Bonjour mes amis! The Testa di Moru(in Corsican), the black Moor's head on a white background, forms the symbol of Corsica and is found on Corsica's national flag. The Moor's head with a white bandeau was adopted by Pasquale Paoli in 1762 as the official emblem of independent Corsica. It was inherited from the kings of Aragon, who were invested with Corsica by the Pope in the Middle Ages. Four Moors' heads became the arms of Sardinia after the Aragonese conquest and, with a cross of St. George separating them, they remain the national flag of Sardinia. The Aragonese never conquered Corsica, but they claimed it as their own. It first appeared in Corsica in 1573 in an atlas showing the lands of Philip II. The bandeau originally blindfolded the eyes of the Moor, while it is now raised to his forehead. There are those who see its removal as a symbol of freedom from slavery. There are others who claim that it dates from the time of the Saracen invasions and the Corsicans' habit of decapitating the moors. King Theodore, who also made use of this symbol in 1736, had the bandeau covering the eyes as well. When Sir Gilbert Elliot was named Baron Minto, after his two years as Viceroy of Corsica (1794-96), he included the Moor's head on his personal coat of arms. We saw this symbol on many items throughout Corsica as we traveled from town to town. Très intéressant!!!
Mme. Wallace
No comments:
Post a Comment