Although Cyrano does use panache as an underlying quality, the idea of Panache actually dates back to one of the earlier Kings of France who was a bit gluttonous and overly courageous, to the point of idiocy. He was reported to have told his men to follow his plum in battle, for there they would always find victory. This lead to panache being a bit of a negative quality, but Cyrano's popularity transformed the quality into a positive, removing the foolish and decadent connotation, and replacing it with a verve for life and wit. So the idea of panache was around for centuries as a figurative quality but perhaps not as we know it today. The plume by the way can be of anything, and in fact was usually in reference to horse hair plumes of the chevaliers, it's origins come from the latin for pinacle, which makes sense as the panache is at the top of the helmet or hat.
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