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How did Louis XIV’s 1696 registration decree affect people who bore arms in France?
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heraldry
Cylinder seal impression from the Akkadian period with a combat scene between a bearded hero and a bull-man and various beasts.
In 1696, King Louis XIV issued a decree regarding heraldry primarily as a financial measure to raise revenue for the French state.1
The decree affected the population in two distinct ways:
- Existing arms-bearers: All individuals who already possessed and used coats of arms were legally required to register them with the government.1
- Non-arms-bearers: Those who did not currently bear arms were compelled to purchase them.1
This mandate was part of a broader, often lax, approach by the French royal government toward the regulation of armorial insignia. Unlike the systems in place in Britain, where arms were strictly controlled as signs of gentility, the French system had historically allowed the usage of arms to permeate down to the bourgeoisie, artisans, and even peasants. The 1696 decree effectively leveraged this widespread usage as a source of taxation.1