|
|
|
 |
The Moor's Head ... A Symbol |
"[...]" In its original purity, the Moor's head is
"right hand", "of sand", "lively", "twisted", without any necklace
or pendants, and cut round the neck.[...]" As for the "tortil", it
is either on the forehead, or on the eyes. And it can even miss,
although its presence is considered, by most of the treatises on
Heraldry, as an essential element of the figure."
|
From the kings of Aragon to the Revolution...
[...]" The
Moor's head appeared for the first time only in 1281, on a seal of
the king Pierre III known as Le Grand. It was quadruple and
surrounded a cross. The successors of Pierre III kept on using this
emblem during a good century and it was only in 1387 that the King
Jean the lst went back to the seal with four pales of his ancestors,
that he used alone and that was conserved by his successors as long
as the kingdom of Aragon lasted."
[...]" As
for Corsica, one should remember that the emblem was not born in our
island, that it has been imported there by the kings of Aragon and
that it was not attested neither at the end of the 13th nor at the
beginning of the 14th century. "
[...]" If in
one hand, it is not entirely impossible that certain Corsican chiefs
might have taken the Moor's head as a sign for their flags and their
etandards,it is , on the other hand certain that the flag with the
Moor's head has not been, in that same period [13th to 17th
century], the official flag of Corsica."
[...]"On the 12th of March 1736, a German baron who
illegitimately assumed titles so prestigious as sham; disembarked in
Aleria "[...]" Theodore de Neuhoff was accompanied everywhere, in
his triumphant march through Corsica, by a portrait where he
appeared in his ceremonial dress. At the bottom of this portrait,
appeared a blazon which was made in this way: at the center, a
square shield surmounted by a royal crown, itself surmounted by a
globe. In the shield, a Moor's head turned towards the right of the
one who looks at it, wearing a blindfold on the eyes, tied behind
the head."
[...]" So, it is to this "sham king", to this
adventurer who reigned during only six months that we owe the
presence of the Moor's head on the official flag of Corsica. Thus,
the popularity of Theodore was immense in Europe..."[...]"From now
on,the Moor's head is known in the whole Europe as the official
symbol of the armies of Corsica."
[...]" It was with Pascal
Paoli that the flag with the Moor's head has become the official
emblem of the Corsican nation." |
| [...]" At the beginning of his career of General,
Paoli did not think about innovate in this subject. He kept the
emblem which was chosen, in January 1735, by the insurgent chiefs,
including his father, in the "Consulta" of Corte. The standard
beared the picture of the Virgin Mary."
[...]" But in 1760 Paoli
imagined a change."
[...]" We see that he introduced an important
innovation to the flag of the "Consulte" of 1735, for he gave up the
picture of the Virgin Mary."
[...]" he put back the Moor's head
as it was represented on the maps of the time and [...] on the arms
of Theodore. But as regards to Theodore, he introduced a new
difference: the removal of the chain." |
Musée Ethographique de Bastia
|
| [...]"On the 24th of May 1761, it was
decided to strike currencies "bearing the arms of the Kingdom".
Those currencies[...] bore the arms of Corsica in their definitive
version. A cartouche enclosing a Moor's head turned towards the left
with a blindfold on the forehead, tied behind the nape of the neck
and a necklace with two or three beads."
[...]" Paoli decided
to raise the blindfold which was as we have seen, on the eyes in the
arms of Theodore. A word of him, cited by one of his biographers
give us the reason of this comment: "The Corsicans want to see
things in a clear way. Freedom must walk by the torch of philosophy.
Could we say that we seem to fear the light? "
[...]" These words are
corroborated by Arbrogio Rossi: "The general was in the habit of
saying by laughing: "From now on, the royal "blindfold" is well
placed as it has to be and properly to our dignity and not for our
shame, as our ennemies wanted. "
[...]" The story of the
Moor's head did not end at that time." [...]" The French kept it and
added to it fleur-de-lis but by totally removing the blindfold. At
first, the Revolution gave to the new department of Corsica, arms
where the Moor's head was side by side with the fleur-de-lis and
with a motto: The Law, the King. But from 1792, this motto
disappeared although the Moor's head and the fleur-de-lis still
remained. When Paoli formed the anglo-corsican kingdom, the Moor's
head which was associated to the arms of the king of England, became
again, from 1794 to 1796, the official emblem of Corsica."
[...]" Appeared at the end
of the 13th century on the seals of the king of Aragon, maybe borne
by a few Corsican chiefs of the party of Aragon on the 14th and l5th
centuries, reappeared on an Italian atlas of the 16th century,
widespread by it through the Europe of the cartographers, brought
back to Corsica by Theodore de Neuhoff in 1736, has become with
Paoli the official emblem of the independent Corsica, such is the
extraordinary historical parable of the Moor's head."
[Extracts from the book : Trois
Etudes sur Paoli by Pierre Antonetti - La Marge
édition] |
History Headings :
A brief
Chronology / The
Figures of History
The
Sites and Monuments / Vendetta
and Bandits d'Honneur
A Few Books to Go Further... 
|
