Marguerite de Navarre (1492-1549)

Marguerite plays a key role during the first part of the XVI° century: she exerts a major influence in diplomacy, she expresses a certain interest for the novel ideas and encourages the artists as well at the Court of France as to Nérac.

Its life

Childhood

Marguerite de Navarre , also Marguerite of Angouleme or Marguerite de France , was born on April 11th 1492 with Angouleme: it is a princess of the first branch of Orleans of the dynasty capétienne. Girl of Charles of Angouleme (1459-1496) and Louise of Savoy, it is the elder one two years of the future king de France François I {{er}}.

Charles, his father, is in disgrace on his field after 1487 (“league of the princes”). He will share his life between the pleasures of lord and those of well-read men. His/her mother, Louise, are very attention for her son (François of Paule predicted a destiny of king to him). But it should be recognized that “its vocation to be written and meditate will be waked up by the best Masters, and will be consolidated by this cultivated woman whose virtues of teacher are neglected too much by the majority of the biographers: his/her mother. ”

Which are those which will have the task to educate these two children? Blanche of Tournon (young person and pretty) will be the " mistress of the mœurs" , François Of the Mill (treated " things with connaître" with miniatures and quotations of Cicéron and Juvénal). François of Rochefort is a famous Latinist and Robert Hurault will deal with philosophy. Louise has as a currency Libris and liberis : its leaning for the books will flash back at Marguerite. Let us point out the richness of the library of Blois, ordered by Guillaume Budé and rich person of the brought back books of Italy by Charles VIII and Louis XII. One is well far from what a Jésuite at the time of the Counter-Reformation will affirm: " Give a book of poetry to the girls, they will make love. Give them a book of prose, they will dispute the credo".

Piety, of the solid studies, the plays, the laughter, a family love will be the components of the youth of Marguerite.

Life of woman

In 1509, it marries in first weddings the duke of Alençon Charles IV. It is seventeen years old and half and since the eight years age the applicants followed one another: the marquis of Montferrat , Arthur, Prince de Galles, Henri of York, the duke of Calabria, Christian of Denmark. A lawsuit opposed the houses of Angouleme and Alençon: the marriage makes it possible to extinguish this old disagreement. The life with the castle of Alençon merry “… was certainly not locked up in a dark medieval castle, between a very pious mother-in-law, and an illiterate husband, of military spirit. ”

Between 1515 and 1518, the material situation of Marguerite improves: gifts of the King, balls, festivals… She replaces the queen who awaits a child in the official ceremonies. Clement Marot, his manservant, describes it as follows to us: " female body, heart of man, head of ange"

Of 1521 with 1524, the correspondence of Marguerite with the bishop of Meaux, Briçonnet, enables us to better determine the evolution of its spiritualilé. " Marguerite is on the point of accepting the devotio moderna without letting itself uproot. Like the Coterie of Meaux - Briçonnet, Arande and Roussel -, it will belong soon to these of Gironde of the Reform, condemned by the extremists of the two camps, the traditionalists and the revolutionists. It will remain taken between the tree of obedience and the bark of the intolérance". Let us point out some facts: in 1521 Lefèvre d' Etaples will be helped by the king after the judgment by the Sorbonne of its book the Three Marry . 1522: Marguerite will find herself suspectée of heresy after the Commentaires on the four Gospels of Lefèvre d' Etaples. 1523: the Sorbonne benefits from the diplomatic difficulties of the king to attack the Cénacle: the Council of the king will allow the reformists to escape the poursuites.1524, peace between France and the the Holy See obliges Briçonnet to go into reverse and to dissolve Cénacle.Marguerite will receive a cordial moral help of Briçonnet when she lives successive mournings. It will show also its acceptance of reformism: some their theses are found in his first work: Dialog in the form of night vision . The influence of Meaux will be felt throughout the years which follow.

1525 terrible Year: Marguerite, who is with Lyon, learns the defeat from Pavia. François 1° is made prisoner and Charles d' Alençon, her husband escaped. He will succeed in joining Lyon and will die in April 1526. It is it which will be indicated to negotiate with the emperor. He and its chancellor Mercurin de Gattinerane does not want to hear of ransom: what they require it is the transfer of the Burgundy. Its mission fails, but it made it possible to bring to the king an invaluable comfort.

In 1527, widow and without child it remarie with Henri II of Albret, king of Navarre. Here it is the queen, but the powerful neighbor retains the Pays Basque Spanish. 1528 It is confined of a girl Jeanne, who will be the mother of the future Henri IV.

Marguerite enters during one time of mournings: in 1530 his/her Jean son has six months when he dies; in 1531 it loses his/her mother. Religious antagonisms increase: the Sorbonne reacts to the sermon of Gerard Roussel, one protected from Marguerite, by condemning the Miroir of the Heart Pécheresse . The Affaire of the wall cupboards in 1534 leads the king to prevail against the reformers. Marguerite, prudently, regains her States and traverses the South of France

Marguerite tries the way of the conciliation to recover her territories in the south of the the Pyrenees: the conferences follow one another Acute-Dead Nice and , the gestures of good will, the projects of union of Jeanne with the Infant Philippe. It is a failure just like its opposition to powerful the Connétable Anne de Montmorency.

As of the end 1542 it turns over on its grounds: it will divide its time between the composition of Heptaméron and the responsibilities for the capacity in the absence of her husband. A short return to the court as from January 1545: it will have to assume the deaths of the second wire of the king then that of his brother. It withdraws world for four months with the convent of Tusson.

In 1548 his/her Jeanne daughter, afterwards many adventures, Marie with Antoine of Bourbon-Vendôme. Marguerite very tried to avoid this union. She will find the Béarn for a few months and will test herself with the benefits of Cauterets. She dies on December 21st 1549 with Odos close to Tarbes.

Its literary work

Before about thirty, Marguerite is hardly characterized by her literary production: she writes like her father, her mother, her brother or the courtiers did it.

the Dialog in the form of night vision

It appears in 1524. " Surrounded Rhetoriqueurs, set on Pétrarque but also on her degenerated descendants, cultivated enough to quote, dissociate or depend, but not enough to transcend the tumble of her readings, Marguerite calls some with God as of the Dialog " . Mournings, (let us recall for memory, his/her aunt Philiberte of Savoy , Claude the queen of France, its niece Charlotte ) will be the subject of the book. 1260 worms built on the terza rima and that it is necessary to read aloud. The topic is the following: the heart of Charlotte converses with her éplorée aunt. Meditation on death, accession with the hello eternal, role of the faith are in the center of the discussion. The general tonality can be summarized as follows: is love rather than feared of Dieu.Que necessary to think of this work? " The execution betrayed the inspiration, and the form the idée"

I request from you that these annoying debates (towards 925)

Of frank referee and freedoms left

With the large doctors who having it do not have it.

Of inventions has their hearts so in a hurry

That truth cannot there find its place

As long as are their ceased plaidoieries.

But as for you, no matter what you or made is told

Be sure that in freedom you are

if you have of God the love and grace

the Mirror of the Heart pecheress

It seems that the text was made up graft 1527 and 1529. The title returns to many authors since Ovide until Caxton while passing by Vincent of Beauvais and some others. The poem of 1434 decasyllabic worms with rhymes punts has as a subject the examination of conscience in the presence of Dieu.C' is its lyricism which is new, the " will to show the movements of its heart " also.

Bien direction in me that I have the root (vers13) of it

And with the outside do not see effect nor sign

Which is not any branch, flower breaks into leaf and fruit

That all around me it produces.

If I cuyde to look for best the

comes Me to close a branch the eyes.

Tomb in my mouth, whereas want to speak

fruit far too bitter swallowing

Daisies of the Marguerite of the princesses.

Publication in 1531 and 1533 watch a queen who wants to be located against intolerance

Spiritual Songs

They appear in the Daisies of 1547. It is commonly allowed that they were made up between 1535 and 1547

the Comedy of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus-Christ

Marguerite follows the screen of the liturgical dramas and le" text is austere, without research of breathings of imagination… Marie and Joseph go immediately to Bethlehem and ask to asylum… for the child in vain is born, the chorus of the angels sings his glory. The part continues with the awaited sheep-fold. But here Satan in person which comes to try the pastors. The Dorothée shepherdess rivets her nail to him, refusing his beautiful offers… God the Father in person (...) comes to conclude the comedy and orders with the angels to sing the finale"

the Comedy of the Worship of the Three Kings

" God dialogs initially with allegorical figures in the tradition rhetorician: Philosophy, Tribulation, Inspiration, divine Intelligence. The angels sing then, and Melchior, Gaspard, Balthazar engages with Allégories an edifying dialog. Hérode however receives its doctors the council to kill the dangerous child for his glory. The magi do not have cure of it and will adore Jesus in his crib. God, who carried out the beginning of the play, concludes by ordering the choruses angéliques"

the Comedy of Innocent the

" God orders from his celestial troops to inform the Holy Family: Hérode will massacre the newborns. The angels carry the news and Joseph Marie press to leave. She declares that God encourages it (...) we attend the search of the children then to massacre by the tyrants with the service of Hérode, and with the song of died of Rachel, which has beautiful accents. God and the angels comment on the massacre, renting with the persecuted very innocent passage. The hearts of the children sing to finish their happiness to have left the ungrateful ground for Paradis"

the Comedy of the desert

" Joseph, in an arid country, requests God to assure the subsistence as of his to him. God dialogs then with the allegories of Contemplation, Mémoire, Consolation.Les angels intervene, and Marie asks to provide to them his (...) the angels then order with the dry trees to bear fruits, with honey to run, the snakes to hide. Then a long dialog-monolog of Marie speaking to Mémoire, exciting comes the word of the holy Books. The angels sing. Concerning Joseph with the words of his wife (...) the play is reassured finishes by a choral of the anges."

Heptaméron