I’ve published posts about or featuring Sir Ernest Macmillan. Sir Ernest MacMillan was, for decades, English Canada’s most prominent figure in the area of music.
Moving to Toronto
David and I had just moved to Toronto and we needed a home. While I was resting, David drove up and down the streets I liked. He saw a sign on a large tree and a lady standing by. She owned the house and she was Sir Ernest MacMillan’s niece. Yes, she would let me play the piano. I liked the little apartment very much. We moved to Walmsley Boulevard two weeks later. Andrea would be my best friend for nearly fifty years.
I have told this story, so let us hear Sir Ernest MacMillan’s “learned” version of the piece. It is learned because it has been composed and/or arranged. As interpreted by the McGariggle sisters, Blanche comme la neige belongs to folklore, or an “oral” tradition. It is as though it had yet to be composed. It is also somewhat naïve and forever renewed.
Let us return to our “learned” song. It was arranged, or composed, by Sir Ernest and is interpreted by Toronto’s Mendelssohn Choir, founded by Sir Ernest MacMillan (click on 2). We can classify this interpretation as “learned” because Sir Ernest set it to music. He also set to music “Notre Seigneur en pauvre,” a song I mentioned a few posts away. His Two Sketches on French Canadian Airs (click on 3) combines Blanche comme neige and Notre Seigneur en pauvre (Our Lord as a poor man). I do not know of a separate Notre Seigneur en pauvre. “À Saint-Malo,” French folklore, is number 4.
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)
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.
Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry, le 1er mai, featuring Charles d’Orléans (Photo credit: Google Images)
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 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.
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 deBerry, 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.
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.)
Photo credit: picsearch
This post was published in my … “& the News” series. These posts have been modified. I listed that day’s Newspapers: English, French, German, etc. We can still have coffee.
Greetings to all of you!
Paul Robeson
This blog features singer Paul Robeson (9 April 1898 – 23 January 1976) whose voice was a glorious bass male voice. Robeson earned a Law degree from Columbia Law School while playing in the National Football League (NFL) and singing and acting in off-campus productions.” (Wikipedia).
Blacklists
Famed singer Paul Robeson was an activist and was therefore put on several “blacklists,” no pun intended, because of his ethnicity. Wikipedia tells us that he was “scrutinized during the age of McCarthyism.” Charlie Chaplin, or Sir Charles Spencer “Charlie” Chaplin, KBE [Order of the British Empire] (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was also blacklisted and had to return to Britain. He never came back to the United States. There was a Hollywood blacklist. During the McCarthy era, many liberal-minded Americans were considered Communists or left-wing radicals.
McCarthyism was one episode, in a long series of episodes, during which radical conservatives referred to “progressive reforms such as child labor laws and women’s suffrage as “Communist” or “Red plots.” (Wikipedia)
Paul Robeson led a difficult life, because of prejudice against people whose ancestors were forced to go to countries where they were used as slaves. Mr Robeson stood up for their downtrodden descendants.
The song I have chosen is about Joe Hill. You may have heard that song before. Joe Hill, born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund in Gävle, Sweden, was promoting unionization among workers. He was accused of murder and executed in 1915.
Once again, I would recommend you visit the Executed Today site. It is very informative.
Paul Robeson had a beautiful voice and he was eclectic in his choice of songs, as was Marian Anderson.
The Corriveau of Legend is a woman who killed several husbands and was condemned to be hanged and put in chains in an iron cage. She scarred travellers. But there was a real Corriveau, Marie-Josephte Corriveau (1733 -1763).
Marie-Josephte Corriveau (1733 at Saint-Vallier, Quebec – 18 April 1763 at Quebec City) was married at the age of 16 to Charles Boucher, 23, a farmer. She gave birth to three children, but Charles died on 27 April 1760. At the time, his widow was not suspected of murder.
Marie-Josephte remarried on 20 July 1761, to another farmer from Saint-Vallier, Louis Étienne Dodier, who was found dead on 27 January 1763. He had wounds to his head and it was suggested he had been trampled by horses. There was an inquiry into his death and Marie-Josephte was suspected of murdering him. She was tried, convicted and condemned to death.
To protect her, her father took the blame for the murder. She was his only surviving child. However, before being put to death, he told his confessor about his lie and, as a result, the real murderess was tried in Quebec City, convicted of murder and hanged on 18 April 1763. What is told in a confessional cannot be revealed, but it would appear the priest talked.
The dissemination of the Legend
Of particularly interest is the fact that the Corriveau was to be exposed to the public view, put in chains in a cage, called gibbet, at Pointe-Lévy. She was to remain exposed until 25 May at the earliest. She was then buried.
Never had a body been exposed to the public in the land that had just become the Province of Québec. There was a culture shock. Moreover, it was presumed that if she had killed her second husband, she may also have killed her first husband. The number of murdered husbands kept growing, and a legend was born.
The Nineteenth Century and the importance of folklore and legends
Moreover, during the nineteenth century, as of the Congress of Vienna(September, 1814 to June, 1815) to be precise, the final act of which was signed nine days before Napoléon’s final defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815, many countries were wiped off the map of Europe. So people started to gather folklore. It was a way of giving themselves an identity.
It is not surprising therefore that, in answer to Lord Durham’s[i]deprecatory remarks to the effect that Canadiens were “a people with no literature and no history,” French-speaking Canadians were galvanized into creating a literary homeland including in their writings all the legends they could dig up.
So, the new relevance given folklore (songs, myths, legends, the supernatural) would explain why Aubert de Gaspé inserted legends and a few strange characters into his Anciens Canadiens. Jules’s mother tells a fascinating legend about a woman who has lost her daughter and is finally made to see that her dead daughter is quite literally drowning in the tears her mother is shedding. Moreover, Aubert de Gaspé creates a sorceress, Marie, whose predictions and prophecies come true. Finally, Jules tells Arché about the feu-follet (the will-o’-the-wisp).
—ooo—
Where la Corriveau is concerned, in the years following her execution, she was basically forgotten, but according to Wikipedia, the 1849 “discovery of the iron cage buried in the cemetery of St-Joseph parish (now the Lauzon district) served to reawaken the legends and the fantastic stories, which were amplified and used by 19th century writers[,]” and beyond. Folklore had been legitimized. Between 1849 and 2006, La Corriveau inspired eighteen stories or works of art. But Aubert de Gaspé was the first to tell about La Corriveau.
I should point out again, but for different reasons, that the Corriveau was the first person to be executed after the Treaty of Paris, which means that when Archibald Cameron of Locheill travelled to the d’Haberville’s Manoir, la Corriveau had yet to perform her dastardly deed. Arché went to the Manoir several years before the Corriveau was hanged and then suspended in a chained gibbet. So it is not possible for Archibald Cameron of Locheill to have been grabbed by her body.
—ooo—
Fortunately, fiction has its prerogatives. We must therefore give Aubert the Gaspé some latitude in the name of poetic licence and good storytelling. Fiction and the art have their own rules which allow even the idealization of New France. Yesterday, I looked upon Gaspé’s idealization of the past as a flaw, but I have since meditated upon this matter, fiction in particular, and revised my last blog accordingly, but not drastically.
For instance, Blanche remains too pure. She knows that as a British soldier, Archibald had to follow orders and burn down the Manoir. She knows it broke him. She therefore forgives him and so does Jules. Consequently, there is more to Blanche’s story.
La Corriveau, illustration by Charles Walter Simpson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The nineteenth-century is Edgar Allan Poe’s century. In former years one had dreaded the supernatural, but Victor Hugo was communicating with the dead.
La Corriveau’s skeleton terrorising a traveller one stormy night.[ii]
The Corriveau of Legend is a woman who killed several husbands and was condemned to be hanged and put in chains in an iron cage. She scarred travellers. But there was a real Corriveau, Marie-Josephte Corriveau (1733 -1763).
