French Book-plates Part 4

These regulations were renewed and made even more stringent in subsequent reigns, notably by Charles IX. in 1560, by Henry III. in 1579, by Henry IV. in 1600, by Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. at various dates; whilst in 1696 there was a general visitation, when a tax of 20 livres was levied for the registration of every coat-of-arms.

Henceforward, and almost up to the outbreak of the Revolution, edicts were issued with the object of preventing the French people from usurping arms and t.i.tles of n.o.bility which had not been duly sealed and confirmed by the authorities.

But all these regulations were to very little purpose, and towards the close of the eighteenth century the confusion in heraldry became extreme, especially in the matter of coronets and supporters, which, as the book-plates of the period show, were a.s.sumed in a reckless manner by many who had no right to carry them.

Then came the great upheaval of society, and during the first period of the Revolution, when even to be suspected of n.o.bility was a crime, haste was made to erase, or omit, all the signs of n.o.ble descent which had hitherto been so readily a.s.sumed, and in their places to insert caps of liberty and Republican mottoes, such as _Liberte_, _Egalite_, _Fraternite_, or _La Liberte ou la Mort_.

But in truth the revolutionary period was not productive of much in the way of books or book-plates. Society was too excited to devote its time to such frivolities, and _le rasoir national_ was more busy than the printing press or the graver's tool. Most of the literature of the period consisted of polemical tracts or political pamphlets, and comparatively few libraries were formed.

As soon, however, as Napoleon reached the summit of power, he set vigorously to work to restore something like order in all branches of the public services, which had been reduced to chaos during the troubles. One of the topics to which he early directed his attention, and his brilliant talent for organization, was heraldry. Yet, although he readily discarded republican simplicity _and equality_, he dared not entirely revert to the ancien regime, nor indeed could he have done so had he desired.

Of the old n.o.bility many had perished on the scaffold, or on the battle-fields, others had fled to foreign countries, and their castles and estates had been confiscated by the State. Under the comparatively mild rule of Napoleon a few members of the _ancienne n.o.blesse_ ventured to return to France--indeed, several distinguished Royalists were specially invited to do so,--yet the court of the First Empire was composed, not of these, but for the most part of the soldiers, statesmen, and men of letters who had a.s.sisted to place him on the throne, and on whom he, in return, conferred t.i.tles as brilliant as any that had been formerly held under the old Bourbon kings.

Marshal of France, prince, duke, marquis, count, baron, all flourished once again. Very new and very grand, but of origin most doubtful.

Coats-of-arms were granted, and Louis David, Napoleon's favourite artist, was called upon to design a new style of head-dress to denote the ranks which had, in former days, been indicated by various forms of coronets and helmets, as in British heraldry.

The blazonry under the Empire, being military in its origin, was conceived in the true spirit of military uniformity, each grade being as distinctively marked as the colonel, officers, and rank and file would be in a regiment of infantry drawn up for a general inspection.

The result of blending these three distinct systems--the old style, the Napoleonic, and that of the Restoration period--is somewhat confusing. A few families adhere to the old style, some to the Napoleonic, and the student of French heraldry must make himself acquainted with all.

But reverting to the pre-Revolution period, it appears that about 1700, helmets, wreaths, and mantling began to go out of use on ex-libris, and were replaced by coronets, which at first indicated with some certainty the rank of the owner. But after a time individuals a.s.sumed coronets to which they were not ent.i.tled, whilst members of the lower ranks of n.o.bility promoted themselves, without ceremony, to the higher grades; the baron became a marquis, and the count a.s.sumed the coronet of a duke.

An ordinance of 1663, which forbade the usurpation of the insignia of n.o.bility under the penalty of a fine of 1,500 livres, stopped these abuses for a time. But the law soon became a dead letter, and one might suppose, at the present time, that no such regulation had ever existed, so systematically was it evaded.

As, however, in early unnamed ex-libris the coronets have a certain small value in a.s.sisting in their identification, a brief description of the distinctive features of the princ.i.p.al coronets may be useful to collectors.

The royal crown of France was a circle, surrounded by eight _fleurs-de-lis_, of which only three and two halves are visible in engravings; these were surmounted by the arches of a diadem, on the summit of which was a double _fleur-de-lis_.

The Dauphin of France (eldest son of the king) carried the same number of _fleurs-de-lis_, but the arches over them were formed of dolphins.

The eldest son of the King of France took his t.i.tle from the old province of Dauphine, in the south-east of France, and was usually spoken of as Monsieur Le Dauphin. The first Dauphin was created in 1349, and the last, Louis Antoine, Duc d'Angouleme, son of King Charles X., a.s.sumed the t.i.tle on his father's accession to the throne of France on September 16th, 1824, but owing to the Revolution of 1830, which dethroned Charles X., he did not succeed to the throne. The Duc d'Angouleme died on June 3rd, 1844, when in all probability this ancient t.i.tle became extinct. The Dauphin bore quarterly the arms of France and Dauphine.

The other princes of the blood royal carried a coronet surmounted by the same number of _fleurs-de-lis_, three and two halves, without any diadem.

Dukes carried a golden crown having eight ornamented strawberry leaves (fleurons), of which, in engravings, only three leaves and two halves are visible.

Marquis: Four strawberry leaves, between each of which is a trefoil formed of pearls. One and two half leaves are visible, separated by two trefoils.

Counts: A coronet surmounted by sixteen large pearls, held upon projecting points. Only nine pearls are shown in engravings.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF BENOiT MARSOLLIER, SQUIRE, SECRETARY TO THE KING (WITH THE CORONET OF COUNT).]

Viscounts: Four large pearls (three only showing), with smaller pearls between.

Baron: A golden crown surrounded by strings of pearls.

Chevalier-bannerets: They carried a ring of gold ornamented with pearls.

Wreath: A roll of ribbons of the tinctures of the shield, or of the favourite colours of the knight's betrothed. This was placed over the helmet simply as an ornament, and not as any indication of the rank of the bearer.

The rank of Marshal of France was indicated by two batons in saltire behind the shield. These batons were azure, semee of _fleurs-de-lis_, or. Under the Bourbons, Marshals of France were numerous, and this badge is frequently met with on book-plates.

Officers of artillery usually decorated their plates with cannons and cannon b.a.l.l.s below the arms; cavalry officers placed trophies of flags behind their shields. The Admiral of France (answering to our old t.i.tle Lord High Admiral) bore two anchors in saltire behind his shield, whilst admirals carried an anchor in pale behind their shields. The Chancellor of France bore two maces in saltire behind his shield.

In a similar manner, all the great Officers of State, and the Court dignitaries, bore the badges of their offices in addition to their family arms, and numerous as were these functionaries, there could be no confusion between their achievements, so appropriate were their devices to their offices.

Such were the Court regulations, and so long as Louis XIV. reigned they were, no doubt, strictly enforced; but later on, under the Regence and Louis XV., a general laxity prevailed, indicative of the coming storm.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF L. J. M. DE BOURBON, ADMIRAL OF FRANCE.]

Mention is frequently found on old book-plates of various offices held under _Parlement_. In France, before the Revolution, there were twelve _Parlements_, namely, those of Paris, Toulouse, Gren.o.ble, Bordeaux, Dijon, Rouen, Aix, Rennes, Pau, Metz, Douay, and Besancon, besides some local councils for the colonies.

These _Parlements_ were simply local Courts of Justice, ent.i.tled to deal both with civil and criminal cases, and their functions in no way resembled those of the British Houses of Parliament.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF M. HURSON.]

The officers connected with these Courts were very numerous, and those of the higher grades were ent.i.tled to carry certain distinctive badges with their arms, and head-dresses denoting their rank.

In ex-libris printed before the Revolution it is not unusual to find the collars and insignia of the several orders of French knighthood, the princ.i.p.al of which were the order of Saint Denis, inst.i.tuted in 1267; of Saint Michel, inst.i.tuted by Louis XI. at the Chateau d'Amboise, August 1, 1469; of the Saint Esprit (Holy Ghost), inst.i.tuted in 1578; of Notre Dame du Mont Carmel, inst.i.tuted in 1607; and of Saint Louis, inst.i.tuted in 1693. The chevaliers de Saint Michel wore a collar from which was pendent a medal, representing the archangel overthrowing the dragon; the collar of the Saint Esprit was formed of alternate _fleurs-de-lis_ and the letter H interlaced, from which depended either a dove or a cross, according to the rank of the bearer.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOOK-PLATE OF THE COMTE DE MONDESIR.]

The Knights of the Royal and Military order of Saint Louis carried a star with eight points, on which was the motto of the order: _Bellicae virtutis praemium_.

There was also a very ancient order, that of St. Lazare de Jerusalem, which was united by Henri IV. with that of Notre Dame du Mont Carmel.

Although the order of the Toison d'Or (Golden Fleece) was founded by a French prince, Philippe, Duke of Burgundy, in 1429, it pa.s.sed into the hands of the House of Austria, and thence again into the possession of the kings of Spain, who became the sovereigns of the order.

Owing, no doubt, to the close family relations existing between the royal houses of France and Spain, the order of the Golden Fleece was conferred upon many of the French n.o.bles (by permission of their king), and the collar, with the well-known badge of the pendent lamb, is to be found on many French achievements. The motto of the order is _Pretium non vile laborum_.

Of all these orders the most important were the Saint Michel, the Saint Esprit, and the Saint Louis, which were specially distinguished as "les Ordres du Roi" (the Orders of the King), he being their Chief and Grand Master. Chevaliers of the order of the Saint Esprit were always first admitted into the order of Saint Michel, so that the collars of these two orders are generally found together. The order of Saint Louis having been founded by Louis XIV. exclusively for the reward of military and naval services, is occasionally met with apart from the two other orders of the king. There was also an order, that of the Bee, intended for ladies only, which was founded in 1703.

Most of the above orders ceased to exist during the Revolution. That of the Saint Esprit was revived at the Restoration, but the last installation took place under Charles X., at the Tuileries, on May 31, 1830, and the latest surviving owner of the Order was the late Duc de Nemours; whilst that of Saint Louis, a distinctly Bourbon decoration, is probably still kept alive by the few remaining adherents of that luckless family.

In 1802 Napoleon, then First Consul, inst.i.tuted the famous order of the Legion of Honour, for the reward of merit either in the army, navy, or in civil life. The order was confirmed by Louis XVIII. in 1815, and its rules and const.i.tution were modified in 1816 and in 1851. M. Ambroise Thomas, on whom the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour was recently bestowed, is one of six civilians who at present hold that order.

Meissioner is the only artist who has ever held this distinction. The number of Grand Crosses is limited to eighty, but for a long time past the number actually holding the decoration has varied between forty and fifty. When the Legion of Honour was created in 1802 by General Bonaparte, the holders of the Grand Cordon (now Grand Cross) were ent.i.tled to draw 800 a year; at the Restoration this amount was reduced by one-half. Nowadays the members of the Legion of Honour receive the following annuities: Knights, 10; Officers, 20; Commanders, 40; Grand Officers, 80; and Grand Crosses, 120. Decorations conferred on civilians do not carry with them any pension. Practically this is now the only order of knighthood existing in France, yet the number of men who are _decore_ is remarkable. They can scarcely be all chevaliers de la Legion d'Honneur, but the French have a pa.s.sion for t.i.tles and orders, a craving for _le galon_, which, though somewhat incompatible with the republican form of government they have adopted, must be gratified.

This desire to raise oneself a rung or two on the social ladder, to which even sensible bibliophiles appear to have succ.u.mbed, is no new thing. It exists to-day, and has existed for centuries. Penalties, however severe, seem to have been unavailing, and even ridicule was found powerless to check this silly vanity.

A lawyer of Dijon, named Bernard, was ordered to erase from the tomb of his wife the girdle of n.o.bility he had had carved around her epitaph.

Others who carried the full-faced open helmets, proper only for emperors, kings, and sovereign princes, on their fantastic achievements, were compelled to adopt the closed helmet in profile proper for a simple gentleman.

Owners of a.s.sumed t.i.tles and of manufactured coats-of-arms were greatly alarmed a few years ago by the terribly sarcastic writings of an individual who styled himself the ghost of an ancient herald, _Le Toison d'Or_.[2]

In a series of letters published in "Le Voltaire" he exposed the faulty and ignorant system of heraldry in vogue, and the deceptive a.s.sumptions of t.i.tles, coronets, and armorial bearings in modern French Society.

Indeed, he remarked, to judge by appearances, one might imagine that the Revolution had destroyed nothing, but that, on the contrary, it had endeavoured to foster and encourage t.i.tles and aristocracy, so rapidly had they increased of late years.

Toison d'Or wished to alter all this, and the salons were greatly disturbed as he went to work chipping off t.i.tles and prefixes of n.o.bility right and left. But all to no purpose, except indeed to cast doubts upon all French heraldry since the downfall of the Bourbons.

A t.i.tle in France costs nothing, and deceives no one who has the slightest knowledge of family history and genealogy.