The Gallic rooster (French: le coq gaulois) is an unofficial national symbol of France as a nation (as opposed to Marianne representing France as a State, and its values : the Republic).
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During the times of Ancient Rome, Suetonius, in The Twelve Caesars, noticed that, in Latin, rooster (gallus) and Gauls (Gallus) were homonyms.[1] However the association of the Gallic rooster as a national symbol is apocryphal, as the rooster was neither regarded as a national personification nor as a sacred animal by the Gauls in their mythology and because there was no "Gallic nation" at the time, but a loose confederation of Gallic nations instead.[2]
Its association with France dates back from the Middle Age and is due to the play on words in Latin between Gallus, meaning an inhabitant of Gaul, and gallus, meaning rooster, or cockerel. Its use, by the enemies of France, dates to this period, originally a pun to make fun of the French,[3] the association between the rooster and the Gauls/French was developed by the kings of France for the strong Christian symbol that the rooster represents : prior to being arrested, Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crowed on the following morning. At the rooster's crowing, Peter remembered Jesus's words. Its crowing at the dawning of each new morning made it a symbol of the daily victory of light over darkness and the triumph of good over evil. It is also an emblem of the Christian's attitude of watchfulness and readiness for the sudden return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment of humankind. That is why, during the Renaissance, the rooster became a symbol of France as a Catholic state and became a popular Christian image on weathervanes, also known as weathercocks.
Its association to France is also explained by a legend: charlemagne would have lost a fight against England so he had to give part of his land to Great Britain but the next day, a rooster came and told him to organise a new fight against an english champion who would have been chosen by the english king himself. The rooster told him he would charmed this one with one of his spell: "flower of this purple dye, hit with Cupid's archery, Sink in apple of his eye. when his lovehe doth espy let her shine as gloriously as the venus of the sky. when thou wak'st, if she be by, beg of her for remedy."so that charlemagne could win and not loose his territory.
This magic spell was used many years later by Shakespeare in one of his play: "a midsummer night's dream".
The popularity of the gallic rooster as a national personification faded away until its resurgence during the French Revolution (1789). The republican historiography completely modified the traditional perception of the origins of France. Until then, the royal historiography dated the origins of France back to the baptism of Clovis I in 496, the "first Christian king of France". The republicans rejected this royalist and Christian origin of the country and will trace back the origins of France to the ancient Gaul. Although purely apocryphal, the rooster became the personification of the early inhabitants of France, the Gauls.
The Gallic rooster, colloqually named Chanteclair, had been a national emblem ever since, especially during the Third French Republic. The rooster was featured on the reverse of French 20-franc gold pieces from 1899 to 1914. After World War I it was depicted on uncountable war memorials.
Today, it is often used as a national mascot, particularly in sporting events such as football (soccer) and rugby. The 1998 FIFA World Cup, hosted by France, adopted a rooster named Footix as mascot. The French national Australian rules football team in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup is known as the Coqs after le coq gaulois. Additionally, the France national rugby league team are known as the Chanteclairs referring to the cockerel's song.
The popularity of the symbol extends into business. Le Coq Sportif ("The sporty rooster"), is a French manufacturer of sports equipment using a stylized rooster and the colors of the French tricolour as its logo. Moreover, it is the logo of Pathé, a French-born, now international company of film production and distribution.
In 1913, the Gallic rooster was adopted as the symbol of Walloon movement. It represents a "bold rooster" (le coq hardi), raising its claws, instead of the "singing rooster" that is traditionally depicted in France. This symbol, also known as the Walloon rooster, was officially adopted as the symbol of Wallonia (in 1998) and the French Community of Belgium (in 1991).
In France and Wallonia, the French onomatopeia for the rooster crowing sound, "Cocorico" (cock-a-doodle-doo), is sometimes used to express national pride.
