[ANSTHRLD] French Heraldry Help

Mike C. Baker kihebard at hotmail.com
Sun Mar 30 22:05:47 PDT 2008


> Greetings all I have been tasked with finding information on 
> French Heraldry from the middle ages, specifically rules for 
> coats of arms.  I am not asking for anyone to do the research 
> for me, but to give me websites, book titles, ect that I may 
> know where to look to find these things.
> 
> Thank You,
> Elizabeth

Others will no doubt point you to more of the resources you requested,
but my own immediate questions and observation may also be of
significant usage:  where in what we now know as "France"?  Under what
rulers / heraldic authorities?  And when -- what actual span of years?
After what royal or other significant noble marriages / deaths /
hostages / treaties?  The observation is that as a general principle,
attempting to segregate "French" and "English" heraldry prior to 1450ce
- for argument's sake - is impractical.  

No doubt better scholars could give us a better date of delineation, but
one of the critical underlying issues for your question will involve
consideration of who / where / when insofar as grant of title & lands
are involved.  Remember that many English held French lands until after
the permanent recapture of Calais[1] [2] [3], and that before that
occurrence the English crown held from time to time a place in the
French crown's succession.

There has been a recent discussion on the SCAHRLDS mail list about
regional style -- reviewing the messages from the last week or so, or
the archive, for that list may help better frame the underlying question
you have asked (if you aren't yet subscribed, go do so, please!) 

A "starter kit" on your core request, found with minimal search and not
reviewed for depth, accuracy, or usefulness by your current obedient
servant:  "The French Heraldry Page"
http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/

Amra, once P.E. of the Ansteorran CoA

[1] "Calais was captured in 1347 by Edward III during the Hundred Years
War and remained an English possession until 1558, when it was liberated
by François 2nd duc de Guise" http://www.lepg.org/calais.htm 
[2] site of "the spectacular meeting between François I and Henry VIII
of England at The Field of the Cloths of Gold in 1520", ibid (
http://www.lepg.org/calais.htm )
[3] "Arms of Calais (Pas-de-Calais): Gules an inescutcheon azure bearing
a crescent beneath a fleur-de-lys or, crowned with a royal crown argent,
between two crosses Lorraine and above a plate bearing a cross between
four crosslets or. Arms granted in 1558. The plate with the arms of
Jerusalem recalls Godefroy de Bouillon, count of Boulogne, to which
Calais belonged. The crosses Lorraine recall the capture of the town
from the English by the duc de Guise in 1558, the crescent and the
fleur-de-lys recall Henri II under whose reign it occurred.", ibid (
http://www.lepg.org/calais.htm )

Adieu, Amra / ttfn - Mike / Pax ... Kihe

Mike C. Baker
SCA: al-Sayyid Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra, F.O.B, OSCA
"Other": Reverend Kihe Blackeagle PULC (the DreamSinger Bard)
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