King René d'Anjou and His Seven Queens. Staley Edgcumbe
illustrations are reproductions of the Royal artist’s designs.
One of the most charming incidents in René’s long, useful, and moving life was his intercourse with Charles d’Anjou, son of the first Duke of Orléans, brother of Charles VI. of France. The young Prince was made a prisoner at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, and remained in captivity in the Tower of London for twenty-five years. His constant complaint was: “I mourn with chagrin that no one does anything to release me!” This piteous appeal at length gained the heart of Duke Philippe of Burgundy, who effected his deliverance in 1440. Between King René and Duke Charles there passed, through spiritual affinity, a constant succession of delightful poetic souvenirs—the prisoner of La Tour de Bar and the prisoner of the Tower of London—comrades in sorrow, companions in joy! The form these missives took was that of rondeaux, or valentines, and in this category nothing could be more delicate and sensuous. A very favourite ending of the poems was—
“Après une seule excepter,
Je vous servirai cette conte,
Ma douce Valentine gente,
Puis qu’amour veuilt que on’y contente.”
“With one only reservation,
I will send you this narration,
My gentle, natty Valentine,
Since your love so well content is mine.”
Charles d’Anjou died in 1465, greatly lamented by his poet-confidant.
King René composed and wrote, and also set to music, very many motets and caroles (dance-songs). The former are still sung in village churches in Provence, and the latter danced at village fêtes.
René was famous, too, as a polite letter-writer. Between 1468 and 1474 he despatched thirty-seven missives to Pope Sixtus IV. and others, chiefly relating to affairs in the kingdom of Catalonia.
At the Château d’Angers, as well as at those of Nancy and Aix, King René had splendid collections of manuscripts and books. Rare works in Hebrew, Greek, Arabic, Turkish, and Latin, he collected in the several departments of Scripture, Philosophy, History, Geography, Natural History, and Physics. Writers and students naturally were attracted to such a sapient Prince. Three of the former in particular attached themselves to his patronage: Pierre de Hurion, Jehan de Perin, and Louis de Beauvau; and with them was René’s chief collaborator—Hervé Grellin.
III. Craftman’s Works of King René.
René was a great advocate for the combination and co-operation of the arts and crafts. In no sense was he a free-trader: his policy was to encourage native enterprise and to check destructive intrusion of aliens. To consolidate commercial interests and to safeguard industries, he established “Orders” or “Guilds” for workers. For example, at Tarascon he instituted “The Order of the Sturgeon,” for fisherfolk, which held an annual festival in July, called La Charibande, specially in honour of Le Roy des Gardons—“King of Roaches.” At Aix the King established “The Order of the Plough,” for agriculturists, and their fête-day was the Festival of the Assumption. He could hold the coulter with any of his farm labourers, and greatly delighted in matches of strength and speed. René’s interest in agriculture and stock-rearing did very much to make Anjou and Provence fruitful States. He naturalized the sugar-cane, and introduced many new trees and plants: the rose de Provence; the Œillet de Poëte—our Sweet William; the mulberry; and the Muscat grape.
As patron of crafts, René especially encouraged workers in tapestry, vestments, costumes and tournament decorations, goldsmiths, jewellers, medalists, armourers, and masters of wood, stone, and metal, with operatives in textiles. In Provence, at Aix and Marseilles, he had workshops which he himself superintended, and where such instructors were employed as Jehan de Nicholas, Guillaume le Pelletier, Juan d’Arragona, Jehan le Gracieux, Luigi Rubbotino, Henri Henniquin, and Jehanne Despert. These may be names only, but their fame may be learnt by the study of useful industries in France. The Comptes de Roy René—René’s business-books—at Angers are full of orders, instructions, payments, etc., to work-people of all sorts and kinds.
At each of King René’s residences, and more especially at Aix, he designed and erected a raised architectural loggia, or terrace, which at once gained the name of La Cheminée du Roy. Here he was wont to spend a good deal of his time in the enjoyment of the fresh air and the contemplation of the persons and avocations of his subjects within range. Here, too, he gave audience to all sorts and conditions of his subjects, passing the time of the day merely to many, but with some of them entering fully into matters proposed for his consideration. Craftsmen, tradesmen, and merchants, were accustomed to pass that way to expose commodities, and exhibit novelties which might tempt the Royal patronage. One salient object of this amiable habit was that, as he put it, “my children may see their father, and take cognizance of my state of health and my pursuits.” René lived and worked among and for his people, and none who approached him ever went away empty or dissatisfied. Nothing pleased him better than a morning salutation or an evening serenade by troubadour-jongleurs and other makers of music and of fun. Sometimes the municipal authorities made courteous protests to their liege Lord for the creation of crowds and obstruction to the free circulation of the traffic. To all such representations the King turned a ready ear, but also turned their pleas into subjects for good-humoured merriment.
“You see,” he used to say, “I am something of a troubadour myself, and life’s serious moods require joyous elevation.”
René was great in loving-cups, or, more correctly, their contents. Nothing pleased him more than to hand to anyone who had interested or amused him a delicious beverage, and often enough in the utmost good-humour he bade the recipient keep the cup as a memento of his interview—and “mind,” he added, “you drink my health and Queen Jehanne’s sometimes.”
René’s consideration of and generosity to his servants and attendants was proverbial. The Comptes are full of instructions to his Treasurers to pay such and such sums of money or other benefactions. To Jehan de Sérancourt, an equerry, for example, he gave a purse of 200 ducats, “for thy skilful care of my favourite charger.” To Alain le Hérault, a valet and barber “a gold snuffbox and fifty ducats for his daughter’s confinement.” He was very fond of quoting the example of Marie d’Harcourt, mother of his son-in-law Ferri de Vaudémont, who died in 1476. She was affectionately called “the Mother of the Poor.” “She was rightly called; am not I, then, father too?”
René was a great collector of works of art and curios, although, by the way, he was obliged very frequently to distribute his treasures in order to raise money for his warlike enterprises and philanthropic pursuits. A speciality was the acquisition of relics of saints and other venerable objects. In 1470 he and Queen Jehanne assisted at the translation of a piece of the True Cross, which he had obtained in Italy, to the Church of St. Croix at Angers. Lists of such treasures, and, indeed, of the treasures in general of his house, may be read in Les Comptes de Roy René. Many originally came from King John the “Good” of France, René’s great-grandfather, handed down by Louis I. and Louis II. of Sicily-Anjou.
René had a penchant for rock-crystal objects and miniature carvings in wood. Among the former he possessed a very famous winecup, upon which he engraved the following quaint conceit:
“Qui bien beurra
Dieu voira.
Qui beurra tout d’une baleine
Voira Dieu et la Madeleine!”
“Whoso drinks me
God shall see.
Whoso at one good breath drains me
Shall God and the Magdalen see!”