These three gold frogs on a black background were the heraldic arms of King Pharamond . This particular king was allegedly a distant relative of the French Merovingian dynasty founded by King Clovis and also said to have descended from a river god making the frog particularly significant. Could this be the origin of the Flemish nickname of "Froggy" for French soldiers during the Hundred Years’ War, which was later adopted by English sailors in the nineteenth century and lingers to this day?! And did the French fleur-de-lis start life as a frog? Certainly the water iris and frog bear striking similarities!
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