Wapen van de familie Marillac 1608 - 1688

Editor: This engraving, "Wapen van de familie Marillac," created sometime between 1608 and 1688 by Claude Mellan, presents the Marillac family crest. It feels incredibly symbolic, with those eagles and the helmet looming over the birds. How should we interpret this emblem? Curator: Well, first, we must ask: who were the Marillacs? And what position of power did they hold during the period spanning 1608 and 1688? How might the imagery in the coat of arms reinforce or challenge existing power structures? Editor: I see, so instead of just reading it literally, we consider their social and political context. Were they nobility or clergy, perhaps? Curator: Precisely. These visual elements, such as the eagles representing power and the helmet signifying nobility, functioned within a very specific societal framework. The repeated birds, their arrangement within the shield... is there a suggestion of social hierarchy even there? Think about what the repetition of the motif says about that period in history. It certainly was a period with complex social inequalities. Editor: I hadn’t considered that. It almost feels like a form of early propaganda, visually asserting dominance. Curator: Exactly. And we can further ask how class, gender, and race intersected within that system of power. Who benefited from it? Who was excluded or marginalized? It makes one wonder if it reflected realties or fantasies? Editor: It gives you a completely different understanding thinking about power dynamics in society at the time! Curator: It definitely illustrates how heraldry operated within larger systems of social control and identity construction in the early modern period. I'm always fascinated by these stories they reveal.