The Origins of the Gallic Rooster

England has the lion. Germany the eagle. Italy the grey wolf. And France... the rooster? How did that even happen?

In this video, I discuss how the Gallic rooster became the emblem of France in a world surrounded by ferocious beasts!

Hi! This is Barris, a French – American that lived most of his life in France and is passionate about learning, exploring, hiking and cooking. It’s a vast and beautiful world out there so join us as we discover the historical, cultural and culinary heritage of France, Europe and the rest of the World.

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Video Summary:

The association first started during the Roman times since Gallus, Gauls, and gallus, rooster, are homonyms in Latin. This was further reinforced by Julius Caesar's accounts in "Commentarii de Bello Gallico" where he noted (without much proof, however) that the most important Gallic god was Lugus, which he called Mercury since Romans would name foreign gods according to their Roman equivalent. And guess what animal is associated with Mercury? Roosters!

However, during the Middle ages, that association with the rooster wasn't appreciated by the French population as they thought it was stupid, stubborn, arrogant, choleric, lustful, etc. France's enemies (such as England and the HRE) knew that and their poets made sure to use it liberally while mocking the French, and especially the King, Louis VII of France, and his son, Philippe II of France.

But over time, especially during the Renaissance where Roman texts were discovered and the Gallic identity of France started to grow, people's appreciation of the rooster grew bigger, too. It also helped that the rooster is often mentioned favorably in the Bible and associated to many saints, such as St. Peter the Apostle and St. Charlemagne, the King of the Francs.

The association became so strong that under the Valois and Bourbons dynasties, the rooster, with "La Fleur de Lys" to represent the royalty, was often depicted in coins, engravings, paintings, etc. to represent France itself.

During the French revolution, "La Fleur de Lys" was removed, to be replaced entirely by the rooster as one of the symbols of the revolution with peasant origins like the bird itself. But Napoleon thought the bird was too weak to represent the growing French empire and chose instead the Imperial Eagle.

Despite that, the rooster would remain a strong part of French identity. It can be see everywhere, whether it is war monuments, churches, the logo of Pathé (the largest world film production company in the 1900s), le coq sportif, French sport federations such as the FFF, on one of the gates of the Elysee (the French white house), on coins (20 Francs Gold coins issued from 1803 to 1914 and ironically nicknamed "Napoléon"), etc.

Yet despite all that, it's not even the national emblem of France!

Officially, the national emblem of France is "Marianne", the Goddess of Liberty.