Fleur de Lis

Fleur de Lis, Hi-Tec C and Acrylic in my Moleskin

When I was in Louisville, I saw this symbol popping up everywhere. It has long been a part of Louisville's history, but it recently became a main stream icon to represent the 'Ville. My dad, who seems to have become a Louisville historian in his spare time, explained to me where this symbol originated from.

Louisville was named in honor of King Louis the XIV. He was French. The French dig the Fleur de Lis.

Of course, he put it much more elegantly than that.

This lesson came in handy at the Smithsonian a few days later. We saw a 17th century violin called The Louis XIV embellished with fleur de lis. The more you know!