A GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN FRENCH CIVIC HERALDRY
Introduction
In Studies in Heraldry, in the section The Civic Heraldry of France, there is a Glossary of the terms encountered in my research.
In this new venture, I have decided to expand the Glossary to include all of the information which is now available, in the form of arms and blazons of the communes of France, to be found principally in the French Wikipedia.
Each term is placed in alphabetical order in the Glossary. An English translation is provided, and usually notes concerning its use and derivation. For most of the entries there is an illustration of the arms of one or more communes where it can be found. In any case, there are references to all the communes which use the term.
The approach is geographical: each département is entered in order. Because of this, the Glossary is dynamic, and grows as the work progresses. It is, therefore, a snapshot of its present state.
The project is enormous. At present, in February 2010, it runs to more than 600 pages and 150,000 words, with about 1200 illustration of arms. I have reached the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, which is number 13 of more than 90!
Because of its size, the Glossary is published in sections by letters of the alphabet. I will update it as I complete each département. It is not possible to use hypertext, and navigation has to be between sections.
There is also a database of all the arms, which I will try to publish later.
The separate pages are pdf files. The easiest way to return to the home page is to use the back button.