medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
L'ORIFLAMME DE FRANCE
ou de saint Denis, est l'e'tendard sacre' confie' `a Charlemagne chef de la
chr'etiente', par Le'on III, le jour de son couronnement, 25 de'cembre 800.
Port'e au cha^teau de la Montjoie, en fore^t de Marly, il passa, au xie
sie`cle, dans l'abbaye fortifie'e de Saint-Denys, d'ou` le cri de nos
pe'res: "Montjoie-Saint-Denys".
Le roi Louis VI, ayant acquis le Vexin dont faisait partie l'abbaye, les
rois de France prenaient l'oriflamme et la portaient dans la bataille, a` la
place de la chape de saint Martin, devenue d'eja` moins populaire.
Lev'e par Philippe-Auguste, l''etendard sacre' de'cida de la victoire
surtout a` Bovines, et c'est a` l'occasion du VIIe centenaire de cette belle
bataille, que l'oriflamme reconstitue'e en 1913, fut leve'e le 7 juin 1914,
porte'e a` Bouvines le 27 juillet.
Le "Sainct Vermeil" e'tait en soie rouge seme'e de roses, ou flammes d'ou`
"auri-flamba", avec trois houpettes - et plus tard cinq - orne'e d'une croix
blanche au temps des Croisades, surmonte'es du Chrisme de Constantin, dont
elle est la continuation et embellie par le cardinal Amette de l'image du
Sacre'-Coeur, dans l'inoubliable fe^te du 22 avril 1917, faisant suite a`
celle de la Leve'e de l'oriflamme, le 7 juin 1914.
Source: "La Basilique de Saint-Denis et ses tombeau" par M. le chanoine de
Roquetaillade. Guide illustre' du visiteur. [no date but c. 1920 seems about
right.]
{{The Oriflamme of France or of St Denys is the sacred standard entrusted to
Charlemagne as head of Christendom by [Pope] Leo III on the day of his
coronation, 25th December AD800.
Held in the castle of Moutjoie in the forest of Marly, it passed during the
11th century into the keeping of the fortified abbey of St Denys, from which
comes the battle-cry of our forefathers: "Mountjoie-Saint-Denys!"
After King Louis VI acquired the Vexin, the area in which the abbey is
situated, the kings of France took the oriflamme and carried it into battle
in place of the cope of Saint Martin [of Tours ?] which from then on became
less popular.
Raised by [King] Philip-Augustus, the sacred standard ensured the
overwhelming victory at Bouvines and it was on the 700th anniversary of that
lovely battle that the oriflamme was revived in 1913, was raised on the 7th
June 1914 and paraded at Bouvines on the 27th July.
The "Holy Thing of Vermillion" is in red silk, sprinkled with roses or
flames of gold "auri-flamba" [= Golden flamed] with three pennants - and
later on five - decorated with a white cross from the time of the Crusades,
and surmounted by the baptismal sign of [the Emperor] Constantine [= the
ChiRho monogramme], of which it is the successor, and embellished by
Cardinal Amette with the image of the Sacred Heart, on that unforgettable
festival of 22nd April 1917, following that of the Raising of the Oriflamme
on 7th June 1914. }}
[The above translation was done is haste for this posting - corrections
welcomed.]
It would seem from this that the Oriflamme has been remade on a number of
occasions (presumably when it wore out) but to the same basic pattern. The
Crudaders added a white cross, an early 20th Cardinal, the Sacred Heart.
What I saw in the Chapel of St Louis in St Denys a fortnight ago was very
faded and could easily have dated from 1913. It was the shape of a normal
ecclesiastical banner but had the five "tails". The embroidery was hard to
distinguish - I did not actually touch it - but looked more like drops of
blood than flames, unless flames of the very stylised "Whitsunday" sort -
but not cloven. The security was nil, so I suppose it was not really
ancient. What IS interesting is that as a patriotic symbol it clearly
survived the fall of the French monarchies and was a part of the French
national identity during World War I.
I took some photographs which I have yet to have developed but will send you
a print if you like.
----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Laning <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2001 3:35 AM
Subject: [M-R] Oriflamme
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> So . . . I know this is an elementary question, but what is the
> current consensus (if any) on what the Oriflamme actually looked
> like? Was there just one, or were there many, and if many, were they
> all alike? I seem to remember seeing a remarkable diversity of
> descriptions of its possible color, shape, decoration and so forth.
> I'm teaching a class on banners and standards at the end of next
> month and would welcome brief descriptions or references.
>
> At 9:38 AM -0700 6/6/01, Christopher Crockett wrote:
> >[log in to unmask] wrote:
> >
> >>...There are also many individual studies.
> >
> >modesty forbade the mention of:
> >
> >James Bugslag, "Ideology and Iconography in Chartres Cathedral: Jean
Clement
> >and the Oriflamme," Zeitschrift fur Kunstgeschichte, vol. 61,
> >no. 4 (1998), 491-508
>
> --
> _________________________________________________________
> O Chris Laning
> | <[log in to unmask]>
> + Davis, California
> _________________________________________________________
>
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