144 



FLORA OF THE 



Fig. 74. — Fragment of bas- 

 relief found in the house 

 of Bakukhim-Tanis. From 

 Miss Ameha Edwards 'Pha- 

 raohs,' etc. p. 59. 



And here is another sphinx (fig. 74), with an un- 

 mistakable ' fleur-de-lys ' with 

 three ligatures in front of it. 

 Tliere can be no doubt about 

 the antiquity of this emblem. 

 The writer in ' N. and Q.' 

 then discusses the origin of the 

 ' fleur-de-lys ' ^ as an emblem 

 of royalty in France, and shows 

 that, subsequently, it was used 

 on the shields of different 

 English families. 

 I find the story of the ' fleur-de-lys ' epitomized in the 

 ' Encyclopaedia Britannica,' 9th edition. It is there stated, 

 concerning the origin of this emblem, that the most 

 diverse theories have been broached. " According to an 

 old tradition, it was first employed as an armorial bear- 

 ing by Clovis I (5th Century), and represents the lily 

 presented by an angel to that monarch at his baptism. 

 Newton (Display, p. 145) considers it to be the figure of 

 a reed or flag in blossom, used instead of a sceptre at 

 the proclamation of the Frankish Kings." 



In the opinion of Chifflet, the device was first adopted 

 by Louis VII of France, in allusion to his name Louis 

 Florus. Some again have held that it is the extremity 



^ ' Notes and Queries,' 2nd series, vol. i, p. 226. 



