Glyph. What a strange word. It sounds like a hipster version of the word hieroglyphic. Perhaps the most recognizable glyph today is the New Orleans Fleur De Lis. You can't see one without thinking of the other. Modern sports fans recognize it immediately as the symbol for the New Orleans Saints NFL football team. The symbol, however, has ancient roots going back to Egypt and Babylonia.
It is hard to pin down a decent definition of the word, "glyph." Some people define it as a typographical mark that has a specific meaning. For instance, if you leave the dot off of the lower case letter "i, " most languages still read it as the letter it is meant to be. In Turkey, however, the letter "i" without the dot means something different from the same letter with the dot. So, in the English language, "i" without the dot is not a glyph; in Turkish, it is a glyph.
It becomes even clearer when you think of languages like Japanese, that use syllabaries. These are made up of little marks that on their own mean nothing but, together in a "word, " they mean something. A diacritical mark is another form of glyph. Think of the German umlaut, the two dots above a letter. Alone, they look like a sleeping colon; above a letter, they help you pronounce it.
So what is the FDL a glyph for, other than beer, snacks, television and, when the Saints don't make the Super Bowl, heartbreak. Apparently, an early Egyptian symbol for an asp, or snake, is believed by some to have been a prototype for the world's first "flower of life." Others say that it is an ancient Roman symbol for fidelity.
The glyph that we recognize today as the flower of life came about in the early 11th century as France came out of the Dark Ages. Clovis I, the first, and almost mythical, king of the Franks, who were the nation who would become France, is reckoned to have been given a fleur directly from Heaven. Philip I, the first king of what we now know as France, adopted the symbol as his insignia.
The United Kingdom liked it so much they tweaked it and adapted it for its own royal family. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, uses it today. His version looks like three fluffy white feathers sticking out of a crown.
How did the FDL glyph come to rest in Louisiana. In 1682, when the French explorer, Sieur de La Salle, planted his flag in the Mississippi Valley in the name of French royal family, he planted a white banner, bearing a gold fleur de lis, at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
The glyph finally arrived in the city of New Orleans in the hands of French settlers who used it in their flag. The fleur was finally home. It has represented The Big Easy for centuries in jewelry, architecture, art and football helmets. There is no "official" fleur. Over the centuries, it has been seen in many different forms and colors.
It is hard to pin down a decent definition of the word, "glyph." Some people define it as a typographical mark that has a specific meaning. For instance, if you leave the dot off of the lower case letter "i, " most languages still read it as the letter it is meant to be. In Turkey, however, the letter "i" without the dot means something different from the same letter with the dot. So, in the English language, "i" without the dot is not a glyph; in Turkish, it is a glyph.
It becomes even clearer when you think of languages like Japanese, that use syllabaries. These are made up of little marks that on their own mean nothing but, together in a "word, " they mean something. A diacritical mark is another form of glyph. Think of the German umlaut, the two dots above a letter. Alone, they look like a sleeping colon; above a letter, they help you pronounce it.
So what is the FDL a glyph for, other than beer, snacks, television and, when the Saints don't make the Super Bowl, heartbreak. Apparently, an early Egyptian symbol for an asp, or snake, is believed by some to have been a prototype for the world's first "flower of life." Others say that it is an ancient Roman symbol for fidelity.
The glyph that we recognize today as the flower of life came about in the early 11th century as France came out of the Dark Ages. Clovis I, the first, and almost mythical, king of the Franks, who were the nation who would become France, is reckoned to have been given a fleur directly from Heaven. Philip I, the first king of what we now know as France, adopted the symbol as his insignia.
The United Kingdom liked it so much they tweaked it and adapted it for its own royal family. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, uses it today. His version looks like three fluffy white feathers sticking out of a crown.
How did the FDL glyph come to rest in Louisiana. In 1682, when the French explorer, Sieur de La Salle, planted his flag in the Mississippi Valley in the name of French royal family, he planted a white banner, bearing a gold fleur de lis, at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
The glyph finally arrived in the city of New Orleans in the hands of French settlers who used it in their flag. The fleur was finally home. It has represented The Big Easy for centuries in jewelry, architecture, art and football helmets. There is no "official" fleur. Over the centuries, it has been seen in many different forms and colors.
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