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{{Short description|Medieval battle standard of the King of France}}
{{About|the battle standard of the King of France||Oriflamme (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Battle of crecy froissart.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Crécy|Battle of Crecy]] 1346. A version of the oriflamme can be seen in the center between two other banners.]]
[[File:Battle of Poitiers.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Battle of Poitiers]] 1356. The oriflamme can be seen on the top left.]]
The '''Oriflamme''' (from Latin ''aurea flamma'', "golden flame"), a pointed, blood-red banner flown from a gilded lance, was the sacred [[battle standard]] of the [[King of France]] and a symbol of [[divine intervention]] on the [[battlefield]] from [[God]] and [[Denis of Paris|Saint Denis]] in the Middle Ages.
In French, the term
▲The '''Oriflamme''' (from Latin ''aurea flamma'', "golden flame") was the [[battle standard]] of the [[King of France]] in the Middle Ages. It was originally the sacred banner of the [[Abbey of St. Denis]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.xenophongroup.com/montjoie/orifl-fa.htm |title=Oriflamme Society |access-date=2005-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028022144/http://www.xenophongroup.com/montjoie/orifl-fa.htm |archive-date=2005-10-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> a monastery near Paris. When the oriflamme was raised in battle by the French royalty during the Middle Ages, most notably during the [[Hundred Years War]], [[No quarter|no prisoners were to be taken]] until it was lowered. Through this tactic they hoped to strike fear into the hearts of the enemy, especially the nobles, who could usually expect to be taken alive for ransom during such military encounters.<ref>Robert Southey (1841) '' Joan of Arc: a poem'', Longman et autres. [https://archive.org/details/JoanOfArc1841/page/n322 <!-- quote=oriflamme no quarter given. --> p. 280]</ref>
▲In French, the term "''oriflamme''" has come to mean any banner with pointed ends, by association with the form of the original.
==Legendary origin==
{{multiple image
| footer = Reconstructions of two versions of the historical Oriflamme banner. Other descriptions have the banner as plain red.
|
| width2 = 47
| image1 = Oriflamme.svg
| image2 = Oriflamme1.png
The
== History ==
The Oriflamme was first used in 1124 by [[Louis VI of France
Louis VI replaced the earlier banner of [[Martin of Tours|Saint Martin]] with the oriflamme of the Abbey of St. Denis, which floated about the tomb of St. Denis and was said to have been given to the abbey by [[Dagobert I]], [[King
Until the 12th century the standard-bearer was the [[Comte de Vexin]], who, as vowed to St. Denis, was the temporal defender of the abbey. Louis VI, having acquired Vexin, became standard-bearer; as soon as war began, Louis VI received Communion at St. Denis and took the standard from the tomb of the saint to carry it into combat.▼
▲Until the 12th century, the standard-bearer was the [[Comte de Vexin]], who, as vowed to [[Saint Denis of Paris|St. Denis]], was the temporal defender of the abbey. Louis VI, having acquired Vexin, became standard-bearer
Although the azure ground (from the blue [[Cope|cope]] of [[Martin of Tours|St. Martin of Tours]]) strewn with gold [[fleur-de-lis]] remained the symbol of royalty until the 15th century, the Oriflamme became the royal battle standard of the King of France, and it was carried at the head of the king's forces when they met another army in battle.
*[[Battle of Bouvines|Bouvines 1214]]
*[[Seventh Crusade|Seventh Crusade 1248]]
Line 28 ⟶ 31:
*[[Battle of Poitiers|Poitiers 1356]]
*[[Battle of Roosebeke|Roosebeke 1382]]
*[[Battle of Agincourt|Agincourt 1415]] (disputed; see below)
The Oriflamme was lost at least four times during its medieval history
Although the ''Oriflamme'' has often been depicted as present at the battle of Agincourt, modern historians have disputed
In the 15th century, the fleur-de-lis on the white flag of [[Joan of Arc]] became the new royal standard replacing both the symbol of royalty and the Oriflamme on the battle field.<ref name=CathEncy/>
== Appearance ==▼
The banner was red or orange-red silk and flown from a gilded lance.<ref>Slater (2002), p.33</ref> According to legend, its colour stems from it being dipped in the blood of the recently beheaded [[Saint Denis of Paris|St. Denis]].▼
▲== Appearance ==
The surviving descriptions of the Oriflamme are in Guillaume le Breton (thirteenth century), in the "Chronicle of Flanders" (fourteenth century), in the "Registra Delphinalia" (1456) and in the inventory of the [[treasury of Saint-Denis]] (1536). They show that the primitive Oriflamme was succeeded in the course of the centuries by newer Oriflammes which bore little resemblance to one another except for their colour.<ref name=CathEncy>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Oriflamme}}</ref>▼
▲The banner was red or orange-red silk and flown from a gilded lance.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Complete Book of Heraldry|author=Stephen Slater
▲The surviving descriptions of the Oriflamme are in Guillaume le Breton (
== Significance on the battlefield ==▼
When the Oriflamme was displayed on the battlefield, it indicated that [[no quarter]]▼
was to be given: its red colour being symbolic of cruelty and ferocity.<ref>{{cite book |title=The laws of War in the late Middle Ages |last=Keen |first=Maurice |author-link=Maurice Keen |year=1965 |publisher=Routledge and Kegan Paul |location= London|pages= 105–6}}</ref>▼
▲Although the azure ground (from the blue cope of [[Martin of Tours|St. Martin of Tours]]) strewn with gold [[fleur-de-lis]] remained the symbol of royalty until the 15th century, the Oriflamme became the royal battle standard of the King of France, and it was carried at the head of the king's forces when they met another army in battle. In the fifteenth century, the fleur-de-lis on the white flag of [[Joan of Arc]] became the new royal standard replacing both the symbol of royalty and the Oriflamme on the battle field.<ref name=CathEncy/><!--cited for last sentence-->
▲
▲was to be given: its red colour being symbolic of cruelty and ferocity.<ref>{{cite book |title=The laws of War in the late Middle Ages |
The bearer of the standard, the ''porte-oriflamme'', became an [[Great Officers of the Crown of France|office]],
▲The bearer of the standard, the ''porte-oriflamme'', became an [[Great Officers of the Crown of France|office]] (like that of [[Marshal of France|Marshal]] or [[Constable of France|Constable]]) and a great honour, as it was an important and very dangerous job to take charge of such a visible symbol in battle. If things went badly, the bearer was expected to die, rather than relinquish his charge.
Froissart vividly describes ''porte-oriflamme'' [[Geoffroi de Charny]]'s fall at the side of his king at the [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Battle of Poitiers]] in this passage:
<blockquote>There Sir Geoffroi de Charny fought gallantly near the king (note: and his fourteen-year-old son). The whole press and cry of battle were upon him because he was carrying the king’s sovereign banner [the Oriflamme]. He also had before him his own banner, [[gules]], three [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheons]] [[argent]]. So many English and Gascons came around him from all sides that they cracked open the king’s battle formation and smashed it; there were so many English and Gascons that at least five of these men at arms attacked one [French] gentleman. Sir Geoffroi de Charny was killed with the banner of France in his hand, as other French banners fell to earth.<ref name=":0">Jean Froissart; trans Geoffrey Brereton, ''Chronicles'' ( Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, UK, 1978), p. 247.</ref></blockquote>
=== Notable bearers ===
{{Expand list|date=February 2011}}
*[[Geoffroi de Charny]] – 14th-century [[knight]] and author of several works on [[chivalry]]. He first bore the Oriflamme during the failed attempt to relieve Calais in 1347.<ref
▲*[[Geoffroi de Charny]] – 14th-century [[knight]] and author of several works on [[chivalry]]. He first bore the Oriflamme during the failed attempt to relieve Calais in 1347<ref>{{cite book | first=Jonathon | last = Sumption |title=Trial by Fire |publisher=faber & faber | year=2001 | isbn=0-571-20737-5 | page=12 }}</ref> and died at [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Poitiers]] defending it.<ref>Green (2004), p.56</ref>
*[[Arnoul d'Audrehem]] – 14th-century former [[Marshal of France]]. He held the office from 1368 to his death in 1370 but never carried the banner in action.
*[[Guillaume de Martel]] – Seigneur de [[Bacqueville]]. He carried the Oriflamme at Agincourt and died there.<ref>Barker (2005), p. 323.{{clarifyme|date=May 2022}}</ref>
*Sir Pierre de Villiers carried the Oriflamme at the [[Battle of Roosebeke]] against the Flemish rebels of Ghent led by [[Philip van Artevelde|Philip van Artvelde]] in 1382.<ref name=":0" />
==
In
{{Poemquote
|text=
Line 87 ⟶ 86:
Only to those an enemy, whose lust
Of sway makes them the enemies of man."
||Robert Southey, ''Joan of Arc. Book VIII''<ref>Robert Southey, ''The Poetical Works of Robert Southey: With a Memoir of the Author'', in X Volumes, Volume I, Boston: Little Brown and Company, New York, 1860, p. [https://archive.org/details/poeticalworksro22soutgoog/page/n343 <!-- pg=307 --> 181], [https://archive.org/details/poeticalworksro22soutgoog/page/n343 307]</ref>}}
The 20th-century Martiniquais poet and politician, [[Aimé Césaire]] (
{{Poemquote
|text=
Line 99 ⟶ 97:
are like these discordant words written by the flames of pyres
over the sublime oriflammes of your revolt
||
The Oriflamme is depicted in season 2 episode 6 of the History Channel series ''[[Knightfall (TV series)|Knightfall]]''. {{fact|date=May 2022}}
The Oriflamme is also raised in History Channel's ''[[Vikings (TV series)|Vikings]]'' during a 9th Century siege of Paris, predating the first mention of the banner by two centuries. {{fact|date=September 2023}}
In the [[Discworld]] novel ''[[Small Gods]]'' by Terry Pratchett, the flag of the theocracy of Omnia is referred to as an Oriflamme.{{fact|date=May 2022}}
==See also==
*''[[Montjoie Saint Denis!]]''
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{commons category|Oriflamme}}▼
== External links ==
{{FranceFlags}}
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