From the 12th to the 19th centuries, the people of France and England really believed their king’s touch could heal them of scrofula. Why did they believe it? Were they ignorant superstitious simpletons who knew no better? I do not think so. Before you toss up your hands and write me off as a crank, …
Twice Queen of France, Anne of Brittany’s funeral was a protracted event. Embalmers made a wax effigy of her face after her death. She lay first in her room and later in the state chambers of the Chateau of Blois for over two weeks Meals and masses were held daily. After placing her body in …
Like everyone else at court in France in the mid-1500s, the issue of religion affected court poets. The rhétoriqueurs were poets who combined stilted language with a fondness for the allegorical manner of the 15th century and the most complicated and artificial forms of the ballade and the rondeau. Their work has not lasted. The …
