His
Red Eminence
Armand-Jean
du Plessis de Richelieu
by
Laurel A. Rockefeller
Genre:
Historical Fiction
Priest.
Lover. Statesman.
From
the author of the best-selling “Legendary Women of World History”
series ...
Cardinal
Armand-Jean du Plessis, duc de Richelieu is one of the most famous --
or infamous politicians of all time. Made a villain in the popular
Dumas novel, "The Three Musketeers," the real man was a
dedicated public servant loyal to king and country. A man of logic
and reason, he transformed how we think about nations and
nationality. He secularized wars between countries, patronized the
arts for the sake of the public good, founded the first newspaper in
France, and created France as the modern country we know
today.
Filled
with period music, dance, and plenty of romance, "His Red
Eminence" transports you back to the court of King Louis XIII in
all its vibrant and living color.
Includes
eight period songs, plus prayers, a detailed timeline, and extensive
bibliography so you can keep learning.
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Born,
raised, and educated in Lincoln, Nebraska USA Laurel A. Rockefeller
is author of over twenty books published and self-published since
August, 2012 and in languages ranging from Welsh to Spanish to
Chinese and everything in between. A dedicated scholar and
biographical historian, Ms. Rockefeller is passionate about education
and improving history literacy worldwide.
With
her lyrical writing style, Laurel's books are as beautiful to read as
they are informative.
In
her spare time, Laurel enjoys spending time with her cockatiels,
attending living history activities, travelling to historic places in
both the United States and United Kingdom, and watching classic
motion pictures and classic television series.
GUEST POST
Cardinal Richelieu—the
Musical
Hymns,
Carols, and Popular Music in “His Red Eminence.”
By
Laurel A. Rockefeller
“C'est
un rempart que notre Dieu, une invincible armure. Notre délivrance
en tout lieu, notre défense sûre. Satan, notre ennemi, en fureur
s’est promis. D’user de son pouvoir. Pour vaincre et décevoir.
Sur terre il n’y a plus d’abri,” sang Anne Rochefeuille as she
played the harpsichord in the main drawing room of the Palais
Cardinal, Cardinal Richelieu’s grand palace built just north of the
Louvre and bequeathed to King Louis XIII upon his death on the 4th
of December 1642. Though Americans rarely hear it in French, the
first verse of the above hymn is well-known by Protestants around the
world as “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” by Martin Luther. It is,
like so many songs in this latest biography, an unusual choice for
the story of France’s greatest and most transformative first
minister.
Jean-Armand
du Plessis, cardinal and duc de Richelieu transformed France into the
first truly modern and secular state of the western world. Still
essentially a collection of feudal states owing nominal loyalty to
the king of France when he took up the bishopric of Luçon in 1608,
the cardinal’s ability to put aside religious considerations in
favour of complete subordination of the French people and its
institutions to the king had inevitable cultural implications as
well. Carefully patronizing writers, poets, dramatists, painters,
sculptors, architects, composers, musicians, and other artisans,
regardless of his personal opinions about their creations, his
patient efforts carefully moved French culture into the celebrated
baroque era we associate with King Louis XIV.
In
my new biography, “His Red Eminence, Jean-Armand du Plessis de
Richelieu,” I celebrate the cardinal’s life through music. Eight
songs in French, Latin, and English fill these pages, helping the
story to come alive. Given my habit for setting scenes during the
Christmas holiday season, there are of course Christmas carols, more
than any other book so far. 15th century French carol
“Noël Nouvelet” makes an appearance, as does “Adeste Fideles”
which was originally written by French monks in the medieval era but
not translated to English as “O Come All Ye Faithful” until
Victorian times.
Two
decidedly English songs make an appearance: the 16th
century English “Coventry Carol” is heard for the first time in
one of my books as does the medieval version of the popular song
“Quoth John to Joan.”
Popular
French music arrives in the form of Pierre
Guédon’s “Aux
plaisirs, aux délices.”
Guédon’s music is very special because it’s one of the few
surviving songs we have specific to King Louis XIII’s reign instead
of dating to either the Valois dynasty or Louis XIV’s reign.
Aux plaisirs, aux délices, bergères,
Il faut ètre du temps ménagères,
Car il s'écoule et se perd d'heure en heure;
Et le regret seulement en demeure.
A l'àmour, aux plaisirs, au bocage
Employez les beaux jours de votre àge.
But
perhaps the most poignant of the two popular music pieces in this
book is also the most familiar. “Belle Qui Tiens Ma Vie” by
Thoinot Arbeau is a love song written at the end of the 16th
century. Popular with re-enactors, it is slow, stately and full of
quiet passion. Just the sort of song that rises to the many diverse
occasions found in not only this beautiful biography, but many of the
Legendary Women of World History biographies as well.
We
first encounter “Belle Qui Tiens Ma Vie” in 1618 during
Armand-Jean’s exile in Avignon when best friend Anne Rochefeuille
sings the first two verses. Then, in 1628, facing the horrors of war
and missing home and the love waiting for him in Paris, Armand-Jean
sings verses three through eight for us, allowing us to hear the song
in full. Drama arises when his song is overheard by Father Joseph,
his “grey eminence” as history remembers him. For one of the most
consistent sources of drama in this biography is the constant
question by those around the good cardinal as to whether or not, and
if so who, is he taking to his bed as his lover.
Historically,
the question is never proven either way but rather is a matter of
persistent rumour spanning his entire adult life.
My belief is that he did have a lover, a woman
whom he loved and faithfully took to bed for over twenty years. But
more than a vessel for his sexual appetites, she was best friend,
confidant, nurse, and intellectual equal. She was everything for
Armand-Jean du Plessis that Katharina von Bora was for Martin Luther
almost a century before—except of course that du Plessis could not
marry her in the church without stepping down from the priesthood and
his only means of supporting himself. Even after becoming a cardinal
in 1622 and first minister of France in 1644, Richelieu’s economic
survival depended on him keeping secret what the true nature of his
relationship with his Anne really was. If the truth were ever
discovered, the scandal stood to cost him not only his position (and
the money he depended on to live), but his life as well.
With
this dramatic context in mind, I invite you to enter King Louis
XIII’s court with all its music and dance and courtly romance and
intrigues to meet the real man you never knew from reading Dumas’
“The Three Musketeers.”
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
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