[31]P. 45:◆Ronsard the poet was born 1524, being the son of Louis de Ronsard, sieur de la Poissonnière, an officer in the household of King Francis I., and died 1586. He enjoyed an immense reputation in his lifetime, and was the favourite poet of Mary Queen of Scots. Her lover, the unfortunate Chastelard, read hisHymne de la morton the scaffold, and refused any other book or confessor to prepare him for death. Originator and leading member of the famousPleïadeof Poets.
[31]P. 45:
◆Ronsard the poet was born 1524, being the son of Louis de Ronsard, sieur de la Poissonnière, an officer in the household of King Francis I., and died 1586. He enjoyed an immense reputation in his lifetime, and was the favourite poet of Mary Queen of Scots. Her lover, the unfortunate Chastelard, read hisHymne de la morton the scaffold, and refused any other book or confessor to prepare him for death. Originator and leading member of the famousPleïadeof Poets.
[32]P. 46:◆He was a Florentine, Luigi di Ghiaceti, who had grown rich by negotiating the taxes with the king. He married the beautiful Mlle. d’Atri, and to please her he had bought for 400,000 francs the estate of Chateauvilain. Mme. de Chateauvilain was a model of virtue, if Brantôme is to be believed; but we wonder, fully agreeing with the author of the notes to theJournal de Henri III., where this lady could have acquired her virtue—was it at the court or at her husband’s estate? Besides this gallery of pictures which is mentioned here, Louis Adjecet (the French form for Luigi Ghiaceti) had mistresses with whom he indulged in the low appetites of rich upstarts. He was killed in 1593 by an officer; and his wife withdrew to Langres, where she lived with her children.
[32]P. 46:
◆He was a Florentine, Luigi di Ghiaceti, who had grown rich by negotiating the taxes with the king. He married the beautiful Mlle. d’Atri, and to please her he had bought for 400,000 francs the estate of Chateauvilain. Mme. de Chateauvilain was a model of virtue, if Brantôme is to be believed; but we wonder, fully agreeing with the author of the notes to theJournal de Henri III., where this lady could have acquired her virtue—was it at the court or at her husband’s estate? Besides this gallery of pictures which is mentioned here, Louis Adjecet (the French form for Luigi Ghiaceti) had mistresses with whom he indulged in the low appetites of rich upstarts. He was killed in 1593 by an officer; and his wife withdrew to Langres, where she lived with her children.
[33]P. 47:◆Ariosto,Orlando furioso, canto XLII., stanza 98.Ecco un donzello a chi l’ufficio toccaPor su la mensa un bel nappo d’or fino....◆Very likely Bernardin Turissan. Brantôme is perhaps referring to theRagionamento della Nanna, printed in Paris in 1534, without the name of the publisher. Thepeggiomust have been one of those infamous Italian books which the noblemen of the court wrangled over. TheNannawas well known at the French court (seeLe Divorce satyrique, t. I. of theJournal de Henri III., 1720edition, p. 190).◆Bernardino Turisan, who used as his sign the well-known mark of the Manutii, his kinsmen.◆Pietro Aretino was born at Arezzo in Tuscany in 1492. The natural son of a plain gentleman he became the companion and protégé of Princes, and their unscrupulous and adroit flatterer. Friend of Michael Angelo and Titian. His works are full of learning and wit,—and obscenity.
[33]P. 47:
◆Ariosto,Orlando furioso, canto XLII., stanza 98.
Ecco un donzello a chi l’ufficio toccaPor su la mensa un bel nappo d’or fino....
Ecco un donzello a chi l’ufficio toccaPor su la mensa un bel nappo d’or fino....
Ecco un donzello a chi l’ufficio toccaPor su la mensa un bel nappo d’or fino....
Ecco un donzello a chi l’ufficio tocca
Por su la mensa un bel nappo d’or fino....
◆Very likely Bernardin Turissan. Brantôme is perhaps referring to theRagionamento della Nanna, printed in Paris in 1534, without the name of the publisher. Thepeggiomust have been one of those infamous Italian books which the noblemen of the court wrangled over. TheNannawas well known at the French court (seeLe Divorce satyrique, t. I. of theJournal de Henri III., 1720edition, p. 190).
◆Bernardino Turisan, who used as his sign the well-known mark of the Manutii, his kinsmen.
◆Pietro Aretino was born at Arezzo in Tuscany in 1492. The natural son of a plain gentleman he became the companion and protégé of Princes, and their unscrupulous and adroit flatterer. Friend of Michael Angelo and Titian. His works are full of learning and wit,—and obscenity.
[34]P. 48:◆This book, entitledLa Somme des péchés et les remèdes d’iceux(Compendium of all Sins, and the Remedies of the same), printed at Lyons, by Charles Pesnot c. 1584, 4to, and several times since, was compiled by Jean Benedict, a Cordelier monk of Brittany. He has filled it with filth and foulness as full as did the Jesuit Sanchez his treatiseDe Matrimonio(on Marriage). It is a singular fact that a work so indecent should have been none the less dedicated to the Holy Virgin. As we see from the text, Brantôme and his fellows quite well understood how to turn such works to their advantage and find fresh stories of lubricity in their pages.
[34]P. 48:
◆This book, entitledLa Somme des péchés et les remèdes d’iceux(Compendium of all Sins, and the Remedies of the same), printed at Lyons, by Charles Pesnot c. 1584, 4to, and several times since, was compiled by Jean Benedict, a Cordelier monk of Brittany. He has filled it with filth and foulness as full as did the Jesuit Sanchez his treatiseDe Matrimonio(on Marriage). It is a singular fact that a work so indecent should have been none the less dedicated to the Holy Virgin. As we see from the text, Brantôme and his fellows quite well understood how to turn such works to their advantage and find fresh stories of lubricity in their pages.
[35]P. 49:◆This Bonvisi, a Lyons banker, had had as receiver Field Marshal de Retz, the son of a Gondi, who had become a bankrupt in Lyons. (Notes of the Confession de Sancy, 1720 edition, t. II., p. 244.)
[35]P. 49:
◆This Bonvisi, a Lyons banker, had had as receiver Field Marshal de Retz, the son of a Gondi, who had become a bankrupt in Lyons. (Notes of the Confession de Sancy, 1720 edition, t. II., p. 244.)
[36]P. 51:◆L. Aurelius Commodus (not Sejanus), Emperor A. D. 180–192, was the son of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Faustina. Annius Verus was his brother, and received the appellation ofCæsaralong with his elder brother in 166.
[36]P. 51:
◆L. Aurelius Commodus (not Sejanus), Emperor A. D. 180–192, was the son of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Faustina. Annius Verus was his brother, and received the appellation ofCæsaralong with his elder brother in 166.
[37]P. 58:◆Antonomasia, properly.
[37]P. 58:
◆Antonomasia, properly.
[38]P. 60:◆The Sanzays were a family of Poitou who had settled in Brittany. René de Sanzay, head of the family at the time in question, had four sons: René, Christophe, Claude, and Charles. René continued the line. Claude was his lieutenant in 1569, as colonel of his forces. Charles married and died only in 1646 (?). Christophe, the second son, was a prothonotary. It seems that Brantôme had Claude in mind. Moreover, the constable of Montmorency having died in 1568 and Claude having been a lieutenant of his brother in 1569, we may conjecture that the adventure of which Brantôme speaks hadhappened to him previously, for the constable is concerned with his ransom. (Bib. Nat., Cabinet des titres, art. Sanzay.)
[38]P. 60:
◆The Sanzays were a family of Poitou who had settled in Brittany. René de Sanzay, head of the family at the time in question, had four sons: René, Christophe, Claude, and Charles. René continued the line. Claude was his lieutenant in 1569, as colonel of his forces. Charles married and died only in 1646 (?). Christophe, the second son, was a prothonotary. It seems that Brantôme had Claude in mind. Moreover, the constable of Montmorency having died in 1568 and Claude having been a lieutenant of his brother in 1569, we may conjecture that the adventure of which Brantôme speaks hadhappened to him previously, for the constable is concerned with his ransom. (Bib. Nat., Cabinet des titres, art. Sanzay.)
[39]P. 61:◆Cicero,De officis, Bk. IV., Chap. ix.◆The second son of Charles V.; he was assassinated at the Gate of Barbette, at the end of Rue Vieille-du-Temple, in 1407, by the orders of Jean Sans peur. He had had for a long time adulterous relations with his sister-in-law Isabeau de Bavière. The woman in question here was Marie d’Enghien, wife of Aubert de Cany and mother of the Bâtard d’Orléans. This anecdote has inspired several story-tellers, such as Bandello, Strappardo, Malespini, etc. See also the first of theCents Nouvelles nouvelles.◆“Candaules was the last Heracleid king of Lydia. According to the account of Herodotus, he was extremely proud of his wife’s beauty, and insisted on exhibiting her unveiled charms, but without her knowledge, to Gyges, his favourite officer. Gyges was seen by the queen, as he was stealing from her chamber, and the next day she summoned him before her, intent on vengeance, and bade him choose whether he would undergo the punishment of death himself, or would consent to murder Candaules and receive the kingdom together with her hand. He chose the latter alternative, and became the founder of the dynasty of the Mermnadæ, about B. C. 715.”
[39]P. 61:
◆Cicero,De officis, Bk. IV., Chap. ix.
◆The second son of Charles V.; he was assassinated at the Gate of Barbette, at the end of Rue Vieille-du-Temple, in 1407, by the orders of Jean Sans peur. He had had for a long time adulterous relations with his sister-in-law Isabeau de Bavière. The woman in question here was Marie d’Enghien, wife of Aubert de Cany and mother of the Bâtard d’Orléans. This anecdote has inspired several story-tellers, such as Bandello, Strappardo, Malespini, etc. See also the first of theCents Nouvelles nouvelles.
◆“Candaules was the last Heracleid king of Lydia. According to the account of Herodotus, he was extremely proud of his wife’s beauty, and insisted on exhibiting her unveiled charms, but without her knowledge, to Gyges, his favourite officer. Gyges was seen by the queen, as he was stealing from her chamber, and the next day she summoned him before her, intent on vengeance, and bade him choose whether he would undergo the punishment of death himself, or would consent to murder Candaules and receive the kingdom together with her hand. He chose the latter alternative, and became the founder of the dynasty of the Mermnadæ, about B. C. 715.”
[40]P. 62:◆Jean Dunois, comte d’Orléans et de Longueville, Grand Chamberlain of France, was his natural son by Mariette d’Enghien, wife of Aubert de Cany-Dunois, and is famous in history under the name of the Bastard of Orleans. Born at Paris 1402; died 1468. Distinguished himself at the sieges of Montargis and Orleans (where he was seconded by Jeanne d’Arc) and in many other encounters. The gallant champion of Charles VII. and the great enemy of the English.
[40]P. 62:
◆Jean Dunois, comte d’Orléans et de Longueville, Grand Chamberlain of France, was his natural son by Mariette d’Enghien, wife of Aubert de Cany-Dunois, and is famous in history under the name of the Bastard of Orleans. Born at Paris 1402; died 1468. Distinguished himself at the sieges of Montargis and Orleans (where he was seconded by Jeanne d’Arc) and in many other encounters. The gallant champion of Charles VII. and the great enemy of the English.
[41]P. 65:◆Henri III., 1574–1589, last king of the House of Valois; succeeded Charles IX.◆Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, surnamedTête de fer. He had married Marguerite, sister of Henri II. It was during this journey that the Duchess Marguerite tried to obtain from her nephew Henri III. the retrocession of several fortresses which France still held. (Litta, t. VI., tav. xiv.)
[41]P. 65:
◆Henri III., 1574–1589, last king of the House of Valois; succeeded Charles IX.
◆Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, surnamedTête de fer. He had married Marguerite, sister of Henri II. It was during this journey that the Duchess Marguerite tried to obtain from her nephew Henri III. the retrocession of several fortresses which France still held. (Litta, t. VI., tav. xiv.)
[42]P. 66:◆Sainte-Soline abandoned Strozzi at the battle of the Iles Ter Tercères.
[42]P. 66:
◆Sainte-Soline abandoned Strozzi at the battle of the Iles Ter Tercères.
[43]P. 67:◆Capaneus was one of the mythical seven heroes who marched from Argos against Thebes (Aeschylus,Septem contra Thebas). “During the siege, he was presumptuous enough to say, that even the fire of Zeus should not prevent his scaling the walls of the city; but when she saw his body was burning, his wife Euadné leaped into the flames and destroyed herself.”◆Alcestis was a daughter of Pelias, and the wife of Admetus, King of Pheræ in Thessaly. According to the legend, Apollo having induced the Fates to promise Admetus deliverance from death, if at the hour of his decease his father, mother or wife would die for him, Alcestis sacrificed herself for her husband’s sake. But Heracles brought her back again from the underworld, and “all ended well.” The story is the subject of Euripides’ beautiful play ofAlcestis.
[43]P. 67:
◆Capaneus was one of the mythical seven heroes who marched from Argos against Thebes (Aeschylus,Septem contra Thebas). “During the siege, he was presumptuous enough to say, that even the fire of Zeus should not prevent his scaling the walls of the city; but when she saw his body was burning, his wife Euadné leaped into the flames and destroyed herself.”
◆Alcestis was a daughter of Pelias, and the wife of Admetus, King of Pheræ in Thessaly. According to the legend, Apollo having induced the Fates to promise Admetus deliverance from death, if at the hour of his decease his father, mother or wife would die for him, Alcestis sacrificed herself for her husband’s sake. But Heracles brought her back again from the underworld, and “all ended well.” The story is the subject of Euripides’ beautiful play ofAlcestis.
[44]P. 68:◆Tancred, one of the chief heroes of the First Crusade, was the son of Odo the Good, of Sicily. Date of his birth is uncertain; he died 1112. Type of the gallant soldier and adventurer and the “very perfect, gentle knight.”◆Philippe I.—1060–1108.◆See Guillaume de Tyr, liv. XI., who tells this anecdote about Tancrède. Bertrade d’Anjou, the wife of Foulques, had been carried off by Philip I., to whom she bore, among other children, Cécile, who married Tancrède.◆Compare this Albanian savagery with the story of Councillor Jean Lavoix, who lived with the wife of an attorney named Boulanger. The wife having decided to discontinue that liaison, the Councillor grew so furious that he caused her to be slashed and disfigured, although he could not get her nose cut off. He was pardoned after having paid his judges. The following song was written about him:
[44]P. 68:
◆Tancred, one of the chief heroes of the First Crusade, was the son of Odo the Good, of Sicily. Date of his birth is uncertain; he died 1112. Type of the gallant soldier and adventurer and the “very perfect, gentle knight.”
◆Philippe I.—1060–1108.
◆See Guillaume de Tyr, liv. XI., who tells this anecdote about Tancrède. Bertrade d’Anjou, the wife of Foulques, had been carried off by Philip I., to whom she bore, among other children, Cécile, who married Tancrède.
◆Compare this Albanian savagery with the story of Councillor Jean Lavoix, who lived with the wife of an attorney named Boulanger. The wife having decided to discontinue that liaison, the Councillor grew so furious that he caused her to be slashed and disfigured, although he could not get her nose cut off. He was pardoned after having paid his judges. The following song was written about him:
Chasteauvillain, Poisle et Levois,Seront jugez tous d’une voixPar un arrest aussi legerQue fust celluy de Saint-Leger.Car le malheur est tel en FranceQue tout se juge par la finance.(Bib. Nat., ms. français, 22563, fo101.)
Chasteauvillain, Poisle et Levois,Seront jugez tous d’une voixPar un arrest aussi legerQue fust celluy de Saint-Leger.Car le malheur est tel en FranceQue tout se juge par la finance.(Bib. Nat., ms. français, 22563, fo101.)
Chasteauvillain, Poisle et Levois,Seront jugez tous d’une voixPar un arrest aussi legerQue fust celluy de Saint-Leger.Car le malheur est tel en FranceQue tout se juge par la finance.(Bib. Nat., ms. français, 22563, fo101.)
Chasteauvillain, Poisle et Levois,
Seront jugez tous d’une voix
Par un arrest aussi leger
Que fust celluy de Saint-Leger.
Car le malheur est tel en France
Que tout se juge par la finance.
(Bib. Nat., ms. français, 22563, fo101.)
[45]P. 70:◆See theAnnales d’Aquitaine, f^o 140 v^o.—Jeanne de Montal, married to Charles d’Aubusson, lord of La Borne. This Charles had had a liaison with the prioress of Blessac, who bore him four children. He was tried for theft and robbery in the convents of his vicinity, and hanged, February 23, 1533. (Anselme, t. V., p. 835.) A genealogy by Pierre Robert states precisely what Brantôme records here.◆See Brantôme in the Lalanne edition, t. VIII., p. 148. There must be some mistake here. Jacques d’Aragon, the titular king of Majorca, died in an expedition in 1375, according to theArt de verifier les dates.◆Charles VII. (surnamed the Victorious), crowned at Poitiers 1422, consecrated at Rheims 1429; died 1461, the King for whom Jeanne d’Arc fought against the Burgundians and English, and who really owed his crown to her.◆Francis I., 1515–1547.◆Jeanne I., Queen of Naples, 1353–1381, daughter of Charles Duke of Calabria and grand-daughter of the wise King Robert of Naples.
[45]P. 70:
◆See theAnnales d’Aquitaine, f^o 140 v^o.—Jeanne de Montal, married to Charles d’Aubusson, lord of La Borne. This Charles had had a liaison with the prioress of Blessac, who bore him four children. He was tried for theft and robbery in the convents of his vicinity, and hanged, February 23, 1533. (Anselme, t. V., p. 835.) A genealogy by Pierre Robert states precisely what Brantôme records here.
◆See Brantôme in the Lalanne edition, t. VIII., p. 148. There must be some mistake here. Jacques d’Aragon, the titular king of Majorca, died in an expedition in 1375, according to theArt de verifier les dates.
◆Charles VII. (surnamed the Victorious), crowned at Poitiers 1422, consecrated at Rheims 1429; died 1461, the King for whom Jeanne d’Arc fought against the Burgundians and English, and who really owed his crown to her.
◆Francis I., 1515–1547.
◆Jeanne I., Queen of Naples, 1353–1381, daughter of Charles Duke of Calabria and grand-daughter of the wise King Robert of Naples.
[46]P. 72:◆The proverb says, the ferret. It should be the ermine, which animal is said to allow itself to be caught rather than soil itself.◆The opinion that the female ferret would die if it did not find a male to satisfy her during the mating season was still held by naturalists at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Lalanne is mistaken about the ermine, which, on the contrary, dies of the slightest contamination:
[46]P. 72:
◆The proverb says, the ferret. It should be the ermine, which animal is said to allow itself to be caught rather than soil itself.
◆The opinion that the female ferret would die if it did not find a male to satisfy her during the mating season was still held by naturalists at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Lalanne is mistaken about the ermine, which, on the contrary, dies of the slightest contamination:
Et moi, je suis si délicateQu’une tache me fait mourir.(Florian,Fables, liv. III., fab. xiii.)
Et moi, je suis si délicateQu’une tache me fait mourir.(Florian,Fables, liv. III., fab. xiii.)
Et moi, je suis si délicateQu’une tache me fait mourir.(Florian,Fables, liv. III., fab. xiii.)
Et moi, je suis si délicate
Qu’une tache me fait mourir.
(Florian,Fables, liv. III., fab. xiii.)
[47]P. 78:◆Nouvelle III.◆Unhappy husbands were classified as follows:Celluy qui, marié, par sa femme est coquEt (qui) pas ne le sçait, d’une corne est cornu.Deux en a cestui-là qui peut dissimuler;Qui le voit et le souffre, celluy trois en porte;Et quatre cestui-là qui meine pour cullerChez lui des poursuivans. Cil qui en toute sorteDit qu’il n’est de ceux-là, et en sa femme croid,Cinq cornes pour certain sur le front on lui void.(Bib. Nat., ms. français 22565, fo41.)
[47]P. 78:
◆Nouvelle III.
◆Unhappy husbands were classified as follows:
Celluy qui, marié, par sa femme est coquEt (qui) pas ne le sçait, d’une corne est cornu.Deux en a cestui-là qui peut dissimuler;Qui le voit et le souffre, celluy trois en porte;Et quatre cestui-là qui meine pour cullerChez lui des poursuivans. Cil qui en toute sorteDit qu’il n’est de ceux-là, et en sa femme croid,Cinq cornes pour certain sur le front on lui void.(Bib. Nat., ms. français 22565, fo41.)
Celluy qui, marié, par sa femme est coquEt (qui) pas ne le sçait, d’une corne est cornu.Deux en a cestui-là qui peut dissimuler;Qui le voit et le souffre, celluy trois en porte;Et quatre cestui-là qui meine pour cullerChez lui des poursuivans. Cil qui en toute sorteDit qu’il n’est de ceux-là, et en sa femme croid,Cinq cornes pour certain sur le front on lui void.(Bib. Nat., ms. français 22565, fo41.)
Celluy qui, marié, par sa femme est coquEt (qui) pas ne le sçait, d’une corne est cornu.Deux en a cestui-là qui peut dissimuler;Qui le voit et le souffre, celluy trois en porte;Et quatre cestui-là qui meine pour cullerChez lui des poursuivans. Cil qui en toute sorteDit qu’il n’est de ceux-là, et en sa femme croid,Cinq cornes pour certain sur le front on lui void.(Bib. Nat., ms. français 22565, fo41.)
Celluy qui, marié, par sa femme est coqu
Et (qui) pas ne le sçait, d’une corne est cornu.
Deux en a cestui-là qui peut dissimuler;
Qui le voit et le souffre, celluy trois en porte;
Et quatre cestui-là qui meine pour culler
Chez lui des poursuivans. Cil qui en toute sorte
Dit qu’il n’est de ceux-là, et en sa femme croid,
Cinq cornes pour certain sur le front on lui void.
(Bib. Nat., ms. français 22565, fo41.)
[48]P. 79:◆It was the marriage of Marguerite of France, the Duchess de Savoie, to Emmanuel Philibert, the Duke de Savoie, which caused the army to grumble.◆Boccaccio, Seventh tale of the second day.◆Brantôme alludes here most likely to Marguerite of France, sister of Henri II., who was 45 when she married the Duke of Savoy.
[48]P. 79:
◆It was the marriage of Marguerite of France, the Duchess de Savoie, to Emmanuel Philibert, the Duke de Savoie, which caused the army to grumble.
◆Boccaccio, Seventh tale of the second day.
◆Brantôme alludes here most likely to Marguerite of France, sister of Henri II., who was 45 when she married the Duke of Savoy.
[49]P. 80:◆Mlle. de Limeuil was the mistress of the Prince de Condé. During the journey of the court at Lyons, in July, 1564, she was confined in the cabinet of the queen mother, who was so furious that she had her locked up in a Franciscan monastery at Auxonne. But theConfession de Sancyand several authors of that time differ from Brantôme in saying that the child was a son and not a daughter, and died immediately after birth. The Huguenots wrote verses about the adventure; but the young lady nevertheless married an Italian, Scipion Sardini, for whom she soon forgot the Prince de Condé. Mlle. de Limeuil called herself Isabelle de La Tour de Turenne, and was Dame de Limeuil.
[49]P. 80:
◆Mlle. de Limeuil was the mistress of the Prince de Condé. During the journey of the court at Lyons, in July, 1564, she was confined in the cabinet of the queen mother, who was so furious that she had her locked up in a Franciscan monastery at Auxonne. But theConfession de Sancyand several authors of that time differ from Brantôme in saying that the child was a son and not a daughter, and died immediately after birth. The Huguenots wrote verses about the adventure; but the young lady nevertheless married an Italian, Scipion Sardini, for whom she soon forgot the Prince de Condé. Mlle. de Limeuil called herself Isabelle de La Tour de Turenne, and was Dame de Limeuil.
[50]P. 81:◆Cosimo I., Duke of Tuscany. Besides, Pope Alexander VI. was also in a somewhat similar situation.
[50]P. 81:
◆Cosimo I., Duke of Tuscany. Besides, Pope Alexander VI. was also in a somewhat similar situation.
[51]P. 82:◆Ferdinand II., King of Naples, 1495–96. Died prematurely at the age of 26. Ferdinand II. married the sister of his father, the daughter of the king of Naples and not of Castile.
[51]P. 82:
◆Ferdinand II., King of Naples, 1495–96. Died prematurely at the age of 26. Ferdinand II. married the sister of his father, the daughter of the king of Naples and not of Castile.
[52]P. 86:◆An ancient city of Italy. At the fort of Monte Cimino, in the Campagna 40 miles NNW. of Rome.◆La Nannaby Aretino, in the chapter on married women, tells of similar practices of deception regarding the virtue of newly married women.
[52]P. 86:
◆An ancient city of Italy. At the fort of Monte Cimino, in the Campagna 40 miles NNW. of Rome.
◆La Nannaby Aretino, in the chapter on married women, tells of similar practices of deception regarding the virtue of newly married women.
[53]P. 89:◆Henry IV. of Castile, 1454–1474, a feeble and dissipated Prince, was a brother of Isabelle of Castile. The young man chosen was not a nobleman, but simply an Antinous of negligible origin whom the king created Duke d’Albuquerque. A child, Jeanne, was born of this complacent match, but she did not reign. Castile preferred Henri III.’s sister, Isabelle.◆Fulgosius (Battista Fregose), born at Genoa 1440, of a family famous in Genoese history, and for a time Doge of his native City. His chief Work,Factorum et Dictorum Memorabilium libri IX. (Memorable Deeds and Words, 9 bks.), has been more than once reprinted. This particular statement is to be found in ch. 3. of Bk. IX.
[53]P. 89:
◆Henry IV. of Castile, 1454–1474, a feeble and dissipated Prince, was a brother of Isabelle of Castile. The young man chosen was not a nobleman, but simply an Antinous of negligible origin whom the king created Duke d’Albuquerque. A child, Jeanne, was born of this complacent match, but she did not reign. Castile preferred Henri III.’s sister, Isabelle.
◆Fulgosius (Battista Fregose), born at Genoa 1440, of a family famous in Genoese history, and for a time Doge of his native City. His chief Work,Factorum et Dictorum Memorabilium libri IX. (Memorable Deeds and Words, 9 bks.), has been more than once reprinted. This particular statement is to be found in ch. 3. of Bk. IX.
[54]P. 91:◆We have here, perhaps, a discreet allusion to Henri IV.’s passion for Mlle. de Tignonville, who had been unmanageable until she married. (See theConfession de Sancy, and t. II., p. 128, of theJournal de Henri III.)
[54]P. 91:
◆We have here, perhaps, a discreet allusion to Henri IV.’s passion for Mlle. de Tignonville, who had been unmanageable until she married. (See theConfession de Sancy, and t. II., p. 128, of theJournal de Henri III.)
[55]P. 94:◆François de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, who was killed by Poltrot.
[55]P. 94:
◆François de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, who was killed by Poltrot.
[56]P. 96:◆The famous Diane de Poitiers, eldest daughter of Jean de Poitiers, Seigneur de St. Vallier, belonging to one of the most ancient families in Dauphiné, was born 1499. At the age of 13 she was married to Louis de Brèze, Comte de Maulevrier, Grand Seneschal of Normandy. She became a widow in 1531. The story of François I. having pardoned her father at the price of her honour, as told by Brantôme and others, is apparently apocryphal. It was not till after the death of her husband, to whom she was faithful and whose name she honoured, that she became the mistress of François I. She was as renowned for her wit and charms of mind as for her beauty. Died 1566.◆M. de Saint-Vallier, father of Diane de Poitiers. It is not known whether he uttered the word, but his pardon came in time. The headsman had already begged his pardon, according to custom, for killing him, and was about to cut his head off when a clerk, Mathieu Delot, rose and read the royal letter which commuted the capital sentence to imprisonment. The letter is dated February 17, 1523. (Ms. Saint-Germain, 1556, fo74.)
[56]P. 96:
◆The famous Diane de Poitiers, eldest daughter of Jean de Poitiers, Seigneur de St. Vallier, belonging to one of the most ancient families in Dauphiné, was born 1499. At the age of 13 she was married to Louis de Brèze, Comte de Maulevrier, Grand Seneschal of Normandy. She became a widow in 1531. The story of François I. having pardoned her father at the price of her honour, as told by Brantôme and others, is apparently apocryphal. It was not till after the death of her husband, to whom she was faithful and whose name she honoured, that she became the mistress of François I. She was as renowned for her wit and charms of mind as for her beauty. Died 1566.
◆M. de Saint-Vallier, father of Diane de Poitiers. It is not known whether he uttered the word, but his pardon came in time. The headsman had already begged his pardon, according to custom, for killing him, and was about to cut his head off when a clerk, Mathieu Delot, rose and read the royal letter which commuted the capital sentence to imprisonment. The letter is dated February 17, 1523. (Ms. Saint-Germain, 1556, fo74.)
[57]P. 97:◆Duke d’Etampes, chevalier of the order and governor of Brittany, an obliging and kind husband.—François de Vivonne, lordof La Chasteigneraie, was among the least meek-minded of the court. Princess de La Roche-sur-Yon having stupidly asked him one day for a domestic favor, he called her “a little muddy princess,” which afforded King Francis I. no little laughter. He was killed by Jarnac in a famous duel.
[57]P. 97:
◆Duke d’Etampes, chevalier of the order and governor of Brittany, an obliging and kind husband.—François de Vivonne, lordof La Chasteigneraie, was among the least meek-minded of the court. Princess de La Roche-sur-Yon having stupidly asked him one day for a domestic favor, he called her “a little muddy princess,” which afforded King Francis I. no little laughter. He was killed by Jarnac in a famous duel.
[58]P. 98:◆An allusion to the demon who threw to the ground the archangel Saint Michael, and who was represented on the collar of the order. It is rather difficult to know of which lady Brantôme is speaking here: the collar of Saint Michael had been given to so many people that it was called “the collar for all animals.” (Castelnau,Mémoires, I., p. 363.)
[58]P. 98:
◆An allusion to the demon who threw to the ground the archangel Saint Michael, and who was represented on the collar of the order. It is rather difficult to know of which lady Brantôme is speaking here: the collar of Saint Michael had been given to so many people that it was called “the collar for all animals.” (Castelnau,Mémoires, I., p. 363.)
[59]P. 99:◆Where did Brantôme get this story? Gui de Châtillon had expended on banquets the greater part of his fortune and sold his county to Louis d’Orléans; the latter was merely seventeen at the time. It is difficult to admit that he could have carried on a liaison with a woman so ripe in years. After the death of Gui, Marguerite married an officer of the Duke d’Orléans.
[59]P. 99:
◆Where did Brantôme get this story? Gui de Châtillon had expended on banquets the greater part of his fortune and sold his county to Louis d’Orléans; the latter was merely seventeen at the time. It is difficult to admit that he could have carried on a liaison with a woman so ripe in years. After the death of Gui, Marguerite married an officer of the Duke d’Orléans.
[60]P. 101:◆Apparently Queen Marguerite de Valois. Marguerite de Valois, sister of François I., was born at Angouleme in 1492. Married in 1509 to Charles 4th Duc d’Alençon, who died (1525) soon after the disastrous battle of Pavia, at which François I. was taken prisoner. In 1527 she married Henri d’Albret, king of Navarre. She was a Princess of many talents and accomplishments, and the delight of her brother François I., who called her hisMignonne, and hisMarguerite des Marguerites; Du Bellay and Clément Marot were both members of her literary coterie. Authoress of the famousHeptameron, orNouvelles de la Reine de Navarre, composed in imitation of Boccaccio’sDecameron. Died 1549.◆This is also an allusion to Queen Marguerite. Martigues, one of her lovers, had received from her a scarf and a little dog which he wore at the tournaments.
[60]P. 101:
◆Apparently Queen Marguerite de Valois. Marguerite de Valois, sister of François I., was born at Angouleme in 1492. Married in 1509 to Charles 4th Duc d’Alençon, who died (1525) soon after the disastrous battle of Pavia, at which François I. was taken prisoner. In 1527 she married Henri d’Albret, king of Navarre. She was a Princess of many talents and accomplishments, and the delight of her brother François I., who called her hisMignonne, and hisMarguerite des Marguerites; Du Bellay and Clément Marot were both members of her literary coterie. Authoress of the famousHeptameron, orNouvelles de la Reine de Navarre, composed in imitation of Boccaccio’sDecameron. Died 1549.
◆This is also an allusion to Queen Marguerite. Martigues, one of her lovers, had received from her a scarf and a little dog which he wore at the tournaments.