Talk:Fasces/Archive 1

Blessure
Blessed, or injured? (blessé = injured in French) -phma 09:28, 18 May 2002 (UTC)

Triumph?
I am not sure about the triumph thing -- Davidme 00:32, 9 March 2003 (UTC)

French Coat of Arms
Just a question: there is a fasces in the French Coat of Arms? Look! --Nkcs 04:59, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

Clarification
Could you clarify this sentence?

"The following cases all involve the adoption of the fasces as a symbol or icon; no actual physical re-introduction as a (highly symbolic) implement."

I understand the first part-- the examples given involve the adoption of the fasces as a symbol-- however I don't understand the second part. Maybe the sentence could be clarified by someone who ascertains the intended meaning? Thanks. --24.18.35.120 01:59, 2 July 2006 (UTC)


 * OK, I read the whole article and now it makes more sense. I take it the meaning is that although the symbol has been used in modern times, modern organizations have not physically re-introduced actual axes bundled in sticks. So, I changed the sentence to read "The following cases all involve the adoption of the fasces as a symbol or icon; no actual physical re-introduction has occured." It was the "as a (highly symbolic) implement" part that I didn't understand. --24.18.35.120 02:07, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

Two superfluous images
thumb|right|The fasces appears on the state seal of Colorado, USA. It is beneath the [[All-seeing eye and above the mountains and mines.]] In trying to format this article, I moved these two images here, at the risk of offending some US patriots. The fasces in them are almost impossible to see and they add no additional information. When there's more text, these could find space again, perhaps. --Wetman 06:08, 25 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Offense be damned. The one on the seal of Colorado is quite visible. Alphax &tau;&epsilon;&chi; 06:06, 31 July 2005 (UTC)

The "Mercury Dime" one is silly. Alphax &tau;&epsilon;&chi; 23:36, 8 August 2005 (UTC)

The colorado seal one is visible, the US House is visible enough but less so. They should be added in that order as the article is expanded. Thanks for moving them here instead of deleting them. savidan(talk) (e@) 20:27, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Someone removed the Lincoln Statue... [ælfəks] 11:03, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

United States Senate
Where on is a fasces? The article states a pair of fasces is on the Seal of the United States Senate. Arx Fortis 19:03, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Italian Aircraft Insignia During WWII
I don't have the time at the moment to do a proper write-up, but I suggest the use of the fasces in Italian aircraft insignia during WWII should be added.

For example, a quick search found this page with these images:, , and.

--Shawn D. 15:05, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Pronunciation?
What is the pronunciation of Fasces? ,, , other? --The Chairman (Shout me · Stalk me) 06:59, 21 August 2007 (UTC)


 * The c is silent. The a is as in fat.--Wetman 09:08, 21 August 2007 (UTC)


 * In other words FASS-ease, . Flapdragon 18:52, 21 August 2007 (UTC)


 * "Bundle of Sticks" Lou Sander 01:04, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Article is way too focused on American usage
This article shows an excess amount of pictures and information of American usage. The fasces is used in France. Also it gives little information about the political use of the fasces by Fascist Italy. This article needs serious work. User:R-41
 * I see no excess of American content here, but I do agree that there is a dearth of information from Europe. Since I have been tracking fasces in architecture in the United States for 20 years or so I will continue adding it as seems appropriate.  Fly me to France and/or Italy and I will do the same there.  I did spend a chunk of one trip to Rome  looking for  (among things) vestiges of fascist remains there and found very little. Carptrash 19:28, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

I am attempting to add to French content to the article. I would not be surprised if someone shows up pointing out that whatever content I have extrapolated from these images is opinion, bordering on original research and that even though the publications date from 1910 and 1912 they are still not okay to use because French copyright law is based on the Napoleonic Code, etc. Still, it is a good faith attempt on my part to add more non-American content to the article. Carptrash 14:53, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Presence of Fasces found elsewhere in America
Fasces can be found behind Moses Ezekiel's statue representing Religious Liberty. It was erected in 1876 in Fairmount Park by the Order B'nai B'rith and Israelites of America in commemoration of the centennial of American Independence.

Nefertiti, the bronze Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford is the crowning feature of the dome of the United States Capitol. The lower part of the statue's base is decorated with fasces and wreaths.

I am nearly positive that there are representations of axe-less fasces above the matching doors in the Eastern and Western walls of the Oval Office--I have seen them in photos. I thought you may want to know this because I added a note about it to the actual article, and you may want to remove it to here until this can be verified, because it's just my own speculation, and I haven't done the appropriate research to state that they are fasces for sure. (this is the same anonymous editor as before, the one who wrote about why the fasces are sometimes depicted without axes.)

(from the same guy as the preceding statement. How do you register as an editor, by the way?) Look at the reverse of the old (non-state quarter series) quarter. It looks as if the Eagle is clutching either a bundle of arrows, or an axe-less fasces.


 * SO why not register and NOT be an annon editor? It's somehow easier to have these discussions with a name than a number, even f there is no real identity involved. Carptrash 14:18, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Oh yes. What's with the Neffertiti name above?  Statue of Freedom has a lot of discussion about the name of the work, feel free to jump in.  There are pretty good shots of thatwork's fasces too.  Carptrash 14:23, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

The Seal of the USA has been an Eagle clutching arrows in one claw for a long time. I suspect that's what's on your quarter. When you get here or any other wikipedia entry point you have an option in the top right to Sing in or Create an Account. Click on it an try it. I've never suspected that there are any negative effects from doing it and I've been registered for years, Carptrash 14:22, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

A red ribbon?
"...a bundle of birch rods tied together with a red ribbon..." A red ribbon? Where would this idea have come from? --Wetman (talk) 07:47, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Who the hell...
Is Joe Mita? What is the relevance? Where is the source? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Somebody unfuck this, I'm away for a bit. KomradeDave160.133.1.228 (talk) 21:21, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

this article has taken a major hit
and while the editor involved might have a point, cutting out huge sections of the article rather than demanding sources, for example, seems heavy handed and excessive. Almost, fascist in his/her use of unilateral force. Or not? What do others here thing/feel? Carptrash (talk) 18:39, 6 July 2008 (UTC)
 * If it was unsourced, see: WP:PROVEIT. bloodofox: (talk) 20:23, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Knights of Columbus color enhanced vector kam.svg
The image Image:Knights of Columbus color enhanced vector kam.svg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check


 * That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
 * That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Media copyright questions. --04:22, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Italy
I don't have the sources or time at my disposal at the moment, but there must absolutely be a more developed section on the use of the fasces as a political symbol in Fascist Italy. With regards to France, mention of the Francisque (a fasces of sorts based on the Frankish axe) - a symbol of, and medal awarded by, the Vichy government - should also be included.99.240.139.189 (talk) 23:54, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

On old Mercury head US Dimes reverses Fasces
erhaps mentioned in article? Didnt see it .On the old Mercury(think its actually called Winged Freedom) Dimes of late 1900s There are Fasces. I suppose because of the federal Goverments "Power"? never heard why they were there. Thnaks Merci'(datedEvePMWed.Sept16th2009,21stcent, By Dr. Edson Andre' Johnson D.D.ULC."X") ANDREMOI (talk) 03:17, 17 September 2009 (UTC)
 * The Mercury dime is mentioned in the The fasces in the United States section. Carptrash (talk) 16:05, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Origin and Symbolism
The description, as well as the accompanying picture, don't seem right to me. First, I've never heard of a fasces with two axes. A double-headed axe is relatively common but it is always described as such, not as two separate axes. Second, the image, which is a nice picture someone took the time to create, assumedly for this article, shows the axe tied to the outside of the bundle where the traditional description and depictions in heraldry show the axe handle being surrounded by the bundle of rods, the primary reason for its symbolism of strength (edit) ''Digging a little deeper, I see that this version seems most often associated with fascism and Mussolini and that the creator of the original artwork is Italian. It makes sense that his version is that which is most familiar to him. I wonder now if that particular version of the fasces placed the axe on the outside of the bundle for a reason.'' --SEWalk (talk) 03:34, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

A contentious alternative interpretation
I have for years taken this object as symbolizing "unifying authority". On the other hand "Strength (or victory) through unity", to my way of thinking, far more communitarian / communalistic.

Note the etymology in fess: "In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English fesse, from Old French, from Latin fascia, "band")" This article calls out "bundle", viz.: "the Latin word fascis, meaning "bundle". I'll suggest as alternative, "That which is banded together." In fascine, for example, the phenomenological efficacy of the thing arises from the fact that the items are banded together rather than loose.

I bring this up for a single reason: Hitler inspired his co-conspirators with an elemental notion, that "banding" is the primordial operator i.e. a "bundle" can be empowered by the "band" of group hatred, the in-group / out-group dynamic. This was core to Italian Fascism, but see where the empahsis gets placed: "The fasces was a prominent symbol of Mussolini's Fascist Party and the movement was named for the axe and rods." Was it really? According to who's words? And would you accept Mussolini or Hitler or Goebbel's word for it? Would they actually share their core inspiration? Part of their method is systematic deceit! Individualism who find themselves (quite properly) inspired by communalistic ideals should bear this in mind.

So I bring it up here to bring it to the attention of the "Fascism" project on Wikipedia.

(Rambling because I am rushing!)

ATTN: WikiProject Fascism

--BenTremblay (talk) 20:41, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

Rods = switches?
I read somewhere (possibly Are We Rome, admittedly not a scholarly work of history) that as the axe symbolized the states's right to execute criminals, the rods may have originally represented switches - lesser punishments. IIRC, the source even suggested that the fasces was originally practical, and would be unbundled from time to time so as to use its components to flog or decapitate guilty parties. Was this idle speculation, or has any historian ever seriously suggested this? Fishal (talk) 05:04, 15 November 2008 (UTC)


 * There's a recent discussion of this idea, along with citations, in this Language Log entry. Brennen (talk) 22:27, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

This was exactly my concern when I first came to this page. Did the fasces originate from a practical use, not a symbolic one? It's really the first question that comes to mind when you look at the fasces. The article today doesn't address that at all. 66.242.45.137 (talk) 20:56, 15 February 2013 (UTC)

i cut this out and moved it here

 * , which features two fasces flanking the rostrum in the House of Congress.

because there is no " House of Congress " and the section on the USA probably coveres what this editor might have intended. Carptrash (talk) 14:09, 9 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Actually, there are two Houses of Congress. The Lower House (usually called the "House of Representatives") and the Upper House (usually called "The Senate"). — al-Shimoni  (talk) 11:12, 22 May 2015 (UTC)


 * This has been corrected in the article, to read "two fasces flanking the rostrum in the House of Representatives". WCCasey (talk) 17:19, 22 May 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20120211101320/http://www.supremecourthistory.org/04_library/subs_volumes/04_c01_e.html to http://www.supremecourthistory.org/04_library/subs_volumes/04_c01_e.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20121104072203/http://www.elysee.fr:80/president/la-presidence/les-symboles-de-la-republique-francaise/le-faisceau-de-licteur/le-faisceau-de-licteur.5979.html to http://www.elysee.fr/president/la-presidence/les-symboles-de-la-republique-francaise/le-faisceau-de-licteur/le-faisceau-de-licteur.5979.html

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The ACTUAL meaning of the symbol as it pertains to Fascism
I myself am a nationalist and a corporatist and I can assure you that the true meaning of the fasces, at least as it pertains to Fascism, does not represent what has so far been suggested on this page. In actuality, the rods represent corporate entities/syndicates. The strap or band represents the "social myth" or "unifying myth" binding them together, and the axe itself represents the State (incorporating the complete fullness thereof). This is why it was chosen by the early Fascists - no other symbol is so perfect and simplistic in representing the Gentile/Mussolini doctrine as the Roman Fasces. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2607:FCC8:85C1:E300:9951:C103:CEBE:DE61 (talk) 06:42, 15 December 2015 (UTC)

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 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20030206162507/http://home.uchicago.edu:80/~janie/fasces.htm to http://home.uchicago.edu/~janie/fasces.htm

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Two questions about fasces
1. When and why were the two gold fasces placed on the wall behind the Speaker's rostrum in the U.S. House of Representatives?

2. Why do the fasces carved on the arms of Abraham Lincoln's seat in the Lincoln Memorial not include the traditional axe? 76.105.60.93 22:57, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
 * The axe bundled among the fasces is the emblem of authority over life-or-death, which is not in the President's power, only the Justices. The axe was sometimes omitted in Roman iconography too. In an imperial funeral relief the deceased might stand in a two-horse chariot, preceded or followed by two or three lictors carrying fasces without the axe. --Wetman 00:13, 27 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Wow, snap. I'm impressed.  --mordicai. 00:18, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

A further answer to your question about the axe:

In Ancient Rome, no weapons were allowed inside the Pomerium, the sacred borders of the city center. Thus, the Lictors were allowed to carry fasces, but without the axes. Only the Lictors assigned to guard a Dictator were allowed to carry fasces with axes attached inside the Pomerium, and the Lictors for all other officials (even including Consuls) were not allowed the axe because of the legal/religious law against weaponry inside what were thought to be the boundaries of the original Rome as founded by Romulus. --(I'm not a registered user...I edit Wikipedia in my spare time to help make sure that there are no blatant mistatements of facts, and to contribute minute details about this and that). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.131.16.176 (talk) 06:33, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Is there an ancient source for the idea that the fasces were generally without axes inside the pomerium? I can’t readily find one, but I’m certainly no expert! DrJonJ (talk) 17:10, 9 February 2018 (UTC)

Axes and the Pomerium
Is there an ancient source for the idea that the fasces were generally without axes inside the pomerium? I can’t readily find one, but I’m certainly no expert! I’d just like to be sure that this isn’t some 19th century speculation that’s entered the literature. DrJonJ (talk) 17:13, 9 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Good question, DrJonJ. In further research, remember that WP prefers secondary sources. WCCasey (talk) 05:03, 11 February 2018 (UTC)

The best I can find so far is a reference in Livy to Fabius Maximus still having the axes in his fasces because he had not yet entered Rome (here). However, a brief discussion in The Praetorship in the Roman Republic: Volume 1: Origins to 122 BC by T. Corey Brennan (online here) implies that the situation was more complex, with magistrates granted imperium for military command (as the case of Fabius Maximus, above) only carrying axes outside the pomerium, but magistrates granted imperium for civil administration within the city (e.g. the active Consul, when not on military operations, as in the case of Vatia Isauricus given on this page) normally carried axes in the fasces within the pomerium. — Preceding unsigned comment added by DrJonJ (talk • contribs) 22:59, 12 February 2018 (UTC)

Leftist don't use that symbol
I'm astonished to see that the fasces symbol "is used as the symbol of a number of Italian syndicalist groups, including the Unione Sindacale Italiana". That has been there since May 2014.

Did you see this symbol on any official stuff by the Unione Sindacale Italiana? I'll ask them for removal if you give me references. I'll also remove the sentence I just flagged with Template:citation-needed, unless someone else does it before me. ale (talk) 12:46, 2 April 2018 (UTC)
 * I just cut it out and it should not be returned without a good reference.


 * "it is used as the symbol of a number of Italian syndicalist groups, including the Unione Sindacale ItalianaCarptrash (talk) 16:19, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Why no mention of Spain and the fasces as an example of symbols and emblems used there in the present day?
Here is a direct to a wikipedia article which directly supports my suggestion that the fasces figures among the emblems and insignia of both the Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and other police and military institutions in modern day Spain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armorial_of_the_Spanish_Armed_Forces#Civil_Guard I feel that the main article should be edited in order to include this information as well as a more in depth discussion on the matter - a task of which I regard myself to be inadequate, but which nonetheless seems to me to be necessary. There can be little doubt that the faeces must have been as much a symbol of fascism during Franco’s dictatorship as it was in Mussolini’s Italian fascist dictatorship, yet there is no mention of this whatsoever in the actual wikipedia article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.167.47.2 (talk) 16:26, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

Why no mention of Spain and the fasces as an example of symbols and emblems used there in the present day?
Here is a direct to a wikipedia article which directly supports my suggestion that the fasces figures among the emblems and insignia of both the Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and other police and military institutions in modern day Spain:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Guard_(Spain) And this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armorial_of_the_Spanish_Armed_Forces#Civil_Guard I feel that the main article should be edited in order to include this information as well as a more in depth discussion on the matter - a task of which I regard myself to be inadequate, but which nonetheless seems to me to be necessary. There can be little doubt that the faeces must have been as much a symbol of fascism during Franco’s dictatorship as it was in Mussolini’s Italian fascist dictatorship, yet there is no mention of this whatsoever in the actual wikipedia article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.167.47.2 (talk) 16:31, 19 March 2021 (UTC)