Our reference is Coeur's saddle from Rene's Book of Love. The plate is the one where he's in front of the temple with Ardent Desire, and there's a woman giving his horse something to eat.

A motto runs along the bottom of the saddle skirting. Looking at it with a magnifier, the letters we can make out look like this:

? ? )EO.V _ _ _ _V.IE???

We don't know how many letters are at the beginning, middle or end. Based on spacing we speculate 2 before, 4 in the middle and 2 after.

I'm thinking the first word is 'DEO'. Then a word that starts and possibly ends in V, then a word that starts IE.

Any thoughts what this motto could be?

Thanks-

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it might be something along the lines of:

Deo volente - God willing

Though that doesn't help with the IE. or the second V.

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Deo adiuvante - With God's help
Deo favente - With God's favour
Deo gratias - [We give] thanks to God
Deo vindice - God will prove us right
Deus volent - (as) God will
Deus vult! - God wills it! (Slogan of the Crusades)

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