Béarn and the Pyrenees : $b A legendary tour to the country of Henri Quatre — John Shaqi
Béarn and the Pyrenees : $b A legendary tour to the country of Henri QuatreCostello, Louisa Stuart
History
Béarn and the Pyrenees : $b A legendary tour to the country of Henri Quatre
Costello, Louisa Stuart
Béarn (France) -- Description and travel; Pyrenees -- Description and travel
There seems a question, which has not yet been fully resolved, as to the
identity of the wives of Richard; by some authors a certain Rothilde,
otherwise called Bérangère of Arragon, is described as his queen; who,
"owing to some misunderstanding, caused a part of the city of Limoges to
be destroyed, and salt strewn amongst the ruins; three days after which
she died, and was buried under the belfry of the abbey of St. Augustine,
in 1189 or 1190. Her mausoleum and statue were afterwards placed
there."
This could scarcely be _our_ Bérangère of Navarre, since mention is made
of her in public acts as late as 1234. In the annals of Aquitaine, by
Bouchet, it is set forth, that, "in 1160, Henry, Duke of Aquitaine, and
Raimond, Count of Barcelona, being at Blaye, on the Gironde, made and
swore an alliance, by which Richard, surnamed Coeur de Lion, second son
of the said Henry, was to marry the daughter of the said Raimond, when
she should be old enough, and Henry promised to give, on the occasion of
the said marriage, the duchy of Aquitaine to his son. This Raimond was
rich and powerful, being Count of Barcelona in his own right, and King
of Arragon in right of his wife." The Princess Alix of France--about
whose detention from him, Richard afterwards quarrelled with his
father--never became his wife; but whether it is she who is meant by the
queen buried at Limoges, in 1190, does not appear.
That he married Bérangère in 1191, in the island of Cyprus, seems an
ascertained fact; and that she died at Le Mans appears also certain; but
whether Richard really had two wedded wives it is difficult to
determine.
On the Monday of Pentecost, the Abbey of Epau was for centuries the
scene of a grand festival, in honour of the patron saint, and the
ceremony was continued, to a late period, of passing the day there in
gaiety and amusement. All the families of the neighbourhood sought the
spot on foot, and every kind of country entertainment was resorted to.
Although the object is now changed, an expedition to the remains of the
Abbey of Epau is still a favourite one with the inhabitants of Le Mans;
it is a kind of _Longchamps_, where all the fashion and gaiety of the
town is displayed.
The only tombs, besides that of Bérangère, remaining in the cathedral of
Le Mans, are those in white marble, of Charles of Anjou, Count of Maine
and King of Jerusalem and Sicily, who died in 1472. Opposite this, is a
finely-sculptured tomb, worthy of the school of Jean Goujon, of Langey
du Bellay; the carving of the fruits and flowers which adorn it is
attributed to Germain Pilon. There is some good carving, also, in a
neighbouring chapel, by Labarre, done in 1610; but little else of this
kind remarkable in the church; all the other tombs of countesses, dukes,
and princes, having long since disappeared. However, Bérangère, perhaps,
appears to the greater advantage, reigning, as she does, in solitary
grandeur in this magnificent retreat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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