Introduction to Heraldry | Excerpt from Armorial de la Marne

INTRODUCTION TO HERALDRY

Urban heraldry is not a new science. In November 1696, king Louis XIV created by royal command a public service for the registration of coats of arms and shield emblems for the entire kingdom. This service, placed under the responsibility of d'Hozier in 1697, was devised to avoid ursurpation of noble right and counter the abusive use of heraldry. As with any registration or deposit of copyright, this service was not free of charge.

The gigantic photograph of the General Armorial of France enables us to learn which cities of the region have been registered by the city councils. Unfortunately, few of those in the region actually created and registered their emblems. The majority of the emblems were registered by both noble and non-noble families but also by certain religious and non-religious communities. The use of emblems and coats of arms is not necessarily an appanage nor synonym to nobility.

Today the creation and use of coats of arms and of emblems is freely legal under the public domain. A community has only to officialize an emblem to render it pending and legal.

Though certain individuals still proclaim the existence of a legal deposit procedure for emblems and coats of arms, this service is no longer offered.

With the construction of the European Community and the upheaval incurred, many communities wish to affirm their identities both past and present by the adoption of emblems reflecting their respective histories as well as their contemporary realities.

The characteristics and symbols of urban heraldry can be classified into the following categories :

• edifices (castles like Arzillières, Chatelraould, fortifications like Sézanne, Sainte-Menehould, churches like Cuchery, Dizy,...)
• lords of the Ancien Régime (nobility)
• saints and protectors
• coats of arms that were derived phonetically as demonstrated by Chatelraould that is prononced "shat'roo" by its inhabitants which could possibly mean 'château rouge' (red castle), though it was originally 'castrum radulfi'
• commemoration of an event, such as the phoenix de Sermaize-les-Bains, or of a legend, such as the cock of Dormans or the crescents of Anglure
• allusions to activities of the population (the gears of the industry for Bétheny, the shuttle of the textile industry for Ville-en-Tardenois, the "bertuage" for Suippes, agriculture and viticulture for countless communities)
• symbols from nature (the oak tree of Saint-Imoges, the hemp of Cuchery, waterways)
• symbols of priviledges, liberties and honors (the bees of Courtisols, the cross of Saint-André de Cormontreuil, the columns of Sainte-Marie-du-Lac-Nuisement,...)
• lastly, the unintelligible armorials which give no clue as to their choice, for example, Bourgogne-Valois and Bourgogne Ancien (Old Burgandy) for Festigny, or a spontaneous increase in numbers of an element (the addition of "lys" flowers on the emblem of Reims).

Excerpt from the book, "Armorial de la Marne" by Jean-Paul DENISE