#robert louis

Alger (Coat of Arms) First Day: 02.01.1960 Design: Robert Louis Engraver: André Barre

Yok, hafiflemiyor çekilen azap ancak, katılaşıyor ruhumuz, katlanıyor.

I feel a bit odd giving Robert Louis credit for this one, since these are the well-known and well-documented arms of the House of Bourbon (technically the third house of that name; the previous two had died out in the male line.) The house of Bourbon in its current and most famous iteration was founded in 1272, when Robert, Count of Clermont married Beatrice of Burgundy. The arms are simply France ancien with a bend gules for difference, which Robert would have been entitled to as the sixth son of Louis IX. The current department of Allier conforms fairly closely to the former duchy/province of Bourbonnais (the home territory of the Bourbons), so using these arms for the department is a fairly straightforward decision.

Another one of Robert Louis’ creations! This is a modification of the arms of Cahors, which feature the impressive 14th-century Pont Valentré. For the department, the roofed towers have been swapped for crenellated towers, and the water in base is its typical azure rather than argent, but otherwise, the arms are identical. There are records of the city using these arms in the sixteenth century, so I’d say that they have dibs. (Although changing the tincture of the water does make these into different arms!)

The cross of Toulouse is most likely a reference both to the regional arms of Occitanie, and the Gard’s century-long sojourn under the protection of the counts of Toulouse. I’m not sure about the chief, but if we want to get geographically symbolic (which we already know is kind of a fallback for Louis), it could either represent the coast of the Mediterranean, or the foothills of the Cévennes mountain range. Personally, I’d favor the latter. Either way, points for making me go look up the distinction between engrailed and invecked again. (If you’re wondering, engrailed means the half-circles point outward from the charge - in this case, the chief - and invecked means the charge has the half-circles “cut out” of it.)

I’m using “designed by” very loosely here; although I really love a lot of Robert Louis’ work, I don’t think he had much to do here. These arms belonged to the counts of Armagnac, with documented use back into the 1300s. (I use the past tense since the county of Armagnac returned to the French crown in 1607, and despite a regranting in 1645, the line was extinct by 1751.) The counts of Armagnac in their first creation went back to at least 995, so it’s possible these arms were in use before the fourteenth century (although probably not that much before).

The combination is striking but straightforward - the regional cross of Toulouse centered within the four otelles of Comminges. The otelle is a weird charge - it doesn’t show up anywhere besides in the arms of Comminges. Comminges is also cited as a cross paté, so it’s possible that it’s a result of a poorly detailed depiction of the arms, or a confusion between the figure and the ground.

I’m not entirely clear on the status of most of the Robert Louis arms, but these are explicitly unofficial. This feels slightly less lazy than some of the other departments, even though it is just a pairing of Normandy’s arms with the county of Alençon, the “capital.” Still, though, it feels like at least a nod to the region’s history and not just… throwing in some azure and wavy partitions to vaguely invoke the sea. These particular arms reflect those of Alençon under the rule of the Capetian house of Valois - hence the royal arms of France within the bordure.