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Frasnes-lez-Anvaing (Municipality, Province of Hainaut, Belgium)

Last modified: 2013-12-28 by ivan sache
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[Flag of Frasnes]

Flag of Frasnes-lez-Anvaing - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 28 January 2007


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Presentation of Frasne-lez-Anvaing

The municipality of Frasnes-lez-Anvaing (11,078 inhabitants on 1 January 2007; 11,242 ha) is located 20 km north-east of Tournai, in the hilly part of Western Hainaut known as "Pays des Collines" (Land of the Hill). The municipality of Frasnes-lez-Anvaing was formed in 1976 by the merging of the former municipalities of Frasnes-lez-Buissenal, Anvaing, Arc-Ainières, Buissenal, Cordes, Dergneau, Ellignies, Forest, Hacquegnies, Herquegies, Montrœul-aux-Bois, Moustier, Œudeghien, Saint-Sauveur and Wattripont. From 1971 to 1976, Arc-Ainières and Wattripont formed the municipality of Arc-Wattripont.

Frasnes was known in 1017 as Fraxinetum ad Buxeriam and in 1122 as Fraine. The name of the village is therefore derived from the Latin word fraxinus, "an ash tree" (in French, frêne). In the 12th century, Frasnes belonged to the abbey of Saint-Amand; it was then an important pre-industrial center, with a clothiers' guild that existed until the end of the 18th century. The main domain of Frasnes, vassal of the Barony of Antoing, was ran in the XIIth century by the lords of Frasnes, who bore canting arms, D'or à un frêne de sinople ("Or an ash tree vert"). It was later divided into two domains. The first domain of Frasnes belonged to the lords of Leuze; in 1439, it was ran by Jacques de La Hamaide, from an ancient lineage known since the 13th century. The Gelre Armorial shows "canting" arms for the lord of La Hamaide, D'or à trois hamaides de gueules. A hamaide is a fess couped (originally a barrier). It is not known if the arms are really canting or if their bearer was nicknamed "the knight with the hamaide", later lord de La Hamaide. Anyway, these arms were used by the municipality of La Hamaide until included into the municipality of Ellezelles in 1976.
The second domain of Frasnes, called Chasteler, was ran by the Cuinghien family, that owned several other small domains in the neighborhood. The lord of Cuinghien bore D'argent à quatre chevrons de gueules ("Argent four chevrons gules"); in 1505, Jehan de Marchenelles became lord of Frasnes by marrying Agnès de Cuinghien; in 1559, Jacques de Marchenelles, bearing D'argent au sautoir de gueules ("Argent a saltire gules") was lord of Frasnes-lez-Buissenal. The domain was transfered by marriage to Count Arnould II de Saint-Genois in 1572; the lineage of Saint-Genois, that kept Frasne until the French Revolution, seems to have taken the name of a domain they owned near Kortrijk in the 13th century and whose patron saints were Sts. Genois (Genesius) and Denis (Dionysius).

Anvaing is known for its castle, mentioned for the first time in 1127. The capitulation of Belgium was signed in the castle on 28 May 1940.

Source: Municipal website, including Histoire d'un bourg rural - Frasnes-lez-Buissenal by Willy Delhaye

Ivan Sache, 28 January 2007


Flag of Frasnes-lez-Anvaing

The flag of Frasnes-lez-Anvaing is red with a blue saltire bordered in white and with five white roses, one in the middle of the saltire and one in the middle of each arm of the saltire.
According to Armoiries communales en Belgique. Communes wallonnes, bruxelloises et germanophones [w2v03], the flag was proposed by the Heraldry and Vexillology Council of the French Community as:
Rouge chargé d'une croix diagonale bleue liserée de blanc et chargée de cinq roses blanches.
The flag is a banner of the municipal arms.

Frasnes-lez-Anvaing uses the coat of arms granted to the former municipality of Frasnes-les-Buissenal by Royal Decree of 29 March 1961. Since no historical seal was known, the municipality applied for the arms of the last lords, the Saint-Genois:
De gueules au sautoir d'azur, bordé d'argent chargé de cinq quintefeuilles du même, l'écu sommé d'une couronne à treize perles, dont trois relevées et tenu par deux griffons d'or, lampassés de gueules (Gules a saltire azure fimbriated argent charged with five cinquefoils of the same. The shield topped by a crown with thirteen pearls [...] and supported by two griffins or langued gules).

Arnaud Leroy, Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 28 January 2007