A 14th Century French Naval Force
Posted: 19 Jan 2020, 10:38
This is a picture of a French naval force supposedly on its way to attack the coast of Sussex in the 1330s. How many arms can we identify?
Note the Oriflamme flying from a lance forward of the main-mast. I suspect that this, like the shield with the two fishes beneath it, is an error. As far as I know the Oriflamme was never deployed unless the French King was present, and despite the trumpeters' trumpet banners he was not aboard. The arms with the two fish are supposedly those of the Duke of Bar, but his had a blue field.
The arms on the shield to the left of "Bar" (France modern a - very narrow - bend gules) must be intended to be those of the Duke of Bourbon. But I don't think he was present either.
Which raises another issue: why France Modern? The Dukes of Bourbon used these arms only from 1410 to 1488, the century following the descent on the Sussex coast. One would expect to see these:
Is this picture perhaps a 15th century one of a 14th century invasion, painted by someone with a shaky knowledge of heraldry?
Note the Oriflamme flying from a lance forward of the main-mast. I suspect that this, like the shield with the two fishes beneath it, is an error. As far as I know the Oriflamme was never deployed unless the French King was present, and despite the trumpeters' trumpet banners he was not aboard. The arms with the two fish are supposedly those of the Duke of Bar, but his had a blue field.
The arms on the shield to the left of "Bar" (France modern a - very narrow - bend gules) must be intended to be those of the Duke of Bourbon. But I don't think he was present either.
Which raises another issue: why France Modern? The Dukes of Bourbon used these arms only from 1410 to 1488, the century following the descent on the Sussex coast. One would expect to see these:
Is this picture perhaps a 15th century one of a 14th century invasion, painted by someone with a shaky knowledge of heraldry?