CHAPTER IX

JEHANNE DE LAVAL--“THE LADY OF THE CREST”

I.

There are roses at Christmas as well as at midsummer, and although the pale single blossoms of the winter festival have not the fragrance of the floral queens of the month of May, they are roses all the same. All roses, though, have thorns, or their petals are crinkled and their leaves torn. In the Temple Gardens, as the story goes, once on a time two rival warriors met, and plucked, one a white, and one a red, rose from the bushes. They stuck them in their caps, and so carried them to battle, fierce and long--the deadly Wars of the Roses. The story of the rose heroine of those troubled scenes, the intrepid Queen Margaret, we have learnt; now we must read the narrative of another Queen of Roses, La Demoiselle Jehanne de Laval, and of her nigh fifty-years-old bridegroom, le bon Roy René, a Christmas rose.

“May and December” we call such nuptials. But never mind. The monarch and the maid went very well together, and for them literally came true, “Roses, roses, all the way.” He the great red standard rose of Provence, she the nestling, creeping, sweet wild-rose of Laval, mingled their renown and charm for the pleasure of all ages.

Jehanne, or Jeanne, de Laval, “a very beautiful woman and superbly dressed”--this is a succinct and alluring description of one of the most fascinating beauties, as lovely in mind as in body, be it said, who ever took her gracious path across the pages of sentimental biography. Born at the Castle of Auray,--of which now not a stone is standing,--in Brittany, overlooking the tempestuous Atlantic and the Druid fable-land of Carnac-Locmariaker, on November 10, 1433, Jehanne was the fifth child of Guy XIII., Count of Laval, and his wife, Isabelle de Bretagne, whose father was Jean VI., Duke of Brittany, and mother Princess Joanna of France, sister of Charles VII. The House of Laval was very famous in the annals of mediæval France, and linked by auspicious marriages to all the Sovereign Princes of the land. The first Count was a Baron of Charlemagne--a “Guy,” the unalterable prenominate of all the line. Their castle was founded by that King of romance and chivalry, King Arthur, and each succeeding occupant made good his claim to the gilded spurs of knighthood either on a stricken field or in a crusade to Palestine; they were war-lords all. Laval was their principal stronghold, midway between Rennes and Le Mans, where the machicolated donjon of the Seigneurs of La Trémouille, upon its isolated rock, dominates the smiling country-side.

The full title of the lordly Guys was Counts of Laval, Vitré, Gaure, and Montfort--all in Brittany. Count Guy XIII. had ten children by his consort Isabelle: Guy, who succeeded him as Guy XIV.; Pierre, Duke and Archbishop of Reims; Yolande, sponsored by Queen Yolande of Sicily-Anjou, and twice married, last to Charles of Anjou, King René’s brother; Françoise, who only survived her birth fourteen days; Jehanne, or Jeanne; Anne, died in infancy; Artuse, who died unmarried at Marseilles in 1467; Hélène, wife of Jehan de Malestroit, son of the Bishop of Nantes by his mistress, Isabel Kaër; and Louise, who married Edward, Count of Penthièvre. Guy XIII., inconsolable for the loss of the mother of his children, sought comfort in another matrimonial venture, and for his second wife took Françoise, daughter of Jacques de Dinan, Seigneur of Châteaubriant and Grand Butler at the Court of King Charles VI. She bore him three children,--Pierre, François, and Jacques,--so Jehanne was a member of a large and, we may presume, a happy family. Little Jehanne was baptized in the Audience Hall of the Castle of Auray by Amaury de la Motte, Bishop of Vannes.

There is rarely very much to record of the early years of any girl’s life, and Jehanne de Laval was no exception. A maiden was only made conspicuous by an early betrothal, and for that her parents worked assiduously. Jehanne was an exception to the rule of precocious marriages, for no one appears to have claimed her hand and heart until she was past her majority, and suitors probably regarded her as a negligible quantity. Jehanne, however, was not wanting in her _entrée_ upon the world of men and manners, and we make her acquaintance when not more than fourteen years of age, as she comes forward curvetting upon a _blanche haquenée_ at a royal tournament.

This was King René’s Anjou tournament, famous, with those in Lorraine and Provence, as the most brilliant ever seen in France. The “Lists” in the Anjou tournament were held in turn at Angers, Chinon, and Saumur, and it was at the latter gathering of chivalry, in 1446, that every knight and squire, every dame and damsel, turned in amazement as they beheld “a very young girl of most graceful shape and bearing, covered with a thin veil, and wearing silken garments sparkling with precious stones, riding most easily up to the tribune of honour.” The colours of her habit were blue and white--blue, as tender as her eyes; white, fair as her skin. The reins and crupper of her palfrey were decked with ribbons, blue and white, and he bore nodding feathers upon his head-piece. At each side walked her brothers Guy and Pierre, decked, too, in Laval colours, the most good-looking and best dressed of all the pages, holding the horse’s snaffle. By way of suite there rode behind Jehanne de Laval,--for such was the beauteous maiden’s name,--four maids of honour, each one a comely feature of a picture pageant. Amid exclamations of admiration and most pleasant greetings, the charming cavalcade described the circuit of the festival ground, and then its “Queen” leaped lightly to her feet, and, advancing to the royal stand, made curtsies to the Queens of Sicily and France, and to Charles and René, their royal consorts.

Young knights and old came flocking round the “Fairy Queen,” and she, naïve and winsome, cast furtive glances here and there, until her bonnie blue eyes fastened themselves upon the young Count of Nevers, and he delightedly stepped forth to cavalier her to her seat amid the throng of beauty and fair fame upon the ladies’ seats of honour. He was still _a parti_ in spite of his rejection as suitor for the hand of Princess Margaret, and his handsome looks and gallant bearing stood him in good stead where amorous maidens forgathered. King René,--ever susceptible to female charms, both of mind and body,--did not behold the fair Demoiselle de Laval unmoved; he had a tender spot in his great loving heart for any attractive damsel; what healthy-minded man has not? He could not know that that pretty, clever hand, which so skilfully managed her curvetting cob, would one day take his in hers for better, and not for worse!

The coming of young Jehanne de Laval to the tournament at Saumur provided the sensation of the day’s exploits. The highest honour, which the assembled knights before the encounters in the “Lists” began could confer, was hers by universal acclamation. She was to be the lady bearer of the champion’s crest, and, as “Queen of Queens,” to affix the coveted guerdon of victory upon the helm of the most successful knight. This election was preceded by a characteristic observance, true to the pure spirit of chivalry. Each knight had to kneel before an altar for the blessing of his weapons, and for the mental registration of his suffrage for the “Queen.” She was “the lady of his thought.” So, certainly, the beauteous apparition of the young daughter of Guy de Laval caused many a misgiving in the hearts of gallant men. The “Lady” each had chosen none divulged by name, but, all the same, Cupid had done so to the ears of curious friends and foes. The wholesale desertion of their chosen divinities might very well account for hard looks and frowns from emulous maidens:--all we know, is not gold that glitters!

The precious _gage d’amour et de guerre_, the champion’s crest, took the form of a small gold crown, heavily jewelled, from which sprang, retained by wires of gold, three pure white curled feathers of the crested heron. It was awarded to the knight whose bearing in the “Lists” had been the most gallant, and whose victories over adversaries had been most effective, and who had thereby gained the unanimous votes of the tournament judges. Other prizes there were of scarcely less distinction: the first, a golden lance in miniature, to the knight who administered the most brilliant blow and in the shortest time; the second, a rich ruby valued at 1,000 _écus d’or_,--for mounting in his helm,--for the breaker of the most lances; and the third, a pure diamond of a similar value, for him who lasted out the longest before being vanquished by his opponent’s lance.

The “Bringing in the Champion’s Crest” was a remarkably pretty ceremony. The “Queen of Beauty,” attended by two maids of honour, all clad in full state robes, with towering _hennins_, and wearing superb jewels and ornaments, were escorted to a chamber of preparation, within the castle, immediately before the closing banquet of the tournament. There a procession was marshalled; pages of the contestant knights, arrayed in their proper colours and wearing ermine mantles, danced gaily before the “Queen of Beauty,” and knelt as she advanced, bearing the flashing crest upon an embroidered scarf. Pursuivants, heralds, and kings-of-arms, swelled the glittering progress with tabards, wands, and crowns. Masters of the ceremony were in attendance on the “Queen.” All moved with grace and dignity to the banqueting-hall, which they traversed up to the royal daïs, accompanied by attendants bearing great flaring torches and waxen candles. Everybody rose at the entry of the procession, and the Prince of highest rank handed the “Queen” to her special seat, whence she might receive the homage of the knightly company, and bestow upon the champion the crest she bore. Strident music and the blare of brazen horns filled the great hall, and the high-pitched roof re-echoed the plaudits of the company.

The “Grand Prix” was gained neither by King René nor by King Charles. The former, indeed, caused a sensation by appearing in black tournament armour, his shield studded with silver spangles; his lance was black, and his charger caparisoned in a black housing, which trailed the ground. René was mourning still for his good mother, Queen Yolande, and for his second son of promise rare, Louis, Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson. The “Champion of Champions” was not the Count of Nevers,--perhaps to Jehanne’s regret,--but Louis de Beauvau; whilst the second prize fell to Robert de Florigny, and the third to Ferri de Vaudémont. These famous tournaments did not lack the assistance by illustration of painters; Jehannot le Flament,--better known nowadays as Jan van Eyck,--King René’s master at Bar-le-Duc, was in attendance on his royal pupil, and painted at least two considerable pictures of the pageants. Alas! those valuable paintings are lost to us.

Well, the “Lists” were over, and the world and his wife resumed their usual avocations, and Jehanne de Laval went home once more with her parents, to finish her education and to be provided with a husband. And now the chroniclers of such events as matrimony fail us. Very well we might have expected the announcement of the “Fairy Queen’s” betrothal immediately after that famous tournament. But no--and in vain we search for the reason. Jehanne was not espoused. Some have said that Count Guy, seeing King René’s unconcealed admiration for his captivating little daughter, and bearing to his beloved companion in peace and war well-worn confidence, conceived a romantic dream. Queen Isabelle was said to be very delicate. She might die young, and then Jehanne might be René’s solace and his love! Whether the King and the maiden met again and often we do not know. Very likely indeed they did, for Jehanne and Margaret d’Anjou were playmates, and Laval was not so very far from Angers. This is a dream, of course.

There is a touching story which connects Jehanne de Laval with another Margaret--Margaret of Scotland, the virtuous and accomplished spouse of Louis the Dauphin, and a great favourite with King Charles and Queen Marie. The unhappy Princess died of poison at Sarry-le-Château on August 16, 1445--poison administered, it was understood, by her unscrupulous husband. She was only twenty-three years of age, but had been Dauphiness for eight years--years of neglect and cruelty. Among the suite which gathered around the bonnie Scottish Princess were young girls, and of these one was Jehanne de Laval, of whom Margaret made a special pet, and shared with her her meals and leisure. Some candies were given to the children by the Princess, who rejected them as tasting bitter. Margaret, to allay their mistrust, ate a number, and she sickened and died. Her last words were: “A curse on life! Don’t trouble me about it.” This lamentable cry was drawn from her through the false aspersions on her honour raked up against her by her husband. Marriage was indeed a failure to Margaret of Scotland, for “there was no one she dreaded,” says de Commines, “like my lord the Dauphin.”

The next scene wherein Jehanne de Laval is recorded to have been a participant was the obsequies of Queen Isabelle of Sicily-Anjou and Naples. We may, however, be quite certain that she was not absent very far what time that excellent Princess was in Angers attending to the education of her family. They were all of near age to the daughter of Count Guy. Yolande d’Anjou was five years her senior, and Margaret no more than four. Be this as it may, King René, anyhow, was not very much in Anjou; his brain and hands were full of warlike things, and embarrassed by lack of means.

René d’Anjou, King and Duke, the _preux chevalier_ of all the beautiful women in his dominions, did not fail to excite feelings of admiration and of a profounder passion in the pulsating hearts of the amorous women and girls of Genoa. There he was received with acclamations by warrior men, and with kisses by their wives and sweethearts. A foreign Prince, especially if he had gained renown in love and war, was always welcomed enthusiastically by the strong-blooded Ligurians. The customary characteristic offering of the city,--a maiden or two of high birth,--was at the King’s disposal. Their names, alas! have not been recorded, but René showed his appreciation of his host’s magnificent and patriarchal hospitality by despatching, on November 10, 1447, four splendid collars of beaten gold, with medallions of himself, to Tommaso Spinola, Giacomo Fiesco, Tommaso Fregoso, and Francesco Doria, fathers of his _innamorate_. The historians of Genoa all wrote sententiously of the royal visitor: “Every woman, even the poorest, put on a new guise,--pure white raiment,--in compliment to the Holy Maid’s lieutenant, and all wore ornaments of pure gold in token of their love for her, and for him their favour. Tournament, dance, and song, made the city a rare paradise of joy.” The daughters of Genoa,--true daughters of Eve,--ever evoked the encomiums of all, as the following quaint quintet, in perhaps dubious parlance, affirms:

“Le Donne son Santi in Chiesa, Angele in Istrada, Diavole in Casa, Civette alla Finestra, Gassi alla Porta.”

“Women are Saints in Church, Angels in the Street, Devils at Home, Owls in the Window, Magpies at the Door.”

On Monday, March 5, 1453, when the Queen’s burial casket was borne under its silken canopy through the streets of Angers, twenty fair daughters of Anjou and the adjoining States strewed white flowers in the way. Their leader was Jehanne de Laval, now grown to womanhood, fresh and sweet. She had loved the lamented Queen, and learned much from her gentle ways and her heroism, and she grieved for the bereavement of King René and his children. Companions in love and comrades in sorrow cling equally to one another, and those who rejoice together in the sunshine compassionate each other in the shade. Pity is the tender veil of Cupid’s favours.

II.

King René’s grief at the untimely death of his devoted spouse completely unstrung the man and disabled the monarch. He gave himself away to tears and melancholy, from which even the embraces of his children failed to rouse him. His Ministers and courtiers viewed the desolation of their Sovereign with sincere and deep concern, for it threatened to unnerve him permanently for the arduous duties of his station. A consultation was held at Angers by the Barons and nobles of Anjou, Maine, Lorraine, Barrois, and Provence, with respect to their beloved Sovereign’s prostration, and a unanimous decision was reached--a second marriage with a young consort, comely, cultivated, and of good fame. A petition was presented to the King praying him to yield to the advice of his “right loyal lieges,” that he should look out for some noble and virtuous “_pucelle qui fust à son gré_.” They add: “We have found just such _une très belle fille nommée Jehanne de Laval_,--wise, well-conditioned, and of adult age,--and we know that she is ready to become the spouse of our very good lord.”

The sorrowful King took heart of grace, acceded to his subjects’ agreeable suggestion, and, knowing well himself all young Jehanne’s charms, despatched forthwith a gallant embassy to his old friend, Count Guy, demanding the hand of his beauteous daughter. Only one bar appeared to stop the course of true love,--for such René’s was for Jehanne,--the disparity of age: he was forty-seven, she twenty-two. This was soon dismissed, and “May” and “December” were betrothed in the August month of ripe red gold. Articles of marriage were signed at Angers on September 3, 1455--by Seigneur de Couldray, Captain of the Guard; Guy de Laval; Louis de Beauvau; the Counts of Vendôme and Tancarville; the Seigneur de Lohere; Raoul de Bosket; and Olivier de Feschal--whereby the bride’s _dot_ was fixed at 40,000 _écus d’or_ (_circa_ £2,000). The marriage ceremony was celebrated at the abbey church of St. Nicholas d’Angers on September 16 by Cardinal de Foix, Archbishop of Arles, in the presence of Bishops and deputations from every part of King René’s dominions. The wedding ceremony was notable for the appearance of the bride’s young brother Pierre, a boy of eleven years of age, habited in full episcopal vestments. He was nominal Archbishop of Reims and Bishop of St. Brieux and St. Malo.

The citizens of Angers received their new Queen “_en grant joye et lyesse_,” but, notwithstanding the general satisfaction, the Court became grave and serious, and, to universal astonishment, there were neither tournaments for the nobles nor junketings for the poorer people. The heart of the King was still sore; he seemed disinclined for festivities, and sought solitude and devotional exercises; his spirit was _acharné_--sad within him. “Had he,” people asked, “renounced the pleasures he so loved for ever?” René found relief from the tension of his feelings in the composition of a moral allegory which he entitled “_Le Mortefiement de Vaine Plaisance_,” which he dedicated to his confessor, Jean Bernard, Bishop of Tours. It is by way of being a dialogue between a soul devoured by love divine and a heart full of earthly vanities. Other _dramatis personæ_ are introduced at intervals: “Fear of God;” “Divine Justice;” “Faith,” “Hope,” and “Sovereign Love,” with “True Contrition.” Midway in the lengthy poem is a “similitude,” accompanied by a very beautiful drawing, showing a Queen,--perhaps Isabelle,--seated open-bosomed in a country waggon, bare-headed, her crown upon her knees. The two horses are tandem-harnessed, the wheeler bestridden by a rider with a thong in hand, the leader turning sharply round. Thus did René’s poetic imagination picture his loss and his woe. The dedication is most touching: “Considering that the course of life runs like a river, without stopping or running back, it is necessary to do good deeds to earn a sweet repose. I set myself to write this book for the love of the Redeemer, but, that my work may be useful for all, I tell in plain speech the conflict of the soul and heart.”

The royal couple left Angers immediately after their marriage, and spent the month’s honeymoon at the Castle of Launay les Saumur. Then they set off for Provence, and reached Arles early in November. This was the prelude to an entirely new course of life which King René had in his mind. For thirty years and more he had courted the smiles of Fortune in the arena of arms, and she had only given him frowns. His courage and his chivalry had met with scant success. Hopes disappointed and finances wasted, he was a wiser if a poorer man; but now the residue of his days and enterprises should be differently expended. Peace has its triumphs as well as war. Poets and writers, troubadours and musicians, artists and craftsmen, farmers and sportsmen, and peasants and fishermen, were peaceful folk; with such would he throw in his lot--a _roi-patron_, a _roi-fainéant_, would he be!

The journey to the south was, as usual, by river barge up the winding sylvan Loire to Roanne, and thence _à portage_ to Valence, and on by water past Montelimart, Orange, and Avignon. The King, like other rulers in France, maintained a fleet of vessels for trade and pleasure upon the splendid waterways. It was, of course, a royal progress such as René and his father and brother, and Queen Yolande, his venerated mother, had often made, and very cordial were the greetings by the way. At Arles, where the King and Queen were rapturously received, they found awaiting them deputations from every considerable place in Provence, each bearing goodly offerings to their liege lord and lady. Arles presented 400 _écus d’or_ in two enamelled gold flasks, and six chased cups of silver; Aix, two great bowls of silver embossed and jewelled, six silver cups, and three goblets of gold; Marseilles, 200 _écus d’or_, to be spent in buying fine wax, at the pleasure of the Queen,--a treasured possession,--and four silver cups; Avignon, twelve enamelled silver cups and two gold goblets; Tarascon, a great gold ewer and six small goblets--and so on. Formalities completed and _Te Deum_ sung, René and Jehanne went off to Aix, there to settle and to arrange their household affairs. In recognition of this auspicious visit to Provence, the King created his consort Countess of Les Baux, with proprietary rights in that ancient stronghold.

The ancient family had become extinct in the comely person of Countess Alix, a helpless girl placed under the guardianship of her uncle, Robert de Beaufort, better known as “_Le Fléau de Provence_,” the leader of a band of ruffians designated “_Les Tards-Venus_.” Fair Alix died unmarried in 1426, and the county of Les Baux passed to Louis III. d’Anjou, King René’s brother. For Jehanne de Laval her loving spouse repaired and decorated the ruinous old castle. The pleasure-grounds were laid out by René, and the “_Pavillon de la Royne Jehanne_” erected, a true “_Pavillon d’Amour_,” wherein he and she could repose and utter sweet nothings to one another, and revive also some of the fascinating observances of the once famous “Court of Love” of Les Baux. Spirits of former Countess-Presidents of Chapters of the Troubadours flitted to and fro the “Chamber of the Rose.” The beauteous if fateful sisters, Étiennette and Douce, gracious spouses of two fierce rival Counts, Raymond des Baux and Berenger de Barcelona, but rivals in the poems and dances of the troubadours, away in the twelfth century, looked down, perhaps, from the eerie thrones in “_Il Paradiso_” upon the new Queen of Beauty. The girlish figure, too, of Cécile des Baux, “_La Passe Rose_,” the fairest beauty of them all, sought, a century later, the spiritual companionship of Alix, the last of the châtelaines, with her to observe the graceful figure of Queen Jehanne. Memories of lovely women and the romances of their lives appealed irresistibly to the royal troubadour; he could picture the gay crowds in the games of Love. Dark deeds, too--the clash of weapons and the stealthy poniard; the smothered cries from the _oubliettes_, and the defiant oaths of men in irons: these the imaginative poet-monarch could most easily re-create. A thought-moving memento of a vivid and lurid past was brought to light not so many years ago in a coffin discovered in the crypt of the ruined church of St. Catherine--it was a woman’s long soft golden hair cut off at the roots. To whom did this _cabelladuro d’or_ belong? Some beauty done to death, perhaps, or peacefully fallen upon sleep in the dim, dim past? Or was it, as it may have been, the _chevelure_ of that beautiful young Italian girl in the suite of Queen Jehanne, who married at Les Baux the Queen’s Seneschal, and died ere ever that day’s curfew sounded? The “_Pavillon de la Royne Jehanne_,” with its miniature dome and delicate frieze, supported on Ionic columns, still stands, but hidden away amid cornstalks and verdure, whilst, alas! nothing whatever remains of the Queen’s gardens, where courtier cavaliers flirted and toyed with her Maids of Honour. Jehanne loved Les Baux almost as much as she did her Laval barony of Beaufort, and René loved it, too, for her sake.

Early in the springtide which followed the settlement of the King and Queen in Provence, they sought the peaceful charms of the country-side, and made their way, accompanied by a very limited suite, to the neighbourhood of Tarascon. The stately castle, so lately René’s favourite abode, had little attraction for ruralizing royalty, so they packed themselves into a modest _bastide_, or farmstead, upon the kingly estate, Pertuis, not far from Cadenet, below Mont Lubéron. Its position was delightful, overlooking the turbulent river Durance, with its strewn verdure-grown rocks and boulders, and its banks lined by sedges, willows, and alders, hiding many a still pool of trout. There the royal couple wandered forth hand in hand, quite unattended, amid the growing vines and chestnut woods, conversing with all the country-folk they met, sharing with them their homely fare, and watching delightedly their rural games and dances. Many a time René, with Jehanne as his happy assessor, sat upon old _saules_, or willow stumps, under a spreading tree, to receive requests and discern disputes, dispensing royal justice with the simple hand of equity.

The life they led was an ideal one--a dream, an inspiring fantasy. The songs of birds, the brush of wings of butterflies, the thousand and one mysterious sounds of animated, sun-cheered Nature, and the scent of spring narcissi, with the glowing glories of anemones, seemed all to be in harmony with the fresh greenery of tree and crop, the gambols of young lambs, and the cooing of sweetheart doves. The King and Queen became for the nonce shepherd and shepherdess; Jehanne was nymph of the bosquets, René her impassioned Apollo, his heart’s wounds healed at last, his soul’s new hopes at bud. The Muse of Poetry dwelt also in that pleasant fairy-land, and her voice, rustling the zephyr-moved foliage, reached the poetic nature of the agrestical King, and out of his sympathetic brain came the impulse of the hand which penned one of the most delicate and affecting “Pastorals” that ever man produced.

The scene is laid in the meadows of the royal country house, where shepherds and shepherdesses and toilers in the soil,--vigorous and fair,--are giving themselves away to the joys of pastoral revels. Chancing that way is a pilgrim, newly come from recording his vows at the shrine of Nôtre Dame de Larghet. Looking ahead, the penitent beholds the entrancing vision, and, whilst he brushes away the assiduous attentions of a big bumble-bee, he is conscious of voices murmuring close at hand. It is but the love-chat of a lovelorn lad and lass, seated by a dripping fountain of the rivulet. Behind them is the stump of a great forest king with no more than one lean branch to show its life. The youth vanishes mysteriously, but the girl beckons caressingly to the wandering pilgrim, and she invites him with dulcet voice:

“Regnault, vien environ De la souche; et nous asseon, Cy toy et moy!”

“Regnault, come thee near This tree; have no fear, Only thee and me!”

The shy wanderer approaches diffidently, and then the maiden opens her little luncheon basket, which hangs from her shoulders by blue silken ribbons, and eats a portion of a roll; to him she offers the remainder. The fascination of the moment overrides all scruples, and Regnault, as she has called him, kneels at his enchantress’s feet, strokes her hands and arms, and protests his love. The damsel is willy-nilly, and naïvely cries: “All fall in love, and all fall out; and so may you, fair sir, for aught I know!” Carried away by the vehemence of his passion, Regnault tries to seize the girl and press his hot lips upon hers, so coral pink; but she evades him, slips from his grasp, and, presto! she has vanished. All dazy-wazy Regnault rises, holds out his hands beseechingly, and then, folding them upon his breast, with bowed head he seeks once more the mountain shrine, and before our sweet Lady of Consolation pours out his heart and his soul. Compline still finds him saying his _Aves_, and Night covers him with her restful shroud; his last words are addressed to his meadow nymph:

“T’ameray très parfaictment, Du bon du Cuer si loyaument, Que ne te fauldray nullement Jusques à mort.”

“I love thee perfectly, From bottom of my heart; I will never fail thee Till death us two shall part.”

This very beautiful poem the royal lover entitled “_Regnault et Jehanneton_,” or “_Les Amours du Bergier et de la Bergeronne_,”--a play, of course, upon his own name and Queen Jehanne’s. At the end of the manuscript René drew a very pretty design--side by side two shields of arms, his and Jehanne’s, united by a royal crown; his supporter, on the left, _une souche_,--the stump of a forest tree,--with one flourishing foliaged branch bearing a censer of burning incense; her supporter, on the right, a chestnut-tree in full flower, and on a branch two royal paroquets--lovebirds!

In 1457 the poet-King put forth an allegory of chivalry which he called “_La Conqueste de Doulce Mercy par le Cuer d’Amour espris_.” The conceit of the story is just a simple knight,--youthful, vigorous, and a true lover of women,--setting forth for the devotion he holds for his mistress to endure perilous adventures. René himself is, of course, the hero of the poem, the intrepid soldier of Naples, the heroic prisoner of Bulgneville.

The opening of the poem reveals “_le Bon Roy_” one night wakeful, and suffering heartache--“_Mortie dormant en resverie_.” It appeared to him that his heart left his breast, and that “_Vif Désire_” whispered gently:

“Si, Doulce Mercy, Desires de povoir avoir, Il fault que tu faces devoir Par la force d’armes l’acquerir.”

“If, True Chivalry, Thou wouldst have power, Then thy metal try And by arms acquire.”

“_Vif Désire_” then armed “_Cuer_” with a blade of steel, keen and bright, a helmet stamped with amorous thoughts bearing the crest of hope, three blooms of “_N’oubliez mye_.” Then led gently forth, he meets “_Franc Vouloir_,” tall and strong, and fully armed for all emergencies; and putting spurs to his charger, he goes off at a gallop with his companions. Over hill and dale they dash, until they come in view of a lovely damsel--

“plaiesante et blonde Et de tous biens la plus parfaict du monde.”

After passing through a weird forest, they emerge upon a smiling valley, where they behold a sumptuous palace. On approaching, they see a very splendid column of jasper, and after dismounting they read the inscription carved thereon:

“A vous, tous Cuers gentilz et gracieux, Qui conquérir voulez pour valori mieulx Du Dieu d’Amour et de vos Dames aussi Doulce grace et eureuse mercy. N’ayez en vous changement de pensée Pour delaissier vos premières amours, Soiez loyaux sans varier tousjours, Pitie pur vous ne sera par lasée.”

Whilst pondering over this epithet, a very beautiful woman approaches them, splendidly attired in royal robes, and seizes hold of the reins of “_Franc Vouloir’s_” steed. “_Cuer_” at once turns to her, and, kneeling, kisses her hand and asks her name. “_Douce Éspérance_,” she replies, “and I greet you, worthy gentlemen, and desire to set you on your way.” Directed by this gracious lady, they reach the shores of a great lake or sea, and, moored by the water’s edge, they espy a little sailing vessel, and in it two lovely maidens--“_Fiance_” and “_Actente_”--about whom “_Douce Éspérance_” had spoken. Leaving their mounts to wander free, the travellers board the frail craft, and, presto! they are at the glorious temple of the Isle of Love. The day passes dillydally; they all sup together, and the sweet, soft shadows hide their repose. Other characters are “_Bel Accueil_,” “_Franchise_,” “_Piété_,” “_Faux Semblant_,” and “_Largesse_”; and the allegory ends, as all should do, in the complete victory of Cupid.

The year that Louis XI., by his greed and treachery, drove his noble uncle, “_le Bon Roy René_,” out of Anjou was one of trial and embarrassment for the King of Sicily. At first his feelings, outraged by the infamous behaviour of the son of his best-loved sister, Queen Marie, got the better of his equanimity, and he gave way to indignant protests; but when a man is in his sixties he learns to put up with base affronts. René learned by sad experience to measure hypocrites by their professions, but to leave their castigation to posterity. He accepted philosophically, adverse circumstances as they arose and not only checked the expression of his own sentiments, but discouraged reprisals on the part of his impatient and indignant subjects. With this same restraint the poet-King put forth a sententious drama, which he entitled “_L’Abuzé en Court_”; we may translate it, perhaps, “The Victim of Circumstances.” Its theme may be gauged as follows: Within the shady portal of an ancient church,--the pavement strewn with the persons of the blind and crippled seeking alms,--a pious wayfarer beheld an oldish man whose silken though shabby attire spoke of better days. His doublet was torn and his long poniard broken, his light brown hair streaked with silver strands, and his pouch poorly furnished. The wayfarer speaks kindly to the victim of Providence:

“Mon gentil homme, Dieu vous garde, Et vous doint ce que déseriez. Pardonnez moi, je vous en prie, Et me dictez par courtousie De vostre vie le renom Que vous estez et vostre nom.”

“My good fellow, God protect you, And grant you all that now you desire. Forgive me fully, now I pray you, And tell me something of your despair. By your courtesy I would your name, And your life’s story and deeds of fame.”

_L’Abuzé_ politely replies:

“Sire! pourquoi le demandez C’est raison que je vous le dye. J’ay nom sans que riens en mesdye Le pouvre homme abuzé en court.”

Then he goes on to tell his story--the story of his life’s adversity, a biograph of René’s. In happy days, now past, he had his amours and his ambitions, his military exploits and his acts of peace. Much of his time he had spent unselfishly caring for others, whose weal depleted his purse and embarrassed his affairs until he was forced to settle with his creditors. The narrative is worked out in dialogue by the concourse of many speakers--among them a great lady, “_La Court_”--Providence, and two _demoiselles_ of pity--“_Abuz_”--Wantoncy, and “_Folcuideo_”--Mockery.

The _mise en scène_ varies as the tension, and the vicissitudes of human life are presented under every aspect. The poem is a “morality,” as that term was erstwhile understood.

The end of the whole matter is summed up characteristically as follows:

“J’ay pascience! Et pour vostre paine et salaire Y-a-t-il aulcun que y pense? Pour à voz loyers satisfaire Que avez vous? J’ay pascience!”

“Patience is mine! For your ailing and for your health, Is there anything for which you pine Openly to gain, or by your stealth, What would you? Patience is mine!”

René and Jehanne went to Provence in 1473 in the guise of fugitives. The Angevines deplored excessively this exile; they loved both King and Queen, and Louis and all his works they hated cordially. René saw no other course to follow. He was heavily cast down by family afflictions. Jean, his noble eldest son, was dead; dead, too, were Charles d’Anjou, his brother, and Nicholas, his dear grandson, and Ferri de Vaudémont. He sought peace and consolation, and Provence and the Provençaux offered both most loyally.

The story of Louis’s perfidy may be shortly told. In 1474 René proclaimed Charles de Maine, his nephew, his heir to Anjou-Provence, regardless of the French King’s presumptions. Louis summoned his uncle to Paris to answer before the Parliament. Something of a compromise was come to, for Louis said he should be content for Charles to be proclaimed Duke and Count, but after him he or his heirs would annex both duchy and county to France.

It had always been the policy of Sovereigns to encourage knight-errantry and tournaments, for the competitors who assembled became lieges of the lord. The names and performances of candidates were inscribed on parchment rolls with gold and enamels; these were read out aloud by tabarded heralds. The champions were escorted in pageants to be decorated by the Queen or Lady President of the “Lists”--a graduation, so to speak, in a world-wide University of chivalry. In 1453 Duke Philippe of Burgundy instituted a very singular festival, “The Pageant of the Pheasant,” in which knights were made to swear for Church and fame. The oath ran as follows: “I _N._ swear before God, my Creator, in the first place; the ever-glorious Mary, His mother; and, lastly, before these ladies of the tournament and the Pheasant, to be a true and Christian knight.” The Pheasant was the emblem of fecundity, the mascot of would-be brides and mothers!

Troubadours and “Courts of Love” were complements of warlike deeds on stricken field or in tilting-joust. The Provençal seigneurs and their ladies lived in lonely castles, with nothing on earth to do. Provence was the cradle of the troubadours. Every troubadour had to choose the lady of his passion; she might return it or not, as she chose. It was Guillaume de Poitou, a very famous troubadour, who gave the maxim: “If you propose a game of love, I am not too foolish to refuse, but I shall choose the side that is the best.” All this appealed to King René, and his bent fell in distinctly with that of the famous troubadours of the past. His poetic and sentimental nature found reflective expression in the old “_Magali_,” of the popular melodies of Provence:

“O Magali ma tant amado, Mete la tête au fenestroun, Esecuto un pan aguesto subado De Tambourine, de Viouloun Esplein estello paramount, L’Auro os tournado Mailes estello paliran Quand te verraut.”

This was the spirit of the life to which King René introduced his young and beauteous consort--a romantic existence which appealed forcibly to the sweet instincts of the royal bride. Her response was the joy of René’s heart; if denied the fruit of sexual love, he and she were productive of the issue of kindred souls. They lived for one another in an elysium of bliss, chaste and unalloyed, with no qualms of conscience and no aftermath of reproach.

René’s love of Jehanne became a passion; her freshness and animation and the evenness of her disposition were to him like so many springs of invigorating water, whence, quaffing, he ever rose to new activities. She became the inspirer of his poetry, the spur in his official duties, and the pivot of his benevolence. He was never tired of extolling her virtues in prose and verse, nor of painting her in miniature and in large. It was said that he always carried about with him wherever he went her portrait, which he himself painted upon a small oval piece of walnut wood let into a locket frame of chiselled gold and enamel. More than this, his most treasured trophy of the “Lists”--the lance with which he unseated Charles VII. at the nuptial tournament for Queen Marguerite d’Anjou--contained an orifice wherein he inserted another likeness of “_la bonne Jehanne_.” In the inventory of his garderobe at Angers Castle we read: “_Item, Ung bois de lance creux, ou il y a dedans un rollet de parchemin, auquel c’est dedans la portraicture de la Royne de Sicile._”[A]

[A] “Item, A hollow lance pole wherein there is a roll of parchment upon which is a portrait of the Queen of Sicily.”

The _Comptes de Roi René_, filling very many folios, wherein are noted household, State, and private expenses and other correlative matters, were stored in the _Chambre des Comptes_ which René caused to be built at Angers Castle. A suite of apartments facing the river was used for the transaction of business matters and for the deposit of valuable documents. Here, too, was the King’s council-chamber, whilst in the gardens stretching in front along the river-side were cages and caves, wherein were kept many lions and strange beasts the collection of which became a royal hobby. Beyond the spacious buildings at the centre of the gardens was a pavilion which René used as a study and a sanctum, wherein he spent much of his leisure time dreaming, reading, and writing. Here he kept a register of artists and artisans, noting their several qualifications, their works, and their honorariums and salaries. He had a sort of school of architect-surveyors who, under his personal direction, prepared plans and projections of all the works, public and private, in which he was interested--markets, bridges, fountains, cottages, etc.

A work at Angers in which he took the greatest interest, and on which he lavished large sums of money, was the erection and decoration of a chapel within the Cathedral of St. Maurice, which he dedicated to the ever-blessed memory of St. Bernardin, his cherished friend and confessor.

Giovanni della Porta was born at Massa di Carrara at the close of 1384. He took the cord and cowl of St. Francis d’Assisi, and was sent with other brethren of the Order to evangelize the people of Marseilles. He became attached to the household of King Louis II., René’s father, and thus an intimacy sprang up between the two. He accompanied René on all his expeditions to Italy, and remained in priestly attendance upon him when at home. The good man died of fever at Aquila in Calabria in 1449, and René, ever grateful to his mentor and spiritual father, in 1450 prevailed upon Pope Nicholas V. to order his canonization. Certain miracles said to have been wrought at his tomb in Southern Italy, and weird happenings as his body was translated to Anjou, convinced the Curia of his sanctity. His memorial chapel at Angers was a sumptuous erection, and in its adornment the King took an active part, painting the glass windows and the altar and its reredos. Before the resting-place of the dead saint’s corpse René directed a funeral chamber to be made, wherein he subsequently ordered by his will that his heart should be deposited. This was an action truly characteristic of “_le bon Roy_.” He had so often unburdened himself to the saint, and from him had obtained not only absolution, but direction, that their two hearts beat in accord in life, and in death they were also joined.

Not only did the heart of René rest near St. Bernardin, but the hearts also,--each in its golden casket,--of Jehanne and the valiant and chivalrous Jean de Calabria, René’s eldest son.

King René and Queen Jehanne were pious folk indeed. At Marseilles, at Tarascon, and at Aix itself, they assisted humbly at Church festivals, processions, and pilgrimages. The lives and loves of the humble home at Bethany in Palestine, transhipped to the reverent shores of tuneful Provence, kindled the affection and the reverence of one and all. The feasts of “_Les Maries_,” St. Marthe de Tarasque, and of St. Maximin, good Lazarus’s disciple, were honoured by enthusiastic annual devotions. No one tired of hearing of those saintly lives, and no sacrifice was too great to show the heart’s devotion. King René and his consort’s offerings took the form of costly reliquaries in gold, enamels, and jewels, depositories upon high-altars for holy relics. The royal couple assisted at the translation of St. Martha’s relics to Tarascon, May 10, 1458. In 1461 from Aix went a splendid casket to the collegiate church of St. George at Nancy, in pious memory of that redoubtable warrior and of the gentle Isabelle de Lorraine. It was intended for the encasement of a thigh-bone of the Knight of Cappadocia. The King and Queen in 1473 presented another precious reliquary to the Church of St. Nicholas du Port at Angers, and with it they bestowed upon the clergy the unique gift of an arm and a hand of the saint. Twelve leagues from Aix is the curious little town of St. Maximin, where, in the thirteenth-century church,--built by Charles II. of Naples and Provence, ancestor of Queen Giovanna II.,--are preserved the sacred bones of St. Mary Magdalen. The skull, it is said, has still a small fragment of flesh adhering where Christ touched her forehead. Here, too, the kingly couple bestowed a golden reliquary for the saint’s right arm and founded a perpetual Mass. This sad saint of Christ, the repentant one, ever had great influence with René and his royal consort. Not content with listening to her sweet voice,--perhaps an imagination, after all,--in the streets of Marseilles (as the King himself has depicted), in a beauteous retreat near Angers he fixed a sweet shrine, La Baumette, or Bausome, near Reculée, where he founded a hermitage, “La Madeleine de St. Baumette.” This was partly in honour of “St. Baume,” as the Magdalen, the patroness of Provence was familiarly called. In the chapel the King painted a picture of St. Bernardin hearing confession--perhaps his own.

If René had lost the crown of Naples, another crown was shortly laid at his feet. In 1469 the Grand Council of Barcelona rejected Juan II. as King of Catalonia. He was brother of Alfonso V., René’s rival and conqueror in Naples, but unpopular and blind, and somewhat unready. His wife, the courageous Queen Blanche of Navarre, had taken his place in line of battle, and was enthusiastically beloved by the Catalonians; she died, unhappily, in 1468, of a cancer or of poison, so it was rumoured, and with her died the love of Juan’s subjects. The vacant throne was offered with one accord to King René of Sicily-Anjou, the son of the beloved and venerated Princess Yolanda,--who had been brought up at Barcelona,--the only child of old King Juan I. René, in accepting the graceful tribute to his dear mother’s claim and person, placed his son Jean de Calabria in the hands of the Catalonians, and begged them,--his own age being far advanced, and his son in his prime and a famous warrior,--to proclaim him in his stead. Jean was acclaimed generally, and hastened to Barcelona to assume his crown, being backed by Louis XI. with a money subsidy and a strong force of men. The landing of the new King was a scene of uproarious rejoicing. His princely qualities appealed to them, and his grandmother had been their own Princess. People struggled to embrace his knees as he rode to the castle; they kissed the harness of his charger, and ladies tossed valuable rings and jewellery with their flowers and their kisses sweet.

Alas for the joys of nations and of individuals! when things are rosiest, and all tend to good and peace and prosperity, there swoops down the insatiable mower with his scythe, to garner what men can least well spare. King Juan III. of Catalonia and Calabria had not been installed in the kingdom of his grandmother more than one short year, when he fell ill of plague or poison,--the two fellest foes to Sovereigns then,--and died at Barcelona on December 13, 1470. He had fought for his father’s cause and his own right nobly in Italy, defeating Ferdinand d’Aragon, Alfonso’s son, at Sarno in 1460, but, beaten at Troia, he fled to Ischia.

The Castle of Beaufort was built upon a lofty rock rising above the Loire, overlooking the whole of that fertile and lovely valley; from its battlements both Angers and Saumur were visible. King René purchased it and its estate in 1469 for 30,000 gold crowns, and assigned it as part of Queen Jehanne’s fortune. After the King’s death and burial, and when she had taken a sad and affectionate farewell of her devoted people in Provence, the royal widow settled down in this attractive residence, and there spent the residue of her life. The _Comptes_ contain many items for building materials, decoration, and furniture, showing King René’s anxiety to make his dear wife’s bijou residence a very real pleasaunce for her.

René indeed was a master-builder, not merely in the way of a hobby, but practically and in many places. He studied the works of Leon Battista Alberti and other famous architects, and entertained and employed numbers of Italian sculptors. Pietro da Milano was one of these; he was engaged principally in Barrois, and there added the duties of director of revels to his other artistic occupations. Marble busts of René and Jehanne, of Queen Margaret of England and her unhappy son Edward, Prince of Wales, of Ferri de Vaudémont and Yolande, with their young son René, and many others, found expression under Pietro’s skilful chisel. In the “_Farce des Pastoureaux_,” acted at the Palace of Bar-le-Duc in August, 1463, King René provided costly dresses for his clever little namesake grandson, then twelve years old, and for the rest of the juvenile cast; these were made by Noel Bontault, after Pietro da Milano’s designs. The King and his Court were then in residence at the Castle of Louppy, which he had repaired along with the castles of Clermont en Argonne, de Koeurs, and Bonconville, and where he received and comforted his miserable daughter, the heroic consort of Henry VI. Queen Jehanne’s ministrations to the forlorn Queen were tenderly rendered and gratefully received. She is credited with the characteristically graceful acts of reclothing the fugitive, and according to Queen Margaret precedence and homage. King René’s handiwork in all these enterprises was varied and extensive. He painted the windows, he carved the escutcheons of arms, and he fashioned the hinges and locks of the doors. The _Comptes_ prove by very many entries his royal excellence as a craftsman as well as an artist. Scarcely a church in Barrois, Lorraine, Anjou, and Provence, but bore evidence of the kingly artistry. Perhaps his two specialities were glass working and decorating, and wool and silk weaving and embroidery.

One of the most admirable works of the King and Queen,--for Jehanne was not only the amanuensis of her husband, but his inspirer also,--was the conception and the elaboration of the procession of the “_Fête Dieu_” and “_Les Jeux de la Tarasque_.” This pageant originated in the mind of René when, as a youth, he witnessed with emotion in 1427, at Bar-le-Duc, “_La Mystère de la Passion_,” under the direction of Conrad Bayer, Bishop of Metz. Thirty years of war and travel did not banish the impression the young Christian warrior gained, and from time to time in Anjou and elsewhere he composed _rondeaux_, _ballades_, and _chansons_, in a masque or mystery which he called “_Le Roy Avenir_.” In 1474 the King and Queen assisted at Aix at the first rendition of “_Les Jeux de la Fête Dieu_.” This was preceded by “_La Procession du Sacré_”--the Procession of the Sacred Host. All the clergy, nobles, troubadours, pretty women, and gallant knights, of Provence assisted, and all the trade corporations took part. Everybody in the procession carried upon the tip of a white wand a piece of _pain béni_. Each section of the cortège was a moving spectacle or pageant. The first section, by acclamation, exhibited “_Lon Grand Juée deis Diables_”--the Grand Play of the Devils. The devils were black and red and green, and every youth’s ambition was to figure as a Prince of Darkness; indeed, in later times a young fellow based his claim to be a devil on the fact that his father and all his ancestors had been devils, so “_c’est pourquoi ne le serrais je pas!_”

To “the Devils” succeeded “the Magi,” “the Innocents of Bethlehem,” “the Apostles,” “the Queen of Sheba and Solomon,” and other _tableaux movants_ from Scriptural sources. Most amusing were “The Play of the Jews,” represented by human cats--a reference to the features characteristic of the race; “_Les Chevaux fringants_,” hobby-horses played by four-and-twenty children, dressed as knights of the “Lists”; a masque of morris-dancers. The two last spectacles were lugubrious: “The Company of Lepers” and “The March of Death.”

The revels filled five whole days in and out of church, through and through the streets and squares, and out into the open pleasure-grounds. Prizes were awarded, honours bestowed, and profits made, and everybody was the better for the prodigality of “_le bon Roy_” and the graciousness of “_la bonne Royne_.”

René had been in early life remarkable for his simple tastes and abstemiousness in food and drink, and Queen Isabelle was equally careful in personal matters. Their lives were passed in strenuous times when self-denial required great sacrifices of individual indulgences. Isabelle was a soldier’s wife, Jehanne the consort of a statesman when life’s battle had given way to the ease of peace. Both were attractive women, few their superiors, but Isabelle’s hand was upon the hilt of the sword and the snaffle of the charger. Jehanne’s held the mirror of fashion and the goblet of pleasure. After René and Jehanne had arranged their domestic settlement in Provence, at once their Court became noted for its magnificent hospitality. René employed the first master-cook of the day, Maestro Guillaume Real, as his Master of the Household. People nicknamed him “_Courçon_,” as marshal of the courses of a banquet, rather than “_Soupçon_,” the secret of each! The royal repasts were arranged as spectacles; at the cross high table were placed the hosts and guests of honour, and at tables down the hall other guests were accommodated. The walls were hung with silver and crystal sconces full of torches or tapers, and the trophies of war and the chase belonging to the house were there displayed. The covers and the service were as rich and costly as could be. Gold, enamels, crystals, rare faience, and other art treasures, were used with lavish taste.

Each course was proclaimed heraldically by blasts of horns and _motets_ from the music gallery. The high table was served by knights and men of rank, who bore the splendid bowls and dishes upon napery of cloth of gold. The richer viands were enclosed in golden caskets, and the keys offered to the guests, who in turn unlocked them and took or refused their contents. Some of the confections have not their parallel to-day. One table, for example, was made to represent a stag-hunt, another a village revel, one a castle with a moat of rare vintage, another an abbey church with bells pealing and hidden children singing. Small animals and birds, and actually growing trees and flowers, were used. The roast and the dessert were the _pièces de résistance_; each was carried up the hall in gay procession with much ceremonious bowing, and guarded by archers of the guard in gorgeous liveries. At the sight of any very splendid and appealing course the whole lordly company were wont to burst out into song--a well-known and lengthy _chanson_; it was called “_Le Sauve-garde de ma Vie_.”

Over the anticlimax of the feast the kindly chroniclers usually draw a discreet veil, for warriors in the field were vanquished in the hall, and beauties beloved in the boudoir were forgotten in the debauch. We may suppose rightfully, however, that the hospitalities of René and Jehanne never caused a flush of shame or a prick of scorn. They aimed at and happily succeeded in proving that “_il n’y pas au monde de royauté comparable au bonheur d’être aimé d’elle_,” as the King prettily termed it.

For twenty-five years the simple delights of a useful domestic life were serenely enjoyed by the happy King and Queen. Their spirit of contentedness hallowed the homes of their people, and Provence became a paradise of peace. Certainly the want of children caused Jehanne many a pang, but the devotion of a good husband, one so accomplished, so unselfish, and so universally beloved, was a real compensation, and she had learned the lesson of mingled weal and woe. She found congenial occupation in furthering the good intentions of the King and in ministering to all in need around her. She had, nevertheless, quasi-maternal cares, for in the palace at Aix and in other royal residences were several children and young people of both sexes, besides the three acknowledged bastards by convention, who could lay claim to royal parentage. Some of these are mentioned in _Les Comptes_ as receiving alimony and gifts from René. An entry on July 8, 1466, records the gift to Demoiselle Odille of a pelisse of marten fur. She was then somewhere about twenty years of age, but had charge of the King’s rings and jewellery under the eye of Sieur Guillaume de Remerville, the Treasurer of the Household. René had married her, in 1460, to Gaspare Spinola, a Genoese attendant in his train, who died in 1465, leaving his child-widow to the care of her father. Another child is also named, Hélène,--“_la petite Hélène_,” as René called her,--an attractive little creature, “singing like a lark and dancing like a gazelle,” who died on her fifteenth birthday, in the year 1469. The King liked to have her near him at meal-times, when he fondled her affectionately, “_comme ma vraie fille_.”

Besides these family cares, Queen Jehanne devoted much of her time to feminine industries. In the convents, in the workshops, in the fields, were poor girls and women needing assistance and encouragement. The example of “good Queen Yolande” was ever before her eyes, and she strove to make herself not only mistress of their hearts, but of their occupations. Spinning, weaving, embroidering, and generally all needlework, found her an accomplished executant. She, too, could use her brush and palette, in miniature and in large, and her chisel and mallet both in wood and stone, and she was a very excellent artificer in gold and silver work. Her benefactions were on the most liberal and most catholic scale; no good cause was overlooked, and when she came to make her will, paragraph after paragraph was taken up by bequests to charitable institutions and to cherished needy individuals. If less devout than her sister-in-law, Queen Marie, and less religiously exercised, Queen Jehanne was a model daughter of the Church, and none recognized this more completely than His Holiness the Pope, who bestowed upon her the precious decoration of the Golden Rose, “for virtue as a spouse and benevolence as a Queen.”

Approaching her jubilee,--an anxious period for many women,--the good Queen fell away in health, and appeared to be sickening for her end. Poison was hinted at, but in all probability she suffered, not from poison designedly administered, but from the poison of the atmosphere, laden time out of mind, in those low-lying lands near the mouths of the Rhine, with the seeds of disease--the dreaded plague and black-death.

Happily, Jehanne was able, through her robust constitution and abstemious way of life, to throw off the evil effects of her malady; but no sooner had she regained her accustomed vigour than a crushing sorrow came to her--the mortal illness of her cherished spouse, King René. His was a green old age, with his venerable but erect figure and his winning if somewhat melancholy expression. His blue eyes and gracious aspect drew forth confidence all round, and his gentle voice and genial manners excited true affection. Dressed almost with monkish severity in a great long coat of black silk or velvet, with a heavy collar and revers of brown squirrel fur, and wearing a girdle with a crucifix and beads, his long white hair was capped by a simple velvet _berretta_, and he displayed neither jewels nor decorations, only his Sovereign’s badge and chain of gold. He was a typical father of his people.

Struck down mysteriously one day at Mass in the Cathedral of Aix by a stalking epidemic,--he had not spared himself in visits of condolence to the stricken and bereaved,--in the springtide of 1480, the King was borne tenderly to the palace. No more tender nurse could there be than his devoted consort. She took her station at once at his bedside, and, laying her head upon his pillow, she cheered and solaced him as none other could; only did she rouse herself for needful ablutions, for food, and for the saying of the “Hours” in the oratory. With her was a little maiden, René’s grandchild Marguerite, thirteen years of age, Yolande de Vaudémont’s daughter, a great pet of Queen Jehanne. The child had the sweetest of sweet voices,--a quality very precious in the estimation of the King,--and she soothed his sufferings and refreshed his weaknesses by childish songs and minstrelsy, whilst she stroked his withered hands and in them placed her own.

At dawn of day, July 10, amid the rustling of the summer foliage outside the wide-open windows of the palace, came whisperings from the sick-room--soft, low, and sad: “_Le bon Roy est mort!_” It was gently told to the weeping Queen by the royal physicians, but her Ladies of Honour in the anteroom caught the ominous news besides. They stole outside the heavy arras and told the terrible secret to the valets and men-at-arms; then it flashed out through the galleries and across the courtyards, and stayed the janitors of the gates as they prepared to open them as usual for the new day’s life. “_Le bon Roy est mort!_” soon was echoed through the city streets, and tears and protestations of affection and tender souvenirs of regret found full utterance. “_Le bon Roy is mort!_” was like the knell of doom. No one could realize it or prophesy.

III.

No one has told us of Queen Jehanne’s sorrow--better so. No stranger ever shares a full heart’s loss. Broken, but submissive and self-sustained, her consort’s fortitude in distress had come to her as well; she failed not at the moment of her trial. With her own hands she led the last offices of reverent duty to the dead. Shrouded in a simple white linen shift, but covered with the crimson and ermine mantle of state, they laid their deceased Sovereign upon the canopied bed of Estate, moved to the centre of the great hall. The Queen herself had closed his eyes, and now she arranged his hands. In them she placed a costly ruby cross he had given her at her marriage; at his feet she laid the “_Livre des Heures_,” which was also his nuptial gift; and then she placed around his neck the Sovereign’s jewel,--there was no heir to wear it, alas!--and last of all she knelt and sprinkled holy water on his corpse.

Every door and window was set wide ajar that, night or day, all might see and pray and bless. Dusk fell on that long, long day, but the crowd of loving servants and subjects still surged along reverently to pay their last respects; and so night fell and passed, not in the peaceful hush of slumber, but with smothered tread of painful feet and the smothered sob of woe.

All Aix was hung in black, and on July 14 the streets were lined by weeping citizens as the funeral cortège of “_le bon Roy_” passed to the Cathedral of St. Sauveur. The burial casket, after the requiem and Court ceremonies, was placed, not in a tomb direct, but in a _chapelle ardente_, and watches of religious mounted guard and prayed. Soon the wish of their venerated Sovereign was made public property, and then, amid fresh lamentations lest Aix should lose his remains, appeals were made to Queen Jehanne. She was deeply affected, but remained quiet and resigned. She could not reverse her husband’s will, but she could allow his body to remain awhile where it was. With this the authorities had to be content, and forthwith, to strengthen their hold upon that sacred casket, steps were taken to erect a splendid monument and tomb. An embassy was sent off at once to Rome to ask for a “Bull” whereby the late Sovereign’s directions as to the place of sepulture might be laid aside. Aix was not so much jealous of Angers as she was devoted to her King.

In accordance with the marital customs of the time, King René had a mistress--perhaps more than one, but one at least whose name has been preserved by chroniclers, Marie de la Chapelle, a respectable middle-class woman of Provence. Whether “de la Chapelle” was a sobriquet or not is not clear; probably it was so, and given her later on in life after the artist King had painted her wearing a _chapelle_, or black velvet hood, in a diptych, wherein he faces her, which he kept secretly in his own studio. It is said that she did not really love René, but liked to rule him and to direct the royal household. She was exigeant, too, for the legitimatizing of the three children she bore the King, whom René had always duly acknowledged as his. These were Jean, “_le Bâtard d’Angers_,” created, after the premature death of Prince Louis, Marquis de Pont-à-Mousson and Seigneur of St. Cannot; Blanche; and Madeleine. Jean married Isabelle, daughter of Raymond de Glandevez, Ambassador to the Pope, pro-Governor of Genoa, and Grand Master of France. Blanche d’Anjou married Bertrand de Beauvau, Seigneur de Precigny, Master of the Court of Angers and Seneschal of Anjou. He was in 1462 appointed President of Provence. His father was Seigneur de Rochette. René gave his daughter the estate of Mirabeau in Poitou, which he purchased in 1488. In the _Comptes du Roy René_ is the record of a gift to Blanche of a gold mirror worth 20 _écus d’or_, under date January 12, 1488, and the same year, on March 18, she received a large table diamond from her father, which unfortunately she lost when playing in a farce before the Court on the following _Jour de l’An_. The precious bauble was found by a monk, Alfonso de la Rocque, Prior of the monastery of Les Anges d’Aix, and restored on payment of a tun of red wine. The discovery was only made known, it appears, through the confessional; the good friar had qualms about not making known his find. This Blanche d’Anjou was educated at Beaucaire by Demoiselle Collette, a worker in furs, who received many costly gifts from King René. It has been sought to prove that Marie de la Chapelle was this Demoiselle Collette. Among the King’s gift were homely objects, too. His _Comptes_, under April 4, 1447, record “three cannes of fine holland cloth; two ditto fine muslin, and five black silk velvet for a head-dress.” Another gift to Blanche d’Anjou, on May 16, 1447, was hair for a _rigotter_, a _coiffure postiche_ for which the King paid 7 florins to Marguerite, wife of Jehan Augier, at Beaucaire. Again Blanche was the recipient of her father’s generosity, for on June 7 the same year he gave her a cincture of wrought silver which cost 11 florins.

Before Blanche married the Seigneur de Precigny he had buried three wives, and he himself was buried with them at Angers in October, 1474. She died prematurely in giving birth to a child, April 11, 1470, no more than twenty-one years of age. Madeleine, René’s second illegitimate daughter, married Louis Jehan, Seigneur de Belleneve, Chamberlain to Charles VIII. of France when Dauphin. He gave him for his marriage 15,000 florins, that he might “espouse worthily _ma cousine_,” as he calls her. Louis XII. gave her on her widowhood a sum of 12,000 florins.

On the death of King René, his eldest daughter, Yolande, Countess of Vaudémont, claimed and assumed the title of Queen of Sicily, Jerusalem, Naples, and Aragon, but took no steps to enforce her claim upon that vulture monarch, Louis XI., who at once seized upon the lands of his uncle, and styled himself Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence. Countess Yolande was her father’s child, tender and retiring. She craved the charms of the quiet life, and consequently, at the convocation of the Estates of Anjou and Provence, she renounced her title, and made it over to her son René. He had already taken up the gauntlet of his grandfather, and given proof of the sterling qualities of his ancestry. The duchy of Lorraine and that of Bar were his through his mother also, and as Duke of Lorraine René II. is known to historians. Countess Yolande died at Nancy February 21, 1483. René II. was the Prince whom his father, Ferri de Vaudémont, insisted should make a pilgrimage from Vezelay,--famous in the history of Thomas à Becket,--the capital of Le Morvan, to Jerusalem with one foot booted, the other bare, and, as he went, to distribute to every poor person he met 12 _livres_ by way of satisfaction for small sums he himself had borrowed and had not paid back--surely a wide stretch of fatherly authority and the law of substitution!

The widowed Queen lost little time in settling her affairs in Provence, for she was minded to go to Anjou with her precious dead; indeed, René had expressed a wish to that effect. She carefully surveyed the names of all the people René loved and of those who loved him most nearly too. To each and all some token was sent or given; she spared few things for herself. Churches, institutions, schools, guilds, and all public bodies, received mementoes of the dead monarch. To Jehanne came many pangs at parting. She had learned to love the gentle Provençals, and they had not failed to return her regard most warmly. At last her preparations were completed, and she spent a day and night in the cathedral by the casket of her dear dead, and then sorrowfully she took her journey to distant Anjou, home to her kith and kin.

King René in his will speaks thus of his beloved Queen: “Because Jehanne has loved me, so I do and shall love her as my dearest wife till death. Her virtues and her goodness to me I cannot forget, nor her loving services which she has rendered me for so long a time. I will that she shall have unrestricted liberty of action to settle, when I am dead, where she will.… I give to her the county of Beaufort; the castle and estate of Mirabeau; the town of Aubagne; the castles of San Remy, Pertuis, and Les Baux, with my _bastides_ in and about Aix and at Marseilles, with all their furniture and appurtenances.” King René also specially bequeathed to Jehanne his most valuable jewels: collars of diamonds; “_le grand et le petit bulay_,” rubies, with sprays of gold and gems;[A] his diamonds “_à la cesse_,” uncut and strung (?); his plates and caskets of gold; his great bowls of gold; his great trays of silver; and his precious goblet and ewer of gold encrusted with jewels; and many other splendid precious objects.

[A] “_Le grand bulay_” was a famous ruby, richly mounted, which he had bought for 18,000 florins (= £7,000).

With respect to the body of King René, it has been chronicled that the Queen before leaving Aix made secret arrangements for its translation to Angers. She feared a hostile demonstration if open measures were taken. She took into her confidence a priest belonging to the cathedral chapter, and they together worked out a plan which was put into operation after Queen Jehanne had arrived at Angers. She sent two of her most trusty attendants, Jehan de Pastis and Jacquemain de Mahiers, with an imposing suite, conveying a letter to the Archbishop of Aix asking for the heart of René. The priestly confidant was at the service of the envoys, and they very cleverly contrived to secrete the casket with the King’s body in a royal chariot which the Queen had commanded to be laden with certain dresses and properties she had left behind, and in particular the pall she had worked with her own hand, and which was still covering the dead King’s coffin. The precious burden was driven to a secluded backwater of the Rhone, and there embarked upon a great royal barge; and so King René’s body passed through France once more, as he had so often done in life. The disembarkment of the royal corpse was effected at Ponts-de-Cé, across the Loire, a few miles out of Angers, and thence the second obsequies were conducted with splendid ceremonies and amid universal tokens of joy and sorrow of his Angevine subjects. The heart was with the body, but the entrails were left at Aix in the cathedral.

This was the last public appearance of Queen Jehanne. She retired to her Castle of Beaufort, and there she spent the residue of her life, eighteen long and solitary years--years never idle, never self-indulgent, years loyal to the fond memory of her spouse, years yearning for reunion. The day Jehanne entered her new home was St. Luke’s festival, 1481, the second summer of the year, when the last grapes hang ripened upon the vines, and the year’s vintage is gathered in. Perhaps the simile from Nature enforced itself upon the widowed Queen’s sympathetic mind. Her harvest was now that of the quiet eye; its growth had been when eye met eye--hers and René’s; now was approaching the winter of her life, when her work was to be finished and her rest full-garnered.

Jehanne chose as the companions of her widowhood three trusty servitors--René de Breslay, her Seneschal; Thibault de Cossé, her Master of the Household; and Bernard de Praneas, her Confessor. She spent her time in prayer and charity. She established hostels for poor people, for pilgrims and the sick; schools for children left orphans, and for those cast upon the world by miserable parents. Besides these pious works, the good Queen preserved her interest in such arts and crafts as she and René had encouraged in Provence. She studied once more books and sciences he had loved, she painted miniatures, composed madrigals and hymns, and sang and played as she had done for him, and her pen became that of the ready writer. She translated Guillaume de Guillerville’s tragedy, “The Pilgrimage of Human Life”; “The Soul separated from the Body,” a poem by Jehan Galoppez, a priest of Angers and her Private Secretary; and a moralization upon “The Certainty of Paradise.” All her works were, however, in prose, which, she said “_conservez le sens et les images, mais déliverez moi du martelage et des grimaces de ce baragouin!_”[A]

[A] “Preserve the sense and the shape, but protect me from forced metaphor and gibberish!”

Perhaps the action which most endeared the memory of the good Queen to the hearts and minds of the people about her was the extraordinary pains she took to alleviate taxation and to readjust tribute. When René took over the estate in 1471, he made vast reductions in the imposts on land and stock and crop. These were confirmed by Queen Jehanne ten years later, and further reductions were conceded. Her plea to herself was: “Now René is no more, I have no other rôle to play but to do as he would have wished me.” The Forest of Beaufort, where René and she had followed the chase in princely fashion, now no longer echoed the blast of hunting-horns and the cracks of hunting-whips, but with the gentle notes of the _Angelus_, and when the curfews rang out in neighbouring village and homestead, they carried with them the refrain, “_Priez pour la bonne Jehanne_.”

These soft nocturnes and sweet visions of ancient days still linger in Anjou. The memory of the Queen of Sicily, Jehanne, is cherished, and almost a proverb it has become, that all good things done in that rich province are due to the watchful spirit of the Queen. In this connection a very weird narrative may be told. In 1469 Guillaume de Harancourt, Bishop of Verdun, invented a cage of wood and iron for refractory criminals. One such was sent to Angers, which after Jehanne’s death became known as the “cage of the Queen of Sicily.” It was said that Jehanne had been put therein wearing wooden sabots. The why and wherefore of her incarceration was perfectly uncertain, but the sabots are to-day in Angers Museum; the cage has disappeared. Another version has it that King René had among his wild creatures at Reculée and elsewhere a very ferocious eagle which he could not tame, and so the bird was sent to Angers and placed in the Bishop’s wood and iron cage, and dubbed “_La Reine_”--“The Queen”! This bird of prey deserved the name; its appetite was prodigious. In _Les Comptes_, among other entries referring to “her Majesty,” is--“June 3, 1474, ‘La Reine’ has a whole sheep day by day.” This is quaint indeed, but characteristic of stories and storytellers!

Queen Jehanne died at the Castle of Beaufort, December 19, 1498,--as the chroniclers tell us,--“in the odour of sanctity and with all the consolations of Holy Church.”

The Queen’s will--a most lengthy document--contains many affecting and many quaint bequests. She first of all commends herself conventionally to the Almighty, and then goes on to indicate her desire to be laid not far from “Marie of blessed memory”--her consort’s grandmother, Marie de Blois-Châtillon--“before the altar where is laid my lord and consort,” and she warns all and sundry against laying any other bodies there. Her heart she bequeaths to the Chapel of St. Bernardin, within the Church of the Cordeliers at Angers, to be placed beside that of René. She directs that her body shall be covered with a pall of black silk, and that at her funeral six poor religious should attend habited in black, and each bearing a flaming torch. Her heart and René’s should repose upon a pall of cloth of gold embroidered in crimson, and bearing their joined shields of arms. Lights shall always burn in front of the tomb and the cardial reliquary. She instructs her brother and nephew, Seigneurs de la Roche and de Montafiland, to hand over to the Chapter of St. Maurice in Angers 200 _livres tournois_ (_circa_ £120) to pay for her burial cortège, and for Mass, absolutions, vespers, and bells. Particularly she notes her preference for flags of _bougran_--stuff (?)--over silken banners.

The day after her interment the Queen directs that with reverent ritual a crown shall be placed over her head like that she placed over René’s, upon their monument. Certain saintly relics which he and she had been the means of rescuing from sacrilege, and had deposited in the Church of St. Tugal de Laval, shall be displayed gratuitously to “such _dames comtesses_ as may wish to become mothers.” Her “Breviary,” “Psalter,” “Hours,” and other books of devotion, she bequeaths to the Church of St. Tugal de Laval, for the use of daughters of her father’s house at their marriage or when residing in Laval. Two gold rings she particularly desires to be placed upon the relics of St. Nicholas d’Angers, within his reliquary: “one, my wedding-ring, which my very redoubtable lord and consort,--whom God absolve,--placed upon my finger at our nuptials, with a small heart of diamonds and enamelled with deep red roses.” The other ring had a large diamond mounted on a fleur-de-lis, and the band bore the enamelled arms of Anjou. Queen Jehanne did not forget her friends and attendants; for example, among very many legacies, she left 200 _livres tournois_ each to three ladies: Jacqueline de Puy du Jour, Catherine Beaufilz, and “_ma petite_” Gindine de la Jaille, to provide them with trousseaux upon marriage.

The body of the Queen was reverently shrouded in a plain linen chemise, such as that with which she herself had assisted to cover King René’s corpse, and over it was placed his robe of state. Hers was the last lying in state of a Queen of Sicily, and every mark of homage and respect was rendered her remains by high and low. Peasants and citizens conspired together to show their grateful sense of her virtues and her benefactions, and the country road from Beaufort to Angers was lined with sympathetic crowds of mourners. Her passing was in the night time,--so consonant with her love of seclusion and simplicity,--and the whole country-side was ablaze with torches and bonfires. The Queen’s burial was at St. Maurice’s Cathedral, in the tomb of her consort; whilst her heart,--“so full of love and so tenderly beloved,”--in a golden casket exactly like that of the King, was placed next his in the Chapel of St. Bernardin. Upon a memorial tablet was inscribed the epitaph: “Here lies the Heart of the very high and puissant Princess, Jehanne de Laval, second wife of King René, and daughter of Guy, Count de Laval.”

The monument to King René, which she at last came to share in blessed memory, had his effigy reclining, and at his feet a sculptured lion, symbol of courage; at Jehanne’s feet were carved two hounds, emblematic of fidelity. The Chapel of St. Bernardin thus became the royal mausoleum of the last Anjou dynasty--René, with his father and mother, his two wives, his eldest son, and his two daughters, in holy company; and so they remained for 300 years, until that cataclysmatic year 1793, when every holy stone was tumbled down and every reverent memorial defaced. The memorial chapel was for centuries a thing of beauty. King René himself painted the glass windows and designed the tomb. Soon after his marriage with Jehanne de Laval he employed Francesco Laurana and Pietro da Milano to decorate the chapel.

Soon after the death of King René, Sieur Guillaume de Remerville,--his Treasurer at Aix,--voiced the universal sorrow and permanent regret of all the royal servants of his lord in a beautiful funeral ode, which he dedicated to “Queen Jehanne, his worshipful mistress”:

“Pleurez, petits et grands! Pleurez! Car perdu avez le bon Sire. Jamais ne le recouverierez-- Sa mort sera grief martyir.”

“Weep little, weep great, weep all! For we have lost our good Lord. Ne’er more his form to recall-- Hearts broken by his mord.”

Such was the refrain. The same loving dirge of woe was re-echoed through Anjou and Provence when Jehanne passed royally to her burial.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED

I. LE ROI RENÉ.

“Histoire de Roi René.” Vicomte F. L. Villeneuve-Bargement. 3 vols. Paris, 1825.

“Le Roi René: Sa Vie, son Administration, ses Travaux Artistiques et Littéraires.” A. Lecoy de la Marche. Paris, 1875.

“Le Roi René en Lorraine.” Le Chanoine Cherrier. Marseilles, 1895.

“Vie de Roi René.” R. Legonvello. Angers, 1731.

“Le Roi René et la Fête de Charité, 1448.” J. B. Gaut. Aix, 1869.

“Le Duc René.” Gaston Save. Nancy, 1899.

“Les Comptes de Roi René.” 3 vols. Paris, 1909.

“Les Tournois de Roi René.” Paris, 1826.

“Œuvres de Roi René.” Comte A. de Quatrebarbes. 2 vols. Angers, 1885.

II. MISCELLANEOUS.

“Histoire de l’Ordre de Chevalerie.” F. F. Steenackers. Paris, 1867.

“Les MSS. et les Miniatures.” Lecoy de la Marche. Paris, 1884.

“La Chronique des Roys de France.” J. de Ongoys. Paris, 1579.

“Chroniques et Mémoires.” Juvenal des Ursins (1400-1472). Paris, 1653.

“Le Règne de Charles VII.” G. Du Fresne de Beaucourt. Paris, 1856.

“Histoire de Charles VII.” A. Bandot de Juilly. Paris, 1754.

“Histoire Généalogique de la Maison de Bar,” etc. A. Du Chesne. Paris, 1631.

“Étude de la Vie Privée d’Anjou du XV. Siècle.” A. Joubert. Paris, 1884.

“Histoire des Reines Jeanne I. et II.” A. T. Guzot. Paris, 1700.

“Le Orgie della Reina Giovanna II. da Napoli.” G. Cattallani. Naples, 1895.

“Storia della Regina Giovanna II. d’Anzio.” N. F. Faraglia Naples, 1904.

“Coustumes du Pays et Duché Dainon.” 1510.

“Coûtumes d’Anjou.” A. Beautemps-Beaupré. 4 vols. Paris 1881.

“Histoire de Lorraine.” A. Calmet. 3 vols. Paris.

“Histoire de Provence.” J. E. Papon. Aix, 1786.

“Chroniques de Charles VII.” A. Chartier. Paris, 1528.

“Mémoires Sécrets de la Cour de Charles VII.” Madame D(urand). Paris, 1735.

“Maison de Laval.” Comte Bertrand de Brousillon. Angers, 1895.

“La Chorographie de Provence.” H. Bouche. 1664.

“Mélanges.” J. B. Champillon. Paris, 1809.

“Lettres Autobiographiques.” A. Charavaz. 1884.

“Chroniques des Ducs de Bourgogne.” G. Chastellain. Paris, 1825.

“Anecdotes des Reines de France.” Paris, 1785.

“Musée des Monuments Français.” A. Lenoir. 5 vols. Paris.

“Le Moyen Age.” P. La Croix. 5 vols. Paris, 1848.

III. PERIODICALS.

“Bibliothèque Nationale”--“Album des Portraits.”

“Revue Historique et Archéologique du Maine et Loire.” Vol. vi.

“Revue d’Anjou.” Vol. xv.

“Revue Historique d’Angers.” Vol. xviii.

“Revue Numismatique d’Anjou.” Vol. i.

“Bulletin Société Industrielle d’Angers.” Vol. x.

“Mémoires de la Société Agriculturelle d’Angers.” 1850, 1866, 1872.

“Bulletin Mensuel de la Société d’Archéologie Lorraine.” Vol. i.

“Dictionnaire Biographique de Maine et Loire.” Vol. i.

“Documents Historiques de l’École des Chartes.” 1873.

“Recherches Historiques sur l’Angers.” Vols. i. and ii.

“Recherches Historiques sur le Saumur.” Vols. i. and ii.

“Archivio Storico Lombardo.” 1894.

“Joyeuses Histoires de nos Pères.” Paris, 1891, etc.

“Revue Historique et Archéologique du Maine.” Vols. xv. and xvi

“Réunion des Sociétés des Beaux Arts.” Vols. v. and xxxii.

IV. IN ENGLISH.

“History of Louis XI” P. Mathieu. London, 1814.

“Romantic Episodes of France.” H. Vance. Dublin, 1868.

“Old Provence.” J. A. Cooke. 2 vols. London, 1905.

“Troubadours and Courts of Love.” J. F. Rowbotham. London, 1895.

“Troubadours at Home.” J. H. Smith. 2 vols. London, 1899.

“Life and Times of Margaret of Anjou.” M. A. Bookham. London, 1872.

“Lives of the Queens of England.” A. Strickland. Vol. i. London, 1864.

“Close of Middle Ages.” R. Lodge. London, 1908.

“Life of Joan d’Arc.” Lord Mahon. London, 1876.

“Paston Letters” (1422-1509). 4 vols. Reprint, 1901.

INDEX

“A Henry! A Henry!” 296, 298

Alagni, Lucrezia d’, 251

Alliance, A great, 262

Animals and birds, Love of, 213, 214, 352

ANJOU, Anne of (daughter of King René), 141 Blanche of (natural daughter of King Louis II.), 68 Blanche of (natural daughter of King René), 68, 254, 267 Charles, Duke of (brother of King Charles VI. of France, the elder Anjou line), 24, 25 Charles of, Duke of Maine I. (brother of King René), 24, 57, 86, 87, 92, 93, 307 Charles of, Duke of Maine II. (son of above), 57, 165, 328, 329 Foulques-Nerra, Count of, 92 Hélène of, “La Petite” (natural daughter of King René?), 341 Isabelle of (daughter of King René), 141 Jean of (son of King René), Duke of Calabria and Lorraine, King of Catalonia, 85, 90, 91, 104, 108, 113, 114, 124, 127, 134, 140, 244-254, 264, 270, 279, 280, 291 Jean of (natural son of King René), 254 Louis I., King-Duke of, see Kings Louis II., King-Duke of, see Kings Louis III., King-Duke of, see Kings Louis de Maine of (natural son of King Louis II.), 68 Madeleine of (natural daughter of King René), 254 Margaret of (daughter of King René), see Queens Nicholas of (son of King René), 85, 141, 254-258, 328 Odille of, “La Demoiselle” (natural daughter of King René?), 341 René, King-Duke of, 17-356 René of (son of King René), 141 Yolande of (sister of King René), see Brittany Yolande of (daughter of King René), see Vaudémont

ARCHITECTS: Leon Battista Alberti, 20, 236; Francesco Brunellesco, 20; Giovanni Capistrani, 340; Cennino Cennini, 20

Armagnac, Mahaud d’, 34, 38 Three Graces of, 260

Banquet, A sumptuous, 129, 211

BAR, Bonne of, wife of Nicholas de Ligny, 34, 80 Édouard of, 34, 69 Frederic, Count of, 32 Henry IV., Count of, 32 Iolande of Flanders, Countess of, 32-34 Jehan of, 34, 69 Louis, Cardinal of, 69, 77-81, 86, 98-103, 162, 191 Marie of France, Duchess of, 32, 34, 49, 69, 80 Robert I., Duke of, 32, 69, 78 Violante (Yolanda), see Queens

Barragana, A, 30

Bare breasts, 56, 186, 188, 262

Bare feet, A Duchess’s, 97

BATTLES: Azincourt, 34, 64, 69, 96; Arienzo, 20, 130, 131; Baugé, 82; Bulgneville, 88, 109-115, 130, 192, 238, 256; Gaeta, 241; Montpiloir, 168; Rocca-Secca, 219; Rosebach, 96; Sarno, 335; Troia (I.), 250; Troia (II.), 252, 335 Wars of the Roses: Barnet, 297; Bloreheath, 282; Hexham, 287; Northampton, 282; St. Albans, 281, 284; Towton, 285; Wakefield, 280

Beaufort, Cardinal, 261, 262, 264, 275

Beauty, A village, 83, 147

“Belles, La Belle des,” see Agnes Sorel

“Better die right out!” 297

“Bloody Edward,” 298, 304

Blushing maids, 45

Bois Chènus, Le, 144, 173, 190

“Bourges, The little Queen of,” 174

“Bourges, The little King of,” 188, 279

“Box her ears!” 147, 198

Bride burnt to death, A, 88

BRITTANY, Arthur de Richemont of, 126, 133, 207 Charles, Duke of, 127, 185 Francis, Duke of, 286 Francis, Count of Montfort, 86 Isabelle of, 72, 88 Jean VI., Duke of, 71, 88, 116, 207, 307 Yolande of Anjou, Countess of Montfort, 86

BURGUNDY, Catherine of, 62, 70, 71, 76, 79 Isabelle of Portugal, Duchess of, 65, 126 Jean, Duke of, 62, 70, 71, 91, 99, 182-184 Philippe, Duke of, 25, 96, 102, 108, 111, 113, 115, 116, 120, 126, 127, 138, 159, 163, 184, 236, 243-254, 258-260, 288-290, 329

Burlesque, A royal, 289

CASTLES: Aix, 19, 333, 340; Amboise, 294, 295; Angers, 19, 43, 44, 51, 60, 67, 72, 169, 191, 258, 293, 295, 309, 331; Auray, 307; Aversa, 227; Bar-le-Duc, 88, 103, 254, 291; Bastile, 183; Baugé, 82; Beaufort, 335, 350, 352; Bisclin, 40; Blois, 179; Bonconville, 336; Bourges, 64, 165, 181, 192, 201, 215; Bourmont, 81, 113; Bracon (Tour-de-Bar), 112, 119, 120, 138, 192, 193, 238, 242, 249; Breauté, 196, 197; Capua, 232, 257; Castel Nuovo, 232; Châtille, 113; Charmes, 113; Châteaudun, 182; Chinon, 134, 154, 160, 189, 194, 201, 214, 253, 261, 286, 309; Clermont, 113, 139, 173, 259, 336; Coucy, 88, 95; Dampière, 304; dell’ Ovo, 222; Dourdan, 177; Forcalquier, 76; Gaeta, 245; Gerona, 46; Gien, 192; Harlech, 283; Koeurs, 336; Kuerere, 291; La Ferté, 81; Launay-les-Saumur, 318; Laval, 307; Les Baux, 320, 321, 348; Loches, 170, 171, 181, 199, 201; Louppy, 336; Marseilles, 19, 333; Maulevrier, 196; Mehun-sur-Yèvre, 63, 184, 214; Mesnil-la-Belle, 198; Middleham, 292; Montpellier, 45; Muro, 217; Nancy, 19, 95, 106, 109, 114, 133, 134, 149, 150, 254, 265; Nantes, 270; Nesle, 177; Pertuis, 349; Pierrepoint, 103; Plessis-lès-Tours, 203; Pont-à-Mousson, 253; Queniez, 304; Reculée, 19, 214, 302, 303, 334, 352; Renancourt, 81; Renne, 259; Sarry-le-Château, 313; Saumur, 19, 91, 136, 185, 258, 261, 296, 309; St. Mihiel, 101; St. Pol, 289; San Remy, 349; Talant, 110; Tarascon, 19, 50, 134, 137, 256, 258, 333; Toulouse, 44, 57; Tourg, 101; Tours, 201, 203, 211; Troyes, 184; Val-de-Cassel, 34; Varennes, 259; Vienne, 254; Zaragoza, 31

Cathedral, A magnificent, 163-168

“Cell, Fit for a,” 279

Champion of champions, 265, 312

Chapelle, Marie de la, 21, 345, 346

Châtelaines, 54, 59, 139, 180, 181, 196, 320, 329

Chemises, 195

Child marriages, 94

Claimants for a throne, 41, 42, 62, 63, 245, 246

Coffin, Golden hair in a, 321

“Comptes de Roy René, Les,” 28, 29, 60, 182, 213, 266, 331, 336, 337, 346

Conclave, A sacred, 157

“Confrèrerie de la Passion, La,” 256

“Conquête de la Doulce Mercy, La,” 23, 324-326

Cooking, Art of, 53, 211, 339

Coronations, Royal, 41-43, 165-168, 237, 274, 275

Correcte, Friar Thomas, 186-188

Country life, Joys of a, 318, 321, 322, 340

Court, A frivolous, 190

“Courts of Love,” 35, 37, 42, 320

Courtiers, see Nobles

CRAFTSMEN: Colin d’Angers, 302; Juan d’Arragona, 27; Jean Butort, 60; François Castargis, 267; Jehan Dueceux, 60; Julien Guillot, 60; Henri Henniquin, 27; Jehan le Gracieux, 27; Jehan de Nicholas, 27; Guillaume le Pelletier, 27; Guillaume de la Planche, 266; Luigi Rubbotino, 27; Guillaume Real (chef), 339; Jean Tubande, 271

CRAFTSWOMEN: Marguerite Chamberlayne, 273; Demoiselle Collette, 346; Jehanne Despert, 27

Cry, A piteous, 173

Cupid’s ways, 87, 140, 310

“Curse on life! A,” 313, 314

Dame de Courrages, La, 180, 181

Dancing fool, A, 251

Dare-devils, 221-223

Day, An ill-omened, 296

Delicacies, 48, 53

“Devils at home,” 315

Devils and hobby-horses, 338

Disguise, A royal, 34, 47

Divorce, A royal, 218, 219

Dowries, Royal, 49, 70, 76, 114, 127, 196, 198, 218, 259, 317, 346, 347

Dress, A reformer of, 186-189

Dresses, Gorgeous, 233, 234, 266, 267, 311

Elopement, A royal, 138, 139

EMPERORS: Charlemagne, 282, 307; Lothair, 95; Otto III., 32; Robert III., 95; Sigismund, 118, 119, 253; Wenceslas, 212

Erotic ascendancy, 197

Farewell, A sad, 269

Fashions, 48, 49, 55, 56, 67, 186, 187, 194, 195, 202, 267

FAVOURITES, ROYAL: Pandolfo Alopo, 222, 223; Sergianni Caracciolo, 223, 228-231, 237, 238; Sforza da Colignola, 222, 223, 228-232; Bartolommeo Colleone, 224; Braccio Fortebraccio, 229-232

Feast of Folly, 37

Fête Dieu at Aix, La, 337, 338

Fête des Fous, La, 210

Fêtes and sports, see Merrymakings

Fierbois, The sword of, 154, 160, 166

Flagellations, 181

Foix, Cardinal de, 317

Foul deed, A, 298

Foul-play, 182-184, 205, 206, 218

GARDENS: Lovely Tarascon, 50; Bar-le-Duc, 80; Aversa, 234, 235; Les Baux, 320, 321

Garters, Chained, 267

“Gaya Ciencia, La,” 31, 36, 37, 46, 53

Genoa, Maiden offering at, 314

Girls, Character of, 45; tribute of, 128

“Give me René d’Anjou!” 143

Glee-maidens, 31, 35, 256, 274

Glory of France, Everything for the, 200

Golden Rose, The, 119

“Grey wolf of Anjou, The,” 304

Grotto, Voices in a, 235

Hard-heads, 36

Hairdressing, 49, 67, 148, 164, 187, 194, 195, 202, 204, 261, 266, 267, 268, 311

Hair in a coffin, Golden, 321

Harvest of a quiet eye, 350

Heart, A pierced, 290

Herring, Only one, 290

Highwaymen, 33, 132

“Hold your tongue!” 230

Honour, Dames and Maids of, 186, 222, 226, 234, 264

“Hope of England, The,” 298

Horsewoman, A splendid, 150, 151

Hostages, Royal, 113-116, 120

Jacques d’Arc, 143, 144, 167

Jeanne d’Arc, “La Pucelle,” 83-87, 143-173, 189-192, 236, 253

“Jeanne soit bonne,” 145

Jehanne de Laval, see Queens

Jehanne the Inspirer, 330

Jewels, 35, 43, 49, 56, 80, 128, 196, 202, 203, 234, 247, 266-268, 275, 276, 289, 309, 315, 335, 346, 349, 354

Jews, 240

Joke, A royal, 61

KINGS: Alfonso, “The Magnanimous,” of Aragon-Sicily-Naples, 75, 117, 124, 126, 128, 130, 224, 225, 227-235, 241-258, 280, 334 Andrew of Hungary, 217, 246 Charles IV., “The Fair,” of France, 177 Charles V. of France, 82 Charles VI. of France, 40, 44, 55, 63-65, 68, 179-181, 193, 209, 265, 276, 308 Charles VII. of France, 63-65, 81-85, 88, 91, 109-111, 117, 126, 132, 154-199, 200-215, 236, 239, 251-254, 260-264, 269-279, 331 Charles VIII. of France, 294, 347 Charles II. of Naples, 333 Charles III. of Naples, 216, 217, 220 Edward IV. of England, 281-286 292-304 Ferdinand of Aragon, 221, 227 Ferdinand I. of Naples, 252, 335 Henry IV. of England, 295 Henry V. of England, 56, 65, 72, 181, 184 Henry VI. of England, 138, 260-263, 272-304, 363 Henry II. of France, 196 Iago II. of Aragon, 36 James III. of Scotland, 285, 290 Jean II., “The Good,” of France, 29, 32, 44, 65, 67, 73, 80, 127 Juan I. of Aragon, 32-49, 334 Juan II. of Aragon-Catalonia, 334 Juan III. of Aragon-Catalonia, see Jean d’Anjou Ladislaus of Naples, 216-220 Louis IX. (St. Louis) of France, 51, 176 Louis XI. of France, 85, 175, 197-205, 214, 232, 264, 286-296, 300-304, 326, 335, 347 Louis I. of Sicily-Anjou, 29, 39-44, 58, 73, 118 Louis II. of Sicily-Anjou, 29, 39, 40-46, 55-67, 73, 85, 93, 99, 174-176, 207, 217-219, 332 Louis III. of Sicily-Anjou, 57-64, 68-76, 82-89, 117, 121, 165-169, 185-188, 212, 225-246, 320 Martino of Aragon-Sicily, 30, 42, 62 René of Sicily-Anjou-Naples, 17-356 Robert of Naples, 217 Philip V., “The Tall,” of France, 177

King, A libertine, 218; meagre fare of a, 182; Most Valiant (?), 195; skit on a, 201

Kisses, 47, 52, 75, 137, 152, 195, 201, 208, 209, 226, 255, 257, 269, 335

“L’Abuzé en Court,” 24, 327, 328

“Lady of his thoughts, The,” 310

Lady of the Crest, 306, 310, 311

“La Française,” 275, 279, 280

“La Royne Blanche,” 85, 112, 161, 166, 173

LAVAL, Françoise de Dinan, Countess of, 308 Guy XIII., Count of, 68, 87, 135-137, 162, 170, 307-312, 316, 317, 355 Guy XIV., Count of, 307 Isabelle of Brittany, Countess of, 307 Jehanne of, see Queens Pierre of, 307, 309, 317 Yolande of, 307

“Le Bon Roy,” 318, 321, 322, 324, 326, 332, 338, 343

LEGENDS: Nôtre Dame de Sousterre, 35; St Catherine les Baux, 320, 321; St. Frisette de Reims, 164; St. Martha of Bethany, 50, 51, 333; St. Maximin d’Aix, 333; St. Radegonde de Tours, 157; St. Renatus d’Angers, 59, 60

Leonora, Fair, 225, 231-235

“Le Sauve-garde de ma Vie,” 340

LES BAUX, Alix, Countess of, 319 Cécile of, “La Passe Rose,” 320 Douce of, 320 Étiennette of, 320 Jehanne of, 319 Raymond, Count of, 320 Robert Beaufort, Count of, “Le Fléau de Provence,” 319

“Les Tards-Venus,” 319

Library, A famous, 120

“Ligue de Quatre, La,” 73

Likeness in a lance, A, 331

“Like Queen Giovanna!” 217

Lioness at bay, Like a, 303

LORRAINE, Adelebert, Duke of, 95 Charles II., Duke of, 88, 95, 96, 98-104, 121, 143, 148-151, 163, 171, 244, 245 Isabelle of, see Queens Jehan, Count of, 95 Margaret of Bavaria, Duchess of, 95-100, 104, 105, 110-115, 118, 121, 148-153, 254 Marie of, Dame de Soissons, 95 Raoul, Duke of, 105 René II., Duke of, 336, 347, 348 The Pride of, 94, 98, 151, 156

Love of all the boys, 257

LOVE, COURTS OF: Bar le Duc, 35; Zaragoza, 37; Barcelona, 42; Les Baux, 320

Love, The Chamber of, 320

Love Lady-Day, 281, 282

Loves of Louis and Yolanda, 46 Charles and Agnes, 192-200 Charles Dunois and Marie d’Anjou, 208, 209 Louis and Leonora, 225-235

Love’s rosebush, 97

“Magali,” 330

Maiden tribute, 316

Maids of Honour, 186, 222, 226, 234, 264

Maignelais, Antoinette de, 193, 198 Catherine de, 193

Malady, A terrible, 276

Margaret d’Anjou, see Queens

Margaret, Truce of, 281

Marguerites, 268, 271, 274

“Mariage, Quinze Joyes de,” 77

Marriage ring torn off, 219

Martyrdom, A royal, 172, 173

Matchmaking, 35, 39, 64, 65, 70-73, 76, 86-88, 91, 127, 218, 220, 256, 257, 259, 293, 294

Matrimonial pros and cons, 99, 100

Matrons, A panel of, 83, 157, 158, 191

Mermaid, A Sicilian, 226

“Merrie Mol, Une,” 289

Merrymakings, 31, 35-37, 46, 48, 50-54, 61, 72, 91, 104, 134, 135, 139, 234, 256, 265, 338

Millionaires, Royal, 58, 62, 182, 212

Montereau, Derouillée de, 206

“Mortifiement de Vaine Plaisance, Le,” 23, 317

MOTTOES: “Amour et foy” (Isabelle de Lorraine), 142; “Ardent désir” (King René), 134; “Fides vitat servata” (King René), title-page

Murder, 222, 223, 298, 299

Mystery plays, 38, 52, 265, 274, 337, 338

Natural children, 30, 68, 196, 220, 227, 252

NOBLES AND COURTIERS: Agout, Raymond d’, 44, 45 Aigle, Jean, Lord de l’, 60 Amboise, Louis d’, 206 Andrews, William (Private Secretary to Henry VI.), 268 Avellino, Robert, Count of, 245 Barbazan, Armand, 109, 158, 162, 168 Baudricourt, Robert de, 147, 148 Beauvais, Pierre de, 68 Beauvau, Bertrand de, Lord of Precigny, 267, 346, 347 Beauvau, Louis de, 20, 26, 137, 312, 317 Beauprémont, Pierre de, 258 Belleneve, Louis Jehan, Lord of, 347 Biège, Pierre de, 68 Brézé, Jacques de, Count of Maulevrier, 196 Brézé, Louis de, 196 Brézé, Pierre de, 287, 288 Breslay, René de, 350 Cabarus, Vidal di, 244 Capua, Andrea di, 219 Champchevier, Jules, 261 Charantais, Jehan, 225 Charny, Adolphe de, 258 Châtel, Tanneguy de, 20, 182, 184 Clifford, Lord, 283, 284 Cœur, Jacques, 182, 212 Coëtivi, Olivier de, 196 Cossé, Thibault de, 350 Couldray, Lord of, 316 Courrages, Lord of, 180, 181 Coyrant, Yovunet, 61 Crepin, Jehan, 76 Dunois, Count Charles (le Bâtard d’Orléans), 159, 161, 168, 207-211 Escose, Jean d’, 274 Falstaff, Sir John, 261 Fenestranger, Jehan de, 125 Flavy, Guillaume de, 81 Fortescue, Sir John, 292 Gaudel, Antoine de, 258 Gris, Jehan de, 180 Harancourt, Gerard de, 125 Harancourt, Jacques de, 125 Hérault, Alain le, 28 La Hire, 159, 161, 168, 182 Lenoncourt, Philippe de, 30 Laval, Guy de, 87 Louvet, Étienne, 207 Luxembourg, Jehan de, 78 Maçon, Robert de, 83 Mahiers, Jacquemain de, 349 Maignelais, Raoul de, 193 Mailly, Hardoin de, 186 Mattaincourt, Jehan de, 81 Maulevrier, Jacques Odon de, 186 Metz, Jehan de, 148 Mezières, Louis de Maine, Lord of, 68 Montague, Lord, 284 Montelar, Charles di, Baron, 244 Moraens, François de la Vignolles de, 304, 305 Morien, Jehan de, 44, 45 Oxford, Earl of, 293 Pastis, Jehan de, 349 Pulligny, Hugues de, 32 Remerville, Guillaume de, 355 Roche, Philippe de Pot, de la, 288 Roches, Guillaume Chevalier des, 60 Ruthen, Lord Guy de, 282 St. Aubin, Pierre, Abbé de, 60 Salisbury, Earl of, 281, 282, 284 Sancerre, Antoine de Benil, Count of, 196 Sarrebouche, Robert de, 78 Sérancourt, Jehan de, 28 Somerset, Duke of, 279, 281, 287, 297 Sorel, Jehan de, 193 Suffolk, Earl of, 132, 138, 262, 264, 270 Toreglia, Giovanni di, 251 Toulongeon, Antoine de, 109, 110 Trémouille, Pierre de, 158, 161, 168, 207 Valorey, Barthélèmy de, 68 Valorey, Gabriel de, 68 Villerequier, André de, 198 Warwick, Earl of, 281-284, 292-297 Wenlock, Lord, 297 Westmoreland, Earl of, 295 Xaintrailles, Pothon de, 207

Nuptials, Royal, 41, 48, 49, 81, 86, 87, 91, 101, 123, 138, 179, 181, 204, 217, 218, 221, 256, 264, 272, 273, 295, 317

Obsequies, Royal, 40, 41, 57, 58, 66, 67, 68, 72, 92, 121, 122, 132, 135, 214, 219, 241, 258, 300, 314, 315, 344, 345, 349, 354

Ode, A funeral, 356

“Oh fie! Oh fie!”, 262

ORDERS: of the Sturgeon, 26; of the Plough, 26; de la Fidélité, 79; Toison d’Or, 115; du Croissant, 136; Golden Rose, 119, 342

Oriflamme, “The Maid’s” white, 153, 167, 169

Pack of cards, A famous, 212

Pageant of the Peasant, The, 329

PAINTERS: Fra Angelico, 20; Petrus Christus, 79; Hubert Van Eyck, 19, 20, 79; Jan Van Eyck, 19, 20, 79; Jean Focquet, 19; Colantonio del Fiore, 20; Angiolo Franco, 20; Hans of Antwerp, 260; Fra Filippo Lippi, 20; Jehannot le Flament, 19, 312; Antonio Solario (“Il Zingaro”), 20, 242; Paolo Ucello, 20

Pastoral, A royal, 322

Payments, Quaint, 271-273

Peach, Bite a, 206

Pilgrimage, A warlike, 159-161

Plot, A royal, 231

“Plucking the turkey,” 36

Poison, 89, 205, 206, 218, 313, 342

“Polluyon,” Ceremony of the, 105

Poniard, A jewelled, 238; a stealthy, 320

POPES: Benedict XIII., 69; Boniface IX., 219; Clement VII., 40; Eugenius IV., 125, 130, 250; John XXIII., 80; Martin V., 229; Nicholas V., 332; Sixtus IV., 25

Porta, Giovanni de la (King René’s confessor), 332

Poverty, Royal, 181, 182

Presents, Extraordinary, 273, 274; splendid, 186, 346, 347

Preux chevaliers, 87, 96, 236, 287, 314

Prince, An ugly, 175, 176, 203

PRINCES: Alençon, Jehan, Count of, 86 Alençon, Charles, Duke of, 264, 270 Anjou, see Anjou Aragon, Juan of, 221 Aragon, Pedro of, 124 Armagnac, Henri, Count of, 183, 260 Austria, Ladislaus, Archduke of, 211 Austria, Leopold III., Duke of, 218 Austria, William, Duke of, 218 Baden, James, Marquis of, 96, 107 Bavaria, Louis of, 109, 123 Bar, see Bar Bedford, John, Duke of, 161, 169 Berg, Arnould, Duke of, 77 Berry, Charles, Duke of, 205, 206 Bourbon, Charles, Duke of, 91 Bourbon, Louis, Duke of, 62 Bourbon, Jacques of, 221, 222 Brittany, see Brittany Brunswick, Otto of, 217 Burgundy, see Burgundy Castile, Ferdinand of, 40, 63 Charolois, Count of, 289 Clarence, Duke of, 295 Foix, Gaston de, Count, 211 Gaunt, John of, 295 Gravina, Charles Durazzo, Count of, 217 Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of, 262, 274, 275, 277, 279 Lorraine, see Lorraine Luxembourg, Henri, Count of, 27 Luxembourg, John, Duke of, 171 Luxembourg, Pierre of, 256, 259, 265 Marche, Robert, Count de la, 259 Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of, 241, 250 Milan, Francesco Sforza, Duke of, 130, 250, 280 Montfort, see Brittany Nevers, Charles of Bruges, 259, 262, 309, 312 Nevers, Philippe, Count of, 259 Orange, Louis of, 81 Orsini, Raimondo of, 219 Savoy, Amadeo VIII., Duke of, 211, 238 Taranto, Charles III., Prince of, 176 Taranto, Jehan de Beaux-Taranto, 176 Taranto, Lodovico of, 217 Vendôme, Antoine, Duke of, 62 Wales, Edward, Prince of, 277-279, 282-288, 293-300 Würtemberg, Ulric VII., Count of, 123 York, Edward, Duke of, 264, 270, 275-280

PRINCESSES: Anjou, Blanche of, 68, 254, 267 Anjou, Margaret of, see Queens Anjou, Yolande of, Countess of Montfort, 86 Anjou, Yolande of, Countess of Vaudémont, see Vaudémont Aragon, Juanita of, 30, 35, 38 Armagnac, Isabelle of, 260 Austria, Anne, Duchess of, 259 Baden, Catherine, Marchioness of, 96 Bar, Bonne of, 34, 80 Bar, Marie of France, Duchess of, 32, 34, 49, 69, 80 Bar, Violante of, see Queens Bavaria, Elizabeth of, 118 Beaufort, Joanna, of Ghent, 295 Bourbon, Anne, Duchess of, 289, 290 Bourbon, Marie of, see Queens Brittany, Isabelle of, 72, 85 Brittany, Yolande, Countess of Montfort, 86 Burgundy, Catherine of, 62, 70, 71, 76 France, Catherine of (daughter of Charles VII.), 214 Catherine of (natural daughter of Charles VII.), 196 Jeanne of (daughter of Charles VII.), 173, 211, 214 Jeanne of (natural daughter of Charles VII.), 196 Madeleine of (daughter of Charles VII.), 211, 214 Margaret of (natural daughter of Charles VII.), 196 Margaret of (daughter of King Philippe V.), 176 Yolande of (daughter of Charles VII.), 211, 214 Harcourt, Marie of, 28 Laval, Françoise de Dinan, Countess of, 308 Laval, Yolande of, 307 Les Baux, Alix, Countess of, 319 Cécile of, 320 Douce of, 320 Étiennette of, 320 Jehanne of, 319 Lorraine, Isabelle of, see Queens Lorraine, Margaret of Bavaria, Duchess of, see Lorraine Lorraine, Marie of, Dame de Soissons, 95 Luxembourg, Blanche of, 177 Luxembourg, Jehanne of, 177 Marche, Jeanne de la, 259 Provence, Beatrix, Countess of, 216 Vaudémont, Anna, Countess of, 125, 138 Vaudémont, Margaret of (granddaughter of King René), 343 Vaudémont, Yolande of Anjou, Countess of, see Vaudémont Wales, Anne Neville, Princess of, 294-299 Würtemberg, Sophie, Countess of, 95

“Priez pour la Bonne Jehanne,” 352

Prisoner, A royal, 115, 116

Progresses, Royal, 33, 40, 44, 46, 47, 62, 107, 127, 185, 269-271, 274, 296, 319

Quatrain, A royal, 179

QUEEN: Bath of, 242; begs alms, 247; borrows a farthing, 290; bountiful, 351; dances on highway, 33; day in the life of a, 242; Epitaph on a, 305; “great,” 93, 141, 143, 150, 305; handiwork of a, 341; heroic, 189, 290; intrepid, 253; knighted, 285; last words of, 205; leprous, 304; letters of a, 213, 244; noblest of France, 215; of beauty, 135, 309, 311; of hearts, 42, 195; of Queens, 310; of roses, 306; prisoner, 232; robber and, 288; speech of a, 185, 290; state entry of Queens, 35, 50, 81, 103, 105, 106, 202, 257, 274, 317

QUEENS: Blanche of Navarre-France, 334 Bonne of Luxembourg-France, 44 Catherine of Valois-England, 56, 65 Charlotte of Savoy-France, 214, 286, 294 Constance of Clermont-Naples, 218 Giovanna I. of Naples, 217, 246 Giovanna II. of Naples, 66, 75, 89, 116-121, 217-252, 333, 357 Isabeau of Bavaria-France, 40, 51-59, 63-68, 177-186, 190, 206, 216, 262 Isabelle of Lorraine-Sicily-Anjou-Naples, 77, 86-88, 90, 91, 94-142, 166-169, 185, 193, 206, 239-259, 264, 269-279, 280, 313-318, 338 Jehanne of Laval-Sicily-Anjou, 135, 203, 264, 291, 303, 306-356 Margaret of Anjou-England, 85, 125, 134-140, 244, 253-305, 310, 313, 331, 336, 337 Margaret of Savoy-Sicily-Anjou-Naples, 73, 89, 90, 122, 123, 130, 139, 235, 237, 240-247 Margaret of Durazzo-Naples, 216-220 Margaret of Scotland-France, 203, 205, 313, 314 Margaret of Denmark-Scotland, 285 Maria of Lusignan-Naples, 218 of Sicily, 42 Marie of Anjou-France, 58-64, 68-70, 82-85, 90, 91, 139, 158, 165, 170, 173, 174-215, 236, 261, 264-266, 269, 286, 291, 313, 326, 342 Marie of Châtillon-Sicily-Anjou-Naples, 39-41, 45, 47, 57, 58, 353 Marie of Bourbon-Calabria-Catalonia, 91, 127, 134, 135, 204 Marie of Enghien-Naples, 219 Yolanda of Bar-Aragon, 30, 35-47, 98 Yolanda of Aragon-Sicily-Anjou-Naples, 30-93, 98-104, 112, 117-121, 127, 142, 150, 158-160, 166, 169, 174-179, 185, 188, 197, 203, 207-209, 225, 236, 239, 243-247, 249, 258, 263, 266, 307, 312, 319, 334, 341

Ransom, A King’s, 65, 117, 118, 119

“Regnault et Jehanneton,” 23, 322-324

Relics, 29, 333, 334

RENÉ OF ANJOU, King, 17-356; titles of, 17, 101; character of, 18, 106; occupations of, 18, 19, 120; painter, 20, 21; miniaturist, 21, 22; writer and poet, 22, 23, 81; a bosom friend of, 24; letters of, 25; patron of crafts, 26, 27; accessibility of, 27; generosity of, 28; devotion to relics, 29; his winecup, 29; travels of, 20; tutors, 77; arms, 78; marriages of, 101, 317; in prison, 88, 110, 112; “La Pucelle” and, 149, 150, 151; love of nature, 213, 322; his heart, 349; signature, 356

Rings, 49, 137, 219, 272, 335, 354

“Rose, The Golden,” 119, 342

Roses at Christmas, 306, 316; in Temple Gardens, 306; Queen of, 306; showers of, 226; Wars of the, 279-300

Royal hussy, A, 257

“St. Madeleine preaching,” 21

Sand, Writing in, 208, 209

Sash, Tripped on a, 128

Scales, The Lady Emma de, 268

Scapegoat, A, 105

“Scourge of France, The,” 68

SCULPTORS: Della Robbia, 20; Pietro da Milano, 316; Francesco Laurana, 355

Second marriage advocated, 316

“She wolf, The,” 299

Silver swans, 282

Sisters, Unfortunate, 177

Slanders, 84, 156, 191, 206, 207, 241, 277, 278

Snails, Horns of, 187

Sorel, Agnes, 91, 111, 170, 171, 178, 182, 194-199, 255, 264

“Soul and Heart,” a dialogue, 318

Stabbed to death, 196, 238

STORIES: a lost diamond, 346; a pathetic, 313; a pretty, 55, 208, 209; a romantic, 225-235; a tragic, 180, 181

Tapestries, Rich, 179, 185

Taxes, Queen Yolande’s, 76

Tempests at sea, 271, 287, 296

The “Cokke John,” 271

Theatre, The French, 265

“This is Queen Margaret!” 299

Three Graces of Armagnac, 260

Toast, A popular, 164

“Too much blood!” 131

Tournaments, 135, 136, 139, 265, 308-312, 315, 329

Tournament prizes, 311, 312

Tower, In the, 283, 290, 296, 299

“Le Tracte des Tournois,” 24

Treachery, 282, 287, 297, 298

Tribunal, An imperial, 119

Tragedy, Stories of, 180, 181, 205, 206

Troubadours, 31, 34, 35, 37, 46, 153, 212, 256, 265, 274, 318, 329; maxims, 329; royal, 34, 97, 268; Queen of, 36, 42

TROUBADOUR LAUREATES: Eustache des Champs-Morel, 34; Jehan Durant, 153; Guillaume de Poitou, 329

Troublous times, 58, 59, 62, 64, 65, 201, 202, 236, 237, 246, 248

Trousseaux, Royal, 32, 43, 49, 50, 266

TUTORS, ROYAL: Jan Van Eyck, 19; Jehan de Proviesey, 77; Antoine de la Salle, 77, 288; Philippe de Lenoncourt, 125; Sir John Fortescue, 292

VAUDÉMONT, Anna, Countess of, 125, 138 Antoine, Count of, 62, 88, 104, 108, 109, 111-113, 119, 120, 138, 149, 255, 260 Ferri, Count of, 113, 137, 138, 215, 260, 263, 265, 292, 303, 312, 328, 348 Margaret of (granddaughter of King René), 343 René, Duke of Lorraine (grandson of King René), 336, 347, 348 Yolande d’Anjou, Countess of, 63, 70, 85, 87, 113, 125, 134, 138, 140, 244, 254-257, 260, 265, 291, 292, 347, 348

Venus di Milo, 48

Village gossip, 146

Virago, A royal, 111-114, 124, 130, 169, 192-200, 261, 275, 280

Visconti, see Princes

“Voices” The, 144, 145, 146, 158, 159, 168

Volte face, A, 293

Widow, A girl, 122, 129, 218

WIFE: a blind, 250; a stick for a, 77; a much-enduring, 178; an unfaithful, 180, 181

Wine, Delicious, 48, 211, 212, 213

Winecup, A famous, 29

Witchcraft, 177, 195

“Woman, Fortune is a,” 82; very beautiful, 307; threats of a, 84; A gay, 37; vampire, 222-227

WOMEN: Character of, 45; of Arles, 48; of Genoa, 128; paramount, 178; gay, 159, 200, 206

Word, A Duke’s, 116

Worldly-wise canons, 200

WRITERS AND CHRONICLERS: Martial d’Auvergne, 139 Louis de Beauvau, 26 Jean Bourdigne, 58 Philippe de Commines, 204, 314 Viollet le Duc, 163 Neron, F. Faraglia, 242 Louis de Grasse, 139 Pierre de Hurion, 26 Pierre Mathieu, 18 Enguerrand de Monstrelet, 187, 188, 214 Jehan Pasquerelle, 85 Étienne Pasquier, 111 Jehan de Perin, 26 Antoine de la Salle, 258 Jean Juvenal des Ursins, 49, 50, 176

Yolanda d’Arragona, see Queens

“You may go!” 108

“You villains!” 132

BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD.