As I walked down the steps from Blois castle to Place Louis XII, I heard a child say, “Look! It’s a duck.” A swan maybe or is it a salamander, the emblem of François I? And why the arrow?
Susan, from Days on the Claise, has provided the answer:
This is the cygne transpercé, an emblem used by both Louise of Savoy and her daughter-in-law Claude of France. The symbolism is complicated and now poorly understood. It includes references to the white colour, meaning purity. Claude’s most commonly used emblem, the ermine, is also white, to indicate purity. Louise often used wings because the word for wings, ailes, is pronounced like ‘L’, her initial. The meaning of the arrow is the most obscure part. It is probably linked to love, like Cupid’s arrows. When Louise uses it, it may refer to the loss of her husband. If this is the case then there is a link to the white colour of the swan, white being the royal colour of mourning. Louise sometimes used a swan emblem to refer to her daughter Marguerite too.
En descendant les grand degrés entre le château de Blois et la place Louis XII, j’ai entendu un enfant dire “Regardez ! C’est un canard.” Un cygne plutôt où est-ce un salamandre, l’emblème de François I ? Et pourquoi la flèche ?
Susan de Days on the Claise, nous a donné la réponse:
C’est le cygne transpercé, emblème utilisé par Louise de Savoie et par sa belle-fille Claude de France. Le symbolisme est complexe et obscure aujourd’hui. On fait référence à la couleur blanche qui signifie la pureté. L’emblème le plus souvent utilisé par Claude, l’ermine, est également blanc, en signe de pureté. Louise a souvent utilisé des ailes puisque ce mot se prononce de la même façon que son initiale, L. La signification de la flèche est encore plus énigmatique et probablement liée à l’amour, comme les flèches de Cupidon. Lorsque c’est Louise qui l’utilise, elle fait peut être référence à la perte de son mari. Si c’est le cas, il y a un lien avec la couleur blanche du cygne car c’est la couleur du deuil royal. Louise invoque également l’emblème du cygne pour sa fille Marguerite.
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3 replies on “The Pierced Swan – Le cygne transpercé”
This is the cygne transpercé, an emblem used by both Louise of Savoy and her daughter-in-law Claude of France. The symbolism is complicated and now poorly understood. It includes references to the white colour, meaning purity. Claude’s most commonly used emblem, the ermine, is also white, to indicate purity. Louise often used wings as the word for wings, ailes, is pronounced like ‘L’, her initial. The meaning of the arrow is the most obscure part. It is probably linked to love, like Cupid’s arrows. When Louise uses it, it may refer to the loss of her husband. If this is the case then there is a link to the white colour of the swan, white being the royal colour of mourning. Louise sometimes used a swan emblem to refer to her daughter Marguerite too.
Thank you very much Susan. I shall put your explanation into the post, if I may.
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