The Tales Of The Heptameron Volume I Part 3

2 _Lettres de Marguerite, &c_., p. 246.

3 _Ibid._, p. 248.

In another letter written to the Marshal at the same period she says: "If you listen to the King of Navarre, he will make you commit so many disorders that he will ruin you." (1) Perhaps these words should not be taken literally; still they furnish cause for reflection when it is remembered that they were written by a woman just turned forty concerning her husband who was not yet thirty years old.

Margaret's views upon love and the affinity of souls were somewhat singular, but they indicate an elevated and generous nature. In several pa.s.sages of the _Heptameron_ she has expressed her opinion on these matters, ardently defending the honour of her s.e.x and condemning those wives who show themselves indulgent as regards their husbands'

infidelities. (2) She blames those who sow dissension between husbands and wives, leading them on to blows; (3) and when some one asked her what she understood perfect love to be, she made answer, "I call perfect lovers those who seek some perfection in the object of their love, be it beauty, kindness, or good grace, tending to virtue, and who have such high and honest hearts that they will not even for fear of death do base things that honour and conscience blame."

1 _Lettres de Marguerite, &c_, p. 251.

2 Epilogue of Tale x.x.xvii.

3 Epilogue of Tale xlvi.

In reference to this subject of conjugal fidelity a curious story is told of Margaret. One day at Mont-de-Marsan, upon seeing a young man convicted of having murdered his father being led to execution, she remarked to those about her that it was very wrong to put to death a young fellow who had not committed the crime imputed to him. It was pointed out to her that the judges had only condemned him upon conclusive proofs and the acknowledgments that he himself had made.

Margaret, however, persisted in her remark, whereupon some of her intimates begged of her to justify it, for it seemed to them at least singular. "I do not doubt," she replied, "that this poor wretch killed his mother's husband, but he certainly did not kill his own father." (1)

Besides being unfortunate as regards her husbands, Margaret was also denied a mother's privileges. She experienced great suffering at her confinements, (2) and on two occasions she was delivered of still-born infants of the female s.e.x.

1 Gabriel de Minut's _De la Beaute, Discours divers, &c._, Lyons, 1587. p. 74.

2 _Nouvelles Lettres de Marguerite_, pp. 84 and 93.

She had centred many hopes upon her little boy, John, of whom she was confined without accident, but he died, as already stated, in infancy, and this misfortune was a great shock to her, though she tried to conceal it by having the Te Deum sung at the funeral in lieu of the ordinary service, and by setting up in the streets of Alencon the inscription, "G.o.d gave him, G.o.d has taken him away." However, from that time forward she never laid aside her black dress, though later on she wore it trimmed with marten's fur. Her best known portrait (1) represents her attired in this style with the quaint Bearnese cap, which she had also adopted, set upon her head.

1 Bibliotheque Nationale, _Recueil de Portraits au crayon, &c._, fol. 46.

Not only did Margaret lose her son by death, but she was prevented from enjoying the companions.h.i.+p of her daughter Jane. Francis, who never once lost sight of his own interests, deemed it advisable to possess himself of this child, who was the heiress to the throne of Navarre. Accordingly when Jane was but two years old she was sent by the King to the Chateau of Plessis-les-Tours, where she was carefully brought up in strict seclusion.

To the fact that Margaret was never really happy with either of her husbands, and that she was precluded from discharging a mother's duties, one may ascribe, in part, her fondness for gathering round her a Court in which divines, scholars, and wits prominently figured. The great interest which she took in religious matters, as is shown by so many of her letters, (1) led her to shelter many of the persecuted Reformers in Beam; others she saved from the stake, and frequently in writing to the King and Marshal de Montmorency she begs for the release of some imprisoned heretic.

1 One of these letters, written by her either to Philiberta of Savoy, d.u.c.h.ess of Nemours, or to Charlotte d'Orleans, d.u.c.h.ess of Nemours, both of whom were her aunts, may be thus rendered in English: "My aunt, on leaving Paris to escort the King, Monsieur de Meaux (Bishop Briconnet), sent me the Gospels in French, translated by Fabry, word for word, which he says we should read with as much reverence and as much preparation to receive the Spirit of G.o.d, such as He has left it us in His Holy Scriptures, as when we go to receive it in the form of Sacrament. And inasmuch as Monsieur de Villeroy has promised to deliver them to you, I have requested him to do so, for these words (the Gospels) must not fall into evil hands. I beg, my aunt, that if by their means G.o.d grants you some grace, you will not forget her who is above all else your good niece and sister, Margaret."

Fabry's translation of the Gospels was made in 1523-24.

Margaret's religious views frequently caused dissension between her and her husband, in whose presence she abstained from giving expression to them. Hilarion de Coste mentions that "King Henry having one day been informed that a form of prayer and instruction contrary to that of his fathers was held in the chamber of the Queen, his wife, entered it intending to chastise the minister, and finding that he had been hurried away, the remains of his anger fell upon his wife, who received a blow from him, he remarking, 'Madam, you want to know too much about it,' and he at once sent word of the matter to King Francis."

It was at Nerac that most of the divines protected by Margaret found a refuge from the persecutions of the Sorbonne. Here she kept court in a castle of which there now only remains a vaulted fifteenth-century gallery formerly belonging to the northern wing. Nerac has, however, retained intact a couple of quaint mediaeval bridges, which Margaret must have ofttimes crossed in her many journeyings. Moreover, the townsfolk still point out the so-called Palace of Marianne, said to have been built by Margaret's husband for one of his mistresses, and also the old royal baths, which the Queen no doubt frequented.

It was at the castle of Nerac that Margaret's favourite protege, the venerable Lefevre d'etaples, died at the age of one hundred and one, in the presence of his patroness, to whom before expiring he declared that he had never known a woman carnally in his life. However, he regretfully added that in his estimation he had been guilty of a greater sin, for he had neglected to lay down his life for his faith. Another partisan of the Reform, Gerard Roussel, whom Margaret had almost s.n.a.t.c.hed from the stake and appointed Bishop of Oloron, had no occasion to express any such regret. His own flock speedily espoused the doctrines of the Reformation, but when he proceeded to Mauleon and tried to preach there, the Basques refused to listen to him, and hacked the pulpit to pieces, the Bishop being precipitated upon the flagstones, and so grievously injured that he died.

Beside the divines who sought an asylum at Nerac, there were various noted men of letters, foremost among whom we may cla.s.s the Queen's two secretaries, Clement Marot, the poet, and Peter Le Macon, the translator of Boccaccio's _Decameron_. This translation was undertaken at the Queen's request, as Le Macon states in his dedication to her, and it has always been considered one of the most able literary works of the period. With Marot and Le Macon, but in the more humble capacity of valet, at the yearly wages of one hundred and ten livres, there came the gay Bonaventure Desperiers, the author of _Les Joyeux Devis_; (1) other writers, such as John Frotte, John de la Haye and Gabriel Chapuis, were also among Margaret's retainers.

1 _Livre de Depenses de Marguerite d'Angouleme_.

She herself had long practised the writing of verses. It was in 1531, and at Alencon, that she issued her first volume of poems, the _Miroir de l'Ame Pecheresse_, (1) which created a great stir at the time, for when it was re-issued in Paris by Augereau in 1533 (2) the Sorbonne denounced it as unorthodox, and Margaret would have been branded as a heretic if Francis had not intervened and ordered the Rector of the Sorbonne to withdraw the decree censuring his sister's work. Nor did that content the King, for he caused Noel Beda, the syndic of the Faculty of Theology, to be arrested and confined in a dungeon at Mont St. Michel, where he perished miserably.

1 Brunet's _Manual_, 4th ed., vol. iii. p. 275.

2 A second edition also appeared at Alencon in the same year.

Margaret thus gained the day, but the annoyance she had been subjected to doubtless taught her to be prudent, for although she steadily went on writing, sixteen years elapsed before any more of her poems were published. In the meantime various ma.n.u.script copies, some of which are still in existence, were made of them, notably one of the poem called "Debat d'Amour" by Margaret, and re-christened "La Coche" by her secretary, John de la Haye, when he subsequently published it in the _Marguerites de la Marguerite_. This ma.n.u.script is enriched with eleven curious miniatures, the last of which represents the Queen handing the volume bound in white velvet (1) to the d.u.c.h.ess of Etampes, her brother's mistress, whose qualities the poem extols. The Queen of Navarre was on the best of terms with this favourite, to whom in one of her letters she recommends certain servants.

Margaret was not only given to versifying, but was fond of' framing devices, which she inscribed upon her books and furniture. At one time she adopted as her device a marigold turning towards the sun's rays, with the motto, "Non inferiora secutus," implying that she turned "all her acts, thoughts, will, and affections towards the great Sun of Justice, G.o.d Almighty." (2)

1 From the Queen's _Livre de Depenses_, published by M. de la Ferriere, we learn that this MS., with the miniatures and binding, cost Margaret fifty golden crowns. It was formerly in the possession of M. Jerome Pichon, and was afterwards acquired by M. Didot, at the sale of whose library it realised 804. The MS. was recently in the possession of M.

de La Roche-la-Carelle.

2 Claude Paradin's _Devises heroques_, Lyons, 1557, p. 41.

In her _Miroir de l'Ame Pecheresse_, previously referred to, there figures another device composed merely of the three words "Ung pour tout;" and in the ma.n.u.script of "La Coche" presented to the d.u.c.h.ess of Etampes, the motto "Plus vous que moys" is inscribed beneath each of the miniatures. Margaret also composed a series of devices for some jewels which her brother presented to his favourite, Madame de Chateaubriant.

Respecting these Brantome tells the following curious anecdote:--

"I have heard say, and hold on good authority, that when King Francis I.

had left Madame de Chateaubriant, his favourite mistress, to take Madame d'Etampes, as one nail drives out another, Madame d'Etampes begged the King to take back from the said Madame de Chateaubriant all the finest jewels that he had given her, not on account of their cost and value, for pearls and precious stones were not then so fas.h.i.+onable as they have been since, but for the love of the fine devices that were engraved and impressed upon them; which devices the Queen of Navarre, his sister, had made and composed, for she was a mistress in such matters.

"King Francis granted the request, and promised that he would do it.

Having with this intent sent a gentleman to Madame de Chateaubriant to ask for the jewels, she at once feigned illness, and put the gentleman off for three days, when he was to have what he asked for. However, out of spite, she sent for a goldsmith, and made him melt down all these jewels without exception, and without having any respect for the handsome devices engraved upon them. And afterwards, when the said gentleman returned, she gave him all the jewels converted into gold ingots.

"'Go,' said she, 'and take these to the King, and tell him that since he has been pleased to take back from me that which he had given me so freely, I restore it and send it back in golden ingots. As for the devices, I have impressed them so firmly on my mind and hold them so dear in it, that I could not let any one have and enjoy them save myself.'

"When the King had received all this, the ingots and the lady's remark, he only said, 'Take her back all. What I did was not for the value, for I would have restored her that twofold, but for the love of the devices, and since she has thus destroyed them, I do not want the gold, and send it back. She has shown in this matter more courage and generosity than it would have been thought could come from a woman.'" (1)

Besides writing verses and framing devices, Margaret, as Brantome tells us, "often composed comedies and moralities, which were in those days styled pastorals, and which she had played by the young ladies of her Court." (2)

1 _OEuvres de Brantome_, 8vo, vol. vii. p. 567.

2 _Ibid._, 8vo, vol. v. p. 219.

Hilarion de Coste states, moreover, that "she composed a tragi-comic translation of almost the whole of the New Testament, which she caused to be played before the King, her husband, having a.s.sembled with this object some of the best actors of Italy; and as these buffoons are only born to give pleasure and make time pa.s.s away, in order to amuse the company they invariably introduced _rondeaux_ and _virelais_ against the ecclesiastics, especially the monks and village priests." (1)

1 M. Le Roux de Lincy points out that this statement is exaggerated, for Margaret, instead of turning the whole of the New Testament into verse, merely wrote four Mysteries which mainly dealt with the childhood of Christ.

These performances took place at the Chateau of Pau, which Margaret and her husband seem to have preferred to that of Nerac, though political reasons often compelled them to fix their abode at the latter. Pau, however, possessed the advantage of a mild climate, necessary for Margaret's health, besides being delightfully situated on the Bearnese Gave, the view from the chateau extending over a fertile valley limited by the snow-capped Pyrenees. There had been a chateau at Pau as early as the tenth century, but the oldest portions of the structure now subsisting date from the time of Edward III., when Pau was the capital of the celebrated Gaston-Phoebus. The chateau was considerably enlarged and embellished in the fifteenth century, but it was not until after Margaret's marriage with Henry d'Albret that the more remarkable decorative work was executed. Upon leaving Nerac to reside at Pau, Margaret summoned a number of Italian artists and confided the embellishment of the chateau to them.(1)

It was not, however, merely the chateau which Margaret beautified at Pau. Already at Alencon she had laid out a charming park, which a contemporary poet called a terrestrial paradise,(2) and upon coming to reside at Pau she transformed the surrounding woods into delightful gardens, p.r.o.nounced to be the finest then existing in Europe.(3)

1 Some of the doors and windows of the chateau are elaborately ornamented in the best style of the Renaissance, whilst the grand staircase, although dating from Margaret's time, has vaulted arches, sometimes in the Romanesque and at others in the Gothic style. Entwined on the friezes are the initials H and M (Henry and Margaret), occasionally accompanied by the letter R, implying _Rex_ or _Regina_. On the first floor of the chateau is the bedroom occupied by Margaret's husband, remarkable for its Renaissance chimney- piece, and also a grand reception hall, now adorned with tapestry made for Francis I. in Flanders. It was in this latter room that the Count of Montgomery--the same who had thrust out the eye of Henry II. at a tournament, and thereby caused that monarch's death--acting at the instigation of Margaret's daughter Jane, a.s.sembled the Catholic n.o.blemen of Beam on August 24, 1569, and, after entertaining them with a banquet, had them treacherously ma.s.sacred. Bascle de Lagreze's _Chateau de Pau_, Paris, 1854.

2 _Le Recueil de l'Antique pre-excellence de Gaule, &c._, by G. Le Roville, Paris, 1551 (fol. 74).

3 Hilarion de Coste's _Vies et eloges des Dames ill.u.s.tres, &c._, vol. ii. p. 272.

Some idea of their appearance may be gained from a couple of the miniatures adorning a curious ma.n.u.script catechism composed for Margaret and now in the a.r.s.enal Library at Paris.(1)

1 _Ma.n.u.scrits theologiques francais_, No. 60, _Initiatoire Instruction en la Religion chretienne, &c_. In one of these miniatures the Saviour is represented carrying the cross, followed by Henry of Navarre, his brother Charles d'Albret, Margaret, and other personages, all of whom bear crosses, whilst in the background are some pleasure-grounds with a castle, a little waterfall, and a lake. Another miniature in the same ma.n.u.script shows King Henry of Navarre with a flower in his hand, which he seems to be offering to the Queen, who stands in the background among a party of courtiers. The King wears a surtout of cloth of gold, edged with ermine, over a blue jerkin, and a red cap with a white feather. Margaret is also arrayed in cloth of gold, but with a black cap and wimple. She is standing in a garden enclosed by a railing, and adorned with a fountain in the form of a temple which rises among groves and arbours. Beyond a white crenellated wall is a castle which has been identified with that of Pau. On fol. 1 of the same MS. the artist has depicted Queen Margaret's escutcheon, by which we find that she quartered the arms of France with those of Navarre, Aragon, Castile, Leon, Beam, Bigorre, Evreux, and Albret.

The Court which Margaret kept in turns at Alencon, Nerac, and Pau does not appear to have been so sumptuous and gay as some of her biographers a.s.sert. Brantome mentions that the Queen's two tables were always served with frugality, and Sainte-Marthe states that "she talked at dinner and supper now of medicine, of food wholesome or unwholesome for the human body, and of objects of nature with Masters Schyron, Cormier, and Esterpin, her expert and learned doctors, who carefully watched her eat and drink, as is done with princes; now she would speak of history or of the precepts of philosophy with other very erudite personages, with whom her house was never unfurnished; at another time she would enter into conversation on her faith and the Christian religion with Monsieur Gerard, Bishop of Oloron. Altogether there was not a single moment that was not employed by her in honest, pleasant, and useful conversation." (1)