province]s”) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire,
under the praetorian prefecture of Gaul. It encompassed northern and eastern
Gaul, that is, modern France north and east of the Loire, including the Low
Countries and modern Germany west of the Rhine. The
diocese comprised the following provinces: Gallia Lugdunensis I, Gallia
Lugdunensis II, Gallia Lugdunensis III, Gallia Lugdunensis IV (Senonia),
Belgica I, Belgica II, Germania I, Germania II, Alpes Poenninae et Graiae and
Maxima Sequanorum. History The
diocese was established after the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine I in
c. 314. In the year 407, the Rhine frontier was breached, and much of Gaul
temporarily lost to barbarian tribes. Roman control over most of Gaul and the
Rhineland was restored until the death of Valentinian III in 455. The only
territory remaining in Roman hands after the 450s was in the northwest, the
so-called “Domain
of Soissons”.
After its fall to the Franks in 486 and the end of Roman administration in
northern Gaul, the diocese can be said to have de facto ended. In the
Late Roman Empire the symbol of armed authority was the christogram. Such a
christogram is on a coin of Magnentius (350-353). Magnentius
was the commander of the Herculians and Jovians, the Imperial guard units.
When the army grew dissatisfied with the behavior of Roman Emperor Constans
(337-350), it elevated Magnentius at Autun on 18 January 350. Constans was
abandoned by all except a handful of retainers, and he was slain shortly
afterwards by a troop of light cavalry near the Pyrenees. Magnentius
quickly attracted the loyalty of the provinces in Britannia, Gaul, and
Hispania. His control on Italia and Africa was applied through the election
of his men to the most important offices. Coin of
Magnentius Struck
in Treves [1] Obverse: Bust of
Magnentius Reverse:
Christogram Legend:: d n magnentivs p n avg / salvs dd nn avg etc
anstes Soon
Constantius, the brother of Constans, came to the offensive. Magnentius and
Constantius met in the Battle
of Mursa Major in
351. Magnentius' troops were defeated and forced to retreat to Gaul.
Magnentius made a final stand in 353 in the Battle of Mons Seleucus (near Gap), after which he fled to Lugdunum (Lyon) where he committed
suicide by falling on his sword. The
hypothesis is that Magnentius was buried in Saulieu (Sidolocus) situated on the Roman road Via Agrippa from Lyon to
the Ocean. Here there was a church founded in 306, the church of St. Andoche in which there is a tomb,
called of St. Andoche. Foto H.d.V.2016 Tomb of
Saint-Andoche Basilique St-Andoche, Saulieu Saint Andoche was a Greek
priest who evangelized the area with his companions deacon Thyrse and merchant Felix. They suffered martyrdom in
177. Three churches succeeded each other on their relics: in 306, 747 and 1119.
The latter was built in the 12th century under the influence of Cluniac
architecture. The choir was burnt by the English during the Hundred Years
War. The chapels built on the flanks of the nave are from the 15th century.
The sculptured portal is from the 19th century. The
tomb is decorated with the symbols of
the Ruler (christogram), the Realm (Sun) and the State (Moon) and in between the six-pointed star
symbolizing a prince. On the right there is a shield decorated with an axe (securis) which is the symbol of a Lictor. |
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Insignia of the Magister Peditum and the shields of
the Joviani and the Herculiani In the Notitia Dignitatum,
fol 65 (420 ca.) In that
time the army in Gaul was commanded by the Magister Militum per Gallias. The title of magister militum was created in the 4th century, when Emperor
Constantine the Great deprived the praetorian prefects of their military
functions. Initially two posts were created, one as head of the foot troops,
as the magister peditum (“Master of
the Foot”), and one for the more prestigious cavalry, the magister equitum (“Master of the
Horse”). The latter title had existed since Republican times, as the
second-in-command to a Roman dictator. As such they
were directly in command of the local mobile field army of the comitatenses,
composed mostly of cavalry, which acted as a rapid reaction force. Other magistri
remained at the immediate disposal of the Emperors, and were termed in
praesenti (“in the presence” of the Emperor). By the late 4th
century, the regional commanders were termed simply magister militum.
In Gaul there have been ten Magistri Militum by the names of Magister Militum per Gallias 352–355: Claudius
Silvanus 362–364: Flavius Iovinus, magister
equitum under Julian and Jovian ? – 419: Flavius
Gaudentius 425–433: Flavius Aetius 437-439:
Avitus 452–456: Agrippinus 456–461: Aegidius 461/462:
Agrippinus ? - 472: Bilimer 465–486: Syagrius In the
time of Flavius Gaudentius the insignia of a Magister Militum was an ivory plaque (diptych) on a table with a blue cloth. Such insignia are
represented by the Notitia Dignitatum for the Magistri Peditum and –
Equitum. The insignia for the Magister
Militum per Gallias is not given but is supposed to have been of the kind
of these two. |
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Consular
Diptych of Flavius Aetius (425-433) Ivory, first half of the 5th
century. Belonged until the Revolution to
the library of the chapter of Bourges Cathedral. Gift of P.A. Bourdaloue. Musée
Municipal de Bourges inv. n° 860.3.2. In
the upper half the consul seated under a ciborium
decorated with eagles, with a sceptre representing two imperial busts, and a
staff and assisted by men of the guard. In the lower halves scenes from
fights with wild animals (lions). Eagles
on the Consular Diptych The
Magister per Gallias commanded
32.000 men at Paris and the Dux Mogontiacenses commanded 2.750 Dux Belgicae II commanded 500 Dux Germaniae I (n.a.) Dux Sequanicae commanded 250 Comes Tractus Argentorates (n.a.) Dux Armoricani commanded 2.500 Insignia
of the Dux Mogontiacenses, Dux Belgicae II, Dux Sequanica, the Comes
Argentorates and the Dux Armoricani. No insignia are given for the Dux
Germaniae I. As in the Notitia Dignitatum. Hypothetically
these Duces had a griffin for badge
of military rank. Reliefs of griffins were on 2nd and 3rd century Roman
military cuirasses but their later development has to be studied. |
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The Frankish Kingdom |
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In 358
Julian the Apostate permitted the Franks to settle more to the south in Toxandria,
present Brabant, and gave them the status of foederati. The Treasury of Pouan The Tomb
of Theodoric is an archaeological discovery that combines weapons and jewels
from a princely tomb of the 5th century. Discovered on 22 August , 1842 in
Pouan-les-Vallées by the workman Baptiste Buttat at a place called Haut de
Marisy now named Le Martrait. [2] It is a bed of alluvial stones
covered with a layer of topsoil. These pieces were proposed to Corrard de
Bréban, curator at the museum, who kept only the sword and the scramasaxe.
The other objects were acquired by a jeweler at Troyes, objects which were
presented to the Archaeological Congress of France of 9 June 1853 which was
held in Troyes. M. Achille Peigné-Delacourt drew up a detailed description of
it, and intervened with the Emperor in order that these pieces might not be
disseminated. [3]. The treasure was acquired by Napoleon
III in 1858 and offered to the museum on March 11, 1860. Content: Jewelery:
Weapons: A
sword Of
873mm by 3mm and 68mm (maximum) made of three strips damasked and welded, the
handle is formed of an olive-shaped knob with at its top four garnets, two
circular and two teardrop shaped. The rocket is decorated with five
perpendicular ribs on a gold leaf. The guard is a silver plate fixed under a
missing element (wood?); A
scramasaxe: Of
long shape, 602 by 30 mm at the most, of rectangular section. The handle is
adorned with a gold leaf with transverse grooves, the guard is made of a band
of gold adorned with a grid. The pommel is in the form of a leaf decorated
with garnets on a cloisonne. Clasps:
A
garnet clasp in cloisonne but of very different invoice which makes it
thought that it does not come from the treasure of Pouan but perhaps of Fontenay-le-Comte. M.
Peigne-Delacourt, attributes to Theodoric, the king of Visigoths, killed in
451 in the battle of the catalaunic fields, the skeleton and ornaments found in
Pouan. According
to M. Kazanski it is the tomb of the second half of the 5th century of an
aristocratic warrior.[4] |
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Merovingian House |
460-751 |
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Childeric I (Doornik) |
*440 ca-†482 460-482 |
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Childeric
succeeded his father Merovech as king of the Salian Franks,
traditionally in 457 or 458. By 457 at the latest he was the ruler of
the Franks in the territory covering Tournai and the Lys valley. He may have
had power over further territories to the south, but the sources are unclear
on this. According to Gregory of Tours, Childeric was exiled at some
point, the reason being traditionally given as Frankish unhappiness with
Childeric's private life. Gregory further records that the Franks recalled
Childeric after 8 years of exile. In 463
Childeric fought in conjunction with the Roman General Aegidius, the magister militum of northern Gaul based
in Soissons, to defeat the Visigoths, who had hoped to extend their
dominion along the banks of the Loire River. After the death of
Aegidius, Childeric assisted Comes (“count” = commander of a cohort of 500) Paul of Angers,
together with a mixed band of Gallo-Romans and Franks, in defeating the Goths
and taking booty. Saxon raiders under the command
of Odoacer reached Angers and captured it, but Childeric and Count
Paul retook the city in 469. Childeric, having delivered Angers, followed a
Saxon warband to the islands on the Atlantic mouth of the Loire, and
massacred them there. In the period around 476 to 481, he and Odoacer were
discussing the possibility of an alliance against the Alamanni who
wished to invade Italy In 1653 a
tomb was discovered in Tournai and pillaged. Its contents could be assembled for a part by the deacon of the
parish but an important part disappeared. The bones of the skeleton were
dispersed. Nevertheless a signet ring was saved inscribed CHILDERICI REGIS from which it was gathered that
the tomb had been of the Frankish King Childeric (†482). The objects saved and described were: 1. A
monetary treasure a. More that a hundred gold-coins dating from
Theodosius II (450) to Zeno (476-491). b. About 200 silver roman coins mainly deniers from the Late Empire. 2. A
golden signet ring, with the portrait of the king, en face, with long hair
with a parting in the middle and plaited at the ends. The king is dressed in
a breastplate and a paludamentum (mantle)
of a roman officer and he keeps a spear in his right hand. The inscription
reads CHILDERICI
REGIS. 3. A golden bracelet of 300 g. A bracelet worn at
the right wrist is a royal badge. 4. Fibula
in the form of a cross with bulbs at its extremities, decorated with crosses
fixing the paludamentum and being
the badge of a high imperial official. 5. Golden
bees. They were probably sewn on the mantle. Only two remain the total number
being unknown. 6. Golden
bull’s head. With a closing pin and set with pearls and grenades 7.
Chrystal sphere of a diametre of 5 cm and 134 g. |
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8. Spatha. The hilt of gold, the pommel
with two animal’s heads and decorated with a cloisonné of grenades; hilt of cloisonné. The sheath decorated and
cloisonné with grenades of oriental technique 9. Sheath
of a scramasaxe. Gold, decorated
with cloisonné and grenades 10. Francisca (axe). Iron, weight 1 kg. Some of
these objects are preserved in the Cabinet des Médailles in Paris. [5] Of these the golden bees are
famous because they were taken by Napoleon as a replacement for the fleur de
lis. Also the sheath of the sword has attracted much attention because of its
beauty. The bull’s head is thought to have been a
family-emblem of the Merovingians. A bull however is a military emblem of the
same order as a griffin and comes between an eagle and a lion. It is the
badge of rank of a prefect of a legion who commanded about 1000 soldiers at
the end of the 5th century. [6] As a commander of a band of auxiliaries of
about 500 he may have been entitled to wear a bull’s head as a badge of rank.
A griffin was also the badge of rank of an official ruling a roman diocese
(in the Middle Ages the ruler of an arch-diocese). It is said
that a bull’s head was the emblem of some Dacian armies in the time of the
Roman campaigns around the beginning of our era. In the Middleages it became
the emblem of Moldavia and of some other places in the Balkans. Well known is
the bull’s head of Mecklenburg in Germany. |
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Chlodovech I ( = Clovis) |
482-511 |
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In 493
Clovis married Clotilda, daughter of the Burgundian Chilperic II. Clotilda
was a Catholic and exerted a great influence over him. She is said to have
inspired him to convert to Christianity at a critical moment in the Battle of
Tolbiac in 496. Whatever the truth, he and 3,000 of his followers were
baptized in Rheims at Christmas 496. Clovis seized the Christian banner to
rally support and undermine the other Germanic kingdoms. In 507 he moved
against the Visigoths. His victory at Vouillé was decisive and Clovis became
ruler of most of what is now France. By now he ruled over a vast area and
several peoples. The Eastern emperor Anastasius (491-518) granted him an
honorary title of ‘consul’, no doubt seeing him as a counterweight to
Theodoric the Great in Italy. Clovis moved his capital to Paris and laid the
foundations for what was eventually to become the French nation. He died
unexpectedly in 511 and his kingdom was divided up amongst his four sons. From this
time we may expect the eagle as the badge of honor of Clovis and his
successors. About the
vase of Soissons: http://www.northvegr.org/histories%20and%20chronicles/history%20of%20the%20franks/018.html Æ see: Cup 38.Clovis received an appointment to the
consulship from the emperor Anastasius, and in the church of the blessed
Martin he clad himself in the purple tunic and chlamys, and placed a diadem
on his head. Then he mounted his horse, and in the most generous manner he
gave gold and silver as he passed along the way which is between the gate of
the entrance [of the church of St. Martin] and the church of the city,
scattering it among the people who were there with his own hand, and from
that day he was called consul orAugustus. Leaving Tours he went to Paris
and there he established the seat of his kingdom. There also Theodoric came
to him. http://www.northvegr.org/histories%20and%20chronicles/history%20of%20the%20franks/021.html |
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Chlodomer (Orleans) |
511-524 |
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Theuderic I (Reims) |
511-533 |
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Childebert I (Paris) |
511-558 |
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Signet ring of Childebert I Royal bust with spear,
inscribed X HILDEBERTI REGIS |
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Chlothar I (Soissons) |
511-561 Sole King 558-561 |
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Theudebert I (Reims) |
533-547 |
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Theudebald (Reims) |
547-555 |
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Charibert (Paris) |
561-567 |
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Sigebert I (Reims, Austrasie) |
561-575 |
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Chilperic I (Soissons, Neustrie) |
561-584 |
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Rotulus said te be of Chilperic This document contains an authenticitated
transcription of 23 documents from 1222 until 1331. The first of these 22
documents retranscribed is the vidimus
(viewed) of Philip the Fair of the famous diplom of Chilperic. On it is a
drawing of the signum of the
Merovinigian king Immediately
after the death of his father in 561, Chilperic I endeavoured to take
possession of the whole kingdom, seized the treasure amassed in the royal
town of Berny and entered Paris. His brothers, however, compelled him to
divide the kingdom with them, and Soissons, together with Amiens, Arras,
Cambrai, Thérouanne, Tournai, and Boulogne fell to Chilperic's share. His
eldest brother Charibert received Paris, the second eldest brother Guntram
received Burgundy with its capital at Orléans, and Sigebert received
Austrasia. On the death of Charibert in 567, his estates were augmented when
the brothers divided Charibert's kingdom among themselves and agreed to share
Paris. Most of
what is known of Chilperic comes from The History of the
Franks by Gregory of Tours. Gregory detested Chilperic, calling him
“the Nero and Herod of his time” (VI.46): he had provoked
Gregory's wrath by wresting Tours from Austrasia, seizing ecclesiastical
property, and appointing as bishops counts of the palace who were not
clerics. Gregory also objected to Chilperic's attempts to teach a new
doctrine of the Trinity. Chilperic's
reign in Neustria saw the introduction of the Byzantine punishment of
eye-gouging. Yet, he was also a man of culture: he was a musician of some talent,
and he wrote verse (modelled on that of Sedulius); he attempted to
reform the Frankish alphabet; and he worked to reduce the worst effects
of Salic law upon women. In
September 584, while returning from a hunting expedition to his royal villa
of Chelles (Calae, 10 km E of
Paris), Chilperic was stabbed to death by an unknown assailant. Plaster
cast sarcophagus, 6th-7th cent. Musée Carnavalet, Paris. A.P. 105.
Saint-Germain cemetry, Paris. Excavations of 1877 Headboard The program
of decorations on the sarcophage is as follows:
The
christogram symbolizes armed authority and the square cross administrative
authority The
birds, most look like, primitively drawn,
peacocks. This
makes the two compositions incomplete achievements of a christogram and a
square cross both supported by [a] peacock[s]. Such
achievements are known from the Roman Empire and Byzantium (Ravenna), the
peacock being the badge of rank of a prefect. In this
time Italy was ruled by an exarch (584-752).
Some of the sarcophagusus of the exarchs
of suberb quality are preserved in Ravenna. |
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Guntram (Bourgogne) |
561-593 |
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Childebert II (Austrasie, Bourgogne 593) |
575-596 |
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Chlothar II |
*584-†629 King in Neustria
584-613 King in Paris
595-613 King of all Franks
613-629 |
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Plaque in the shape of a christogram between A and Ѡ (Æ 6.3 cm) Charged with a disc with a face on a square cross (6th-7th cent). Trésor de Limons (Puy de Dôme). Paris, Cab. des
Médailles.[7] Compared
with the christogram and the portrait on the coins of Maxentius a square
cross is added meaning administrative (christian-) authority. This would mean
that the owner of the plaque had armed- as well as administrative authority. |
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Theudebert II Brunhilde |
*587-†613 King of Burgundy
596-612 Queen of
Austrasia 612-613 Regent 596-613 |
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Theuderic II (Bourgogne, Austrasie 612) Brunhilde |
*586-†612 King of Austrasia
596-612 Regent 596-612 |
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Sigebert II (
Austrasie, Bourgogne) Brunhilde |
*602-†613 613 Regent 613 |
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Dagobert I |
*603 ca-†639 King of Austrasia
623-634 King of all Franks
629-639 King of Neustria and
Burgundy 629-639 |
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Dagobert
I was the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield any real royal power.
He was the first of the Frankish kings to be buried in the royal tombs at Saint
Denis Basilica Dagobert
was the eldest son of Chlothar II and Haldetrude (575–604).
Chlothar had reigned alone over all the Franks since 613. In 623, Chlothar
was forced to make Dagobert king of Austrasia by the nobility of that region,
who wanted a king of their own. When
Chlothar granted Austrasia to Dagobert, he initially excluded Alsace, the
Vosges, and the Ardennes, but shortly thereafter the Austrasian
nobility forced him to concede these regions to Dagobert. The rule of a Frank
from the Austrasian heartland tied Alsace more closely to the Austrasian
court. Dagobert created a new duchy (the later Duchy of Alsace) in southwest Austrasia to guard
the region from Burgundian or Alemannic encroachments and ambitions. The
duchy comprised the Vosges, the Burgundian Gate, and the Transjura. Dagobert made his courtier Gundoin the first duke of this new polity that was
to last until the end of the Merovingian dynasty. Upon the
death of his father in 629, Dagobert inherited the Neustrian and Burgundian
kingdoms. His half-brother Charibert, son of Sichilde, claimed
Neustria but Dagobert opposed him. Brodulf, brother of Sichilde, petitioned
Dagobert on behalf of his young nephew, but Dagobert assassinated him and
gave the Aquitaine to his own younger sibling. Charibert
and his son Chilperic
were assassinated in 632. Dagobert had Burgundy and Aquitaine firmly under
his rule, becoming the most powerful Merovingian king in many years and the
most respected ruler in the West. In 631, Dagobert led three armies against Samo, the rulers of the Slavs, but his Austrasian forces were defeated at Wogastisburg Also in
632, the nobles of Austrasia revolted under the mayor
of the palace, Pepin of Landen. In 634, Dagobert appeased the
rebellious nobles by putting his three-year-old son, Sigebert III, on the throne, thereby ceding
royal power in the easternmost of his realms, just as his father had done for
him eleven years earlier. As king,
Dagobert made Paris his capital. During his reign, he built the Altes Schloss in Meersburg (in modern Germany), which today
is the oldest inhabited castle in that country. Devoutly religious, Dagobert
was also responsible for the construction of the Saint Denis Basilica, at the
site of a Benedictine monastery in Paris. He also appointed St. Arbogast
bishop of Strasbourg. Dagobert
died in the abbey of Saint-Denis and was the first Frankish king to be buried
in the Saint Denis Basilica, Paris. A magnificent
monument was erected for him in the beginning of the 13th century in the
Basilica in St. Denis representing scenes from his life and his image. Here
we may propose that his original tomb was removed and transported elsewhere.
An early 7th century tomb qualifying to be his is the socalled tomb of St.
Chalan, now in the Musée Municipal of Bourges. This tomb was originally in the chapel of
Our Lady of Charenton Abbey in Charenton du Cher. This abbey had a relationship
with St. Denis and is situated near the Roman Road from Paris by Orleans and
Bourges (Avaricum) to Autun at
about a distance of 300 km from Paris. Photo H.d.V. 2007 So-called
Tomb of St. Chalan, early 7th century Musée municipal Bourges The
program of the decorations of the tomb is as follows: On
the lid is an achievement of a christogram supported by peacocks which is the
achievement of a prefecture. On the other side are a sun and another
christogram probably symbolizing the realm and the armed authority of the
deceased. A third emblem, which may have been a full moon (or a crescent) was probably on the part of
the lid now disappeared. On
the remaining short side of the lid is another achievement consisting of an
undefined object (chalice?) supported by two eagles. This is the achievement
of a consular administration. On
the tomb itself there are an achievement of a chalice or bottle supported by
two griffins which is the achievement
of a ducal administration. On the other side is an achievement consisting of
a standing man hands up, supported by two lions. This is an achievement of the administration of a county,
the count symbolized by his imago. Last
but not least there are two shields on the short sides of the tomb. |
||
Shield
left |
Shield
right |
|
These
shields may have been of the marshal and the constable |
||
Charibert II (Aquitaine) |
630-632 |
|
Sigebert III (Austrasie 634) |
639-656 |
|
Chlodovech II (Neustrie & Bourgogne) |
639-657 |
|
Childebert (Austrasie) |
656-661 |
|
Chlothar III (Neustrie & Bourgogne) |
657-673 |
|
Childeric II (Austrasie, King 673) |
662-675 |
|
658-675:Ébroïn (†
681) (Mayor of the Palace) Coin of Ébroin 675-676: Leudesius († 676) (Mayor of the
Palace) 676-681:
Ébroïn († 681), again (Mayor of the Palace) |
||
Dagobert II (Austrasie) |
676-679 |
|
Theuderik III (Neustrie & Burgundy) |
676-690 King 679 |
|
Chlodovech III |
690-694 |
|
Childebert III |
694-711 |
|
Dagobert III |
711-715 |
|
Chilperic II |
715-721 |
|
Chlothar IV (Austrasie) |
717-719 |
|
Theuderic IV |
721-737 |
|
Interregnum |
737-743 |
|
Childeric III |
743-751 |
|
|
||
Charles Martel |
*688-†741 Mayor of the
Palace of Austrasia 715-741 Duke and Prince of the Franks 718-741 Mayor
of the Palace of Neustria 718-741 King
of the Franks (acting) 737–741 |
|
Coin of Charles Martel |
||
Carloman |
*706/716-†754 |
|
|
||
The Kingdom
of France |
||
|
||
Karolingian House |
751-888 |
|
|
||
Pepin the Short |
751-768 |
|
Coin of Pepin the Short Augustinus: Quæstionum in
Heptateuchon. Northern-France, middle of the 8th century.
Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, ms. lat. 12168, frontispiece. Augustinus Hipponensis, Quaestiones et
locutiones in Heptateuchum, livres I-IV. Latin 12168
(cote) Saint-Germain-des-Prés
N. 738, olim 226 (ancienne cote) VIIIe s. (vers 750-770?) Ce document est rédigé en latin. Bibliothèque
nationale de France. Département des Manuscrits. Minuscule mérovingienne du type "az" de
Laon. Décoration de type mérovingien. Le ms. s'ouvre sur
un diptyque constitué d'un portique entourant une grande croix surmontée d'un
aigle (f. Cv) et d'une page d'incipit (f. 1) ; nombreuses initiales ornées et
ou zoomorphes (sur imitation de l'orfèvrerie mérovingienne), titres
décoratifs. Parch., A-C+ 165
ff. à longues lignes, 305 x 220 mm (just. 240 x 155 mm). Reliure de
chagrin rouge signée Zoubre (1851). Estampille
Bibliothèque nationale (Révolution), 1792-1802, modèle identique à
Josserand-Bruno, 277 et pl. type 17. On it is a latin cross between a A and a Ѡ, the arms
decorated with quadrupeds. On the cross a an eagle reguardant. On both sides
of the upper arm are the initials XPI IHU (Christus Iesus). The cross and the eagle are under a ciborium, the arch of which is also
decorated with quadrupeds, the upper part with a tree between two lions
respecting. On the capitals are griffins and the pillars are
supported by lions. The latin
cross, the eagle the griffin and the lion are the symbols of the church, the
king and two lower ranks for which a duke
(tribunus or (byz) turmarchai) and a count (ordinaris/augustalis
or (byz) drungarios) resp. the
administrators of a duchy and a county or pagus are proposed. The latin
cross and the eagle make the emblem of the Defensor of the Faith (Defensor Fidei) and in particular the
defense of Pope Stephen II (752-7572) had called for the support of the
Frankish King. The tree,
supported by two lions, may have been meant to be the symbol of the Frankish
court headed by a major domus. In
byzantium the two lions-emblem returned as the emblem of a megas domestikos (commander of the (byzantine-)
army (a translation of Major Domus)).
Historical context: Under Pope
Stephen II (752-757) the course of events led rapidly toward papal
independence from Constantinople. The Lombards took over most of the Byzantine possessions in Italy, Ravenna
falling in 751. Their aim was now to make Rome the Lombard capital. Since the
emperor Constantine V could do nothing to prevent them, Stephen II crossed
the Alps, the first pope to do so, and prevailed upon Pepin the Short to come
to his assistance in 754 (when he anointed him as king) or 755 and again in
756. Pepin, moreover, gave the territories he won from the Lombards to the
pope and thus laid the foundation of the States of the Church; Stephen II was
the first pope to be also a sovereign. The
role of protector of the papacy had passed to the Frankish ruler. Paul I,
Stephens’s brother and successor, informed Pepin of his election, as his
predecessors had informed the emperor, but did not ask for authorization to
be consecrated. |
||
Karloman |
768-771 |
|
|
||
Charlemagne |
768-814 |
|
The Empire
of Charlemagne initially comprised the dioceses Galliae and Viennensis and
some territory on the right bank of the Rhine. Later the diocese of Italia
Annonoria was added and Saxony in the north. In fact his empire had the size
of a prefecture. His crown (not the crown of a vicar) can match with this
rank (As an emperor a crown of laurel on coins) Charlemagne in 780 ca. [8] Around his head a halo of a patricius, in his left hand a mace resembling the mace of Hadrian
on the coin showing the submission of Gaul Signum of Charlemagne On a
diplom of Charlemagne dated Paris, 31 March 797. (Archives Nationales AE II
42). St. Peter, Pope
Leo III and Charlemagne Triclinio Leoniano, Rome Charlemagne in official dress with his banner. On his head
a crown of the model of the crown of Honorius, the first emperor of the
Western Roman Empire. The current structure dates back to the end of the
sixteenth century when Pope Sixtus V ordered the demolition of the old
Lateran palace, while preserving the Triclinium Leoninum of Pope Leo III
(†816) It is possible that some parts of the original mosaics have been
preserved in a mosaic in three parts: in the center Christ entrusts their
mission to the Apostles, on the left handing over the keys to Saint Sylvester
and the Labar to Constantine, while on the right Saint Peter gives the stole
to Leo III and the banner to Charlemagne. The current structure is the result
of the restoration of 1743 by the architect Ferdinando Fuga that led to the
affixing of the coat of arms of Benedict XIV above the niche. As on the right side is a representation of Christ, St
Sylvester and R. COSTANTINVS, the mosaics should have been made between the
beginning of the rule of Leo III in 795 and the death of Constantine VI
in 797, at the age of 26 (then wearing
a short beard). As such the mosaic is
demonstrating the political situation a few years before the coronation of Charlemagne in 800. (See also: Empress Irene)
Banner of Charlemagne Charlemagne,
crowned and with a lily-sceptre Psalter
of Charles the Bald, Paris B.N. ms lat 1152 fol 3 v . Between 843-869. |
||
Louis the Pious Lothair I |
*778- † 840 Imperator Augustus
813 - 833 / 834 - 840 King of Francia 814
- 840 Co-emperor 817 - 840 |
|
Latin cross from the treasury by Felibien, 1706 Reliquiary made in Meuse region, about 820 Fulda, Landesbibliothek. Domschatz cod. Bonif., II The reliquiary in the shape of a triumphal arch is
only known from this 17th century drawing. According to the inscription it
was made by the Peccator Einhardus
who is Einhard, abbot of the St Servatiuse in Maastricht and biographer of Charlemagne (*775-†840). On top of the arch was a latin cross, until the
revolution preserved in the Royal Treasury. The decorations on the triumphal arch are
distributed over three registers: The uppermost is decorated with the representations
of Christ and his disciples and a frame between two angels inscribed AD TROPEVM
AETERNAE VICTORIAE SVSTINEMNDVM EINHARDVS PECCATOR NVNC ARCUM PONERE AC DEO
DEDICARE CVRAVIT. (This arch supporting the sign of eternal victory and
its dedication to God is the work of
the the sinner Einhard). The middle register is decorated with the emblems of
the apostles and scenes from the bible. The lower with the representations of four warriors
with spear and shield on both sides of the arch and with four ensigns with their
banners on the short sides. On the inner sides of the arch are two riders, each
spearing a snake for whom the saints Mauritius and St. George qualify. For the cross which the arch is supposed to have
supported the so-called Cross of Charles the Bald qualifies. This cross was a
part of the Royal Treasury until the French revolution. [9] Above the arches are a square cross below the
representation of Christ and a christogran below the inscribed frame.
Together these symbols make the christian symbols of religious-,
administrative- and armed authority. We may suppose that on this reliquiary Louis the Pious
(r.814-840) is represented with his sons Lothair (*795), Pepin of Aquitaine
(*797) and Louis the German (*804). He himself has a shield surrounded by a crown
of laurel and charged with square crosses. One has a shield also surrounded
by a crown of laurl but charged with a kind of crowns or fleurs de lis. A
third has a shield surrounded by a crown of laurel and charged with four
five-ointed stars. The fourth has a shield only charged with four stars. If
Louis the Pious and his sons are represented indeed, the Reliquiary may be
dated at the end of the 1st Civil War (831). See also:
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einhardsboog The reconstructed shields on the reliquiary
(the red background optional): |
||
|
||
Charles II, the Bald |
*823-† 877 King of Francia
840-843 King of West-Francia
843-877 Emperor 875 - 877 |
|
Diplomata Karolinorum, hg. von Lot/Lauer, Bd. 4, Tafel XXXIX |
||
Kingdom of France /
Royaume de France |
||
|
||
Louis II the
Stammerer |
877-879 |
|
Louis III |
879-884 |
|
Carloman (II) |
879-884 |
|
Charles II, the Fat |
885-888 |
|
|
|
|
Robertian
House |
||
|
||
Eudes of Neustria |
888-923 |
|
Denier of
Eudes |
||
KAROLINGIAN
HOUSE |
||
Charles III the
Simple |
893-923 |
|
Diplomata Karolinorum, hg. von Lot/Lauer, Bd. 6, Tafel XXIV |
||
ROBERTINIAN
HOUSE |
||
Robert I |
Rival King 922-923 |
|
Seal of Robert II ~997 Archs. Nationales, Paris King
crowned with laurel crown, in his right a laurel staff and in his left an akakia. (pouch) |
||
Rudolf |
Duke of Burgundy
921-936 King of France
923-936 |
|
Diplomata Karolinorum, hg. von Lot/Lauer, Bd. 8, Tafel III |
||
Karolingian House |
936-987 |
|
|
||
Louis IV d’Outremer |
936-954 |
|
Diplomata Karolinorum, hg. von Lot/Lauer, Bd. 8, Tafel X |
||
Lothair |
954-986 |
|
Signum of Lothair Diplomata Karolinorum, hg. von Lot/Lauer, Bd. 8,
Tafel XIII |
||
Louis V the Sluggard |
(979) 986-987 |
|
To
Part 2: The Arms |
||
Capetian House |
987-1328 |
|
|
||
© Hubert de Vries 2018-05-19. Updated 2019-03-14
[1] Berlin, Pergamonmuseum, Münzkabinett
[2] Sur le cadastre de 1829
[3] a
et b
« Recherches sur le lieu de la bataille d'Attila en 451-
Peigné-Delacourt, Achille - Page 5 & 6 », sur reader.digitale-sammlungen.de (consulté le 29 mars 2016)
[4] Kazanski, Michel: Deux riches tombes de l'époque des grandes invasions au nord de la Gaule. In: Archéologie médiévale, XII, CRAAM, Caen, 1982.
[5]
Childeric – Clovis. 1500e anniversaire 482-1982..Tournai, 1982. pp.69-71
[6] Treadgold, Warren: Byzantium and its Army 284-1081.
Stanford Univ. Press. 1995. P. 96
[7] http://medaillesetantiques.bnf.fr/ws/catalogue/app/collection?vc=ePkH4LF7w6iejHBVT6CsFQCsWlArQWMTM7Ta0sTAwgJe-cI1EAxzADZMLUg$
[8] Fresco in the Cimetero di S. Ermete, Rome
[9] Le Trésor de Saint-Denis. Paris, 1991. P. 49,.fig 5.