74 Tall Bearded Iris 



In Richard Folkard's "Plant Lore, Legends and 

 Lyrics" a legend is related as follows: 



"Clotilda, the wife of the war-like King Clovis, 

 had long prayed for the conversion of her husband, 

 and at length Clovis, having led his army against 

 the Huns, and being in imminent danger of defeat, 

 recommended himself to the God of his sainted wife. 

 The tide of battle turned, he obtained a complete 

 victory, and was baptized by St. Remi. On this oc- 

 casion, owing to a vision of St. Clotilda, the Iris was 

 substituted, in the arms of France, for the three 

 frogs or toads which Clovis had hitherto borne on 

 his shield." 



Another legend, related by the same author, is 

 that an angel brought the blue banner, strewn over 

 with golden Fleurs-de-lis, to Clovis after his baptism. 



In the writings of James R. Planche, an English 

 writer on heraldry, it is stated that "Clovis" is the 

 Frankish form of the modern "Louis", and that in 

 its origin the Flower-de-luce may be a rebus signify- 

 ing the "Flower of Louis".* 



Tradition has it, also, that when Louis VII of 

 France, surnamed "Z,? Pieux" (the "Pious"), joined 

 the expedition of the Crusaders (1147) he adopted 

 the Iris flower as his emblem, and that hence it came 

 to be known as "Fleurs-de-L6is (Flower de Lois) — 

 Lois being the way the first twelve kings Louis signed 

 their name — subsequently corrupted in English to 

 Flower-de-luce, and later to Flower-de-lis. 



It is urged by some writers that Louis VII probably 



*Bouteirs Heraldry. 



