Tea at Trianon: A Satirical Engraving, Late 1780's

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, October 14, 2013

A Satirical Engraving, Late 1780's

Maria-Theresia, Empress of Austria: - My daughter, what are you doing down there? What despair!
Marie Antoinette: - I was so thirsty of the blood of the French and I couldn't quench it, so in my despair I plunged into this well.

The lampoons against the Queen of France were relentless.

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1 comment:

lara77 said...: To read the vile filth that was written against Her Majesty makes my blood boil. Did any of the people who were behind the vitriol and garbage against the King and Queen have any idea how it would be turned against them? The Comte de Provence, the Duc d'Orleans, etc. The evil that turned against the monarchy and the Catholic Church would end up destroying France and the lives of thousands. How very sad and heartbreaking to see the scores of innocents that would perish because of jealousy and enmity. I have always believed in reform; King Louis XVI knew this and began the steps to reform. What we ended up with was violence, murder, genocide and the dictatorship of Napoleon. Thank you Elena Maria for showing what could have been; for shining the light on a good King and Queen who only wanted the best for their nation.; October 15, 2013 at 8:20:00 PM EDT