Tea at Trianon: A Quick Guide to Medieval Literature

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

Saturday, July 18, 2020

A Quick Guide to Medieval Literature

From Medievalists:

These are narrative poems written to share tales of heroic deeds. This literary genre has its origin in early French literature. Just like Alexander Romances are associated with Alexander the Great, these are generally associated with the Carolingian emperor Charlemagne. While the connection to Charlemagne was not mandatory, but these poems mostly dealt with matters of France. The origin of the phrase comes from Old French, and it means ‘Song For Heroic Deeds’. These works differ significantly from the romances. While those genres tend to focus on the exploits and accomplishments of the individual, these celebrate community and collectivism. (Read more.)

julygirl said...: Sad that the main focus of our culture now is negativism and all the issues surrounding what is wrong with us and this country. I once heard a newspaperman say that no one wants to here that so and so train arrived safely rather than reporting on the train wreck. The mental struggle of our time is how to stay positive when all around one is inundated by the negative which the lamestream media chooses as its focus.; July 19, 2020 at 12:39:00 PM EDT