The Truth Behind the Fleur-de-lis

Although many would argue the fact that the fleur-de-lis was created by the New Orleans "Saints," the truth of the matter is that it is one of the oldest symbols in history.

What it Means

The fleur-de-lis is a beautiful and popular symbol worn by both men and women. Derived from the French word for fleur "flower" and lis "lily," it is a stylized version of the actual lily flower. It has been used throughout time in many cultures and time periods.

 

Heraldry

This symbol has been used in heraldry over the centuries on many European coat of arms and featured in the Crown Jewels of England and Scotland. However, it is mainly associated with the French monarchy and has been used on French postage stamps though it has never become an official symbol of the French republic.

The continued association with France carried over in North America were the symbol was associated with areas settled by the French such as St. Louis, Louisville, Louisiana and Quebec.

One theory is that the 3 leaves of the fleur-de-lis represent the three medieval classes: the workers, fighters and prayers.

 

Religious Affiliation
The fleur-d-lis has also been seen as a symbol of purity and chastity as well as female virtue and spirituality. The Virgin Mary was often depicted holding a lily and the fleur-de-lis was seen as a decorative element in the image either in a sceptre or within the ornamentation some where in the painting.

Similar to the Irish Shamrock, the French fleur-de-lis depicted the Holy Trinity with the three petals and the band on the bottom symbolizing the Virgin Mary.

Architecture
You will often find the fleur-de-lis symbol at the top of iron fence posts. It is a symbol of defense warding off intruders. It has also been used as patterns on tile work, and as finials and the point on gables.

 

Scouting
The fleur-de-lis has also been the symbol for scouting thanks to Sir Robert Baden-Powell who adopted it from the reonnaissance specialists who wore it as an arm badge in the British Army.


The Stars and WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear Fleur-de-lis accessories
The stars show off their WATTO DMW accessories!

Kaylee Stroh of Highschool Musical with WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear gold fleur on chain
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55957239/coppery-gold-metal-fleur-de-lis-charm-on

Shantell VanSanteen of "One Tree Hill" with WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear fleur-de-lis charm on chain
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55957239/coppery-gold-metal-fleur-de-lis-charm-on

Actress TAnia Gunadi with WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear silver fleur-de-lis charm on chain
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55961493/silver-fleur-de-lis-charm-on-gunmetal

Stacey Oristano of "Friday Night Lights" with WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear purple charm on chain
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55968137/purple-metal-fleur-de-lis-pendant-on

Ryan McCombs of the band "Drowning Poo" with WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear silver fleur-de-lis charm on chain
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55961493/silver-fleur-de-lis-charm-on-gunmetal

Harvey Guillen of "Huge" with WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear silver fleur-e-lis charm on chain
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55961493/silver-fleur-de-lis-charm-on-gunmetal

Isabelle Fuhrman of "the Orphan" with WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear Copper fleur-de-lis belt buckle
http://www.etsy.com/listing/49930069/fleur-de-lissmall-copper-fleur-metal

Piggy D of the band "Rob Zombie" with WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear fleur-e-lis distressed metal belt buckle
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55006561/fleur-de-lis-bucklelarge-silver-fleur

Sameer Bhattacharya & Ames Culpepper of the band  Flyleaf with WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear  iron cross and fleur-de-lis belt buckle http://www.etsy.com/listing/61971098/fleur-de-lis-bucklesmall-silver-fleur

Sam Trammell of "True Blood" with WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear distressed metal fleur-de-lis belt buckle
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61971098/fleur-de-lis-bucklesmall-silver-fleur

Morgan of the band "Sevendust" wiath WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear gold fleur-de-lis charm on chain
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55957239/coppery-gold-metal-fleur-de-lis-charm-on

If you would like to read further about the fleur-de-lis visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis.
All information was adopted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis.