Architecture

One of the fleur-de-lis' many uses in architecture is for the top of iron fence posts, as a pointed defence against intruders. They are often seen round Georgian and Victorian buildings, in the UK and elsewhere, but go back centuries: there are tomb railings with fleurs-de-lis tips around a medieval knight's effigy in Chichester cathedral. By the 17th century the flower embellished interior domestic metal fittings, ^[1] and towards the end of that century became a common part of designs for imposing, grand gates. ^[2] It can be forged as a decorative flourish on the ends of finials, the arms of a cross, or the point of a gable.

The fleur-de-lis may be carved in stone or molded in plaster for many purposes. In friezes and cornices it can form part of a complex, twining design where the distinction between elaborate fleurs-de-lis, fleurons, and other stylized flowers is blurred, ^[3] or it may be a clear and unmistakable motif in an all-over pattern, perhaps on a floor. An architect may make a heraldic allusion, as in some English churches where the design is intended to compliment a prominent local figure and echo his coat of arms. It is seen on many grand buildings: the crenellations on the 14th century Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan are just one example. When the fleur-de-lis is found in Islamic art it may have the side "petals" emerging from the central one instead of all three being tied by a band at the base. ^[4] This style of fleur-de-lis can also be seen in the decorative panel above the doorway of the Attar Mosque in Tripoli.