"Aiguillette origin story: is this true?" Topic

‘The aiguillette, the name referring of course to the spike on the end of the rope, goes back to Napoleon. An officer, who behaved very badly during a battle, pleaded with Bonaparte to be given another chance. Napoleon agreed to reinstate him, but he made him wear a piece of braided rope on his right shoulder. The rope was a reminder. If the officer failed again the rope would no longer be on his shoulder, but around his neck.'

I read this in a spy novel. I'd never heard it before. Is it true?

Aiguillettes existed before Napoleon, so no!

Apparently they were used in the 16th Century!

Nope – the modern aiguillette originated as a derivative of the laces used to tie armour together; once armour fell out of use, aiguillettes assumed a decorative function; as the ever astute Herkybird noted, they were common in the 16th and 17th century; for example, the Austrian SYW Dragoon Regiment Jung Modena (which I was painting this afternoon) had a white aiguillette hanging from their right shoulder

I had understood to be a decorative evolution from the habit of hanging the lit musket match from the shoulder belt.

It isn't true and it evolved into an element of uniform, such as for the French Imperial Guard Cavalry.

With regard to the question posed and the suggested origin, I have read, a long time ago, something with a similarity to that story. In this instance, it was apparently an outlaw, or band of outlaws, who would have been hanged if captured. He, or they, started to wear a miniature hangman's noose as a gesture of defiance. No doubt it would have been dangerous to have it around the neck, so they looped it around their arms. I think I recall a sentence such as, "He will hang us? Then let us make it easy for him!", which sounds even sillier than the tale itself.

""*[//])

In the other thread with the same title, I see there's a version about a mutiny among Spanish Cavalry (information provided by RittervonBek).