Weave a Garland of my Vows: Louis XIII

Excerpt

The Garden of the Louvre, Paris - 27th September 1622
~
Letter from Louis to Anne
Madame- out of the affection I bear my cousin, the Duc de Chevreuse, I am very glad his wife should come back
Louis
~

The King, they told her, had vowed never to say her name again. She saw the letter Louis sent to his wife from the battlefield. It made her laugh.
On the day she returned to court she was still Marie de Rohan and everybody, including the absentees, knew that. She repaid all comments in kind and if she saw a mocking smile quickly hidden, she smiled too, knowing that she was watched. For various reasons.
Louise-Marguerite, widowed Princesse de Conti and sister to the man she had just married watched too, with eyes and fingers.
The touch on Marie’s cheek was scented and warm, even in the shade of the terrace.
‘How kindly the skin of the young absorbs life’s little challenges,’ the older woman said. ‘You are completely unmarked. I’m still deciding whether I hate you or not.’
‘You only hate me on cold days when age has stiffened your bones and the young men look to a more pliable body for dreams of carnal recreation.’
She carried her brother’s pale eyes and dark blond hair on a large and flamboyant frame. Those eyes almost disappeared under the rise of fleshy cheeks. Lips, even warmer than the fingers, touched Marie’s mouth.
‘You are right. My love rises with the temperature and today it’s hot enough to melt skin off bone. You said you would return and I love you even more for that. You’ve seen Anne?’
Marie nodded. ‘Last night.’
‘And what do you think?’
They both looked outwards across the garden to a cedar tree. Gay canopies wilted over the heads of several colourful figures. Marie’s eyes stayed with the quiet woman at their centre.
‘Six months and little has changed,’ Marie said. ‘Am I thankful or worried, that’s the question. Has she said anything to you?’
The sister in law leaned her grand figure against the mossy balustrade and studied her shaded companion. Pale blue shrewdness shone out.
‘It’s not like you to dance around with vague questions, Marie. Has your recent adventure scared you into vile diplomacy? What you’re really asking, unless old age has stolen all ability to judge, is... are you replaced, yes?’
Marie shook her head but not in denial. ‘I have been absent for six months and you are my closest link to Anne. I thought she may have spoken to you above anyone else.’
Louise-Marguerite stayed quiet. She gave the garden beyond a quick glance and turned back. ‘I’ve kept you informed of every detail, my young heart. Insecurity does not become you. Like a faithful lover, the Queen of France has stayed true to you throughout.’
Again Marie shook her head, in absolute denial now. ‘Forgive me,’ she said quietly. ‘But I know Anne as I know myself. She needs a wall to lean on and she’s surrounded by them. It’s not insecurity but experience. She may have been faithful in deed but not word. There are earwigs here that, once inside a person’s ear, are very hard to dislodge.’
Louise-Marguerite pushed herself away from the stones, face alight.
‘You’ve heard something.’
‘Who sent Louis that anonymous letter?’
Shoulders slumped, Louise-Marguerite frowned. ‘By definition, no one knows.’ She grinned suddenly. ‘Or do they? Take me to hell in a hand-basket. You do, don’t you?’

Saturday 21 March 2009

Louis XIII

I'm intrigued.

Love the World Wide web. Hate the World Wide Web.

A Google images search has just thrown me this image of Louis XIII via La Tribune de l'Art

In many years of research this is the first time I've seen this picture of Louis XIII and a quick search for the painter René de Poitiers, duc de Tresne gave only one resource - this one.

I'm very intrigued.

There is no date for the portrait but it is obviously of an older man and curiosity made me search for other pictures of Louis.

This one was painted by Peter Paul Rubens in 1625 when Louis was 24 years old.

I don't know but.... the first picture doesn't quite ring true. I could be very wrong. But there is no Bourbon lip or jaw.

Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, ambassador to France in the early 1620's described Louis as having a double row of teeth which made it difficult for him to close his mouth properly.

In Weave a Garland the younger Louis is called a 'beardless boy' as it was well known that, even well into his twenties, the king could not grow a beard. Maybe this is why he played barber to his guards and shaved off all their beards and moustaches.

It' s also known that Louis started wearing a peruke at quite a young age. Cavaliers... chevaliers... were well known for their long, curling hair and Louis seems to have suffered from premature balding.

Even though the first painting has the artist's name and that of Louis XIII - I'm not 100%convinced.

As if historical research was not hard enough. Sigh.....!!

7 comments:

Didier Rykner said...: Hi,

You are right: it is not Louis XIII. It is a drawing BY Louis XIII who had lessons by Simon Vouet.

Best,

Didier Rykner
La Tribune de l'Art / The Art Tribune; 21 March 2009 at 20:28
Jackie Hodson said...: Aha! Thank you Didier. That makes more sense. I've learned something new too - that Louis was a very good artist :o); 21 March 2009 at 20:32
LL said...: I don't believe the tale about Louis losing his hair. I've yet to see it cited in a primary source, and the secondary ones I've seen give dates a decade apart for when it's supposed to have happened (after an illness).

The only source I've read that was written by someone who SAW Louis states that he started dyeing his hair when he started going grey, about thirty. This is in James Howell's "Lustra Ludovici", published in 1646.

And yes, Louis was (is) a marvellous artist, not least given how little training he had, compared to what a professional would get. There are a couple of other pastel portraits of his on the Web, one done when he was at most sixteen. They are both admirable.; 8 April 2009 at 09:42
jackie hodson said...: Thank you LL
Can you direct me to the other pictures Louis did, please?
I know he was an accomplished musician, cook, mechanic etc.
And yes - I agree about the hair!!
It's frustrated me for such a long time.
Given my research - which is always personal and subjective - I've yet to come across a comtemprary resource that states 'absolutely' that he wore a peruke!
I've never used that fact in my own fiction.
I will investigate James Howell- although the source was written after Louis' death. Very interesting :o); 8 April 2009 at 16:41
LL said...: My pleasure, Jackie!

Here's a link to the French Ministry of Culture's website, with two of his pastels. One is our friend de Tresme, the other the comte des Cars. The database says it was done about 1615, so I overestimated Louis's age when he drew it!

http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/joconde_fr

I don't know if there are quotations from Howell available on the Net. There are first editions available for sale (actually I don't know if it ran to more than one). But I've my own copy, so I can find the reference and quote it for you, if you like. It'll be a few hours - it's morning here and I'll be off to work soon. Would that be helpful?

Actually the whole business of wearing perukes at that time seems doubtful, to me. Not that they were around - but what was worn, and whether shaving the head was involved. I don't believe it. I mean, I've seen Cinq-Mars (hiss boo) described as wearing a wig in one of his portraits, yet the same biographer (Erlanger) talks about his hair being cut short on the scaffold. Wearing a wig over long hair is not particularly practical. I've tried! On top of that, the record for wigs generally, as described in fashion histories, seems to suggest that as a fashion item, they were more of the 1660s, when men's hairdos were getting so long and full that natural hair couldn't manage the look, and men started wearing add-ons to supplement their hair, then eventually moved to full wigs. Pepys's agonising over whether to get a wig is always fun to read. That boy was a such a fashion victim!

Cheers,
LL :); 8 April 2009 at 21:38
LL said...: Right, here's that reference:

"He was of a soft complexion though black hair'd, which turn'd gray before he came to thirty yeers, which put him to his dy..." (p. 137)

"Lustra Ludovici, or the Life of the Late Victorious King of France, Lewis the XIII" by James Howell Esq.

London: Printed for Humphrey Moseley, and are to be sold at his shop at the Princes Arms in S. Pauls Churchyard. 1646. (I love the bit about where to buy a copy!); 9 April 2009 at 10:33
Jackie Hodson said...: Thank You Very Much LL!
I tried to get back earlier to say 'yes, please, send the quote'
And here it is :o)

I found the painting he did in 1615 and I'm stunned. It is so beautiful - in fact it deserves a post of it's own!

And thank you for sharing the Howell resource. I have not come across it before. A nice project to track down a copy. Much appreciated.; 9 April 2009 at 16:53

Weave a Garland of my Vows