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Senneville, Quebec (Canada)

image by Chris Pinette and Luc-Vartan Baronian

The flag

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Flag

It is a banner of the Arms of this city on Montreal island (so it is part of the CUM). Chris and I made the image from a photo in Flagscan [fsc] vol. XII -1: 45, Spring 1997. The flag was granted by the Heraldic Authority of Canada on June 20 1995.
Luc Baronian

The Municipality of the Village of Senneville (967 inhabitants in 2008; 784 ha) is located on Montreal Island.

Senneville was originally known as Boisbriand, a domain owned by Michel Sidrac Dugé. In 1679, the domain was acquired by two fur traders, Charles LeMoyne and Jacques Le Ber. Born in Senneville-sur-Fécamp (Normandy), Le Ber renamed the domain Senneville. The colonists settled near a stone wind mill, built in 1689 and partially burned in 1691. Jacques Le Ber de Senneville, the son of the first owner of the domain, built in 1703 Fort Senneville on the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains. The fort was totally destroyed by a blaze in 1777. In 1895, the Town of Baie-d'Urfé and the Village of Senneville seceded from the Parish of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. The chart of the Village of Senneville, adopted in 1895, is still valid today. Senneville was incorporated in 2002 to Montreal, as part of the Pierrefonds-Senneville District. The merging was cancelled in 2006.

The flag and arms of Senneville were granted on 20 June 1995 and registered in the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges, vol. III, No. 4., as published on 14 October 1995 in the Canada Gazette, Vol. 129, p. 3593. The symbols were originally designed by Robert D. Watt, Chief Herald of Canada, assisted by the Heralds of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, painted by Debra Parker and drawn by Suzzann Wright.

The flag is a banner of the arms (on the Public Register, the yellow-blue border appears to be a fringe), which are described as follows:

Arms
Azure a stone fort with four embattled corner towers argent (two visible) within two palm branches their stems conjoined in base and tied with a ribbon or;

Crest
Issuant from a coronet rim or heightened with maple leaves gules alternating with fleurs-de-lis azure a demi lion or gorged with a collar azure adorned with hearts or holding in the forepaws a staff flying therefrom to the sinister a banner of the arms;

Supporters
On a grassy mound rising above barry wavy argent and azure dexter a stallion sinister a mare both or and crined, unguled, langued and gorged with a coronet fleury all azure pendant therefrom a hurt charged with a maple tree argent;

Motto
NÉ SOUS LE LYS IL FLEURIT SOUS L'ÉRABLE

The arms are explained as follows:

Arms
The shield is derived directly from the earliest period of Senneville’s recorded history, when Jacques Le Ber was seigneur. He was the builder of “Fort Senneville”, the community’s most historic structure, which, in this instance, symbolizes Senneville’s heritage and the community as a whole. Le Ber’s coat of arms, recorded in the Armorial Général de France on 13 June 1698, was a blue shield with two palm branches crossed diagonally and two stars, all in gold. These arms are drawn upon for the principal colours of the design and the palm branches.

Crest
The coronet links the maple leaf with the fleurs-de-lis that are also found in the arms of Rouen, episcopal seat of the diocese containing Le Ber’s birthplace in Normandy. The lion, a traditional symbol of strength and spirit, is a reference to the arms of Normandy and of England, ancestral homelands for many of Senneville’s citizens. The lion carries a banner of the village, representing the citizens’ determination to uphold the community’s interests and protect its amenities. The lion’s collar honours Le Ber’s wife, Marie-Anne-Claude de La Cour, whose arms, featuring three yellow hearts on a blue shield, were also recorded in 1698.

Supporters
The stallion and mare stand on a bed of green grass, for the lands of Senneville. The blue and white wavy bars represent the Lake of Two Mountains and recall another aspect of Senneville’s history. The male and female horses honour Senneville’s agricultural and pastoral heritage and represent the men and women who have built the community over the generations. The alternating maple leaf and fleur-de-lis coronet ties the design to the crest and motto, while the tree recalls Senneville’s richly forested environment.

Motto
Meaning “Born under the lily [of France], flourishes under the maple [of Canada]”, this phrase captures the history of Senneville
- http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=521&ShowAll=1 - Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges

Ivan Sache, 24 July 2012

Arms

image contributed by Luc Baronian

The full granted coat of arms show the municipal flag on the crest.
Luc Baronian, 10 June 2005