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?’

Thursday, 9 April 2009

Louis XIII

In a post made below on Louis XIII, I've been fortunate enough to have been helped by LL who pointed me towards another stunning portrait done by Louis XIII.

It is of Charles comte des Cars and was painted in 1615 ~ the year Louis turned 14 and married Anne of Austria.

My thanks to both LL and Didier Rykner at L'Art Tribune who have shown me a side of Louis XIII that I had not truly appreciated before.

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.....!!

Weave a Garland of my Vows