The Coq Gallois (French Rooster icon) is proudly perched upon this pile of German canons. The vintage postcard's image dates July 14, 1919. The war has been won and the French are happily removing these monstrous war machines from the city! During World War I the cockerel developed into a deeply patriotic symbol symbol of French courage and readiness to fight to the death in the face of war.
But how did the rooster become the symbol of France in the first place ? In Roman times, France was known as Gaul. The Latin word 'Gallus' not only meant 'a person who lives in Gaul' but also was the word for 'rooster'. The Romans liked this joke, and over a period of time, this play on words meant that the rooster came to represent the Gauls. So the rooster started as a joke and is an icon that has been used by people for nearly two thousand years!
Napoleon (also an avid vintage postcard collector) tried in vain to replace the rooster with the more 'noble' eagle. But the rooster just wouldn't die! Later in the nineteenth century it was brought back and used on flags, the uniform and buttons of the National Guard, the great seal of France, the twenty franc gold coin and the gates of the Elysée Palace (the President's Official residence).
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4 cool cats commented:
I wonder if they melted them down to use for other things? I seem to remember reading something about that.
Hello starman
well, for these I cannot remember but you probably recall of the 'Colonne de Vendome', which was actually made of the canons of... the Brits I think.
My guess is that the pack of tanks and canons that one can see on these documents were also used for other means at that time. France (and other countries) did not spare any scarce ressources at that time !
Have a nice week end
Francois
I actually used Marie's account but me (Francois) answered you back actually !
The fighting cock is a very spunky bird! It is a great piece of history that this image started as a play on words by the Romans... but actually the mad rooster can hold its own in any fight!
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