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Monthly Archives: January 2016

The Hundred Years’ War: Story & History

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Courtly Love, History, Legends

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

An Affair, Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War, Assassinations, Charles duke of Orleans, Charles VI the Mad, John the Fearless, Les Très Riches Heures, Louis duc d'Orléans, Siege of Orleans, Treaty of Troyes

Charles_of_Orleans_&_Bonne_of_Armagnac_Marriage

The Wedding of Charles d’Orléans and Bonne d’Armagnac (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From the Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry.

Joan of Arc (6 January c. 1412 – 30 May 1431)
Louis I, duc d’Orléans (13 March 1372 – 23 November 1407)
Bonne d’Armagnac (19 February 1399 – 1430/35) (2nd wife of Charles d’Orléans)
Charles, duc d’Orléans (24 November 1394 – 5 January 1465) (captured in 1415, released in 1440)
Charles VI the “Mad,” King of France (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422)
Isabeau of Bavaria, Charles VI’s wife (c. 1370 -24 September 1435)
Charles VII, Charles VI’s uncrowned son until 1429 (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461)
John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (the Burgundians) (28 May 1371 – 10 September 1419)
Henry V of England, King of England (9 August 1386 – 31 August 1422)
Henry VI, his son and heir, King of England and France (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471)

Hundred Years’ War (1337 to 1453)
Battle of Agincourt (Azincourt) 25 October 1415 (an English victory)
Treaty of Troyes (21 May 1420) Charles VI of France disinherits Charles VII and marries his daughter, Catherine de Valois, to Philip V of England
Siege of Orleans (1428 – 1429) Joan of Arc saves France 

Charles VI by le maître de Boucicaut
Charles VI by le maître de Boucicaut
John the Fearless (Burgundy 2)
John the Fearless (Burgundy 2)

 

I hope the list above will prove helpful. It resembles a dramatis personae, the names of characters in a play. But battles and treaties have been included.

The Assassination of Louis I, duke of Orleans (1407)

There is history and behind it, behind the official record, stories or rumours. Such is the case with the central event of the Hundred Years’ War: the Treaty of Troyes, signed at Troyes, France, by Charles VI, the “Mad,” in the presence of his wife, Isabeau of Bavaria.

ob_0d6d6df38ef38b2ac11c1d90899a53f3_berryheuresmai

Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry, le 1er mai, featuring Charles d’Orléans (Photo credit: Google Images)

The Backdrop: an affair (1403)

  • regencies
  • an affair (c. 1403)
  • an assassination (1407)
  • the Treaty of Troyes (1420)

In 1407, during the Hundred Years’ War, Louis I, duc d’Orléans was assassinated by thugs in the service of John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy. A civil war broke out which opposed the Armagnacs (the House of Valois) and the Burgundians, a French royal house. During the minority of Charles VI, Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy (17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) had been regent. In other words, there was an interregnum. In 1388, Charles VI dismissed the Burgundians.

A few years later, in 1393, Charles VI lost stature when he became mentally. A mad king is a weak king. During Charles VI’s bouts of madness, Charles VI’s wife, Isabeau of Bavaria, sat on the regency council, but Louis I, duc d’Orléans, Charles VI’s brother, was gaining ascendancy, which undermined the Burgundians’ attempt to rule France.

Rumour has it that Louis I, duc d’Orléans became Isabeau de Bavière’s lover and fathered Charles VII, the heir presumptive to the kingdom of France. It appears Charles VI knew his son was fathered by Louis, duke of Orleans. This would shed light on his signing the Treaty of Troyes (1420), central to the Hundred Years’ War, the broader theatre. Charles VI also knew his son had assassinated John the Fearless and disinherited him. Charles VII was disinherited before the Treaty of Troyes.

There are times when rumours are history, or when stories are history. Our historical fact is that under the terms of the Treaty of Troyes, signed in 1420, French King Charles VI, the “mad” King, disinherited his son, Charles VII, and bequeathed his kingdom, the kingdom of France, to Philip V, King of England. Charles VI also agreed to a marriage between Philip V and his daughter Catherine de Valois. Catherine gave birth to a son on 6 December 1421.

 

 

Philip V died in 1422, during a campaign in France. He never saw his son, but his son, would be Philip VI, King of England and, if he survived childhood, he would also be king of France. As it happens, Philip VI survived childhood.

The rumour makes sense. Charles VI was mad, Louis, duke of Orleans, a philanderer, and Isabeau, vulnerable. So it could be that Louis, duke of Orleans, fathered Charles VII. In other words, there may be truth to the rumour, in which case Charles, duke of Orleans was Charles VII‘s first cousin and half-brother.

Charles VII by Jean Fouquet (Google)
Charles VII by Jean Fouquet (Google)
Charles of Orléans as Magi by Jean Fouquet (Google)
Charles of Orléans as Magi by Jean Fouquet (Google)

Jean de Dunois

In fact, Charles, duke of Orleans had another half-brother, Jean de Dunois (23 November 1402 – 24 November 1468). Jean de Dunois was born to Marguerite d’Enghien, Louis I, duke of Orleans’ mistress. He was called the “bastard of Orleans” which was not a pejorative designation as it suggested that everyone knew he was Louis d’Orleans’ son.

Jean de Dunois was loyal to his half-brother, Charles d’Orleans. During Charles of Orleans’ lengthy detention in England, Jean de Dunois looked after his half-brother’s interests in France and, particularly at Orléans. When Joan of Arc entered the war, then at a low point, Jean de Dunois and La Hire were her main generals. Joan of Arc so inspired them that they lifted the Siege of Orleans, allowing her to complete the task assigned to her by the archangel Michael, God’s warrior. She took Charles VII to Reims, where he was crowned King of France on 17 July 1429. On 6 November 1429, Henry VI was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey and, on 26 December 1429, King of France, at Notre-Dame de Paris.

The French victory at Orleans changed the course of the war and the rightful heir was crowned on July 17 at Reims, the cathedral where French Kings were crowned. The Hundred Years’ War lingered, but Joan had defeated the English, as was requested of her by the archangel Michael. France had a French King, not an English King.

One could say that Joan had undone the Treaty of Troyes, which is true to a very large extent. The French House of Valois ruled France, not the English House of Plantagenet. However, Philip VI could claim the throne of France and, as noted above, Philip VI was crowned King of France on 26 December 1429, at Notre-Dame de Paris.

©Photo. R.M.N. / R.-G. Ojéda

Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry, April, detail ©Photo. R.M.N. / R.-G. Ojéda

Charles, duke of Orleans marries Bonne d’Armagnac

However, there was a war within a war. In 1410, Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and constable of France married his daughter Bonne d’Armagnac (19 February 1339 – 1430/35) to Charles, duke of Orleans. The wedding of Charles, duke of Orleans and Bonne d’Armagnac, depicted in the Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry, strengthened the crown of France. The Armagnacs were a powerful family. Bonne was 11 years old and her spouse, 16, when the two married. They were very young. The marriage however was first and foremost a contract or alliance. It may never have been consummated as Bonne died childless in 1430 or 1435. Yet, despite his age, Charles was marrying for the second time.

[aside]

Charles’ first wife, Isabelle de Valois, died in childbirth in 1409. As for Bonne, she would die childless when Charles was in captivity. She was 16 when her husband was captured at the Battle of Agincourt, in 1415. She died in 1430 or 1435, before her husband’s release, which did not occur until 1440. When he returned to France, Charles d’Orléans married 16-year-old Maria of Cleves (19 September 1426 – 23 August 1487) who was 35 years younger than her husband. They had three children, one of whom would be King of France, Louis XII of France.

Charles’ wedding to Bonne d’Armagnac is featured above. It is an illumination in Jean de France’s Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry. Bonne was related to John, Duke of Berry (30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416), a Burgundian who died of the plague.

The Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War (1410 – 1435)

It has been said that Bonne d’Armagnac’s marriage to Charles d’Orléans triggered the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War, which lasted until 1435. The wedding did empower the House of Valois. Charles VII was the rightful heir, according to the French. And despite the death of Louis of Orleans, the House of Orleans had a ruler, which benefited Charles VI, King of France. But by the same token, the marriage weakened the Dukes of Burgundy.

During the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War,

  • the Burgundians entered into an alliance with England;
  • the Treaty of Troyes was signed by Charles VI the “Mad” of France;
  • Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians; handed over to the English, and burned at the stake.

In other words, the Burgundian reaction to the marriage of Charles Orléans led to a harmful alliance between France and England. Moreover, it is rumoured that the Treaty of Troyes was orchestrated by the Burgundians. If it was, they did not realize they would have to fight the English in order to rule France. The Armagnac’s King, Charles VII, ascended the throne of France in 1429, so France had two kings, one of whom the French could not consider their king. The Treaty of Troyes is the great pity that had befallen France. The House of Plantagenet coveted the French throne, but the Burgundians had become English and, in 1415, England had won a major victory at Agincourt and captured Charles, duke of Orleans. France’s decisive victory at the Siege of Orleans angered the Burgundians.

After England’s defeat at the Siege of Orleans, the Burgundians captured Joan of Arc and handed her over to the English. She was burned at the stake on 30 May 1431 and Charles VII did not save her.

Yet, if the French victory, Joan of Arc’s victory, at the Siege of Orleans caused the English to unravel, the same is true of the Burgundians. The English loss at the Siege of Orleans ended the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War and it ended the Hundred Years’ War. A French King had been crowned.

Conclusion

Poetically speaking, the rumour according to which Charles VII was Louis of Orleans‘ son is very helpful. The Treaty of Troyes remains senseless, as does a Burgundian alliance with England, but Charles VI’ unprofitable decision is now more understandable. If given a choice, I believe I would combine the story and history, because the story explains history, all the more since a humble girl heard voices and did as an archangel directed her to do. It seems a legend.

Captured in 1415, Charles, duke of Orleans was released in 1440 and, meanwhile, a poet was born who wrote Ballades, Rondeaux and Chansons, often mentioning Valentine’s Day. I have now read all of his poetry. It is listed as medieval and is ‘courtly,’ as in “courtly love.”

Charles d’Orléans often wrote several poems that used the same first line, or a variation of that line. Also, the first half of that line often contradicted the second half. Antithetical lines are a rhetorical device, but most of Charles’ antithetical lines reflect the human condition. The best-known and my favourite is:

« Je meurs de soif auprès de la fontaine. »
(I die of thirst next to a fountain.)

My favourite line reminds me of Charles’ statement to Marie de Clèves, his third wife, who was 35 years younger than her husband. The difference was ‘poetically’ correct:

« Car pour moi fustes trop tart née,
Et moy pour vous fus trop tost né. »

“ ’cause you for me were born too late.
And I for you was born too soon.”

(I believe my computer is recovering, but it is unstable. It didn’t have cookies. It logs me out when it shouldn’t.)

My kindest regards to everyone. ♥

RELATED ARTICLES

  • The Hundred Years’ War (16 January 2015)
  • Charles d’Orléans: a Prince and a Poet (17 February 2015)
  • Valentine’s Day: Martyrs & Birds (14 February 2012 & 2013)
  • Charles d’Orléans: Portrait of an Unlikely Poet (17 February 2012)

Sources and Resources 

  • Gutenberg Self-Publishing Press
  • The poetry of Charles d’Orléans is a Gutenberg [EBook #14343] publication.

charles-d-orleans

Charles d’Orléans (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
31 January 2016
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Pietro Bembo by Titian, and the Vernacular

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Vernacular

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Geoffrey Chaucer, Joachim du Bellay, Masterpiece, Pietro Bembo, portraits, Shakespeare, Titian, Vernacular

15bembo

Portrait of Pietro Bembo by Titian, 1540 (WikiArt.org.)

A few posts ago, I listed two old posts as related articles. One was about the Petrarchan Movement, the other, about Joachim du Bellay.

In 1525, Cardinal Pietro Bembo (20 May 1470 – either 11 January or 18 January 1547) wrote Prose della volgar lingua, a text in which he encouraged authors to write in Italian, the vernacular, rather than Latin. The vernacular was Italian as spoken in Florence and Tuscany. For Pietro Bembo, however, it was the Italian used by Francesco Petrarch (20 May 1470 – either 11 January or 18 January 1547), hence the Petrarchan Movement. I also mentioned authors Dante Alighieri (1625 – 1321) and Giovanni Boccaccio (c. 1313- 21 December 1375).

The Madrigal

As for musicians, they too were to set to music texts written in Italian, rather than Latin. In the area of music, Francesco Landini (c. 1325 or 1335 – 2 September 1397) was the first writer of madrigals, a word meaning in one’s mother tongue: madre in Spanish.

France: Du Bellay

A few years later, in 1549, French poet Joachim du Bellay (c. 1522 – 1 January 1560) published his Défense et illustration de la langue française. It became acceptable to write poetry in one’s native language. Du Bellay was a poet, not a composer.

England: Chaucer

As for England, Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400), who took the Roman de la Rose to England, he had also advocated the use of English, rather than Latin or French, as a literary language. He translated part of the Roman de la Rose. You may recall that until the end of the Hundred Years’ War, French was spoken at the court of England and Edward VII felt he was a legitimate heir to the throne of France. He wasn’t by virtue of the Salic Law. A woman could not ascend the throne of France. Edward VII’s mother was French. Hence the fratricidal nature of the Hundred Years’ War, a war of succession.

sans-titre

Shakespeare, the Chandos Portrait, sometimes attributed to Titian (Photo credit: Art History Today)

Titian (Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio)

Portrayed about is William Shakespeare (c 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) the Chandos Portrait, is sometimes attributed to Titian. (See Art History Today.)

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Art History Today
  • The Hundred Year’s War: its Literary Legacy (24 January 2016)
  • The Petrarchan Movement (6 December 2011)

 

With warm greetings to all of you. ♥ 

Titian
Ennio Morricone (Deborah’s Theme)

Titian%20side%20profile

Self-portrait by Titian
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
26 January 2016
WordPress

 

 

 

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A Tribute to Céline and René

25 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Love, Music

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Céline Dion, Funeral, National Funeral, Notre-Dame Basilica, René Angélil, René-Charles

rene-celine-435

Programme of the Funeral (back)

2011-005518-067

René Angélil 1942 – 2016

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/rene-angelil-funeral-memorable-moments-1.3416300

http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/2016/01/22/rene-angelil-funerailles-montreal-obseques-hommage-ceremonie-celine-dion_n_9047552.html

http://www.justjared.com/2016/01/22/celine-dion-says-final-goodbye-to-rene-angelil-at-his-funeral-video/

Céline Dion (b. 1968) was twelve when her mother contacted René Angélil (1942 – 2016). She had recorded her daughter singing and sent the tape to René who realized that Céline’s voice could lead her to stardom.

When Pope John Paul II visited Montreal in 1984, Céline sang while doves were set free. It was a very touching performance.

Then came the years when René Angélil honed her. Céline needed training. She had to learn English. Exposure was of course essential. Céline therefore participated in various contests winning first prizes. When she emerged on the international scene, she was prepared, lovely and successful.

The unexpected was that she fell in love with the man who had guided her to stardom. She married him at Notre-Dame Basilica in 1994, and Notre-Dame Basilica is the Montreal church where a National Funeral was held on 22 January.

The age difference, 26 years, did not bode well for the couple. For the last year or so, rumours circulated that Céline and René were ending their marriage. The truth is that she took a sabbatical to be home looking after him and their three children, two of whom are very young, twins Nelson (from Nelson Mandela) and Eddy (from Eddy Marnay, a French songwriter). Their first son, René-Charles, is 15.

Céline, Nelson & Eddy
Céline, Nelson & Eddy
Céline & René-Charles
Céline & René-Charles
René-Charles Angélil
René-Charles Angélil
René-Charles, Céline, Céline's mother
René-Charles, Céline, Céline’s mother

René Angélil

René Angélil was born in Montreal to a father of Syrian and Lebanese descent and a French-Canadian mother. He was a performer and manager. In fact, managing Céline’s career soon became full-time employment.

He was diagnosed with throat cancer in the late 1990s and, in September 2015, Céline announced that nothing more could be done to save his life. He died on 14 January 2016.

What prompts me to write is compassion. Céline was barely out of childhood, when René Angélil became her manager and she is now 47 years old. René had been her world for 35 years. She will be returning to her profession a few weeks from now, but imagine the grief she is experiencing.

She is the mother of an exceptionally mature and articulate 15-year-old son, René-Charles. He will be there for her as will the rest of her family and her public, but her loss is immense.

She is unlikely ever to replace so loving and admiring a husband. I hope she finds another companion, but one cannot duplicate as extraordinary a love story as that of René and Céline. He helped her rise to stardom, but she remained humble, kept close and loving ties with her family and was a responsible and good wife and mother.

I want her to know that I feel enormously sorry for her.

celine-dion-says-final-goodbye-to-rene-angelil-at-funeral-19

© Micheline Walker
25 January 2016
WordPress

 

 

 

 

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The Hundred Years’ War: its Literary Legacy

24 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in History, Literature, War

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

courtly love, Geoffrey Chaucer, One Hundred Years' War, Romaunt of the Rose, Tess of the d'Huberville, Valentine's Day

129333-050-D3E1E1B8

A painting of Geoffrey Chaucer as pilgrim in the Canterbury Tales’ Ellesmere Manuscript (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We are leaving our Anglo-Norman authors to investigate the literature dating back to the Hundred Years’ War.

Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400), the “Father” of English literature, is our main figure and a transitional figure. He took to England the French Roman de la Rose, written by Guillaume de Lorris (c. 1230-1235) and Jean de Meun(g) (1275-1280) and he translated part of it as the Romaunt of the Rose. Pre-Raphaelite Frederick Startridge Ellis (1830–1901) translated the Roman de la Rose in its entirety.

Chaucer’s name is derived from the French le chausseur (the shoemaker), which suggests French ancestry. Moreover, Chaucer knew French. This would explain his ability to translate literary works written in French as well as his being assigned diplomatic missions that required a knowledge of French. For instance, as a courtier, he was asked to make an attempt to end the Hundred Years’ War. Chaucer was a man of many talents.  

The Hundred Years’ War

In 1359, during the Hundred Years’ War, Chaucer travelled to France with Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence[.] In 1360, he was captured during the siege of Reims.  Edward III paid £16 to ransom him, a large sum of money that did not cover in full the amount demanded by France. Ransoms helped finance wars, hence the idiomatic ‘king’s ransom.’

The Romaunt of the Rose & Courtly Love

In all likelihood, it would at that time that Chaucer took to England the above-mentioned Roman de la Rose, which epitomizes courtly love. The number of the 22,000-line Roman de la Rose Chaucer translated seems of lesser importance than the role he played in introducing the conventions of courtly love to an English public. Chaucer’s the Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde reflect his familiarity with courtly love.

Valentine’s Day

In 1340, when Charles, Duke of Orleans was released, after 25 years of captivity in England, he took to the court of France much of the legend of Valentine’s Day, which may or may not have included the myth about birds mating on 14 February, Valentine’s Day. In 1340, Chaucer had yet to write his 700-line Parlement of Foules (1343 – 1400) in which he speaks of birds mating of 14 February. Nor had Chaucer come into contact with Petrarch (20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374), and Boccaccio (1313 – 21 December 1375) authors whose works can be associated with Chaucer’s.

In all likelihood, the most important work our ransomed Chaucer took to England is the above-mentioned allegorical Roman de la Rose, which epitomizes courtly love. As noted, Chaucer translated at least part of the Roman de la Rose into The Romaunt of the Rose. However, the number of verses he translated seems less important than his introducing the conventions of courtly love to an English and probably courtly public. Chaucer’s Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde reflect his familiarity with courtly love.

Reynard the Fox

Chaucer also used ‘Reynard material’ in The Nun’s Priest’s Tale. He wrote a “Chanticleer and the Fox.” The Roman de la Rose and the Roman de Renart (Reynard the Fox) are the French Middle Ages’ foremost literary achievements.

Renart_illumination

Chanticleer and the Fox, in a medieval manuscript miniature (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The “Father” of English Literature

Yet, Chaucer was very much an English writer. He is considered the “Father” of English literature and is credited with validating the use of the English language, as a literary language, in a country where French and Latin were “the dominant literary languages.”[1] (See Geoffrey Chaucer, Wikipedia.)

Shakespeare and other Authors

The Hundred Years’ War also exerted an influence on Shakespeare, the co-author of Edward III. Moreover, Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) evokes the presence of the French in England in his Tess of the d’Huberville (1891). However, characters inhabiting Hardy’s ‘fictional’ Wessex would be the descendants of Normans who settled in England when it was conquered by William, Duke of Normandy.

Conclusion

The Hundred Years’ War was not a continuous struggle, but it was a very long and complex conflict that ended the most vigorous attempt on the part of England to claim the French throne. Marriages had made French the language of the English court and the English had relatives in France as did the French in England.

But this is where we end this post.

With kindest regards to everyone. ♥

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Charles d’Orléans: a Prince & a Poet (17 February 2015)
  • Valentine’s Day: Martyrs & Birds (14 February 2012)
  • La Pléiade: Du Bellay (30 December 2011)
  • The Petrarchan Movement (6 December 2011)

_______________

[1] Pietro Bembo, would validate the use of the vernacular in Italian literature. In France, this role was played by poet Joachim du Bellay (c. 1522 – 1 January 1560).

arts-graphics-2008_1184459a© Micheline Walker
24 January 2016
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The Battle of Hastings’ Literary Aftermath

22 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Courtly Love, England, Middle Ages, War

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Aesop's Fables, Anglo-Norman, Bayeux tapestry, Chivalry, courtly love, Marie de France, The Battle of Hastings, Walter of England

lossy-page1-800px-Marie_de_France_1_tifMarie de France, from an illuminated manuscript now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France: BnF, Arsenal Library, Ms. 3142 fol. 256.

It would be difficult to understand some of the plays of William Shakespeare and other works of English or French literature without taking into account such significant events as the Conquest of England, by William, Duke of Normandy, at the Battle of Hastings (1066), and the Hundred Years’ War. In the 12th century, at least two authors, Marie de France and Walter of England wrote in Anglo-Norman, and French would be used at court, and perhaps elsewhere, until the conclusion of the Hundred Years’ War.

Let us go back to the literature that followed the Battle of Hastings, fought on 4 October 1066. On that day, William, Duke of Normandy, defeated England’s King Harold (Harold Godwinson), who was killed in battle. The throne of England had been promised to William, Duke of Normandy, hence the battle. Following the Battle of Hastings, many Normans settled in England, two of whom, discussed later in this post, are important writers who penned their work in Anglo-Norman, a transitional language.

William, Duke of Normandy, defeated Harold, King of England, and became William I, King of England. But England, as a territory, remained as it was. The Normans who settled in England would soon speak a form of English.

Yet Latin and French words had been introduced into English. The word ‘curfew’ is an anglicised form of couvre-feu and jeopardy, an anglicised form of jeu parti a term used in a game resembling chess. It probably meant ‘checkmate’ or ‘échec et mat,’ from the Arabic « al cheikh mat » (see D’où vient …).

800px-Bayeux_Tapestry_scene23_Harold_sacramentum_fecit_Willelmo_duci800px-Harold_dead_bayeux_tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Anglo-Norman  Literature 

  • Marie de France
  • Walter of England

The best-known Anglo-Norman author is Marie de France, a 12th-century writer whose portrait, an illumination, is featured above. The second is Walter of England (Gualterus Anglicus). His French name would have been Gaut(h)ier d’Angleterre.

Marie de France, who lived in England but was born in France, is famous for her collection of lais: the lais of Guigemar, Chevrefoil (honeysuckle), Lanval, Yonec, Laustic, and other lais. Marie also wrote a book of Æsopic fables. Her fables were ‘Æsopic,’ but as we have seen in earlier posts, Æsop’s fables originate in the Sanskrit Panchatantra (3rd century BCE); its Arabic retelling, Kalīlah wa Dimnah, by Ibn al-Muqaffa (750 CE), and other sources.

The Lais of Marie de France

  • Arthurian Romances
  • Britanny
  • Courtly Love

The Lais of Marie de France are rooted in the Breton lai, and their themes are love (early courtly love), and chivalry. Breton lais reflect the literature of Ireland and countries where Gaelic is or was spoken. The origin of the word lai has not been ascertained, but whatever the meaning of lai, Marie’s works are examples of courtly love and chivalric literature. Marie de France could well be France’s first major author. 

Inhabiting Marie’s lais are Guinevere, Tristan et Yseult, Lancelot, the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur. They are products of Arthurian Romances, called “la matière de Bretagne” in French.

The Troubadours

  • Chivalry
  • Courtly Love

Marie’s lais can be associated with the songs of the troubadours whose native land was Provence and whose subject matter, was chivalry and courtly love. Troubadours (langue d’oc) flourished until the Black Death (1346 – 1353), the plague. In northern France, they were called trouvères and spoke langue d’oil.

Guingamor, Guigemar
Guingamor, Guigemar
Lanval
Lanval

Project Gutenberg [EBook #46234]

Walter of England (Gualterus Anglicus)

Walter of England also lived in England in the 12th century, following the Battle of Hastings. He wrote Æsopic fables in Anglo-Norman. The history of fables is shrouded in mystery, so Walter has been considered the ‘anonymous Neveleti,’ the 17th-century fabulist whose collection of fables, the Mythologia Æsopica, in Latin, was used by French fabulist Jean de La Fontaine. However, the attribution to an anonymous ‘Neveleti’ has been ruled false. La Fontaine used Isaac Nicholas Nevelet’s Mythologia Æsopica.

The “Romulus”

Nevertheless, Walter of England would be the author of a collection of 62 fables in verse. The “62 fables is more accurately called the verse Romulus.” (See Walter of England [Gualterus Anglicus], Wikipedia).  However, this seems to be another false attribution. There was no Romulus. The medieval Æsop originated in Walter of England’s fables and elsewhere. Could it be that ‘Romulus’ meant Latin, from Rome?

John Lydgate and Robert Henryson

When English fabulist John Lydgate produced his Isopes Fabules, the first fable collection written in English, his source was long believed to be the verse Romulus, which it isn’t. As mentioned above, there was no Romulus. Lydgate’s source would probably be Walter of England’s collection of Æsop’s fables. In other words, John Lydgate’s English-language fables adapted Walter of England’s verse fables. Walter’s “The Cock and the Jewel” was used by Robert Henryson in his 15th-century Morall Fabillis, written in Scots. (See Walter of England [Gualterus Anglicus], Wikipedia).

Conclusion

In short, after the Battle of Hastings, Normandy or France was briefly remembered by Marie de France and Walter of England. In the 12th century, ‘Æsopic’ fables were told in Anglo-Norman, a transitional language but one that has survived in literature.

Gone are knights in shining armour and short fables. From literature written in the Anglo-Norman period, we will glimpse the literary legacy of the Hundred Years’ War, Geoffrey Chaucer. An amused public is reading the lengthy anthropomorphic Roman de Renart, while Chaucer translates at least part of the 22,000-line Roman de la Rose, an allegorical poem epitomising courtly love.

Sources and Resources

  • Four of Marie’s lais are a Project Gutenberg [EBook #46234] EN publication
  • Marie’s Medieval Romances and some lais are a Project Gutenberg [EBook #11417]
  • Works by Marie are also a LibriVox publication EN

With kindest regards to all of you. ♥

© Micheline Walker
22 January 2016
WordPress

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The Hundred Years’ War

16 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in France, History, Illuminated Manuscripts, Middle Ages

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Battle of Crécy, Battle of Poitiers, Charles VI of France, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, Henry V of England, Hundred Years' War, Jeanne d'Arc, Siege of Orleans, War of Succession

 

1024px-Schlacht_von_Azincourt

The Battle of Agincourt by Enguerrant de Monstrelet[1] (Photo credit: Wikipedia) 

2

Jeanne d’Arc
Painting, c. 1485. An artist’s interpretation, since the only known direct portrait has not survived. (Centre Historique des Archives Nationales, Paris, AE II 2490)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Although it seems difficult to believe, there was a Jeanne d’Arc (6 January c. 1412 – 30 May 1431). She was born to a peasant family in Domrémy in north-east France, and was directed by the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine to fight the English who claimed France as their realm and lead Charles VII the  Dauphin,[2] to Reims cathedral where he would be crowned King of France.  Kings of France were crowned at Reims cathedral.
Jeanne, or Jehanne, was nicknamed “The Maid of Orléans,” La Pucelle d’Orléans.

 

The Hundred Years’ War

I have been trying to tell the story of the Hundred Years’ War waged between 1337 and 1453 and must report that it is difficult to fit such a topic in a post.

The Hundred Years’ War opposed the French House of Valois and the English House of Plantagenet, but it was an interrupted war. Basically, it was a war of succession. Eleanor of Aquitaine had married English King Edward II, after her marriage to Louis VII of France was annulled. She had failed to produce a heir to the throne of France. Only males could inherit the crown. She did not lose Aquitaine, so her descendants felt they could claim the throne of France.

That’s how the military conflicts began.

[I have read that during the Hundred Years’ War, it was also proposed that William I, Duke of Normandy having conquered Britain at the Battle of Hastings (1066), Britain could claim the French crown.]

Historians divide the Hundred Years’ War into three phases: the Edwardian Era War (1337–1360); the Caroline War (1369–1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453). (See Hundred Years’ War, Wikipedia.)

Edward III was the son of Isabella of France and he was married to Philippa of Hainaut. 

Phase 1: the Edwardian Wars, 1340 – 1360

  • claims to the throne of France by the English House of Plantagenet
  • Edward III of England
  • Edward, the Black Prince of England

In 1337, English monarch Edward III claimed he was heir to the French crown as the grandson of Philip IV of France. His mother, Isabella of France, was the daughter of King Philip IV. His son, Edward the Black Prince, was the great-grandson of Philip IV of France.

Three battles were fought regarding this claim. Edward III fought the Battle of Sluys, a sea battle, on 24 June 1340. It was an English victory. Six years later, on 26 August 1346, he fought the Battle of Crécy,  which was also an English victory. On 19 September 1356,  Edward, the Black Prince, Edward III’s son, fought the Battle of Poitiers. It was also an English victory, but the war was not over. It had just begun.

The Black Death

The Battle of Crécy was followed by the Black Death. The Black Death, the plague, was a pandemics that took the life of an estimated 75 to 200 million Europeans. Poland was spared. The Black Death peaked in the years 1346-1353. (See Black Death, Wikipedia.)

There were other battles, which I must leave aside.

Battle of Sluys, 1340
Battle of Sluys, 1340
Battle of Crécy, 1346
Battle of Crécy, 1346
Edward, the Black Prince
Edward, the Black Prince

Battle of Sluys, Chroniques de Jean Froissart
Battle of Crécy, Chroniques de Jean Froissart
Edward, the Black Prince
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Phase 2: the Caroline War, c. 1369 – 1389

  • Charles VI, of France (crowned in 1380)
  • regents: the Burgundians
  • Charles VI dismisses the Burgundians (1388)
  • truce declared in 1389

During the Caroline War, French King Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422) opposed the Burgundian Dukes. Charles VI of France was 11 years old when his father died (1380). The Dukes of Burgundy therefore ruled France. They were extremely powerful and wanted to reign. In 1388, Charles VI dismissed them all, which was humiliating.

1392

However, in 1392, Charles VI went mad. He nearly killed his brother: Louis I, Duke of Orleans. As of that event, Charles VI the Beloved, le Bien-Aimé, was transformed into King Charles le Fol or le Fou, the Mad. He had long periods of sanity and therefore reigned until his death in 1422, two years after he signed the Treaty of Troyes, discussed below.

1407 – 1435 (Louis d’Orléans is assassinated by a Burgundian = a civil war)

Finally, in 1407, Louis I, Duke of Orleans, a profligate ‘prince of the blood,’ or possible heir to the kingdom of France, was assassinated by John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, the event that triggered the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War. The Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War erupted in 1407 and lasted until 1435: 28 years. The Armagnacs were loyal to the House of Valois (Charles VI). When Joan of Arc saved France (1429), the Burgundians fought for England, or the House of Plantagenet, but Scottish troops supported the Armagnacs, the French House of Valois.

Assassinat_louis_orleans
John_the_Fearless_assassination

 Assassination of Louis I, Duke of Orleans (1409)
Assassination of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (1419)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Valentine of Milan weeping for the death of her husband, Louis of Orléans by Fleury-François Richard (c. 1802) Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Phase 3: The Lancastrian Wars, 1415 – 1453

  • the Battle of Agincourt (1415) English victory
  • Charles, Duke of Orleans captured 1415 (released in 1440)
  • the Treaty of Troyes (1420) Charles VII is disinherited
  • Charles VII, of France (crowned in 1429, because of Joan of Arc)

Joan of Arc was active in 1428 – 1429, during the Lancastrian Wars (1415 – 1453), named after John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford. The war continued to oppose members of the French House of Valois and English House of Plantagenet, but the Siege of Orleans, Jeanne d’Arc’s victory, destroyed the English Kings’ hope to reign over France, but claims did not end. The matter of succession was contentious.

1415

Emboldened by the death, by assassination, of Louis I, Duke of Orleans and by the illness of Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), King Henry V of England attacked the French at Azincourt (Agincourt). Charles VI, pictured below, did not participate in the Battle of Agincourt, nor did his 12 year-old son, the future Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461). The Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415), was a decisive English victory. Charles VI avoided capture. However, Charles Duke of Orleans (24 November 1394 – 5 January 1465), was taken into captivity. He was the son of Louis I, Duke of Orleans, an assassinated prince.

Carlo_VI_di_Francia,_Maestro_di_Boucicaut,_codice_Ms__Français_165_della_Biblioteca_Universitaria_di_Ginevra

 Charles VI by le Maître de Boucicault
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Treaty of Troyes  

Our starting-point could be the Treaty of Troyes. In 1420, five years after the Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415), an English victory, French Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), disinherited his son, Charles VII, and consented to the marriage of his daughter, Catherine de Valois, to Henry V, King of England.

Catherine gave birth to a son, the future King Henry VI of England and France, on 6 December 1421. English King Henry VI never saw his son. He was on a campaign in France and died of dysentery, in 1422. Therefore, when Henry V died, in 1422, Henry VI (b.1421), still an infant, was heir to the throne of France.

Nothing so defies logic as the Treaty of Troyes (1420). French King Charles VI disinherited his son Charles VII, the rightful heir. Henry V, King of England would inherit the French throne and he had a son, Philip VI.

The King of France himself, King Charles VI, gave France to the English in what must have been a moment of delusion. Hence the great pity the Archangel Michael asked Joan of Arc to end. In the eyes of the French, Charles VII was King of France by right of primogeniture, the firstborn, but he had not been crowned and Henry VI of England had been made heir to the kingdom of France. John Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, hence the Lancastrian wars, acted as regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI.

Siege of Orleans
Siege of Orleans
Siege of Orleans
Siege of Orleans
Jeanne d'Arc
Jeanne d’Arc

Siege of Orleans
(Photo credit: Wikipedia & Royaume de France)

The Siege of Orleans, a French Victory

  • Siege of Orleans: 12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429
  • Joan of Arc: 22 March 1429 – 8 May 1429

Our story ends with the Siege of Orleans. Given their victory at the Battle of Agincourt and by virtue of the Treaty of Troyes, the British had the upper hand. The Siege began on 12 October 1428 at Orleans, territory belonging to imprisoned Charles, Duke of Orleans. It was a protracted siege, but it was lifted by 8 May 1429.

Jeanne d’Arc entered the Siege late in the conflict, on 22 March 1429, its sixth month, and there were further delays. At first, French officials would not hear her. She was telling a tale that was difficult to believe. She was divinely-ordained to defeat the English and to take Charles VII to Reims. When, at long last, she was allowed to meet the uncrowned King Charles VII, he put own garments that did not suggest he was the King. Yet, she identified him immediately.

The siege of Orleans was lifted by 8 May 1429 and Charles VII was crowned at Reims, on 17 July 1429. Henry VI of England, was crowned King of England on 6 November 1429 and King of France on 16 December 1431, at Notre-Dame de Paris.

Battle of Castillon (1453), a French Victory

The Hundred Years’ War did not end until the Battle of Castillon, fought on 17 July 1453, in Gascony. England lost its landholdings in France, except Calais and the Channel Islands.  It would also lose Calais in 1558. (See Battle of Castillon, Wikipedia.)

However, the war was lost when French King Charles VII was crowned in Reims and France was again a kingdom. Between 1422 and 1429, it had been two kingdoms.

The House of Plantagenet was not able to claim France as its rightful inheritance. The Hundred Years’ War was, to a large extent, a war of succession, but an uncommon war of succession. As unbelievable as it may seem, King Charles VI of France bequeathed France to the King of England, Philip VI, disinheriting his own son, which was treason.

As for Joan of Arc, would that Charles VII, King of  France, had saved her. He may have been a coward.

With my kindest regards. ♥
____________________
[1] Enguerrand de Monstrelet 

[2] The heir to the throne of France was called the Dauphin (dolphin).

medieval-siege

Medieval Warfare (Photo credit: Google Images)

© Micheline Walker
16 January 2016
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L-M Boutet de Monvel in his Times

12 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Children's Literature, France

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

19th Century, Applied Arts, Arts and Crafts Movement, Etching, Illustrations validated, Japonisme, Jeanne d'Arc, Louis-Maurice B. de Monvel

jeannedarc00boutuoft_0010

Jeanne d’Arc, p. 6

jeannedarc00boutuoft_0011

Jeanne d’Arc, p. 7 (detail)

“God will help you.”
On a Summer day, when she was thirteen, she heard a voice calling to her. It was noon and she was in her father’s garden. She saw a flash of light and Michael the Archangel appeared to her.
He told her to be good and to go to church. He then spoke of the great misery that had befallen the kingdom of France and announced that she would rescue Charles VII, the heir to the throne of France, and lead him to Reims where he would be crowned.“Sir, I am but a humble girl. I would not know how to ride a horse and lead soldiers into battle.”
“God will help you,” replied the angel.
The child was overwhelmed and covered in tears.

 

Illustrations

  • the applied arts
  • Sir John Tenniel
  • Japonisme

Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel was a man of his times. His Vieilles chansons de France pour les petits enfants, published in 1883, and his Jeanne d’Arc, published in 1896, are products of an important turning-point in the history of European art: the acceptability of the applied arts. Successfully illustrated children’s literature could make it easier for artists to earn a living while remaining artists. Such had been and was the case in Britain. Sir John Tenniel was a cartoonist for Punch when he was asked to illustrate Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass (1872).[1]

If brilliantly illustrated, children’s literature could help ensure a better lifestyle for Sir John Tenniel, it could also benefit Boutet de Monvel without his having to choose a completely different profession. The required attributes were both the quality of the written text and that of its illustrations. Illustrated by John Tenniel, Lewis Carroll‘s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass were a perfect marriage of word and art. Therefore, although he lived across the English channel, Tenniel was a precursor.

Japonisme, again

However, Louis-Maurice’s art was influenced by Japonisme, as was Walter Crane‘s (15 August 1845 – 14 March 1915). Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel’s illustrations are characterized by his use of flat colours. This was a feature of the Japanese prints that flooded Europe in the second half of the 19th century.

For example, in the images shown above, Louis-Maurice’s black is a flat black. But Louis-Maurice also expressed dimensionality by juxtaposing a light and darker shade of the same colours. Joan’s hair is an example of this technique. However, simplicity is the chief characteristic of Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel’s art, including battle scenes where several human beings are depicted standing, riding a horse, or lying dead.

jeannedarc00boutuoft_0030

Jeanne d’Arc, p. 26

jeannedarc00boutuoft_0034

Jeanne d’Arc, p. 30 (le couronnement de Charles VII)

Word and Art

As for the combination of word and art, Boutet de Monvel’s text is mostly in boxes placed inside the page. Word and art are therefore integrated. Moreover, the text is told by Louis-Maurice himself. He may have had a source, but no author is named. In this regard, the art of Boutet de Monvel resembles the art of Beatrix Potter, except that Louis-Maurice did not invent the story of Joan of Arc. It had been told. Alexandre Dumas had written a Jeanne d’Arc (Internet Archives).

The Technique: Watercolours in Zincotype

In the case of Jeanne d’Arc, Louis-Maurice made a series of watercolours that were reproduced in zincotype, “a new photo engraving process using etching in conjunction with coloured inks.” (See Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel, Wikipedia.) Great progress had been made since the invention of the printing press. In fact, Europe had entered its industrial revolution for more than a century, which meant that duplicating images had become quite inexpensive.

Nevertheless, etching remained a good starting-point. If colours were used, however, it was a time-consuming endeavour. Yet, colours were used. Later, Louis-Maurice’s son, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, perfected etching and “became the undisputed master of this technique.” (See Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Wikipedia.)

Artist and Illustrator

Louis-Maurice’s trajectory is somewhat unique. He was at first an artist who painted one-of-a-kind art works. After he married and his son Roger was born, he needed to supplement his income. He therefore turned to illustrating books for practical reasons only to realize he liked this kind of work. He had many customers. Nobel Prize laureate Anatole France was one of Louis-Maurice’s customers.

But Louis-Maurice also had projects of his own. The first was his Vieilles chansons de France pour les petits enfants (1883). French organist and composer Charles Marie Widor set the words to music. Louis-Maurice’s second project was Jeanne d’Arc (1896). His illustrations were so exquisite that the books he illustrated sold well, which enabled him to be both an illustrator and the creator of one-of-a-kind works of art.

A Lifestyle & a Social Life

Therefore, Boutet de Monvel is one of the artists who inaugurated a lifestyle for today’s artists. It is not uncommon for artists to produce both relatively inexpensive prints and rather expensive paintings. This is how several artists put bread on the table, so to speak. In the early 20th century, artists also hand coloured photographs or combined in some other way photography and painting.

Louis-Maurice’s illustrations also allowed him a rich social life. He befriended not only writers but also artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who made posters, and Edgard Degas, who was a printmaker and taught this technique to Mary Cassatt. Moreover, artist Édouard Detaille (1848 – 1912) introduced him to members of the newly-established Société des aquarellistes français (“the society of French watercolourists”). Louis-Maurice showed one work for approval and it was well received. Consequently, he was voted a member of the Société almost immediately. However, he had already been an ‘artist’ and had continued to produce original paintings.

(Please click on the images to enlarge them.)

Jeanne d'Arc, p. 11 (Joan identifies Charles VII)
Jeanne d’Arc, p. 11 (Joan identifies Charles VII)
Jeanne d'Arc, p. 32 (The people and Jeanne d'Arc)
Jeanne d’Arc, p. 32 (The people and Jeanne d’Arc)
p. 44
p. 44
p. 45
p. 45

Jeanne d’Arc identifies Charles VII
The people and Jeanne d’Arc
Jeanne d’Arc’s trial
Jeanne d’Arc sentenced to death

The Arts and Crafts Movement

Painters may become illustrators, but illustrators do not necessarily turn to painting. Nowadays, however, an illustrator is considered an artist, but someone had to lead the way. More than anyone else, William Morris was eclectic, and so were the artists associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. The comparison is unavoidable. The Arts and Crafts movement validated the applied arts thereby broadening the realm of things artistic and it spread abroad to countries where circumstances paralleled the British experience.

Moreover, not only did Louis-Maurice meet the writers whose work he illustrated, but he was also invited to participate in the Exhibition of Viennese Secession of 1899, the Jugendstil that supported the applied arts and avant-gardisme. (See Art Nouveau, Wikipedia.) Gustav Klimt is the best-known representative of the Vienna Jugendstil.

We associate Alphonse Mucha with Art Nouveau. His art was curvilinear, but Art Nouveau also incorporated innovative art and total art. It was a synthesis: Gesamtkunstwerk, a feature associated with the last years of the 19th century.

In short, Louis-Maurice was a man of his times, as would be his son, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, his nephews, George Barbier and Pierre Brissaud, and ‘artists’ everywhere.

 

With kind regards to all of you. ♥

RELATED ARTICLES

  • L-M Boutet de Monvel’s “Joan of Arc” (8 January 2016)
  • A Glimpse at the Boutet de Monvel Dynasty (3 January 2016)
  • The Art of Maurice Boutet de Monvel (1 September 2012)

Sources and Resources

  • Jeanne d’Arc, Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel (Internet Archives)
    https://archive.org/stream/jeannedarc00boutuoft#page/n29/mode/2up
  • Joan of Arc 
    http://www.archive.joan-of-arc.org/
  • Photo credit: Jeanne d’Arc (Internet Archives)

____________________

[1] “Sir John Tenniel”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 11 janv.. 2016
<http://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Tenniel>.

—ooo—

Music: Carmina Burana by Carl Orff (1935-36)
The Siege of Orleans (12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429)

jeannedarc00boutuoft_0042

Jeanne d’Arc arrested

© Micheline Walker
11 January 2016
WordPress

 

 

 

 

 

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L-M Boutet de Monvel’s “Joan of Arc”

08 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Children's Literature, France

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Aquarelles, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Children's Literature, Jeanne d'Arc, Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel, Plon Nourrit & Cie

jeannedarc00boutuoft_0005

Jeanne d’Arc by Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel, 1896

 

Jeanne d'Arc, p. 3
Jeanne d’Arc, p. 3
Jeanne d'Arc, p. 7 (detail)
Jeanne d’Arc, p. 7 (detail)

Above is Jeanne d’Arc (6 January c. 1412 – 30 May 1431) as depicted by Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel (18 October 1850 – 16 March 1913).

An angel has just appeared to tell Joan that she is to save France, whose king, Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), has not been crowned.  During the Hundred Years’ War, fought between 1337 and 1453, parts of northern France: Guyenne, Paris and Reims, were occupied by Duke Philip III of Burgundy. After the Battle of Agincourt (1415), English King Henry V, married Catherine de Valois, the daughter of French king Charles VI.

By virtue of the Treaty of Troyes, signed on 21 May 1420, King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the throne of France upon the death of King Charles VI of France. Philip V died in 1422, but Catherine had given birth to a son. Although Philip VI reigned as king of England, he was nevertheless the disputed king of France.

The Siege of Orléans: a turning-point

Joan of Arc did save France. After the Siege of Orléans (1428 – 1429), Philip V‘s dream of conquering France started to crumble. The uncrowned king of France, Charles VII, was crowned at Reims. However, Charles, Duke of Orleans (24 November 1394 – 5 January 1465), who had been captured at Agincourt, in 1415, was not released until 1440. He was a prince of the blood, or possible heir to the throne of France.

When he returned to France, Charles, Duke of Orleans, married a very young Maria of Cleves. Their son, one of three children born to the couple, would reign as king Louis XII.

Joan of Arc arrested and burned at the stake

On 23 May 1430, Joan of Arc was captured at Compiègne, by members of the Burgundian faction and handed over to the English. She was accused of various crimes and tried at Rouen by the Bishop of Beauvais, Pierre Cauchon. She was convicted and burned at the stake on 31 May 1431. She had had visions, which could lead to her being accused of witchcraft or to her being deemed heretical. She had been visited by the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine.

Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel

Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel, Bernard’s father, was born in Orléans to an accomplished family. He was raised in Paris and studied at the Julian Academy. He was an ‘academic’ painter, but he accepted to paint posters and became an illustrator. His Jeanne d’Arc (1896) is considered his finest book, followed by his 1883 Chansons de France pour les petits Français, both published by E. Plon, Nourrit et Cie. His Jeanne à la Cour de Chinon, shown at the Exposition universelle of 1990, earned him a gold medal.

Louis-Maurice was a successful artist. His artwork was often exhibited in the United States. In c. 1911, he in fact travelled to the United States and received several commissions, but he fell ill. Louis-Maurice had contracted a bronchial ailment during the Franco-Prussian War (1870), which made a winter visit to Chicago dangerous.

He died two years later, in 1913.

RELATED ARTICLES

  • A Glimpse at the Boutet de Monvel Dynasty (3 January 2016)
  • Charles d’Orléans: a Prince & a Poet (17 February 2015)←
  • Illustrating Fashion Magazines: Barbier & Colleagues (16 August 2014)
  • George Barbier’s Fêtes galantes (14 August 2014)
  • Charles d’Orléans: Portrait of an Unlikely Poet (17 September 2012)←
  • The Art of Maurice Boutet de Monvel (1 September 2012)
  • The Ballets Russes, Vaslav Nijinsky & George Barbier (27 July 2012)

Sources and Resources

Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel: Jeanne d’Arc
https://archive.org/details/jeannedarc00boutuoft
Photo credit: Internet Archives

jeannedarc00boutuoft_0006© Micheline Walker
8 January 2016
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The Twelve Days of Christmas

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Epiphany, Feasts, Hymnology

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Botticelli, Christmas, Epiphany, Feasts, Hymnology, Sassetta, The Twelve Days of Christmas, Twelfth Night, We Three Kings

hb_43_98_1

The Journey of the Magi by Stefano di Giovanni Sassetta, 1435 (Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/43.98.1

Twelfth Night

A list of articles based on the Nativity was posted on 16 December 2015. It can be found at the foot of the current post. This year’s Nativity post is based on Twelfth Night & Carnival Season (8 January 2014), and the story of Epiphany, celebrated on January 6th. We are closing the “twelve days of Christmas.”

12-days-title

The Twelve Days of Christmas

  • Mirth without Mishief, 1780 (origin of lyrics)
  • cumulative and chain-song (type of song)
  • Roud Folk Song Index number of 68 (classification)
  • Frederic Austin, 1909 (composer)

The “Twelve Days of Christmas” is a song published in England in 1780 in a book of children’s songs entitled Mirth without Mischief. The song has a longer title: “The Twelve Days of Christmas Sung at King Pepin’s Ball.” There was a King Pépin, Pépin the Short, Pépin le Bref or, literally, Pepin the Brief, the first Carolingian to be king. And the song may be French in origin:

Cecil Sharp observed that from the constancy in English, French, and Languedoc versions of the ‘merry little partridge,’ I suspect that ‘pear-tree’ is really perdrix (Old French pertriz) carried into England”; and “juniper tree” in some English versions may have been “joli perdrix,” [pretty partridge]. Sharp also suggests the adjective “French” in “three French hens”, probably simply means “foreign”. (See The Twelve Days of Christmas, Wikipedia.)

It is a cumulative song, in folklore and Stith Thomson calls it a “chain song” in his Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1955-1958). It is Roud Folk Song Index number of 68. 

On each of the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany, January 6th, a new gift is offered to the loved one: a ‘partridge in a pear tree,’ 2 turtle doves, 3 French hens, 4 Calling Birds, 5 Gold Rings, 6  Geese a-Laying,  7 Swans a-Swimming, 8 Maids a-Milking, 9 ladies Dancing, 10 Lords a-Leaping, 11 Pipers Piping, 12 Drummers Drumming.

The song’s current musical form was set by Frederic Austin (30 March 1872 – 10 April 1952) and dates back to 1909.

800px-XRF_12days

Botticelli_-_Adoration_of_the_Magi_(Zanobi_Altar)_-_Uffizi

Adoration of the Magi by Sandro Botticelli, 1475 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We Three Kings…

  • John Henry Hopkins, Jr., 1857 (US composer)
  • We Three Kings (Lyrics; Wikipedia)
  • Melchior, Caspar, Balthazar (kings)
  • gold, frankincense and myrrh (gifts)

Associated with the Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas, or January 6th, is “We Three Kings.” The three kings are Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar. Spellings vary.

“[A]ccording to Western church tradition, Balthasar is often represented as a king of Arabia, Melchior as a king of Persia, and Gaspar as a king of India.” (Encyclopædia Britannica.) They brought gifts to Jesus. (See Biblical Magi, Wikipedia.)

The Julian & Gregorian calendars: Eastern & Western churches

The Western church does not celebrate Christmas on the same days as the Eastern church, the Orthodox church. In Russia, Christmas is celebrated on January 7th. The difference is due to the Orthodox church’s use of the Julian (45 BCE) rather than Gregorian calendar (1582 CE) to situate Christmas. Gregory VIII‘s (7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) calendar introduced the leap year. In Russia, festivities begin on December 31st and end on January 10th. The Orthodox church has fewer days of Christmas. (see Christmas in Russia, Wikipedia ), but Advent begins on 28 November and lasts until December 31st. (See whychristmas.com.)

In the Western church, Christmas is celebrated on or near the Winter Solstice which, this year, was December 22nd. Protestant churches celebrate Christmas on the same day as Roman Catholics. But both the Western Christmas (Catholic and Protestant) and Eastern Christmas are celebrated at the same time as a former ‘pagan’ feasts. Therefore, the seasons have remained the marker. The Christianization of Kievan Rus’  dates to the year 988 CE, when Vladimir the Great was baptized in Chersonesus and then went on to baptise members of his family and the people of Kiev (Ukraine). (See Christmas in Russia, Wikipedia.)

Babushka

In Russia, a story is associated with the Kings of Orient (the Wise men), that of Babushka, who gives the kings a room to rest. They leave without her noticing. She goes to Bethlehem, but the kings have left. The origin of this story may be American. (See whychristmas.com.)

http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/russia.shtml

With kind regards to every one. ♥

Nativity Feasts and Hymnology

  • Musings on the Origins of Christmas (22 December 1914)
  • The Four Seasons: from Darkness into Light (6 December 2012)
  • Epiphany: Balthasar, Melchior & Gaspar (6 January 2012 – 3)
  • Twelfth Night & Carnival Season (8 January 2014) ←
  • Candlemas: Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, a Festival of Lights (2 February 2012)

Robert Shaw Chorale

800px-Sandro_Botticelli_083© Micheline Walker
5 December 2016
WordPress

Sandro Botticelli (detail)
Adoration of the Magi
(self-portrait)

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2015 in review

05 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 90,000 times in 2015. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 4 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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