Tea at Trianon: St. Joan of Valois

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, February 4, 2008

St. Joan of Valois

Terry has a post on St. Joan of Valois, the daughter of Louis XI. Joan was married to the Duke of Orleans, the future Louis XII. When Louis became king, he applied for a decree of nullity, which was granted. Joan became a nun and Louis XII married the widow of Charles VIII, Anne of Brittany. Share

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: While I was in college, I read Eleanor Hibbert's novel (under her Jean Plaidy pseudonym) "Mary Queen of France" twice. Joan is a character in the story--I'd wondered what happened to her after she was told that she was going to a convent. The King was certainly determined to get what he wanted.; February 4, 2008 at 6:07:00 PM EST
Terry Nelson said...: I was certain you would post about her. She is a lovely saint and much overlooked. And as you well know - she is also known as Jane.; February 4, 2008 at 7:01:00 PM EST
Anonymous said...: Interesting saint..; February 5, 2008 at 7:06:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, she is, Jackie! Thanks for the idea, Terry! Isn't it interesting, Elisa, that she fought the annulment.; February 5, 2008 at 9:32:00 PM EST