Tea at Trianon: L'Ordre du Saint-Esprit

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

Sunday, May 28, 2023

L'Ordre du Saint-Esprit

Louis XV conferring the cordon bleu

Louis the Dauphin wearing the Saint-Esprit

The Order of the Holy Spirit was the highest of French orders of chivalry. The Ordre du Saint-Esprit was founded by Henri III in 1578 to celebrate his succession to the throne on Pentecost Sunday. According to Heraldica:

The main [orders of chivalry] under the Old Regime were the Ordre de Saint-Michel (created in the 15th c. by Louis XI) and the Ordre du Saint-Esprit (Holy Ghost), created in 1578 with a limit of 100 on the number of knights: it was the most prestigious order in France, usually forbidden to foreigners (but the Spanish Borbons were often made knights in the 18th c.). Both were abolished in 1789, recreated in 1815 and abolished in 1830. A recipient of the Saint-Esprit always received Saint-Michel at the same time (they were collectively known as les ordres du Roi) though the converse was not true, of course. There was no requirement of nobility for Saint-Michel, but there were stringent ones for Saint-Esprit. The pendant of the Saint-Esprit was a Maltese cross azure, bordered argent, with a dove displayed pointing downward, and fleurs-de-lis between the branches of the cross. The necklace is made of alternating elements all shown surrounded by flames: the letter H surrounded by royal crowns (for Henri III, founder), a fleur-de-lis, and a military trophy. The sash of the Saint-Esprit was blue, and it was called in French le cordon bleu, though how the expression came to mean a first-rate cook I do not know.

Princes of the royal family were given the cordon bleu at birth but were not formally received into the Order until age twelve. The King of France was the Grand Master; below is a picture of young Louis XVI receiving the homage of the Chevaliers du Saint-Esprit, among whom unfortunately were his Orleanist cousins. How ironic, since the purpose of the Order was to unite the princes to their king.

tubbs said...: re Cordon Bleu
...And please pardon my poor French spelling -I remember reading a bio of Louie(14)'s second (morganatic) wife. She was sent packing as soon as the king died. She opened up a finishing school for impoverished young ladies (St Cyr, lated converted into the French military academy).
She awarded blue ribbons for the Home-Ec projects, including recipes. Thus it was explained to me chicken 'cordon bleu'. It all sounds too funny to me. And finishing schools then would not have taught skills left to the menial labor (servants) of the house.
I'm anxious to hear more about the Order of the Holy Spirit. I suppose it ranked up there with the St. George/Garter and the emperor's Golden Fleece.
And what was that old Canadian Explorer/Colonial bigwig donning in the beginning of the movie "BlackRobe"? I seem to remember the sash being blue. I hope some of your good readers can fill us in more.; July 1, 2009 at 4:22:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: That's interesting. Here is my post on Madame de Maintenon, who retired to St. Cyr, the school which she had founded.

http://teaattrianon.blogspot.com/2008/02/madame-de-maintenon-and-education-of.html

I can see Madame de Maintenon teaching recipes at St Cyr to her noble pupils just as she had them taught lace-making.; July 1, 2009 at 4:34:00 PM EDT
May said...: That is such a beautiful decoration, with all that blue. And the painting is magnificent! You can somehow sense the young king's underlying sweetness. I would love to have a reproduction of it (the painting, of course) and hang it on my wall...

Here is a post about two princes, Orléans and Condé:

http://crossoflaeken.blogspot.com/2010/03/two-princes.html; December 7, 2010 at 7:32:00 PM EST