Home › Curious Customs and Beliefs in Modern › Curious Customs and Beliefs in Modern: Chifflet

Curious Customs and Beliefs in Modern: Chifflet

Curious Customs and Beliefs "Among those who were present at the discovery was Jean Jacques Chifflet, at that time physician to the Archduke Leopold, Governor of the Netherlands. Chifflet was charged by the Archduke to write an account of the discovery, and in his opinion these golden insects had been employed as the decorations of the royal mantle (Childeric's), which very possibly was the case. But Chifflet went further and declared that in these insects was to be found the origin of the fleur-de-lis. This statement occasioned a great literary controversy, and the assertion was very hotly contested by Tristan de St. Armand (Traité du Lis, 1656), and later by that celebrated antiquarian Montfaucon, in his great work. "The Emperor Napoleon, whose ambition it was to pose in some sort as the successor of princes anterior to the line of Capet, assumed these bees as the badge of his new empire, and, as has been stated, caused them to be largely employed among its heraldic insignia."

These bees appear upon Napoleon's coronation mantle and upon that of the Empress Josephine, as well as in tapestries and other decorations of the imperial palace. They appeared upon the imperial arms and the arms of those high in office, and replaced the lilies of France in the arms of Paris and other French cities.

Later these bees were looked upon by some of Napoleon's followers as omens of evil.

Bees appear on the coats of arms of many European families and "Beehives with bees flying around them occur in some very modern coats, and, though improperly, as crests."

A beehive stands over the entrance to Brigham Young's house, and the same symbol is to be seen everywhere throughout Salt Lake City, expressive of Mormon thrift and industry.

In India the bee is still an object of interest, and we are told that because Krishna changed an earthly maiden beloved by him into a certain plant (Ocymum nigrum) and commanded that he should never be worshipped without the presence of this plant, the Indians to this day hold leaves of it in the hand when they remove the honey from the hives - believing the god Krishna to be present in the bees.

Bees from very early times have enjoyed a reputation as weather prophets. And this is far better deserved than most of their attributes of divination, as it is evident to any one who watches them that they fly not far from home when a storm is brewing, even though to mortal senses there may be no sign of atmospheric disturbance.