HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jessant-de-lys is a
heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
term denoting a
fleur-de-lys The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...
issuing out of any object. It is most frequently seen in conjunction with a
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
's face, meaning in heraldic language the face of a lion.


Description

Charles Boutell Charles Boutell (1 August 1812 – 31 July 1877) was an English archaeologist, antiquary and clergyman, publishing books on brasses, arms and armour and heraldry, often illustrated by his own drawings. Life Boutell was born at Pulham St Mary, N ...
(1863) described the
charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...
thus: "A leopard's face affrontée, resting upon a fleur-de-lys, and having the lower part of the flower issuing from the animal's mouth". This appears to describe a fleur-de-lys erect. The fleur-de-lys is on occasion shown reversed, perhaps as an heraldic
difference Difference, The Difference, Differences or Differently may refer to: Music * ''Difference'' (album), by Dreamtale, 2005 * ''Differently'' (album), by Cassie Davis, 2009 ** "Differently" (song), by Cassie Davis, 2009 * ''The Difference'' (al ...
, or simply in error. The early authority on heraldry
John Guillim John Guillim (c. 1565 – 7 May 1621) of Minsterworth, Gloucestershire, was an antiquarian and officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He is best remembered for his monumental work on heraldry, ''A Display of Heraldry'', first pub ...
(d.1621) wrote in his Display of Heraldry: ''"A Lyon Jessant..is not subjected to the primary charge, but is borne over both the field and charge, and is therefore called a Lyon Jessant, jacendo, because of such lying all over"''. (i.e. French, from ''jacendus-a-um'' the
gerundive In Latin grammar, a gerundive () is a verb form that functions as a verbal adjective. In Classical Latin, the gerundive is distinct in form and function from the gerund and the present active participle. In Late Latin, the differences were large ...
of the Latin verb ''jaceo'', to lie). Guillim may have give some thought to this charge, having married a member of the
Denys family The surname Denys was borne by at least three prominent mediaeval families seated in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Devon in southwest England between 1166 and 1641. It is not known if any relationship existed between these families. The surname '' ...
of Gloucestershire, whose arms display the charges thrice.


Origin

The earliest use of a leopard's face jessant-de-lys was in the last quarter of the 13th century, by the Anglo-Norman family of Cantilupe, borne as a group of three ("Cantilupe modern"). Planché (1852) proposed the Cantilupe jessant-de-lys arms to have been differences of their earlier arms of three fleurs-de-lys, which might be referred to as "Cantilupe ancient", which were used from the start of the age of heraldry in about 1215, until 1280. Boutell however tentatively suggests them to be the result of a rare compounding of two separate coats of arms, resulting from a marriage to an heiress, akin to
dimidiation In heraldry, dimidiation is a method of marshalling (heraldically combining) two coats of arms. For a time, dimidiation preceded the method known as impalement. Whereas impalement involves placing the whole of both coats of arms side by side ...
. However, he gives no genealogical data to support such marriage having occurred. Evidence of the use of "Cantilupe ancient" last appears in the Camden
roll of arms A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms. The oldest extant armorials date to the mid-13th centu ...
, c. 1280. for ''Johan de Cauntelo'' They are earlier listed as ''Gules, three fleurs de lys or'' for Sir George de Cantilupe (died 1273) in the Charles's Roll, St. George's Roll, and in the Camden Roll. The arms of William de Cantilupe (died 1254) are listed even earlier in the Glover's Roll as: ''Gules, three fleurs-de-lys or.'' The earliest record of the arms of "Cantilupe ancient" is in the seal of William de Cantilupe (died 1239). The antiquarian John Nichols (d.1826) in his ''History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester'' records a deed dated 1215 relating to the first William de Cantilupe's manor of
Brentingby Brentingby is a village in Leicestershire, England.The population is included in the civil parish of Freeby. The village's name means either 'farm/settlement of Brenting/Branting' or 'farm/settlement at the steep place'. References See also * ...
, Leicestershire, on which the seal is ''three fleurs-de-lys circumscribed''.


Earliest use

St Thomas Cantilupe (died 1282), Bishop of Hereford, granted his personal arms, the Cantilupe arms reversed (i.e. upside down) for
difference Difference, The Difference, Differences or Differently may refer to: Music * ''Difference'' (album), by Dreamtale, 2005 * ''Differently'' (album), by Cassie Davis, 2009 ** "Differently" (song), by Cassie Davis, 2009 * ''The Difference'' (al ...
to the
see of Hereford The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral i ...
, and the arms are still used by the
Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...
today. The episcopal seal of St Thomas still shows however the arms of "Cantilupe ancient" in the form of two groups of three fleurs-de-lys either side of a figure of the standing bishop. This suggests that the ancient arms were still in use at the start of his episcopal reign in 1275, when the seal would have been made. The modern arms were certainly in use in 1300, but by a cadet branch of the Cantilupe family (which had died out in the main line in 1273 on the death of Sir George de Cantilupe) in the form of another William de Cantilupe, who used a fess for difference, as recorded in the Caerlaverock Roll, which was a record of participants at the siege of
Caerlaverock Castle Caerlaverock Castle is a moated triangular castle first built in the 13th century. It is located on the southern coast of Scotland, south of Dumfries, on the edge of the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve. Caerlaverock was a stronghold o ...
in 1300. His arms are recorded as ''Gules, a fess vair between 3 leopard's faces jessant-de-lys or''. The Cantilupe family granted their arms, with differences, to many of their
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
tenants, as arms of patronage, which have taken the form of "Cantilupe modern". Examples are in the 13th century to Hubard of
Ipsley Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England. The town is divided into separate districts. All street-name signs in Redditch have the street name in white lettering on a blue background and the district n ...
, Warwickshire, to John Woodforde of
Brentingby Brentingby is a village in Leicestershire, England.The population is included in the civil parish of Freeby. The village's name means either 'farm/settlement of Brenting/Branting' or 'farm/settlement at the steep place'. References See also * ...
(fl. 1316), Leicestershire and possibly to Denys of
Siston Siston (pronounced "sizeton") is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England. It is east of Bristol at the confluence of the two sources of the Siston Brook, a tributary of the River Avon. The village consists of a number of cottages ...
, Gloucestershire, formerly from Glamorgan, in connection with Candleston Castle. From the
Denys family The surname Denys was borne by at least three prominent mediaeval families seated in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Devon in southwest England between 1166 and 1641. It is not known if any relationship existed between these families. The surname '' ...
the arms were apparently borrowed by the unrelated family of
Thomas Tenison Thomas Tenison (29 September 163614 December 1715) was an English church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until his death. During his primacy, he crowned two British monarchs. Life He was born at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the son a ...
(1636-1715),
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, from whom the unrelated family of
Alfred Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
, poet laureate, again borrowed, probably as their family names signify "Dennis's son".


Modern usage

The true Cantilupe modern arms are borne today only by the
See of Hereford The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral i ...
, the
Earl De La Warr Earl De La Warr ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for John West, 7th Baron De La Warr. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount Cantelupe (1761) in the Peerage of Great Britain, Baron De La Warr ( ...
, whose lesser title is Viscount Cantelupe, both titles created in 1761 for the West family, distant descendants of the ancient Cantilupe family, and the
Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...
who also quarter Cantilupe. The second
quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement ...
of the De La Warr coat of arms is
blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
ed thus: ''Azure, 3 leopard's faces reversed jessant-de-lys or''.


Jessant of other charges

The
Canadian Heraldic Authority The Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA; french: Autorité héraldique du Canada) is part of the Canadian honours system under the Canadian monarch, whose authority is exercised by the Governor General of Canada. The authority is responsible for t ...
has also issued grants for arms and badges blazoned "jessant of" charges other than a fleur-de-lis, including ''jessant of a cross'', ''jessant of a
pheon A broad arrow, of which a pheon is a variant, is a stylised representation of a metal arrowhead, comprising a tang and two barbs meeting at a point. It is a symbol used traditionally in heraldry, most notably in England, and later by the Bri ...
'', ''jessant of a sword'', ''jessant of a Guernsey lily'', and ''jessant d'érable'' (of a maple leaf).


References


Sources

* *{{cite book , last=Planché , first=J.R. , author-link=James Planché , title=The Pursuivant of Arms; or Heraldry founded upon facts , url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081807574 , location=London , year=1873 , orig-year=1852 , pages=103–104 , via=Hathi Trust Heraldic charges