King René d'Anjou and His Seven QueensStaley, Edgcumbe
History
King René d'Anjou and His Seven Queens
Staley, Edgcumbe
France -- Court and courtiers; René I, King of Naples and Jerusalem, 1409-1480
The monument to King René, which she at last came to share in blessed
memory, had his effigy reclining, and at his feet a sculptured lion,
symbol of courage; at Jehanne’s feet were carved two hounds, emblematic
of fidelity. The Chapel of St. Bernardin thus became the royal
mausoleum of the last Anjou dynasty--René, with his father and mother,
his two wives, his eldest son, and his two daughters, in holy company;
and so they remained for 300 years, until that cataclysmatic year 1793,
when every holy stone was tumbled down and every reverent memorial
defaced. The memorial chapel was for centuries a thing of beauty. King
René himself painted the glass windows and designed the tomb. Soon
after his marriage with Jehanne de Laval he employed Francesco Laurana
and Pietro da Milano to decorate the chapel.
Soon after the death of King René, Sieur Guillaume de Remerville,--his
Treasurer at Aix,--voiced the universal sorrow and permanent regret of
all the royal servants of his lord in a beautiful funeral ode, which he
dedicated to “Queen Jehanne, his worshipful mistress”:
“Pleurez, petits et grands! Pleurez!
Car perdu avez le bon Sire.
Jamais ne le recouverierez--
Sa mort sera grief martyir.”
“Weep little, weep great, weep all!
For we have lost our good Lord.
Ne’er more his form to recall--
Hearts broken by his mord.”
Such was the refrain. The same loving dirge of woe was re-echoed
through Anjou and Provence when Jehanne passed royally to her burial.
[Illustration: KING RENÉ’S SIGNATURE.]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED
I. LE ROI RENÉ.
“Histoire de Roi René.” Vicomte F. L. Villeneuve-Bargement. 3
vols. Paris, 1825.
“Le Roi René: Sa Vie, son Administration, ses Travaux
Artistiques et Littéraires.” A. Lecoy de la Marche. Paris, 1875.
“Le Roi René en Lorraine.” Le Chanoine Cherrier. Marseilles,
1895.
“Vie de Roi René.” R. Legonvello. Angers, 1731.
“Le Roi René et la Fête de Charité, 1448.” J. B. Gaut. Aix,
1869.
“Le Duc René.” Gaston Save. Nancy, 1899.
“Les Comptes de Roi René.” 3 vols. Paris, 1909.
“Les Tournois de Roi René.” Paris, 1826.
“Œuvres de Roi René.” Comte A. de Quatrebarbes. 2 vols. Angers,
1885.
II. MISCELLANEOUS.
“Histoire de l’Ordre de Chevalerie.” F. F. Steenackers. Paris,
1867.
“Les MSS. et les Miniatures.” Lecoy de la Marche. Paris, 1884.
“La Chronique des Roys de France.” J. de Ongoys. Paris, 1579.
“Chroniques et Mémoires.” Juvenal des Ursins (1400-1472).
Paris, 1653.
“Le Règne de Charles VII.” G. Du Fresne de Beaucourt. Paris,
1856.
“Histoire de Charles VII.” A. Bandot de Juilly. Paris, 1754.
“Histoire Généalogique de la Maison de Bar,” etc. A. Du Chesne.
Paris, 1631.
“Étude de la Vie Privée d’Anjou du XV. Siècle.” A. Joubert.
Paris, 1884.
“Histoire des Reines Jeanne I. et II.” A. T. Guzot. Paris, 1700.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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