The First Governess of the Netherlands, Margaret of AustriaTremayne, Eleanor E.
History
The First Governess of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria
Tremayne, Eleanor E.
Margaret, of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands, 1480-1530; Netherlands -- History -- Charles V, 1506-1555
'The syndics, kneeling on one knee, presented the duke and duchess
with the keys of the town. John Palluat, head of the municipality,
made a lengthy speech according to the fashion of the time, full of
whimsical expressions, puns and witticisms, comparing Princess
Margaret's qualities with those of the flower that bore her name.
'Having entered the town the ducal procession alighted, and two
gentlemen--Geoffroy Guillot and Thomas Bergier--advanced towards the
princess: the former had been chosen by the council to explain the
mysteries, moralities, and allegories; the latter to hold a small
canopy over the princess's head. At the market gate on a large
platform a huge elephant was seen carrying a tower. This tower, emblem
of the town, had four turrets, in each of which was a young girl
typifying one of the four attributes of the capital of Bresse. These
attributes were goodness, obedience, reason, and justice. After
listening to verses sung in her praise by the four attributes, the
princess, still preceded by Geoffroy Guillot, arrived at the
market-place, where on another platform was represented the invocation
of Saint Margaret, virgin and martyr. The saint with a halo, treading
an enormous dragon under foot, was smiling at Margaret. She held her
right hand over her as a sign of her protection in this world, and
with her left pointed to the sky and the eternal throne that God had
prepared for her. A group of angels sang a hymn about heaven envying
earth the possession of Margaret; whilst the priests of Notre-Dame and
the preaching friars enacted the legend of Saint George and the
Archangel Michael on the platforms before their church.
'Further on, before the Maison de Challes, the exploits of gods and
heroes of mythology were shown. Two persons, one wrapped in a lion's
skin and carrying on his shoulder an enormous club of cardboard, the
other in a helmet and draped in a red tunic, were supposed to
represent the departure of Hercules and Jason to conquer the Golden
Fleece. At the other end of the theatre Medea, dressed in a silk robe,
gave vent to the fury she felt at her adventurous husband's
indifference.
'Before the fountain of the town the crowd was so dense that the guard
and Geoffroy Guillot found it difficult to force a passage for the
duchess. There the monks of Scillon had arranged a curious fountain in
the shape of a gigantic maiden from whose breasts of tinted metal two
jets of wine flowed into a large basin; her body held a puncheon of
wine which was cleverly replaced when exhausted. Finally, in front of
the entrance to the ducal palace, Margaret witnessed the conquest of
the Golden Fleece. Before carrying off this precious spoil Hercules
and Jason had to fight a multitude of monsters, dragons and buffaloes,
which were disposed of with their club and sword. The crowd having
loudly cheered this curious exhibition, the duke and duchess entered
the castle situated in the highest part of the city.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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