Part 24

It was she who received so honourably our young King Charles VIII. when he went to his kingdom of Naples, through all her lands and principally her city of Turin, where she gave him a pompous entry, and met him in person, very sumptuously accoutred. She showed she felt herself a great lady; for she appeared that day in magnificent state, dressed in a grand gown of crinkled cloth of gold, edged with large diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and other precious stones. Round her throat she wore a necklace of very large oriental pearls, the value of which none could estimate, with bracelets of the same. She was mounted on a beautiful white ambling mare, harnessed most superbly and led by six lacqueys dressed in figured cloth of gold. A great band of damoiselles followed her, very richly, daintily, and neatly dressed in the Piedmont fashion, which was fine to see; and after them came a very long troop of noblemen and knights of the country. Then there entered and marched King Charles, beneath a rich canopy, and went to the castle, where he lodged, and where Madame de Savoie presented to him her son, who was very young. After which she made the king a fine harangue, offering her lands and means, both hers and her son’s; which the king received with very good heart, and thanked her much, feeling greatly obliged to her. Throughout the town were everywhere seen the arms of France and those of Savoie interlaced in a great lover’s-knot, which bound together the two escutcheons and the two orders, with these words: _Sanguinis arctus amor_; as may be read in the “Chronicles of Savoie.”

I have heard several of our fathers and mothers, who got it from their parents, and also Mademoiselle the Sénéchale de Poitou, my grandmother, then a damoiselle at Court, affirm that nothing was talked of but the beauty, wisdom, and wit of this princess, when the courtiers and gallants returned from their journey; and, above all, by the king, who seemed, from appearance, to be wounded in his heart.

At any rate, even without her beauty, he had good reason to love her; for she aided him with all the means in her power, and gave up her jewels and pearls and precious stones to send them to him that he might use them and pledge them as he pleased; which was indeed a very great obligation, for ladies bear a great affection to their precious stones and rings and jewels, and would sooner give and pledge some precious piece of their person than their wealth of jewels--I speak of some, not all. Certainly this obligation was great; for without this courtesy, and that also of the Marquise de Montferrat, a very virtuous lady and very handsome, he would have met in the long run a short shame, and must have returned from the semi-journey he had undertaken without money; having done worse than that bishop of France who went to the Council of Trent without money and without Latin. What an embarkation without biscuit! However, there is a difference between the two; for what one did was out of noble generosity and fine ambition, which closed his eyes to all inconveniency, thinking nothing impossible to his brave heart; while as for the other, he lacked wit and ability, sinning in that through ignorance and stupidity--if it was not that he trusted to beg them when he got there.

In this discourse that I have made of that fine entry, there is to be noted the superbness of the accoutrements of this princess, which seem to be more those of a married woman than a widow. Upon which the ladies said that for so great a king she could dispense with mourning; and also that great people, men and women, gave the law to themselves; and besides, that in those times the widows, so it was said, were not so restricted nor so reformed in their clothes as they have been since for the last forty years; like a certain lady whom I know, who, being in the good graces and delights of a king [probably Diane de Poitiers] dressed herself much _à la_ modest (though always in silk), the better to cover and hide her game; and in that respect, the widows of the Court, wishing to imitate her, did the same. But this lady did not reform herself so much, nor to such austerity, that she ceased to dress prettily and pompously, though always in black and white; indeed there seemed more of worldliness than of widow’s reformation about it; for especially did she always show her beautiful bosom. I have heard the queen, mother of King Henri, say the same thing at the coronation and wedding of King Henri III., namely: that the widows in times past did not have such great regard to their clothes and to modesty of actions as they have to-day; the which she said she saw in the times of King François, who wanted his Court to be free in every way; and even the widows danced, and the partners took them as readily as if they were girls or married women. She said on this point that she commanded and begged M. de Vaudemont to honour the fête by taking out Madame la Princesse de Condé, the dowager, to dance; which he did to obey her; and he took the princess to the grand ball; those who were at the coronation, like myself, saw it, and remember it well. These were the liberties that widows had in the olden time. To-day such things are forbidden them like sacrilege; and as for colours, they dare not wear them, or dress in anything but black and white; though their skirts and petticoats and also their stockings they may wear of a tan-gray, violet, or blue. Some that I see emancipate themselves in flesh-coloured red and chamois colour, as in times past, when, as I have heard said, all colours could be worn in petticoats and stockings, but not in gowns.

So this duchess, about whom we have been speaking, could very well wear this gown of cloth of gold, that being her ducal garment and her robe of grandeur, the which was becoming and permissible in her to show her sovereignty and dignity of duchess. Our widows of to-day dare not wear precious stones, except on their fingers, on some mirrors, on some “Hours,” and on their belts; but never on their heads or bodies, unless a few pearls on their neck and arms. But I swear to you I have seen widows as dainty as could be in their black and white gowns, who attracted quite as many and as much as the bedizened brides and maidens of France. There is enough said now of this foreign widow.

9. _Catherine de Clèves, wife of Henri I. de Lorraine, Duc de Guise._

Madame de Guise, Catherine de Clèves, one of the three daughters of Nevers (three princesses who cannot be lauded enough either for their beauty or their virtues, and of whom I hope to make a chapter), has celebrated and celebrates daily the eternal absence of her husband [Le Balafré, killed at Blois 1588]. But oh! what a husband he was! The none-such of the world! That is what she called him in several letters which she wrote to certain ladies of her intimacy whom she held in esteem, after her misfortune; manifesting in sad and grievous words the regrets of her wounded soul.

10. _Madame de Bourdeille._

Madame de Bourdeille, issuing from the illustrious and ancient house of Montbéron, and from the Comtes de Périgord and the Vicomtes d’Aunay, became a widow at the age of thirty-seven or thirty-eight, very beautiful (in Guyenne, where she lived, it was believed that none surpassed her in her day for beauty, grace, and noble appearance); and being thus in fine estate and widowed, she was sought in marriage and pursued by three very great and rich seigneurs, to whom she answered:--

“I shall not say as many ladies do, who declare they will never marry, and give their word in such a way that they must be believed, after which nothing comes of it; but I do say that, if God and flesh do not give me any other wishes than I have at present, it is a very certain thing that I have bade farewell to marriage forever.”

And then, as some one said to her, “But, madame, would you burn of love in the flower of your age?” she answered: “I know not what you mean. For up to this hour I have never been even warmed, but widowed and cold as ice. Still, I do not say that, being in company with a second husband and approaching his fire, I might not burn, as you think. But because cold is easier to bear than heat, I am resolved to remain in my present quality and to abstain from a second marriage.”

And just as she said then, so she has remained to the present day, a widow these twelve years, without the least losing her beauty, but always nourishing it and taking care of it, so that it has not a single spot. Which is a great respect to the ashes of her husband, and a proof that she loved him well; also an injunction on her children to honour her always. The late M. Strozzi was one of those who courted her and asked her in marriage; but great as he was and allied to the queen-mother, she refused him and excused herself kindly. But what a humour was this! to be beautiful, virtuous, a very rich heiress, and yet to end her days on a solitary feather-bed and blanket, desolate and cold as ice, and thus to pass so many widowed nights! Oh! how many there be unlike this lady--but some are like her, too.

APPENDIX.

I.

(See page 30.)

Under Louis XII. the French fleet and the English fleet met, August 10, 1513, off the heights of Saint-Maché, in Lower Bretagne. The English fleet, eighty vessels strong, attacked that of France, which had but twenty. The French made up for numbers by courage and ability. They seized the advantage of the wind, fouled the enemy’s ships and shattered them, and sent more than half to the bottom. The Breton Primauguet was captain of “La Cordelière;” the vessel constructed after the orders of Queen Anne; it could carry twelve hundred soldiers besides the crew. He was attacked by twelve English vessels, defended himself with a courage that amounted to fury, sunk a number of the enemy’s vessels, and drove off the rest. One captain alone dared approach him again, flinging rockets on board of him, and so setting fire to the vessel. Primauguet might have saved himself in the long-boat, as did some of the officers and soldiers; but that valiant sailor would not survive the loss of his ship; he only thought of selling his life dearly and taking from the English the pleasure of enjoying the defeat of the French. Though all a-fire, he sailed upon the flag-ship of the enemy, the “Regent of England,” grappled her, set fire to her, and blew up with her an instant later. More than three thousand men perished in this action by cannon, fire, and water. It is one of the most glorious pages in our maritime annals.

French editor of “Vie des Dames Illustres,” Garnier-Frères. Paris.

II.

(See page 44.)

This is doubtless the _Discours merveilleux de la vie, actions, et déportemens de la reine Catherine de Médicis_, attributed to Théodore de Bèze, also to de Serres, but with more probability to Henri Étienne; coming certainly from the hand of a master. It was printed and spread about publicly in 1574 with the date of 1575; inserted soon after in the _Mémoires d’État sous Charles IX._, printed in 1577 in three volumes, 8vo, and subsequently in the various editions of the _Reccuil de diverses pièces pour servir à l’histoire du règne de Henri III._

French editor.

III.

(See page 91.)

M. de Maison-Fleur was a gentleman of the Bordeaux region, a Huguenot, and a somewhat celebrated poet in his day, whose principal work, _Les Divins Cantiques_, was printed for the first time at Antwerp in 1580, and several times reprinted in succeeding years. For details on this poet, see the _Bibliothèque Française_ of the Abbé Goujet.

French editor.

IV.

(See page 92.)

We see, ’neath white attire, In mourning great and sadness, Passing, with many a charm Of beauty, this fair goddess, Holding the shaft in hand Of her son, heartless.

And Love, without his frontlet, Fluttering round her, Hiding his bandaged eyes With veil of mourning On which these words are writ: DIE OR BE CAPTURED.

V.

(See page 94.)

_Translation as nearly literal as possible._

In my sad, sweet song, In tones most lamentable I cast my cutting grief Of loss incomparable; And in poignant sighs I pass my best of years.

Was ever such an ill Of hard destiny, Or so sad a sorrow Of a happy lady, That my heart and eye Should gaze on bier and coffin?

That I, in my sweet springtide, In the flower of youth, All these pains should feel Of excessive sadness, With naught to give me pleasure Except regret and yearning?

That which to me was pleasant Now is hard and painful; The brightest light of day Is darkness black and dismal; Nothing is now delight In that of me required.

I have, in heart and eye, A portrait and an image That mark my mourning life And my pale visage With violet tones that are The tint of grieving lovers.

For my restless sorrow I can rest nowhere; Why should I change in place Since sorrow will not efface? My worst and yet my best Are in the loneliest places.

When in some still sojourn In forest or in field, Be it by dawn of day, Or in the vesper hour, Unceasing feels my heart Regret for one departed.

If sometimes toward the skies My glance uplifts itself, The gentle iris of his eyes I see in clouds; or else I see it in the water, As in a grave.

If I lie at rest Slumbering on my couch, I hear him speak to me, I feel his touch; In labour, in repose, He is ever near me.

I see no other object, Though beauteous it may be In many a subject, To which my heart consents, Since its perfection lacks In this affection.

End here, my song, Thy sad complaint, Of which be this the burden: True love, not feigned, Because of separation Shall have no diminution.

VI.

(See page 235.)

This book, entitled _Les Marguerites de la Marguerite des princesses_, is a collection of the poems of this princess, made by Simon de La Haie, surnamed Sylvius, her _valet de chambre_, and printed at Lyon, by Jean de Tournes, 1547, 8vo.

The _Nouvelles_ of the Queen of Navarre appeared for the first time without the name of the author, under the title: _Histoire des Amants fortunés, dediée à l’illustre princesse, Madame Marguerite de Bourbon, Duchesse de Nivernois_, by Pierre Boaistuau, called Launay. Paris, 1558 4to. This edition contains only sixty-seven tales, and the text has been garbled by Boaistuau. The second edition is entitled: _Heptameron des Nouvelles de très-illustre et très-excellente princesse Marguerite de Valois, reine de Navarre, remis en son vrai ordre_, by Charles Gruget, Paris, 1559, 4to.

_French editor._

* * * * *

In 1841 M. Genin published a volume of Queen Marguerite’s letters, and in the following year a volume of her letters addressed to François I.

Since then Comte H. de La Ferrière-Percy has made her the subject of an interesting “Study.” This careful investigator having discovered her book of expenses, kept by Frotté, Marguerite’s secretary, has developed from it a daily proof of the beneficent spirit and inexhaustible liberality of the good queen. The title of the book is: _Marguerite d’Angoulême, sœur de François I^{er}_. Aubry: Paris, 1862.

The poems of François I., with other verses by his sister and mother, were published in 1847 by M. Aimé Champollion.

Notes to Sainte-Beuve’s Essay.

VII

(See page 262.)

The Ladies given in Discourse VII. appear under the head of “The Widows” in the volume of _Les Dames Galantes_, a very different book from the _Livre des Dames_, which is their rightful place. As Brantôme placed them under the title of Widows, he has naturally enlarged chiefly upon the period of their widowhood.

French editor.

INDEX.

ANNE DE BRETAGNE, Queen of France, wife of Charles VIII. and of Louis XII., her inheritance, lovers, and first marriage, 25, 26; her beauty, wisdom, and goodness, 26; spirit of revenge, 27, 28; second marriage, 29; the first queen to hold a great court, a noble school for ladies, 29, 30; how King Louis honoured her, 30-32; her death and burial, 32-34; her noble record, 34, 35, 37; her tomb at Saint-Denis, 39; the founder of a school of manners and perfection for her sex, 42, 43; Sainte-Beuve’s remarks upon her, 40-43, 219.

ANNE DE FRANCE (Madame), daughter of Louis XI., 216-218.

BLANCHE DE MONTFERRAT, Duchesse de Savoie, 293-297.

BOOK OF THE LADIES (The), Brantôme’s own name for this volume, 1.

BOURDEILLE (Madame de), 297, 298.

BOURDEILLE (Pierre de), Abbé de Brantôme, his name for the present volume, 1; origin and arms of his family, 3, 4; general sketch of his life and career, 4-19; his retirement, 20; his books, his will, 21; titles of his books, when first printed, 22, 23.

CASTELNAUD (Pierre de), his account of Brantôme, 1-3.

CATHERINE DE CLÈVES, wife of Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, “le Balafré,” 297.

CATHERINE DE’ MEDICI, Queen of France, wife of Henri II., 44; sketch of the Medici, 45-48; her marriage to the dauphin, 48-50; personal appearance and tastes, 51-54; her mind, 54; conduct as regent and queen-mother, Brantôme’s defence of it, 57-72; her liberality and public works, 74; her accomplishments and majesty, 75-77; her court, 77-80, 81, 82; Henri IV.’s opinion of it, 83; her death at Blois, 83; Sainte-Beuve’s estimate of her, 85-88; H. de Balzac’s novel upon her, 86; Mézeray’s opinion of her, 85; her daughter Élisabeth’s fear of her, 145, 146; 164, 165, 167, 289, 290, 300.

CHARLES IX., King of France, his funeral attended by Brantôme, 35-37; 198, 264, 265, 271, 272.

CHARLOTTE DE FRANCE (Madame), daughter of François I. and Queen Claude, died young, 223.

CHASTELLARD (Seigneur de), his journey with Brantôme in attendance on Marie Stuart to Scotland, 99; his story and death, 117-120.

CHRISTINE of Denmark, wife of the Duc de Lorraine, 283-291.

CLAUDE DE FRANCE (Madame), daughter of Louis XII. and Anne de Bretagne, wife of François I., died young, 223.

CLAUDE DE FRANCE (Madame), daughter of Henri II. and Catherine de’ Medici, wife of the Duc de Lorraine, 229-231.

CORDELIÈRE (La), man-o’-war built by Anne de Bretagne, which fought the “Regent of England,” both ships destroyed, 30, 299.

DARGAUD (M.), his impulsive history of Marie Stuart, 122.

DIANE DE FRANCE (Madame), Duchesse d’Angoulême, illegitimate daughter of Henri II., 231-234.

ÉLISABETH DE FRANCE, Queen of Spain, daughter of Henri II. and Catherine de’ Medici, second wife of Philip II. of Spain, 137-151, 229, 230, 270, 271.

ÉLISABETH DE FRANCE, Queen of Spain, daughter of Henri IV. and Marie de’ Medici, her portraits by Rubens, 212.

FLEUR-DE-LIS, how connected with the Florentine lily, 45.

FRANÇOIS I., King of France, 219, 220, 236, 237, 238, 241, 245-249, 254.

GERMAINE DE FOIX, wife of King Ferdinand of Spain, 142, 143.

GUISE (Henri I., Duc de), le Balafré, 117, 198, 199, 273, 283, 288.

GUISE (Catherine de Clèves, Duchesse de), 283, 289.

HENRI II., King of France, 231, 232.

HENRI III., King of France, 177, 178, 180, 184, 196-198, 234, 267, 280, 283, 285, 286, 292.

HENRI IV., King of France, opinion of Catherine de’ Medici, 83, 87, 88; 176, 180, 181, 201, 209; remark at the coronation of Marie de’ Medici, 210; 234.

ISABELLE D’AUTRICHE, Queen of France, daughter of Maximilian II., wife of Charles IX. of France, 262-270.

ISABELLA OF BAVARIA, wife of Charles VI. of France, first brought the pomps and fashions of dress to France, 157.

JEANNE D’AUTRICHE, wife of Jean, Infante of Portugal, 270-273.

JEANNE DE FRANCE (Madame), daughter of Louis XI., married to and divorced by Louis XII., 215, 216.

LABANOFF (Prince Alexander), his careful research into the history of Marie Stuart, 121.

L’HÔPITAL (Michel de), chancellor of France, epithalamium on the marriage of Marie Stuart and François II., 124; his changed feeling, 131, 132.

LOUIS XII., King of France, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 39, 41-43.

LOUISE DE FRANCE (Madame), daughter of François I. and Queen Claude, died young, 223.

LOUISE DE LORRAINE, Queen of France, wife of Henri III., 280-282, 283.

MAGDELAINE DE FRANCE (Madame), daughter of François I. and Queen Claude, wife of James V. of Scotland, 223, 224.

MAINTENON (Madame de), a pendant to Anne de Bretagne, 43.

MAISON-FLEUR (M. de), 91, 97, 300.

MARGUERITE DE VALOIS, Queen of Navarre, sister of François I., wife of Henri d’Albret, King of Navarre, grandmother of Henri IV., 234; her poems, 235; her devotion to her brother, 237-240, 245, 249; interest in the phenomenon of death, 242; her “Nouvelles,” 242, 243, 244; Sainte-Beuve’s essay on her, 243-261; her learning and comprehension of the Renaissance, 244, 245; her letters, 249; Erasmus’ opinion of her, 250, 251; favours, but does not belong to, the Religion, 251-255; her writings, the Heptameron, 255-260; the patron of the Renaissance, 261; her works, 303.

MARGUERITE DE FRANCE (Madame), daughter of François I. and Queen Claude, wife of the Duc de Savoie, 224-229.

MARGUERITE, Queen of France and of Navarre, daughter of Henri II. and Catherine de’ Medici, wife of Henri IV., Brantôme visits her at the Castle of Usson and dedicates his work to her, 19; mention of her in his will, 22; his discourse, 152-193; her beauty and style of dress, 153-163; her mind and education, 164-166; marriage to Henri IV., 167; Brantôme’s argument in favour of the Salic law, 168-175; difficulty of religion between herself and her husband, 176; her dignity and sense of honour, 178-180; retirement in the Castle of Usson, 183; on ill terms with her brother Henri III., 184; her beautiful dancing, 185; her liberality and generosity, 186-190; love of reading, 191; corresponds with Brantôme, 191; Sainte-Beuve’s essay on her, 193; reasons why she began her Memoirs, 195; faithfulness to the Catholic religion, 195; intimacy with her brother d’Anjou, Henri III., 196, 197; her love for Henri Duc de Guise, le Balafré, her marriage to Henri IV., 198; the Saint-Bartholomew, 201; her Memoirs, 202, etc.; anecdote of a Princesse de Ligne, 205; friendship with her brother, Duc d’Alençon, 206; her letters, 208; her life at Usson, 209; divorce from Henri IV., 209, 210; return to Paris, eccentricities, appearance at the coronation of Marie de’ Medici, 210-212; comparison with Marie Stuart, 213; her real merit, 213, 231.

MARGUERITE DE LORRAINE, wife of the Duc de Joyeuse, 282, 283.

MARIE D’AUTRICHE, wife of the Emperor Maximilian II., 291-293.

MARIE D’AUTRICHE, sister of the Emperor Charles V. and wife of Louis, King of Hungary, 273-280.

MARIE STUART, Queen of France and Scotland, her parentage, 89; youthful accomplishments and beauty, 90-93; marriage to François II., and widowhood, 93, 94; her poem on her widowhood, 94-96, 294; Charles IX.’s love for her, 96; returns to Scotland, Brantôme accompanies her, 97-101, marriage to Darnley, 101; Brantôme’s defence of her, 102; her disasters, 103; her imprisonment in England, 104; her death, as related to Brantôme by one of her ladies there present, 105-115; Sainte-Beuve’s essay on Marie Stuart and summing up of her life, 121-136, 289; her poem on her widowhood, translation, 301.

MÉZERAY (François Eudes de), his History of France, his picture of Catherine de’ Medici, 85.

MIGNET (François Auguste), his invaluable History of Marie Stuart, 121, 122, 136.

MOLAND (M. Henri), his essay on Brantôme used in the introduction to this volume, 1.

NIEL (M.), librarian to Ministry of the Interior, his collection of original portraits and crayons of celebrated persons of the 16th century, 86, 87.

PATIN (Gui), his feelings in Saint-Denis before the tomb of Louis XII. and Anne de Bretagne, 40, 41.

PHILIP II. of Spain, 138, 139, 142.