FRENCH REVOLUTION SYMBOLS

The majority of men and women in the eighteenth century could not read or write. So images and
symbols were frequently used instead of printed words to communicate important ideas.
This Table is Prepared by Mr. Mangal Das and copyright of Mr. Mangal Das. You can use it only for
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Symbol Meaning
The broken chain Chains were used to fetter slaves.
A broken chain stands for the act of
becoming free.

The bundle of rods or fasces
One rod can be easily broken, but not an
entire bundle. Strength lies in unity.
Fasces, like many other symbols of the French Revolution, are
Roman in origin. Fasces are a bundle of birch rods containing
an axe. In Roman times, the fasces symbolized the power of
magistrates, representing union and accord with the Roman
Republic. The French Republic continued this Roman symbol to
represent state power, justice, and unity.

The eye within a triangle radiating light The all seeing eye stands for knowledge.
The rays of the sun will drive away the
clouds of ignorance.
Sceptre Symbol of royal power.
A sceptre (or scepter in U.S. English) is a symbolic ornamental
staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item
of royal or imperial insignia. Sometimes, it could be used for
showing a sense of divinity.

Snake biting its tail to form a ring
Symbol of Eternity. A ring has neither
beginning nor end.
The ouroboros or uroboros (/jʊərɵˈbɒrəs/; /ɔːˈrɒbɔrəs/, from
the Greek οὐροβόρος ὄφις tail-devouring snake) is an
ancient symboldepicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail.
The ouroboros often symbolizes self-reflexivity or
cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-
creating itself, the eternal return, and other things such as
the phoenix which operate in cycles that begin anew as soon as
they end. It can also represent the idea of primordial unity
related to something existing in or persisting from the beginning
with such force or qualities it cannot be extinguished. While first
emerging in Ancient Egypt and India, the ouroboros has been
important in religious and mythological symbolism, but has also
been frequently used.

Red Phrygian cap Cap worn by a slave upon becoming free.

The Phrygian cap (in French, bonnet Phrygian) is also known in
French as the Liberty cap (bonnet de la Liberté) or as a red cap
(bonnet rouge). It was adopted during the French
Revolution.Liberty is sometimes shown wearing a Phrygian cap.
So is Marianne. Representations of soldiers in the French
revolutionary army show them wearing liberty caps as part of
their uniform.

Blue-white-red The national colours of France.

The tricolour cockade, created in July 1789. White (the royal
color) was added to nationalise an earlier blue and red design.
The winged woman Personification of the law.

The Law Tablet The law is the same for all and all are equal
before it.