The Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci, about 1491/2-9 and 1506-8 (The National Gallery, UK)
I’ve tried to work, but unsuccessfully. I therefore apologize.
My brother, Jean-Pierre, was operated on. They removed his bladder and parts of the body located near the bladder. He must now undergo chemotherapy because no one knows if the cancer has been fully removed. The cancer has metastasized.
In the meantime, he has to learn a new way of life. He has a loving wife who will be helping him.
He also has three devoted children, two of whom live nearby. They are very fine human beings.
Persons who have children often love life more those who have not had children. My brother’s bungalow is like grand central station. The children are always dropping in and discuss what problem they may be experiencing with their father.
My brother is non judgemental and he is forgiving. He is also very generous.
No, he is not an intellectual. He is in the clean energy business and has many customers in Africa. He has therefore travelled to Africa several times where he has many friends. But he started out in the Air Force. He was interested in the military.
At that time, he was in a car accident. There were five persons in the car. Four died, but he thought he was fine. He did not realize that a piece of glass had penetrated his forehead. When symptoms appeared, the piece of glass was removed at the Montreal Neurological Institute. He recovered fully, but the accident may have ended his career in the military.
What has united my brother and me more than anything else is the death of several siblings. There is a congenital blood disease in my family. So, we lost fourteen brothers and sisters. An Armenian doctor, whose family settled in Sherbrooke, found a cure. My brother and I could not understand why our family was not like other families.
I don’t think I will see my brother until he returns home. We will speak on the phone. He has asked to be left alone. He has to learn how to function without a bladder and needs rest before his second round of chemotherapy. A few months ago, my brother saw a specialist who did not diagnose cancer.
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, La Dernière Cène (Google)
I’m still working on the French Revolution. There is a problem. On the day of the Tennis Court Oath (20 June 1789), one person, Joseph Martin-Dauch, out of 577, would not take the collective vote. Why?
Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci, 1489–90, National Museum, Kraków, Poland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have been working on the French Revolution, but slowly. I have a brother who was diagnosed with cancer, a few months ago and underwent treatment, a horrible experience. He collapsed about ten days ago and he has since been in intensive care. The cancer has metastasized.
He is twice my size and very strong, so none of this seems possible. The poor fellow.
My first memory of him is the two of us playing in the train that took us down to Athol, Massachusetts. My father had not seen his father in twenty years, so we went to meet him. After this initial visit, we were travelling back and forth between Quebec and the farm in Massachusetts.
My grandfather was different. He had seven cats, two of whom were blind, but Freddy the Great, the largest cat, took care of the whole group. Nanny, his wife I believe, and my mother just loved one another. They went shopping together.
It was a strange situation. My grandfather bought the farm from Nanny, but he asked where she would live. She didn’t know. So he invited her to stay in her house and keep her furniture and belongings. He was alone and he didn’t have anything, but he was a gardener, hence the farm.
My brother loved his grandfather. We will talk about him often.
The picture located on my page until today, was taken when I was about 65. I am now 74. My hair used to be black. Well, that’s gone. I am petite and slender, which I have been most of my life.
My ancestry is mostly French and Irish.
My nom de plume is Micheline Bourbeau-Walker. Bourbeau is my mother’s name.
Painting of the Battle of Valmy by Horace Vernet from 1826. The white-uniformed infantry to the right are regulars while the blue-coated ranks to the left represent the citizen volunteers of 1791. (Caption and photo credit: Wikipedia)
20 September 1792: the Battle of Valmy (Duke of Brunswick defeated)
On 27 August 1791, after the French Royal family’s failed attempt to leave France, the flight to Varennes, Marie-Antoinette’s brother, Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792) and Frederick William II of Prussia declared their joint support of the French Royal family. Leopold II died on 1st March 1792 and so did the Declaration of Pillnitz.
On 25 July 1792, the Duke of Brunswick threatened to harm the French, should its Royal family be harmed. He attacked France on 20 September 1792, but he was defeated at Battle of Valmy. On 22 September 1792, France was a Republic.
Anonymous caricature depicting the treatment given to the Brunswick Manifesto by the French population (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The September Massacres
The September Massacres (2 – 7 September 1792), which occurred more than a year after the flight to Varennes (20–21 June 1791), also reflected fear of an invasion. Although the French mocked the Brunswick Manifesto, the revolutionaries ordered the slaughter of prisoners, to prevent their joining an invading army. In Paris, some 1 200 to 1 400 prisoners were killed including 233 nonjuring Catholic priests, priests who would not submit to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.
(See Levée en Masse [Mass Conscription], 23 August 1793.)
Napoleon Bonaparte‘s quelling of the Royalist revolt, 13 Vendémiaire (5 October 1795), in front of the Église Saint-Roch, Saint-Honoré Street, Paris. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)
Comments
The French Revolution includes armed conflicts. The end of the Revolution overlaps the Napoleonic Wars. In fact, the huge levée en masse (Mass conscription) occurred during the Terror. Levées en masse would give Bonaparte his grande armée.
What happened to the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment? The philosophes had envisaged a Constitutional Monarchy, not regicide, nor war, nor a self-proclaimed Emperor. Napoleon wanted to conquer, at any cost. Talleyrand[1]once took him to a battlefield where thousands were dead or dying, but Napoleon expressed no compassion.
And what happened to the sans-culottes (without knee breeches)? The sans-culottes wore un pantalon or trousers and had supported the goals of the philosophes. They turned into a mob.
In fact, what happened to Robespierre, “l‘Incorruptible” (The Incorruptible)? Could it be that Louis XVI was too weak? L’abbé Sieyès, who championed greater political power for the bourgeoisie, had to flee, or die. He was a priest.
There are times when everything goes wrong. How can one explain that Donald Trump was elected to the Presidency of the United States? As for the French Revolution, we know the causes, but how can we make sense of the Reign of Terror?
Apologies. I pressed on the publish button accidentally and too soon.
Love to everyone♥ ____________________ [1] André Castelot, Talleyrand ou le Cynisme (Paris: Librairie académique Perrin, 1980)
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Two lines, written by poet Louis Aragon, keep coming to my mind. They are part of a poem set to music by the legendary Léo Ferré, entitled Est-ce ainsi que les hommes vivent? (Is this how humans live?). But the interpretation I know best is Yves Montand‘s (please click on Yves Montand’s name to hear the song).
C’était un temps déraisonnable It was a time unreasonable On avait mis les morts à table They’d sat the dead at table
During the night of 20–21 June 1791, French King Louis XVI (1754 – 1793), his wife, Marie-Antoinette (1755 – 1793), their children, Louis-Charles (1785 – 1795), the dauphin, or heir apparent, and his sister Marie-Thérèse (1778 – 1851), the king’s sister Élisabeth of France (1764 – 1794) attempted to escape France. The Marquise de Tourzelle, the children’s governess, from 1789 until 1792, accompanied the royal family. As for the king’s brothers, Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824) and Charles X, they had fled. Despite their bourgeois clothing, the Royal family was recognized one stop before Varennes and arrested at Varennes. By 25 June 1789, they had returned to Paris. (See Flight to Varennes, Wikipedia.)
We know that Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette would be guillotined during the Reign of Terror, 1793 – 1794), as well as Élisabeth de France, the king’s younger sister. Moreover, Louis-Philippe II, Duc d’Orléans (13 April 1747 – 6 November 1793), of the House of Orleans, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, would also be guillotined, on 6 November 1793. Consequently, hindsight invites approval of the Royal family’s attempt to flee what seemed imminent danger.
Hindsight is also forgiving. We can understand why Louis-Philippe II, Duc d’Orléans changed his name to Philippe Égalité. He was afraid. But did he have to vote in favour of his cousin’s execution?
But weighing against Louis XVI – Marie-Antoinette, mainly, was “collusion with the invaders,” a view supported by the flight to Varennes. (See The Trial of Louis XVI, Wikipedia.)
The return of the royal family to Paris on 25 June 1791: colored copperplate after a drawing of Jean-Louis Prieur(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
La Fayette and the National Guard
11 July 1789: Necker dismissed
13 July 1789: a Bourgeois militia is formed
14 July 1789: the Storming of the Bastille
15 July 1789: Lafayette elected commander of the militia (The National Guard)
On 13 July 1789, fearing disorder, the National Assembly created a Bourgeois militia and, on 15 July 1789, Lafayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834) was elected to the post of commander of the Bourgeois militia, which would become the National Guard.
Gendarmes were required. Mobs stormed the Bastille (see The Storming of the Bastille, Wikipedia). Necker was reinstated on 16 July 1789 and would not leave France until 3 September 1790.
On 6 October 1789, were it not for the intervention of the National Guard, commanded by Lafayette, a mob may have killed members of the Royal family when Louis XVI’s family was forcibly removed from Versailles. (See The Women’s March on Versailles, Wikipedia.)
Emigration & the Day of the Daggers
28 February 1791: the Day of the Daggers
the King asks Royalists to leave the Tuileries
The Royal family had been taken to the Tuileries Palace, in Paris, a royal residence. But Louis’ aunts, Madame Adélaïde and Madame Victoire, had fled to Rome, as though Royalists could not protect them and as though the Royals needed protection. On The Day of the Daggers, 28 February 1791, Royalists, carrying concealed daggers, tried to enter the Tuileries to save Louis XVI and his family. Louis himself asked them to leave and those who would not leave were forcibly removed. The Royalists were dismayed.
The Champ de Mars Massacre
17 June 1791: the Champ de Mars Massacre
20 June 1791: the Flight to Varennes
15 July 1791: the King declared inviolable
On 17 June 1791, a crowd of 50,000 gathered at the Champ de Mars to sign a petition asking for the king’s removal. The National Guard under Lafayette, opened fire. The crowd returned later in the day, led by Danton and Camille Desmoulins. The National Guard fired again, killing as many as 15.
On 20 June 1791, the Royal family attempted to flee France, but were arrested at Varennes and taken back to the Tuileries Palace. However, on 15 July 1791, the National Assembly or Legislative Assembly declared the King inviolable until the ratification of a new Constitution.
The Assembly of Notables, revisited
A Constitutional Monarchy might have saved the French monarchy, but Louis did not know what a Constitutional Monarchy was. The delegates to the Assembly of Notables would not accept a land-value tax, but they were prepared to institute changes. If accurate, I believe it is, the following quotation is very revealing:
Yet what was truly astonishing about the debates of the Assembly is that they were marked by a conspicuous acceptance of principles like fiscal equality that even a few years before would have been unthinkable….Where disagreement occurred, it was not because Calonne had shocked the Notables with his announcement of a new fiscal and political world; it was either because he had not gone far enough or because they disliked the operational methods built into the program.[1]
The Notables knew that France was nearly bankrupt and that insolvency would bring not only the downfall of France, but also their own downfall. It was to their advantage to pay taxes. Louis XVI was not as fortunate as Louis XIV. Louis XIV’s Conseil d’en haut, the King’s Council, was very small, but it consisted of bourgeois. Moreover, they met en haut, i.e. upstairs, next to the King’s chamber, at Versailles. The King did not fear them. Louis XIV feared no one except the princes du sang, the Princes of the Blood.
The Storming of the Tuileries
10 August 1792: the storming of the Tuileries
10 August 1792: the National Guard turns against the Royalty
Lafayette flees France
After the flight to Varennes, Marie-Antoinette‘s idea mostly, Louis XVI was closely guarded in the Tuileries, home to the National Assembly and, later, to the National Constituent Assembly. The Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to 20 September 1792. King Louis XVI had “betrayed the French.” The Storming of the Tuileries, on 10 August 1792, would undo the King. Britannica uses the word “irresolution.”[2] But, additionally, the National Guardhad turned against the Royalty and they were joined by sans-culottes and the fédérés, marseillais (from Marseilles, hence the title of the French national anthem La Marseillaise). Militants had come to Paris for the Fête de la Fédération, 14 July 1791. Lafayette, their commander, fled France.
The Collapse of the Monarchy
13 August 1792: Royal family imprisoned in the Temple
20 September 1792: the Battle of Valmy
21 September 1792: proclamation of the abolition of the monarchy
22 September 1792: declaration of the First Republic
On 13 August 1792, the Royal family was imprisoned in the Temple, a fortress built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century. There was an invasion. On 20 September 1792, the Duke of Brunswick did attack the French, but he was defeated. The Battle of Valmy was a French victory. The Monarchy was abolished on 21 September 1792. (See Proclamation of the abolition of the monarchy, Wikipedia.) and France was declared a republic, the First Republic, on 22 September 1792.
As I wrote above, weighing against Louis XVI, or Marie-Antoinette, was “collusion with the invaders.” (See The Trial of Louis XVI, Wikipedia.) Louis XVI was executed on the grounds that he was a traitor. The King had tried to flee France, but could he tell that leaving France could be construed as treason, the worst of crimes. Revolutionaries did fear intervention from Royal families outside France and the flight to Varennes led to the Brunswick Manifesto (25 July 1792) and the Declaration of Pillnitz (27 August 1791). Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792), the Declaration’s main author, was Marie-Antoinette’s brother. Leopold may have wished to rescue his sister. She had attempted to leave France. Leopold II died on 1st March 1792.
Conclusion
The flight to Varennes sealed the Royal family’s fate. King Louis XVI had attempted to flee France, which the King of France could not do. One can understand King Louis XVI’s fears and Marie-Antoinette was adamant. But can one understand the Reign of Terror?
Love to everyone ♥
The Temple, a view of the Grosse Tour-circa 1795, École Française 18th century. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It’s Sunday, which remains a sacred day for me. Other days serve different purposes and have an origin. Saturday is Saturn as in Saturnalia, a Roman festival taking place on the day of the longest night: Christmas. Humanity has always cherished symbols, but these change from culture to culture. They attach a story to things otherwise “ordinary.”
Jean-Paul Lemieux
To decorate my post, I chose Jean-Paul Lemieux (18 November 1904 – 7 December 1990) who lived in Berkeley, California for several years. His family may have wished to escape cold winters. He and Leclerc were born the same year and were good persons. Lemieux returned to Québec, despite the cold, the snow, various ice storms and numerous heat waves.
Félix Leclerc
Félix Leclerc (2 August 1914 – 8 August 1988), was born in La Tuque, Quebec and studied at the University of Ottawa until the Great Depression. There was no money. He then found work in radio stations, as speaker or writer. In 1939, he was employed by Ici Radio-Canada, the French counterpart of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the CBC. He may have written radio dramas, which my father did, at approximately the same time in the history of Quebec.
After the war, Félix Leclerc, and his guitar, went to France where he took courses. He met kindred spirits, such as Boris Vian. In 1950, at the age of 36, he was discovered by French impresario Jacques Canetti. His daughter says that he divided his life between l’île d’Orléans, where he owned a house, and Paris.
In Le Tour de l’île, Leclerc also mentions a blue-eyed grandfather standing guard, which reminds me of Octave Crémazie‘s poem, entitled « Le Vieux Soldat canadien » . The first French ship to sail down the Saint Lawrence after the “Conquest” was La Capricieuse, in 1855.[1]
However, the most celebrated Québecois singer-songwriter is Gilles Vigneault. Vigneault wrote: “Mon Pays.”
Independence
You will have noticed that Leclerc mentions independence. As paradoxical as this may seem, I believe Québécois have their own country, albeit informally. But, their country is in Canada, where it is probably a safer and more stable place than outside Canada. Québec has yet to sign the Patriated Constitution (1982).
Lemieux’ Ursulines
Les Ursulines are a teaching order founded by Marie de l’Incarnation (née Marie Guyart), in 1639. The Ursulines’ main monastery, built in Quebec City, is the oldest institution of learning for women in North America. As a religious order, the Ursulines were founded in Italy.
—ooo—
I have worked on the Battle of Quebec and grouped the lines differently. Folklore has its rules, but the “Battle of Quebec” is a challenge. Lines vary in length. The French lines would be called “octaves.” The words “La Danaé” would be at the end of each octave.The English lines (4 stanzas containing 4 lines) seem a response.
La Récréation (playtime)
Before the Révolution tranquille, teachers were nuns and school girls wore a navy blue pinafore dress over a white blouse.
Pour supporter To bear
Le difficile The difficult
Et l’inutile And the useless
Y a l’tour de l’île There’s the island to go round
Quarante-deux milles Forty-two miles (67 km)
De choses tranquilles Of things quiet
Pour oublier To forget
Grande blessure Gaping wounds
Dessous l’armure ‘neath the shield
Eté, hiver Summer, winter
Y a l’tour de l’île There’s the island to go round
L’Ile d’Orléans L’île d’Orléans
L’Île c’est comme Chartres The island’s like Chartres
C’est haut et propre It’s high and clean
Avec des nefs With naves
Avec des arcs With arches
Des corridors Corridors
Et des falaises And cliffs
En février In February La neige est rose The snow is pink
Comme chair de femme Like a woman’s flesh
Et en juillet And in July
Le fleuve est tiède The river’s tepid
Sur les battures On the sandbars
Au mois de mai In the month of May
A marée basse At low tide
Voilà les oies Here come the geese
Depuis des siècles For centuries
Au mois de juin In the month of June
Parties les oies The geese have gone
Mais nous les gens But we the people
Les descendants Descendants of people
De La Rochelle From La Rochelle
Présents tout l’temps We’re here all the time Surtout l’hiver In winter mostly
Comme les arbres Like trees
Mais c’est pas vrai But it’s not true
Ben oui c’est vrai Well, yes it’s true
Écoute encore Listen again
Maisons de bois Wooden houses
Maisons de pierre Stone houses
Clochers pointus Pointed bell towers
Et dans les fonds And in the back
Des pâturages Grazing fields
De silence Of silence
Des enfants blonds Blond children
Nourris d’azur Fed by the sky
Comme les anges Like angels
Jouent à la guerre Play war
Imaginaire War imaginary
Imaginons Let’s imagine L’Ile d’Orléans L’île d’Orléans
Un dépotoir A dump
Un cimetière A cemetery
Parcs à vidanges Parks of sewage
Boîte à déchets A box of waste
U. S. parkings U. S. parking
On veut la mettre They want to put her
En mini-jupe In a mini-skirt
And speak English And speak English
Faire ça à elle Do that to her
L’Ile d’Orléans L’île d’Orléans
Notre fleur de lys Our fleur de lys
Mais c’est pas vrai But it’s not true
Ben oui c’est vrai Well, yes it’s true
Raconte encore Tell me again
Sous un nuage Under a cloud
Près d’un cours d’eau Near a stream
C’est un berceau It’s a cradle
Et un grand-père And a blue-eyed
Au regard bleu Grandfather
Qui monte la garde Stands guard
Il sait pas trop He doesn’t quite know
Ce qu’on dit dans What they say
Les capitales In large cities (capitals)
L’œil vers le golfe Looking towards the gulf
Ou Montréal Or Montréal
Guette le signal Hewatches for the signal
Pour célébrer To celebrate
L’indépendance Independence
Quand on y pense When one thinks about it
C’est-y en France Is it in France
C’est comme en France It’s like France
Le tour de l’île Round the island
Quarante-deux milles Forty-two miles
Comme des vagues Like waves
Les montagnes Mountains
Les fruits sont mûrs The fruit is ripe
Dans les vergers In the orchards
De mon pays Of my land
Ça signifie It means
L’heure est venue The hour has come
Si t’as compris If you understood
Le Combat de la Danaé (The Battle of Quebec) (arr. S. Bergeron)
interprète: Meredith Hall
album: La Traverse miraculeuse / Le Combat de Québec [1]
La Nef [The Nave]: Sylvain Bergeron, Lisa Ornstein, David Greenberg, Patrick Graham, Amanda Keesmat, Pierre-Yves Martel, Seàn Dagher
Old French Songs (cont’d)
—ooo—
Come, all you old men all, let this delight you; (a) Come, all you young men, let not affright you;
Nor let your courage fail when comes the trial.
Nor do not be afraid at the first denial.
C’est le 27 de mars, sans attendre plus tard / qu’est le départ
Bart, ce grand guerrier, / nous a tous commandé.
Nous sommes partis de la France, / confiants dans la Providence,
priant Dieu de nous secourir / dans le danger de périr.
Le premier jour partant / nous aperçûmes sous vent / un bâtiment
Trois autres au vent de nous / qui poussaient droit sur nous.
Nous leur avons fait reconnaître / que nous en serions les maîtres,
nous tenant tous les deux d’accord, / nous avons viré de bord. La Danaé!
Brave Wolfe drew up his men in a line so pretty. (b) On thePlains of Abraham,[1]before the city. The French came marching down, arrayed to meet them. In double numbers round, resolved to beat them.
L’Anglais tout d’un courroux [wrath]/ arrive au bord de nous et tout d’un coup tire un coup de canon / sur notre pavillon;
C’est son petit mât de misaine [small mast] / qui est tombé à la traîne[dragging] et son grand mât d’artimon [large mast] / qui est tombé sur le pont.
Bart, voyant cela / au milieu du combat / et du fracas en rejoignant les mains / prit le Ciel à témoin.
Bart dit à son équipage: / « allons mes enfants courage,
faisons voir à ces Anglais / la valeur de nous, Français. » La Danaé!
The drums did loudly beat, with colors flying (c) The purple gore did stream and men lay dying Then shot from off his horse fell that brave hero We’ll long lament his loss that day in sorrow
Le feu de tous côtés / par trois vaisseaux armés / sans relâcher[relentlessly]
a mis hors de combat [taken out of combat] / ce valeureux soldat.
Ce fut su’l’gaillard d’arrière [at the back of the ship] / qu’il tomba par en arrière
et par un boulet [bullet] de canon, / il tomba mort sur le pont.
Grand Dieu quelle misère / de voir la Danaé / tout démantée, [dismantled]
ses voiles [sails] et ses haubans [ropes]/ ne battre plus au vent!
Hélas grand Dieu quelle misère / de voir devant à l’arrière cent cinquante hommes étendus / et les autres n’en pouvant plus La Danaé!
He raised up his head where the guns did rattle, (d) And to his aide he said, “How goes the battle?” “Quebec is all our own, they can’t prevent it” He said without a groan, “I die contented.”
Vous autres Français, Flamands / qui voyez nos tourments / qui sont si grands,
apprenez la misère / que nous avons souffert
pour sauver l’honneur de la France; / vous Anglais pleins d’impudence,
à moins de nous laisser aller, / nous vous aurons prisonniers! La Danaé!
—ooo—
A translation
Come, all you old men all, let this delight you; (a)
Come, all you young men, let not affright you;
Nor let your courage fail when comes the trial.
Nor do not be afraid at the first denial.
We left on 27th March, without further delay.
Bart, that great warrior, was in command.
We left France trusting Providence and praying to God
to rescue us, should our lives be endangered.
On the first day, we saw beneath the wind a bâtiment (a ship)
and three other ships, headed in our direction.
Both of us agreed, and we decided to turn around.
La Danaé!
Brave Wolfe drew up his men in a line so pretty. (b)
On the Plains of Abraham,before the city.
The French came marching down, arrayed to meet them.
In double numbers round, resolved to beat them.
The angry English sailed up to the side of our ship.
All of a sudden they shot at us.
Our ship’s mizzen mast fell dangling
and its larger mast tumbled down to the deck.
Bart seeing this, still fighting as everything was crashing down,
joined his hands, taking God as his witness
and told his crew: Let’s go boys,
let us show the English a Frenchman’s worth. La Danaé!
The drums did loudly beat, with colors flying (c)
The purple gore did stream and men lay dying
Then shot from off his horse fell that brave hero
We’ll long lament his loss that day in sorrow.
Shots were fired everywhere and relentlessly,
taking out of combat this valiant soldier.
He fell backward at the back of the ship,
hit by a bullet. He fell dead on the deck.
It was awful to see the remains of our ship,
its sails and ropes [haubans] blowing in the wind,
and, at the back, a hundred and fifty men lying down.
The others were exhausted. La Danaé!
He raised up his head where the guns did rattle, (d)
And to his aide, he said, “How goes the battle?”
“Quebec is all our own, they can’t prevent it”
He said without a groan, “I die contented.”
You, the French and the Flemish, who see our torment, that are so great,
Learn the hardship we have suffered
to save France’s honour. And you impudent Englishmen
unless you let us go, you will be prisoners. La Danaé!
Comments
Nous vous aurons prisonniers means: we will have you as prisoners. The context would suggest that the French would be the prisoners of the English. This sentence is ambiguous.
In both French and English, we find rhymes. Some verses are shortened by singing rapidly. This is a difficult folksong. The length of the lines varies and it could be that French stanzas consist of eight lines. This would give us a total of four long (eight lines) stanzas in French ending with the word Danaé, and four short (4 lines) English
In this folksong, one can hear the braggart soldier. Such language may have stimulated sailors. On the one hand, it is as though we were hearing boys playing, but we are not hearing boys, but frightened sailors who may die. It’s not a game.
Ironically, if we listened to the English, we would hear them call the sailors of New France “impudent.” We find fault with the enemy we kill.
Charbonniers make or sell charcoal. Enfer means hell.
I hope I am not violating copyright legislation. This group, Les Charbonniers de l’enfer, was formed many years ago, and they have recorded very fine old French songs. On YouTube, one can, at times, access the words to the songs and an English translation. The lyrics have traces of old French.
C’était par un bon vendredi, nous avons parti de Lisbonne
C’est pour en France revenir, dans le grand navire de Bayonne
Nous n’eûmes pas dédoublé les pointes, qu’un vent de nord s’est élevé
A fallu carguer la grand voile, pour y courir au quart noroué.
Il a venté d’un si gros vent, grand Dieu, quel horrible tourmente!
La moitié de nos gens pleuraient, les autres chantaient des louanges;
Les autres chantaient des louanges; louanges, louanges à haute voix!
Que Dieu ait pitié de nos âmes, puisque la mort il faut avoir!
J’avons reçu un coup de mer sur le fond de notre navire
Les dalots ne pouvait plus fournir.
Coupez le grand mât, je vous prie!
Coupez le grand mât, je vous prie!
Et jetez les chaloupes dehors!
Garder les restes de nos voiles pour retrouver tous à bon port.
Le capitaine s’est avancé, étant le maître du navire.
Honneur dit-il, à qui vivra!
Le grand mât, c’est ma compagnie.
Courage, mes enfants courage, un vaillant homme nous gouverne!
Eh là! Tenez- vous bien de garde que le navire vienne en travers.
Ils se sont jetés à genoux priant la divine Marie.
Priant le Sauveur tout puissant qui leur ont préservé la vie.
Une grande messe nous ferons dire à notre bon rassemblement.
Dans la chapelle de Notre-Dame nous prierons Dieu dévotement.
Qu’en a composé la chanson c’est le pilote du navire.
Il l’a composé tout au long ah! c’est en traversant ces îles.
C’est à vous autres gens de France, qui naviguez dessur la mer.
Naviguez-y avec prudence, surtout dans le temps de l’hiver.
On a Friday we left Lisbon for France in the ship from Bayonne. We had not yet cleared land when the wind rose, and we had to furl sails and run before a nor’wester. /A great gale blew. Dear God, what horrifying torment. Half of our crew were crying, while the others were bellowing hymns. God take pity on our souls, we’re doomed. /A giant wave rolled over us, and the scuppers couldn’t clear the water. “Cut the main mast, l beg you! Jettison the boats! Keep the remaining scraps of sail, so we can make it to port.” /Then the ship’s master stepped forward. “We’re going to live!”he said. “I’m keeping the main mast. Courage, boys, courage. There’s a brave man in command. Keep watch well, and the ship will come through.” /We fell on our knees, praying to Mary and the all powerful Savior. “We’ll have a grand mass said, we’ll pray devoutly to God in the chapel of Notre-Dame.” /The maker of this song was the ship’s pilot, and he composed it while sailing through these isles. You, fellow sailors from France, sail prudently, especially in winter.
La Navire de Bayonne (arr. S. Bergeron)
interprète: Michel Bordeleau
album: Turlette et Reel
rédacteur: Yasutaja Nakata http://www.atmaclassique.com/en/album…
La Nef [The Nave]: Sylvain Bergeron, Lisa Ornstein, David Greenberg, Patrick Graham, Amanda Keesmat, Pierre-Yves Martel, Seàn Dagher
Ozias Leduc‘s Boy with Bread, 1892-99, National Gallery of Canada
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