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Tag Archives: Marguerite

“Le Roi a fait battre tambour,” an Old French Song

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Uncategorized

≈ Comments Off on “Le Roi a fait battre tambour,” an Old French Song

Tags

France, French Revolution, Henry IV of France, Huguenot, Margaret of Valois, Marguerite, Nana Mouskouri, St. Bartholomew Day Massacre

composer: unknown (c. 1750)
performers: Le Poème harmonique
director: Vincent Dumestre 
  

Le Roi a fait battre tambour

1. Le roi a fait battre tambour
Pour voir toutes ses dames  (To see all his ladies)
Et la première qu’il a vue (the first one)
Lui a ravi son âme

The king had drummers beat their drums /  So he could see all the ladies of his kingdom / And the first one he saw / Stole his soul

2. Marquis dis-moi la connais-tu
Qui est cette jolie dame ?
Le marquis lui a répondu
Sire roi, c’est ma femme (she is my wife)

Marquis do tell if you know her / Who is that pretty lady / The Marquis answered / Your Majesty, she is my wife

3. Marquis, tu es plus heureux que moi
D’avoir femme si belle
Si tu voulais me la donner (If you wanted)
Je me chargerais d’elle

Marquis, you are happier than I  / To have so beautiful a wife / If you gave her to me / I would look after her

4. Sire, si vous n’étiez le roi (if you were not)
J’en tirerais vengeance
Mais puisque vous êtes le roi (since your are)
À votre obéissance (obedience)

Your Majesty / Were you not the King / I would seek revenge / But since you are the King / I must obey

5. Marquis ne te fâche donc pas
T’auras ta récompense
Je te ferai dans mes armées
Beau maréchal de France

Marquis, do not get angry / You will be rewarded / In my armies you will be / A handsome maréchal (marshall) of France

6. Adieu, ma mie, adieu, mon cœur ! (Farewell)
Adieu mon espérance (my hope)
Puisqu’il nous faut servir le roi
Séparons-nous d’ensemble (Let us separate)

Farewell, my dearest, farewell my heart / Farewell my hopes / Since we must the King serve / Let us part

7. La reine a fait faire un bouquet
De belles fleurs de lys
Et la senteur de ce bouquet
A fait mourir marquise

The Queen had a bouquet made / Of beautiful lillies / And the scent of this bouquet / Caused the Marquise to die

The Story behind the song

We know that Le Roi a fait battre tambour was written in 1750.  However, it is difficult to determine whose story the song tells.  Opinions differ.  But, in all likelihood, the song tells of events that took place at the end of the sixteenth century, during the reign of Henri IV (13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), King of France and King of Navarre.

Let us back up a little: Henri II dies

Henri II (31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.  He was wounded during a jousting tournament and died. Henri II had three sons and all three were potential heirs to the throne of France or dauphins.  It therefore seemed that the Valois Kings of France would continue to reign for a long time.  However, Henri II died prematurely.  Consequently, when his sons ascended the throne, they were too young and the person who reigned was their mother, Catherine de’ Medici (13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589).

The Fate of Henri II’s sons AND THAT OF mARGUERITE

Francis II (19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560), who was married to Mary Stuart (Mary Queen of Scots), reigned for 18 months.

Charles IX (27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) ascended the throne at the age of 10 (1560 or 1561) and died at the age of 24.  He did not survive the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre which his mother had forced him to order and which began on the 23rd of August 1572.

The Massacre took place a few days after Marguerite de Valois was forced (by Catherine de’ Medici) to marry Henri IV, King of Navarre.  She protected her new husband but, afterwards, the couple seldom shared the same roof.

Henry III (19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) became king in 1574, at the age of twenty-three and fell ill and died at the age of 38.

Marguerite de valois and the Salic Law

The Salic law prevented Marguerite de Valois to succeed her brothers.  Women could not ascend the throne.  So, ironically, Henri IV, the Huguenot (French Calvinist Protestant ) King she had been forced to marry, was suddenly the new heir to the throne of France.

Henri IV, the King of Navarre, became King of France and Navarre in 1589 and was crowned when his official mistress, Gabrielle d’Estrées, suggested he convert to Catholicism, which he did.  He is reported to have said: Paris vaut bien une messe (Paris [being King of France] is well worth a mass).

Marguerite de Valois as murderess

When Henri IV was having his marriage to Marguerite de Valois (la reine Margot) annulled, Gabrielle d’Estrées (1573– 10 April 1599), his official mistress, died of eclampsia during a pregnancy.  She was bearing their fourth child.  Rumours started circulating that she had been poisoned by the Queen (Marguerite de Valois).  Therefore, the lady killed by the scent of a bouquet of lilies was Gabrielle d’Estrées, an extremely beautiful woman.

Henri IV married Marie de’ Medici (26 April 1575 – 4 July 1642) in October 1600, but the Marguerite de Valois’s title remain that of Queen.

More on the Song

The song is performed in the French of the Ancien Régime, i.e. before the French Revolution (1789-1794).  Roi is pronounced Roé, as it is still pronounced by many French Canadians.  Moreover, the lyrics I have provided are not identical to the words I have found.  I will have to transcribe this older version of the song.

There are several recordings of “Le Roi a fait battre tambour.”  The words given above are the words used by Nana Mouskouri.[i]

Conclusion

So now we know the probable origin of the our featured song, a famous song.  But more importantly, we have seen how dangerous jousting tournaments can be, if one is married to a Medici.  Catherine de’ Medici was manipulative and bloodthirsty and ruined her children’s life.  Henri II had three sons, yet the Valois line died in 1589, the year Henri III and Catherine de’ Medici died.

____________________

[i] I found the lyrics at:  http://www.metrolyrics.com/le-roi-a-fait-battre-tambour-lyrics-nana-mouskouri.html 

Related blog:
Dumas, père & Marguerite de Valois fictionalized
 
© Micheline Walker
19 September 2012
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Poisson d’avril, pesce d’aprile, April’s Fools Day & the Edict of Roussillon, 1574

01 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Uncategorized

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

April Fools Day, Charles IX of France, François Clouet, France, Henry IV of France, Margaret of Valois, Marguerite, St. Bartholomew's Day massacre

Charles IX of France, by François Clouet

A poisson d’avril is a hoax. It finds its origin in France and dates back to 1564.  Under the terms of the Edict of Roussillon, it was stipulated that henceforth, in France, the first day of the year would be January 1st and not April 1st (or March 25th). Charles IX was at Roussillon fleeing an epidemic of the plague, hence the name of the Edict, also called the Edict of Paris.  So, we are once again leaving behind the Julian calendar to adopt the Gregorian calendar.

Charles IX

Moreover, we are also looking once again at Charles IX (27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) who promulgated the Edict when he was 14 years old.  He had become king when his brother François II died, at the age of 16, having reigned for a mere eighteen months. François II had been married, at the age of four, to six-year old Mary, future Queen of Scots.

Marguerite de Valois

Charles IX is the king whose mother, Catherine de’ Medici, manipulated into ordering the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre, which took place on 23 August 1572, six days after Marguerite de France, Dumas père’s Reine Margot and Charles IX’s sister, married, against her will. Henri III, the Huguenot King of Navarre who became Henri IV King of France and of Navarre, when Henri III of France died, in 1589.

The feast remained

As we have seen in the dating of Christian feasts, although renamed, the feast remained. On that day, an exchange of gifts became customary, except that people enjoyed giving foolish gifts to persons who were not aware of the fact that April 1st or March 25th no longer marked the beginning of a new year. Often a fish was given as the feast took place during Lent, a time of year when one did not eat meat. As well, the fish had been a symbol for early Christians.

Chaucer’s Canterury tales, 1392

It would appear however, that fools were celebrated long before January 1st became the first day of the year.  Again, we may have Chaucer to thank for this information.  In the Canterbury Tales (1392), the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is set Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two. The 32nd of March would be April 1st.

But Fools Feasts predate the Christian era. The moment one starts digging into the origins of Feasts, one lands in the Middle East or in India.

Terrible pranks have occurred on April 1st.  One is an invitation to see lions washed at the Tower of London on 1st April 1698. No lion was washed, but people took the invitation seriously.

          — Invitation to see lions washed

Alexandre Tharaud plays Eric Satie’s Première Gymnopédie

 
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On Months, Dates & Planned Obsolescence

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Sharing, Uncategorized

≈ 60 Comments

Tags

Aldo Ciccolini, Alexandre Dumas, Kenneth Grahame, La Reine Margot, Marguerite, Mr Toad, planned obsolescence, Wind in the Willows

Pieter Casteels

Pieter Casteels (1684 – 1749)

Mozart: 9 Variations sur un menuet de Duport en Ré Majeur, K.273 (Aldo Ciccolini)

I started writing the post I published yesterday on March 10, 2012, and it is dated accordingly.  Technologies!  It deals with Alexandre Dumas, père’s novel about Marguerite de Valois.  He wrote a novel about her entitled Queen Margot or La Reine Margot.

 * * *

I hope that when I finally grow up and know which month and which day we are, I may also have a better understanding of new technologies.  At the moment, as soon as I am somewhat familiar with a gadget, a new one is put on the market and mine has become obsolete.  It’s called “planned obsolescence,” which is quite the trouvaille (find), for the manufacturer.

The same is true of kitchen appliances.  They are made to last approximately five years.  Where appliances are concerned, most of us are currently too poor not to purchase the very best with a lifetime warranty.  In the long-term, you will have paid the higher price because of your numerous calls to the technician.  Remember that he or she does not come to your home for less than a $100.00.

As for your furniture, chose the classics and chose something you know you can live with.  If it is the last fad, or dernier cri, stay away.  As well, buy bookcases that have clean lines just so they will match your cat’s Louis-Philippe day bed.  At any rate, what you need has probably been discarded and might be sitting in the basement or in the attic, if you have a basement or an attic.  Your parents bought it in the 1950s or 1960s.

In other words, do not do as Mr Toad does, i. e. fall into temptation, except a few.  Mr Toad is the main character in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows (1908).  He goes crazy when he hears the siren of a car and puts himself behind the wheel of a vehicle that is not his.  He lands in jail.

You will not land in jail by purchasing the latest, but you may run up a debt because by now you have the essential credit card and using it does not feel the same as taking ‘real money’ out of one’s wallet.

My computer is fairly new, but there will soon be a ‘better’ product that I will require because my nearly new computer will be a dinosaur.  My computer has become essential equipment.

Pieter Casteels

March 13, 2012

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Dumas, père & Marguerite de Valois fictionalized

10 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Literature, Mulatto

≈ 33 Comments

Tags

Alexandre Dumas père, François Clouet, Henri IV, La Reine Margot, Marguerite, métissage, Nadar, Saint-Domingue

Alexandre Dumas, père, by Nadar

Alexandre Dumas, père, by Félix Nadar*(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Félix Nadar* was the pseudonym of Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1 April 1820, Paris – 23 March 1910), a very famous photographer.

From Alexandre Dumas père to Marguerite de Valois

As I mentioned in my post on John James Audubon (16 April 1785 – 27 January 1851), there is kinship between the artist-ornithologist and Alexandre Dumas père. John James Audubon was born in Saint-Domingue, the current Haiti, to a French father and a Creole woman. As for Alexandre Dumas père, he was born in Villers-Cotterêts on 24 July 1802 and died near Dieppe, on 5 December 1870.  But there is a Saint-Domingue connection.

Indeed, Dumas père’s father was the son of the “Marquis Alexandre-Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie, a French nobleman and Général commissaire in the Artillery in the colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) and Marie-Cesette Dumas, an Afro-Caribbean Creole of mixed French and African ancestry.” (Wikipedia)  Therefore, Alexandre was métissé.  Let me quote what he said to a person who found fault with his lineage:

My father was a mulatto, my grandfather was a Negro, and my great-grandfather a monkey. You see, Sir, my family starts where yours ends.

Moreover, both were extremely productive.  They were in fact passionate about what they did.

Imagine the hours Dumas spent at his desk writing The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo and several other historical novels one of which is La Reine Margot, whose story is linked with the growth of absolutism and the related persecution of the Huguenots or French Calvinist Protestants.  You may remember that Marguerite did not want to marry Henri IV, king of Navarre and a protestant who became Henri IV of France after he converted to Catholicism.

Marguerite de Valois (1553-1615)

Dumas’s La Reine Margot (1845)

  • In La Reine Margot (Queen Margot), Dumas focusses on Marguerite’s wedding to Henri IV, kin of Navarre, which took place on 18 August 1572, five days before the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.  Again you may remember that her marriage to Henri IV was an arranged marriage and that, because he was a Huguenot, Henri IV stood outside Notre-Dame de Paris while he was wedded.  It appears she had a liaison with Henri, duc de Guise, a leader among Catholics.
  • By extension, Dumas also focusses on the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre which took place in the early morning hours of 24 August 1572, six days after Marguerite was unwillingly wedded to Henri IV.  Huguenots had come to Paris for the wedding, which meant they were trapped.  So not only was the marriage an arranged marriage, but Catherine de’ Medici took advantage of favorable circumstances to manipulate her son Charles IX into ordering the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.  Although she had been compelled to marry Henri IV, king of Navarre, Marguerite protected him.
  • Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Dumas focusses on Marguerite’s subsequent affair with Count Joseph Boniface de La Môle (c. 1526 – 30 April 1574), a nobleman who had befriended François d’Alençon, a prince of the blood and brother to Charles IX, Henri III (duc d’Anjou).  La Môle was accused of having participated in the Malcontent’s conspiracy of 1574 and, specifically, of having tried to murder king Charles IX.  Despite Marguerite’s pleas, La Môle was tortured and beheaded, place de Grève, in Paris.

Such a story was of course perfect fodder for a novelist and fabulous material for filmmaker Patrice Chéreau whose treatment of the subject was tactful. Chéreau’s Reine Margot, 1994, starring Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Virna Lisi and Vincent Perez was both an artistic and a box office success.

Conclusion

However, I am reflecting that, although she lived a dissolute life, going from lover to lover and plotting, Marguerite de Valois was Marguerite de France and, the last of the Valois line.  She ended a dynasty.  Had it not been for the Salic law, commissioned by the first king of all the Franks, Clovis I (c. 466–511), she would have been queen of France after her brother Henri III died.  Instead, the man she married unwillingly and who would not have anything to do with her, became king of France and king of Navarre.  But she refused to have their marriage annulled while his mistress, Gabrielle d’Estrées, was alive.

Marguerite was forced into a marriage.  She was a helpless witness to the torture and decapitation of La Môle and, in 1586, her brother Henri III banished her for eighteen years to the inaccessible castle of Usson, in Auvergne.

Yes, Marguerite lived a rather dissolute life, but she was an exceptionally well-educated woman whose Mémoires, written in comfy detention, thanks to Guise, have literary merit.  Moreover, when she was free to return to Paris, in 1605, she had a castle built where she was a hostess to writers, artists, intellectuals and, perhaps, lovers.  I was taught that she was a “nymphomanic.”

However, she continued to write not only her Mémoires, published in 1658, but also poetry.  As the French would say, “elle avait des lettres” or she was well-educated.

After her release, she cultivated a friendly relationship with her former husband, Marie de’ Medici, his wife, and their children.

I am not about to attempt a rehabilitation of Marguerite de Valois, but let’s just say that, somehow, I understand.

The Young Marguerite de Valois, by François Clouet

_________________________ 

“Margaret Of Valois.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/364625/Margaret-of-Valois>.

Barenboim plays Mendelssohn Songs Without Words Op.53 no.1 in A flat Major

© Micheline Walker
12 March 2012
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