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Xerox University Microfilms 900 North Zaab Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48100 74-10,906

ACQUARIO, Thomas Joseph, 1945- AGRIPPA DtAUBIGNBtS HISTOIRE UNIVERSELLE: OBJECTIVITY AND PARTISANSHIP.

The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1973 Language and Literature, general

University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan

© 1974

THOMAS JOSEPH ACQUARIO

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. AGRIPPA D'AUBIGNfi'S HISTQIRE UNIVERSELLE:

OBJECTIVITY AND PARTISANSHIP

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By

Thomas Joseph Acquario, B.A., M.A

The Ohio State University 1973

Reading Committee: Approved by

Eleanor W. Bulatkin

Charles Carlut

Gilbert Jarvis Department of Romance Languages and Literature VITA

October 7, 1945 . . . Born - New York City

1967 ...... B.A., Siena College, Loudonville, New York

1967-1968 ...... N.D.E.A. Fellow in French at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

1968 ...... H.A., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

1970-1973 ...... Teaching Associate, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

FIELDS OF STUDY

Department: Romance Languages and Literatures

Major Field: Sixteenth Century French Literature Study on Agrippa d'Aubign€. Professor Robert Cottrell

Minor Field: Medieval, Renaissance and Nineteenth Century Italian Literature. Professor Albert Mancini

ii TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

VITA ...... ii

Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ...... 1

Etat Present Publication History Form and Shape of the Text

II. SIXTEENTH CENTURY HISTORICAL PRODUCTION, OBJECTIVITY AND MILITARY ORIENTATION...... 49

Histories, Memoirs and Pamphlets Henri de Navarre and the Protestant Cause Truth and Objectivity as Goals of the HiBtolre Universelle Military Orientation of the Histoire Universelle

III. QUOTATION, ANECDOTE AND PORTRAITURE IN THE HISTOIRE UNIVERSELLE...... 122

Quotation: Objectivity and Theatricality Soldier, Humorous and Dramatic Anecdote Literary Portraiture

IV. SUPERSTITION, THE SUPERNATURAL AND MYSTERY IN THE HISTOIRE U N I V E R S E L L E ...... 178

Miracles | Dream Predictions and Magic Mystery and Assassination

V. CONCLUSION TO THE TEXT ...... 217

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 223

iii CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

In 1616 Theodore Agrlppa d'Aubign6, the sixty-four year old Protestant soldier whose blunt candor and in­ transigence had become legendary during the civil and religious wars that marked French history during the latter half of the sixteenth century, completed two works that were to assure him of literary fame. The first was

Lea Traqiques, perhaps the greatest epic poem in French literature. The second was the first volume of his

Histoire Universelle, the work which d'Aubign£ considered to be his "grande oeuvre." Valuing the Histoire Universelle above Les Tragiques, d'Aubignd began his history with a dedication proudly addressed to posterity. Later genera­ tions, however, have devoted more critical attention to the

Tragiques and to d'Aubign6's other volume of poetry, Le

Printemps, than to his prose works, which include not only the Histoire and his memoirs entitled Sa Vie a Ses Enfants

(published in 1729) but also several shorter pieces the most notable of which are the fictional Avantures du Baron de Faeneste (1617-1630) and a satire, La Confession du

Sieur de Sancy (I960).

1 Past and Present Studies on the Histoire Universelle

A first area of investigation in this examination of the Histoire Universelle will be a brief summation of re­

actions to the work from the time of its composition to

twentieth century views and criticism of the text. While

Brantdme, a voice from the sixteenth century , says in his

"Capitaines Illustres” that "d'Aubignd est bon pour la plume et pour le poil, car il est bon capitaine et soldat, trds savant et tr6s eloquent et bien disant s'il en fut onques,"1 it is actually the lack of response to d'Aubignd's history from his contemporaries that is ironically the first significant reaction to be noted. As

Geuch;en Ellerbroek puts it: nIls ne s'occupent gu&re de

1'oeuvre: il est vrai que le silence peut aussi Btre un jugement et rarement approbateur. "2 The fact of its publi cation at the end of the second decade of the seventeenth century at a time when the extreme intensity and the emo­ tional involvement of the religious wars had died down is, of course, reason enough to explain this lack of interest

1Pierre de Bourdelle, seigneur de Brantdme, Oeuvres Completes, ed. Ludovic Lalanne (Paris: Chez Mme Renouard, 1865), V, p. 268.

*Geuchien Ellerbroek, Observations sur la Lanque de d'Aubigne (Enschede: M. J. Van Der Loeff, 1925), p. 15. in the work of a Protestant partisan dealing essentially

with military events between 15G2-1602. One of the very

few statements about d'Aubign€ and his history in the

seventeenth century is this comment by Charles Sorel in

his BibliothSque frangoises

Le sieur d'Aubignfi . . . s'est monstr£ plus partial que tout autre exaltant beaucoup les Huguenots et ne faisant pas assez d'estime des Catholiques. Sur tout on le doit blSnter d'avoir taschd de rendre le Roy Henri III, non seulement ridicule et m6prisable, mais odieux a toute la post£rit&, par les contes qu'il en a faits, comrae celuy du Marchand de Lyon. . . . On peut dire que ce conte et quelques autres qui touchent les Rois et les Princes de la Maison de France ressemblent aux Fictions de quelque Roman Satyrique plGtot qu'a une Histoire. Si on a estime ce livre de d'AubignS, c'est pource que les expeditions de querre y sont assez naivement d€crites, comme par un homme qui estoit du metier . . . son style brusque et martial a eu le don de plaire a quelques personnes . . . il avoit 1 'esprit propre a la Satyre; c'est pourquoi ce qu'il falloit moderer dans une Histoire veritable et importante.3

Sorel, interestingly enough, expresses strong reservations

about partiality, especially concerning the episode at

Lyon in which d'Aubignfi, mentioning similar accounts by two

. catholic historians, actually goes to great length to

guarantee his credibility. This particulal critique of

both Protestant bias and naivete of description might very

well represent the reason for much of the seventeenth cen­

tury' s reluctance to consider the Histoire Universelle as a

serious work worthy of comment. There is also, however,

3 Quoted by Ellerbroek, p. 15. the important presence of d 'Aubign6'a remarkable grand­ daughter, Mme de Maintenon, who as mistress of Iiouis XIV, a staunch supporter of the Catholic church, was very much embarrassed by her family connections with the reformed religion. One needs very little imagination, of course, to predict the effect such influential embarrassment had on the literary reputation of d'Aubign€ in the seventeenth century, a situation which Harry Sauerwein sums up very well:

During the time of his granddaughter, Mme de Main tenon, who shone in the most exalted sphere, many persons would have been employed in collecting the various incidents of his life and presenting him in full luster to the world had not his attachment to the reformed religion been considered, even by her, as a crime that overbalanced all his virtues.4

The eighteenth century, which did not react with any increase of interest to d'Aubigng'B history, produced accordingly very little significant commentary on the work.

The only biography of d'AubignS in the century, for ex­ ample, was published in London in 1772 and written by Sarah

Scott who entitled it: The Life of Theodore Agrippa d'Aublgng containing a succinct account of the most remark­ able occurrences during the civil wars in France in the reign of Charles IX, Henry III, and Henry IV and the

*Harry Sauerwein, A, d'Aubignd's Les Tregiques (Balti­ more: Johns Hopkins Press, l^^i}, pp. vi-vil. minority of Louis XIII. There are also only three refer- ences to d'AuMgng's history by Voltaire (Moland Oeuvres:

XV, 561, and ViCII, 99, 220), and Bayle devotes only a short article fn his Dictlonnaire (fifth edition, 1740,

I, 380) to the Histoire Universelle which he discusses as a literary and not as a historical work.5 Ellerbroek notes, in fact, that &ayle, while referring to d'Aubignd as the

"noblissimus H:.storicusn in a Latin letter "Ad verum

Doctissimum Thttodorum ab Almloveen," avoids speaking of him since he dj.d not have the proof necessary to refute

Mor6ri who claims that d'Aubignd was the illegitimate son of a Gascon nobleman. Bayle also slights the Histoire

Universelle in a letter of 1695 in which he speaks well of the Baron de F£,eneste»and of the Confession de Sancy, two other works by d'Aubignd, but not of the history.6 Inter­ estingly enough, Morfiri also discusses the Confession de

Sancy and the fraron de Faeneste while reserving for the

Histoire Univex selle a mere reference to "les historiettes . . . qui l'ont fait rechercher; sans cela son stile guind 6, et plein de mfitaphores et d'expressions basses et rampalntes, l'auroit fait tomber dans le m£pris, et on ne l'aurqit consults que dans les descriptions des expeditions de guerre, auxquelles on le reconnalt hoitune

5Ibid., p. vii.

6Ellerbroek, p. 16. du mdtier."^ One positive eighteenth century statement

about the Histoire Universelle is this one and only refer­

ence to the work in the Mercure Galant:

Quoiqu'il fust de la Religion Protestante il n'a pas laisse d'dcrire avec un d6ainteressement qui luy a attird des louanges de tous les auteurs contemporains, et de ceux qui sont venus aprds lui. On regarde son ouvrage comme un chef- d'oeuvre en fait d'Histoire, et quelques autheurs en font mesme plus de cas que de celle de Hr. de Thou, qui est cependant fort estirad. (January, 1705)

Finally, in explanation of the neglect of d'Aubignd's work

in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Jean Rousselot

ably sums up the situation discussed above when he proposes

that "c'est que ni son esprit ni sa langue ne coincide avec

1'esprit et la langue de l'dpoque. La voil& bien la

vdritable hdrdsie."®

The nineteenth century represented, in its early years,

new interest in d'Aubignd, the poet, especially as regards

Victor Hugo whom Sauerwein points to as being the most

familiar with d'Aubignd among the Romantics and who, in his

poetry, "shows possible direct influence."9 It was not

until later in the century, however, that the first con­

sistent signs of interest in d'Aubignd, man and poet, were

'Louis Mordri, Grand Dictionnalre Historique (Paris: Les Librairies Assocles, 1755#), I, p. 485.

®J. Rousselot, A. d'Aubignd (Paris: Editions Pierre SegHers, 1966), p. 3

^Sauerwein, p. vii. manifested in commentators like Gdruzez who expressed ad­

miration for the satiric thrust of Les Traqiques1** or

F* Godefroy's discussion of d'Aubignd's poetic flaw nde ne

jamais abaisser le ton de sa col&re, fureur perpdtuelle,h11

or even Emile Faguet's concentration on d'Aubignd "violent

et entetd . . . 1 'Homme joyeux pour dtre morose . . .

1'Homme gracieux pour dtre rude . . . l'homme aimable pour

6tre fort."12 Sainte-Beuve gives additional information

about nineteenth century works on d'Aubignd's prose such

as mentioned in Leon Feugdre's discussion of the prose

writers of the sixteenth century, as well as in the due

de Noaille's 1'Histoire de Mme de Maintenon. He also

provides the interesting fact that Ludovic Lalanne "publie

pour la premidre fois un texte plus exact et vdritable-

ment naturel des Mdmoires. II a mis & la suite du texte

tous les fragments tirds de 1*Histoire Universelle du mdme

auteur qui se rapportent a sa vie."12

It is, however, Sainte-Beuve himself who provides the

. most important of the nineteenth century commentaries on

1®C. A. Sainte-Beuve, Causeries de Lundi (Paris: Garnier Frdres, 1885), edition, X, p. 312.

11F. Godefroy, Histoire de la Litterature Francaise (Paris: Gaume Cie, 1B7B), vol. xvi siecle, pp. 688, fcyt>) . 12 E. Faguet, Etudes Littdraires (Paris: Oudin Cie, 1898), p. 179. ------

12Sainte-Beuve, X, p. 315. the Histoire Universelle in two "causeries" devoted almost exclusively to d'Aubign£, the historian# He calls the work, for example/ "son grand ouvrage sdrieux" and makes the observation that "qui semble indigeste d premidre vue ne le paralt plus autant lorsgu'on y pdndtre."^ He also admires the historical method of d'Aubignd who understands the dignity of the genre and who often excuses himself for the inclusion of anecdotes which threaten to go beyond

"les bordures de son tableau . . . 11 voudrait rester dans 1 5 les proportions de 1 'histoire." In a further comment on historical method/ Sainte-Beuve points out that "Dans son

Histoire/ d'Aubignd affecte de ne vouloir qu'exposer et raconter, et de ne point porter de jugements, il s'impose la loi de ne donner louange ni blame; il lui suffit de faire parler les choses. La v6rit6, & son sens/ ressortira suffisamment des descriptions."14’ The six­ teenth century historian's curiosity in seeking informa­ tion, as well as his enthusiasm often expressed with rhetorical flourish are praised as being positive quali­ ties. "Dans ces parties accessoire de son ouvrage et oft il se permet toutes sortes de fleurs de rh€torique et de licences oratoires, il laisse bien voir aussi le sentiment

1*Idem.

15Ibid., X, p. 318.

16Sainte-Beuve, X, p. 319. 9 d'6l£vation et d*enthousiasme qu'il y porte."^7 It is,

curiously enough, the historian "qui ne se refuse jamais

un coup de langue, et qui pour un bon mot va perdre vingt

amis ou compromettre une utile carridre"^® who is seen as

belonging to a special race of dedicated writers treated

with special care by posterity which

a fait & d'Aubignfi une belle place et de plus en plus distincte. Elle (la posterity) lui sait gr6 avant tout d'etre un peintre et de ce don 6nergique et color& de la parole par lequel elle est mise en vive communication avec le pass6 • . . elle l'accepte volontiers, malgrfi les contradictions et les disparates, comme le repr&sentant de ce vieux parti dont 11 avait le culte et dont il cherche a rehausser la m6moire.l9

Finally, in a comment about an 1855 edition of the

Adventures du Baron de Faeneste prepared by Prosper

Merimee (Paris, P. Jannet, 1855), Sainte-Beuve makes a wish

in the guise of an observation that: "On voit qu'il ne manquera plus rien a 1'etude du caractere et de l'ecrivain

(d'Aubigne); il en sera, a cet egard, de d'Aubigne comme de Pascal, on aura tout dit sur lui, et pour et contre, et alentour; on l'aura embrasse dans tous les sens."2® it is

interesting to note that when Sainte-Beuve made this com­ ment there still remained over 1,500 unedited pages of d 'Aubigne1s works.

17Ibid., X, p. 337. 18Ibid., X, p. 339.

19Ibid., X, p. 341. 20Ibid., X, p. 313. 10

Mdrimde did, indeed, contribute to work done on the prose of d'Aubignd, but, as Jean Plattard points out, he held the sixteenth century author in rather low esteem as a person and painted "le portrait le plus noir qu'on ait « tracd du personnage." To quote Plattard further: "Pros­ per Merimee a dtd frappd par les aspects ddsagrdableB et

* peu amdnes de son (de d'Aubignd) caract&re . . . Mdrimde veut bien reconnaitre que d'Aubignd se monstra souvent humain et gdndreux sur les champs de bataille; mais c'dtait, dit-il 'par un orgueil excessif.'" In his pref­ ace to his edition of the Aventures de baron de Faeneste he also writes about d'Aubignd: "Il dtait naturellement hargneux, cassant et moqueur . . . il s'dtait fait craindre de tous ses contemporains; je ne sais s'il aime personne . . . il avait sa part de la fdrocitd du XVI6 siecle."21

Despite such a dark portrait, the attention which d'Aubignd was getting in the nineteenth century was at least serving to contribute to an awareness of his impor­ tant role in the literature of the sixteenth and seven­ teenth centuries. J. H. Merle d'Aubignd, a descendant of the Protestant historian and the author of an Histoire de la Reformation en Europe, comments in 1863 on this new attention: "II me semble pourtant que d'Aubignd reprenant

91 **J. Plattard, Une Figure de Premier Plan dans Nos Lettres de la Renaissance (Paris: Boivin et Cie# 1931), p. 11

peu 5 peu dans la literature frangaise du seixidme et du

commencement du dix-septidme sidcle la place qui lui est

due et dont les prdjugds et les haines du sidcle des

dragonnades l'avaient privd."22 {similarly, Thomas

Lavallde in La Famille d'Aubignd represents nineteenth

century attitudes when he expresses indulgence not for

the man but for the writer who must be given proper con­

sideration by literary critics: "Ce n'est que de nos jours

qu'on a rendu justice & cet dcrivain original dont on peut

apprdcier diffdremment la conduite et les actions, mais

qui est incontestablement l'une des gloires littdraires de

la France" (O.C., 1, iii, note 1). From the more histor­

ical perspective, Michelet, although not inspired to

devote any lengthy analysis to d'Aubignd's work, remarks

in La Ligue et Henri IV that "en d'Aubignd 1'histoire, c'est

l'dloquence, c'est la podsie, c'est la passion" and he

called the writings of d'Aubignd "une oeuvre capitale de

la langue" (O.C., X, iii, note 1). Hence, the nineteenth

. century historian Michelet apparently finds more poetry

and emotional partisanship than method or objectivity to

comment on in the sixteenth century Histoire Universelle.

At the time of his death, d'Aubignd left numerous

manuscripts, many of which had been copied by a secretary

22Agrippa d'Aubignd, Oeuvres Completes, ed. E. Reaume and F, Caussade (Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1873-1693), I, ii. Here after cited in the text as O.C. and corrected by the author in his own handwriting. Hav­ ing been preserved in this original form, they were not grouped into volumes until as late as the eighteenth cen­ tury under the direction of the Tronchin family and it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that the first edition of the works of d'Aubignd which dealt directly with these grouped manuscripts was published.

This edition was the Oeuvres Completes "publides pour la premidre fois d 'aprds les manuscrits originaux accompagndes de Notices biographigue, littdraire et bibliographique, de Variantes, d'un Comments ire, d'une table de noms propres et d'un Glossaire" by Eugdne

Rdaume and P. Caussade between 1873 and 1893 and including, in addition to the more well known works, many previously unpublished poems as well as many valuable "lettreB inddites." The edition remains, of course, essential for any study of d'Aubignd and his writings but it includes only selections of the Histoire Universelle which, as an individual work, had not been published in a new edition since d'Aubignd's reworking of the text in 1626. In 1886, however, in another major nineteenth century contribution to d'Aubignd study, le baron Alphonse de Ruble began pub­ lication of a new edition of the Histoire under the auspices of "la Socidtd de 1'Histoire de France"

(Librairie Renouard, Paris) in nine volumes (1886-1909) 13 and based on the edition of 1626 with indications of any

additions or variations from the first edition of 1620.22

P. Vaissiere added, in 1909, a tenth voliime to de Ruble's work containing a "table de matidres." The reaction of historians to this nineteenth century edition has often been critical. Charles Bost, for example, findB it con­ fusingly unfaithful to either of d'Aubignd's editions2* and Henri Hauser comments that

son edition ne nous donne ni le texte de 1616- 1620, ni celui de 1626, ni une collection exacte des deux versions; . . . elle ne tient pas compte des parties inddites de 1'Histoire Universelle, ni des notes accumulees par l 1auteur, soit sur les parties ddja parues de son oeuvre, soit en vue de sa continuation eventuelle; elle n'indique pas avec suffisante precision les emprunts faits par d'Aubignd a des sources antdrieures. Le pis est que, en raison meme des proportions de 1'ouvrage, l'ddition de Ruble a rendu impossible, pour de longues anndes, toute nouvelle ddition du mdme texte.25

Le baron de Ruble's decision to avoid the book and chapter division of d'Aubignd's three tomes, seen her9 as somewhat of a distortion is, in fact, distracting for the reader attempting to appreciate the careful structural design conceived by d'Aubignd.

22Here after referred to as H.U. in the text.

24Charles Bost, "Notes sur d'Aubignd," Le Bulletin de la Socidtd de 1'Histoire du Protestantisme Francais, Sept.-Oct. (1910), 437-4677

25h . Hauser, Les Sources de 1 'Histoire de France (Paris; A. Picard et Fils, 1909-1915), III, 26-27, 78. 14 Ellerbroek adds linguistic objections to the de Ruble edition which are again based on the excessive liberties taken with the 1626 edition. He comments, for example, that "d'abord de Ruble, tout en suivant 1'Edition de 1626, ne s'y tient pas exactement, il apporte des changements dans la ponctuation et quelquefois d contresens . . . dans son ddition tous les "alephs" qui, dans la deuxidme

Edition, indiquent la presence de 1 'auteur sans le nommer, sont supprimds.This last omission, which de Ruble attempted to correct by mentioning in footnotes the fact that d'Aubignd is talking about himself, is valid simply because the reader who is unfamiliar with the second edition does not know that d'Aubignd ever designated him­ self by the process. Ellerbroek further objects to de Ruble's lack of precision as regards corrections:

Les trds nombreuses corrections, si caracteristiques pour le souci d*exactitude de d'Aubignd, ne sont signaldes que tris incompldtement. Enfin 1*explication des mots et des passages obscurs est bien ddfectueusej tantot l'dditeur en fournit une la ou l'on n'en a pas besoin, tantfit il passe sous silence les termes ou les tournures les plus difficiles.2?

The fact that no one, despite dissatisfaction with the nineteenth century edition, has attempted to correct the organizational problems of de Ruble with a new edition, is

26Ellerbroek, p. 17.

27 Idem. 15 * proof of the validity of Hauser's claims. The difficulty

Involved In providing footnotes for frequently unclear

historical Information covering fifty years, together with many necessary grammatical and lexical comments Is cer­

tainly Imposing.

The first few decades of the twentieth century pro­

duced some significant critical works on the Histoire

Universelle which, because of their critical Importance

to this study, will be briefly summarized here. Before discussing these important texts, however, it might be good to acknowledge the usefulness of three other general

studies. The first of these, the Sources de 1'Histoire de France au XVIe sidcle (1909-1916) of Henri Hauser, is a carefully documented and most invaluable historical check on d'Aubignd factual accuracy. Hauser is also an astute critic of historical method who is able to judge the sixteenth century historian from the point of view not solely of modern methodology, but with constant attention to sixteenth century concepts of history. In addition,

Hauser, by providing valuable information about the main figures in those tragic events of the sixteenth century that are discussed by d'Aubignd, represents a further accurate check on d'Aubignd's objectivity as regards lead- erS'With whom he was personally associated. J. W.

Thompson's A History of Historical Writing (1942) proved 16 to be very valuable for work in the French Renaissance and reform period because of the author's attempt to explain the origin of reform and the reasons for eventual war.

Thompson analyzes the historical production in all of its categories (mdmoires, chronicles, national histories and universal histories) and summarizes the worth, from a historical point of view, of the main sixteenth century practitioners of each form. He is also careful to note the continuing evolution of historiography and places each author, including d'Aubignd, in the light of compar­ ison with other historians of his era. The last of these invaluable general studies, Literary Portraiture in the

Historical Narrative of the French Renaissance by

Blanchard Bates (1945), is a discussion of the historical portrait from the point of view of those procedures essential to literary portraiture including traitB of character and external appearance. After providing capsule summaries of the tradition of literary portrai­ ture, Bates concentrates on the criteria considered most essential for the ‘presentation of historical figures of the sixteenth century. Taking many of the famous writers of "mdmoires" and histories in the century, Bates studies their method of presenting famous historical personnages and is, thereby, able to form conclusions about such criteria as objectivity, concern for accuracy, and personal 17 Involvement. On d'Aubignd, Bates studies the admirable pictorial quality of portraiture that was evocative and yet surprisingly objective.

Turning to those works specifically on d'Aubignd which have been found to be most useful, we might begin with a brief mention of Samuel Rochblave's biographical and crit­ ical study, A. d'Aubignd (1910). Also of significance is his contribution to the 300th anniversary of d'Aubignd's death: Un heros de l'epopde huguenote, A. d'Aubignd (1930).

The importance of these general sources of information on d'Aubignd's life and work is perhaps best shown by the important place they continue to hold in d'Aubignd criti­ cism. Although published in 1910, the Rocheblave text is, in fact, still frequently referred to as a basic point of departure for beginning work on d'Aubignd. Similarly useful, but for more specialized concern, is Geuchien

Ellerbroek'8 Observations Sur la Langue de 1'Histoire

Universelle de T. A. d'Aubignd, a book which provides a brief but good sampling of critical commentary on the d'Aubignd history from the seventeenth to the nineteenth * centuries. The main focus of the study is, however, as the title implies, a rather detailed stylistic study of d'Aubignd's use of words and combinations of words. Exam­ ination of the length of sentences, the military vocabu­ lary, the rigorous order of composition plus a discussion 18 of spelling and punctuation changes and the use of various grammatical contructions provide valuable insights into d'Aubignd's reasons for writing and revising his history*

Armand Garnier's A. d'Aubignd et le Parti Protestant

(1928) is undoubtedly one of the most important of these early twentieth century works on d'Aubignd and one which is absolutely essential for any work done on the Histoire

Universelle specifically. Garnier's ambitious intention was to provide the historical framework of the Protestant party during the time when d'Aubignd played an important role in it. Going back to all available original histori­ cal sources,manuscripts, letters of historical figures and treaties, Garnier also read all of the important Mdmoires of both the Protestant and Catholic aides, as well as the other significant sixteenth century histories, such as that of the Catholic de Thou, as checks on d'Aubignd's accuracy and impartiality. Priding himself on his own impartiality, Garnier nevertheless recognizes the fact that he has indeed erected a solid monument to the memory of d'Aubignd and decorated it with the history of his Protes­ tant party. The d'Aubignd one learns to appreciate in this historical and critical masterpeice of investigation is, thus, the man of varied and all consuming interests who could no longer be seriously judged solely as the poet of

Les Tragigues. It is certainly not merely a biography that 19

Garnier wrote but rather a critical study of d'Aubignd's

life and a historical study of his works, examined in the

exact context of their period of composition and placed,

again, within the framework of a general history of the

Protestant struggle against the Catholics in sixteenth

century France. As Garnier, himself, expresses his inten­

tions :

Ainsi, pour comprendre les iddes, les sentiments, les passions, qui l'agitent aux diverses dpoques, et qui s'expriment dans ses oeuvres, contre les Catholiques surtout, mais aussi pour juger de ses griefs d l'dgard de ses coreligionnaires et du Roi de Navarre . . . j'ai dtd amend a dlargir mon premier dessein et a considerer qu'une biographie de d'Aubignd n'avait de sens et de valeur cue si je la replagais dans son "milieu."2ff

J. Plattard, known for his work in 1925 on the unfin­

ished fourth tome of d'Aubignd's history, published a fine

general study, Une figure de premier plan dans nos lettres

de la renaissance: A. d'Aubignd (1931), which examines the

literary career of d'Aubignd as it was affected by the great historical events of the sixteenth century. The book is composed of six articles dealing with various

periods of the author's life: (1) "le portrait de d'Aubignd" painted by himself, (2) d'Aubignd's sejour at - -

Poitou, (3) the poetry of d'Aubignd, (4) d'Aubignd pamphleteer, (5) d'Aubignd historian and (6) d'Aubignd

2®Armand Garnier, Agrippa d'Aubignd et le Parti Protestant (Paris: Libraxre Fischbacher, 1928), X, v. military writer. One notes immediately here the fact that

it is history and not poetry (discussed in only twenty of the 135 pages of the text) that is the definite focus of

Plattard, making the book even more valuable for our pur­ poses. Plattard, in fact, mentions that it was his work on the "supplement" or unedited fourth tome of the history which inspired him to published additional historical com­ mentaries such as the fifth and sixth chapters of his 1931 book, published, by the way, as part of the tribute to d'Aubignd on the 300th anniversary of his death in 1630.

In 1960's seems to have been a period of new found

Interest in d'Aubignd with seven works published between

1964 and 1971 which have been of special value f<~r the preparation of this study. The article by S. Kinser,

"D'Aubigne and the Apostasy of Henri IV" (Studies in the

Renaissance. XI, 1964) is, first of all, of interest because it attempts to clarify the apparent contradiction between the very severe judgment of Henri IV in the "Dis­ cours par stances" (published probably between 1610 and

1616) and the enthusiastic praise of the same king in the

"appendice" to the Histoire Universelle, a question of

Borne importance in a study of d'Aubignd's history. Kinser explains the change by referring to the hope d'Aubignd expressed, during the 1618-19 period, of obtaining a publication privilege for the Histoire. Also among the 21

recent publications is Henri Weber's "Etat Present sur

d'Aubign<5" (L1 Inforroation Litt€raire. 18 (1966)) which

briefly discusses the history of d'Aubign6's materials from

the first publication in the seventeenth century to the

compilations of the eighteenth century Tronchin family to

the nineteenth century editions of R^aume and de Ruble and

finally to twentieth century commentaries* As far as the

Histoire Universelle is concerned, the fact that Weber

chooses to mention only Plattard's work in the "Supple­

ment," Garnier's historical study and the article by

Kinser might very well be the best commentary on the state

of publication specifically devoted to the history.

Eugdne and Emile Haag's La France Protestante (1966) pro­

vides a concise summary of the historical events involved

in the life of d'Aubignd, as it does for all significant

Protestant figures in the sixteenth century, in addition

to a brief outline of form and interest of the Histoire

Universelle. The interesting features of the Haag book,

.however, are the references made to critical opinions on

various problems. With regard to the Histoire, for

example, they present the names of critics who have spoken

in favor of or reacted against the changes made in the

second edition. Similarly, they attempt to present a

similar breakdown of critical opinion on the problem of

the publication date of the first edition thereby facili­

tating the investigation of certain key questions. Jean Rousselot's A. d'Aubiqnd (1966) attempts to Identify the distinguishing features that make d'Aubignd stand out among sixteenth century poets and which contributed to the neglect his works faced for two centuries. Rousselot is interesting for the student of d'Aubignd's history because of his severe criticism of the Histoire Universelle, a work, in his interpretation, made up solely of a series of justifications and "plaidoiries" without any creative value. He even says that if the history had been left in the inkwell French literature would not have suffered any loss, a startling statement indeed from the pen of a modern literary critic. One might fit it most comfortably, in fact, in the seventeenth century atmosphere of Mme de

Maintenon.

Michel Jeanneret's study, "Les StyleB de A. d'Aubignd"

(Studi Francese, 32, 1967) deals essentially with poetic imagery and language in its various "registres" but certain references to metaphorical religious style in the book can be applied to the Histoire Universelle. Hence, as will be noted later, the work fits well into a discussion of rhetoric and eloquence in d'Aubigne's history. Jacques

Bailbd's Agrippa d'Aubignd, Poeite des Tragiques (1968) while dealing, again, essentially with d'Aubignd*s poetry, analyzes the historical references in the Tragiques in such great detail that it is actually, again, of considerable

.mportance in researching the Historie Universelle. 23 Bailbd's commentary on the impassioned epic tone of d'Aubignd*8 great partisan poem, for example, makes the attempt at objectivity and self-control involved in the writing of the history much more appreciable. Similarly, there are explanations of historical events, references to the Catholic and Protestant personalities hehind the great events and specific sections on "les Hdros," "les Gestes" and nla Satire" which contribute considerably to a study focused on the history. Two articles by A. Thierry, deal­ ing specifically with the Histoire Universelle, have also proved to be of great assistance. The first of these,

"Monluc et d'Aubignd" (Blbliothdque d*Humanisms et

Renaissance, 33, 1971) iB essentially, a study of the ex­ pressed attitude of d'Aubignd toward the old Catholic warrior, Monluc, in the Histoire Universelle. The respect that the Protestant captain and historian had for Monluc is expressed, first, in the usually short sentences of the animated and detailed style used for presenting battle scenes. Respect is also shown, as Thierry points out, in the refusal of an impartial d'Aubignd to condemn Monluc for his much discussed massacres of Protestants while actually seeking to praise the Catholic war leader for his extraordinary bravery and daring.

I would like to conclude this discussion of critical works devoted to d'Aubignd by briefly acknowledging three 24 * very Important works on the Tragiques which have contrib­

uted valuable information and insights to the present

study. They are considered apart because I have attempted

to limit this discussion to a consideration of those

twentieth century works which have proved to be most

important for a study of the Histoire Universelle specifi­

cally. The Jeanneret and Bailbd studies have made signifi­

cant enough contributions to both the stylistic and

historical discussion of the history to merit considera­

tion along with works devoted more specifically to the

Histoire. The first of the three works is Xmbrie Buffurn's

A. d'AubignS's Les Tragiques: a study of the Baroque style

in Poetry (1951) which, as the title implies, proves use­

ful in discussions of theatricality and violent descrip­

tion of the Histoire Universelle. Buffum, however, is

essentially interested in defining specific criteria for

baroque poetry. The second of the three works on the

Tragiques is Henry Sauerwein's A. d'Aubignd's Les

Tragiquesi A Study in structure and Poetic Method (1953)

which proved useful here, as has been shown, in the com­

mentary on the fortune of d'Aubignd in the seventeenth

and eighteenth centuries. The work itself, however, is a

highly detailed analysis of image clusters and associations

of images in the Tragiques. Finally, Richard Regosin's

M'AubignS's Les Tragiques: a Protestant Apocolypse"

i 25

(P.M.L.A.t 81, 1966) Is, at least for purposes of comment­ ing on the Histoire, perhaps the most useful chapter of a thesis devoted to the Tragiques. References to the mar­ tyrdom of the faithful involved in the gory religious wars and to the Evangelical church as a pregnant woman fleeing her oppressors recall the numerous references to such slaughter in the Histoire Universelle which often simi­ larly suggest the element of religious sacrifice.

What might indeed be best demonstrated by this brief

"dtat present" of those texts which have proven to be most useful for this particular study of the Histoire

Universelle is the need for further contributions.

D'Aubignd's history has faced too many Rousselot-like statements of disdain at a time when the powerful poetry of the Tragiques has been getting the attention it deserves.

Publication History of the Histoire Universelle

In a study of the Histoire Universelle an initial problem arises concerning the date and the place of publi­ cation of the three tomes that constitute the major portion of the work as we now have it. A date is indeed printed on the title page of each tome: 1616 for the first tome,

1618 for the second, and 1620 for the third. Furthermore, the title page for each of the three tomes informs us that the works were published "a Mailld par Jean Moussat, 26

imprimeur ordinaire du dit sieur." However there are

ample reasons for believing that this information is inac­

curate. Ambiguous references in the Histoire itself, as

well as statements in d'Aubignd's memoirs and in other

documents suggest a publication history somewhat differ­

ent from that indicated on the title page of the three

tomes. There is even a question as to whether the volumes

were published at different times or simultaneously.

Indeed, some of the leading critics who have Btudied

the publication history of the Histoire Universelle have

come to interesting but conflicting conclusions. A.

Legoudz in his "Notice bibliogique" in the Rdaume edition

of the complete works of d'Aubignd concludes that the

first two volumes "imprimds & Mailld (Sainct-Jean-Angely)"

did indeed appear in the year printed on the first page of

each volume, that is 1616 and 1618 (O.C., V, 203). As for

the third volume, Legoudz claims that d'Aubignd, having

been refused the "privilege" he sought, nle fit ndanmoins

.paraitre d la fin de 1619, mais une sentence du Lieutenant

civil, en date du 2 Janvier 1620, le suspendit immddiate-

ment et 1 'oeuvre tout entidre fut condamnde d dtre brulde d

Paris par la main du bourreau, en 1 'universitd, devant

le College Royal" (O.C., V, 203).

Armand Garnier refutes many of these factual claims of

Legoudz and begins by stating that the appearance of the 27 first volume in 1616 would have been impossible because of the reference at the end of the volume, after "les tables": "achevd d*imprinter le dernier jour de mars

MDCXVIII." He says also in relation to this that 1616 merely indicates the year of the beginning of the print­ ing?** It would appear to Garnier that LegouSz is also confused in mentioning both "Mailld" and "Sainct-

Jean-d'Angely" as site of the first printing. We read, of course, in d'Aubignd's memoirs that he "fit sa retraite &

Sainct-Jean-d'Angely, en s'estant meubld il acheva

1'impression de ses Histoires, tout & ses deepens, tout a grand honneur de les voir condemndes et brusldes au

College Royal a Paris" (O.C., I, 95). He did not actu­ ally leave his home base of Maillezais for Sainct-

Jean-d*Angeli, however, until December 1619 when the first two tomes at least were already printed, thereby demon­ strating to Garnier that if the third book had appeared in

1619 as LegouSz claims, it would have been completely printed in Mailld. In fact, the third book bears the date of 1620, which is entirely in accord with the final date of printing given by d'Aubignd.30

Garnier, himself, after thoroughly investigating all appropriate texts and following up any potentially reveal­ ing clues tells us that the Histoire Universelle was %

29Garnier, III, 72.

20Idem. 28

almost finished In 1612, a fact which one might be able to

arrive at from a statement made by d'Aubignd In a letter

to the "secretaire d'Etat, M. de Seaux," In which he

requested certain necessary Information on "1'Orient" the

lack of which was causing a delay in printing. The fact

that d'Aubignd also expressed in the same letter a desire

to convince Protestant families to overcome any prevail**

ing fear or indifference and to assist him with the

limited research still necessary to bring his book into

print also demonstrates the advanced stage of his work by

that date. Garnier, however, points to another factor as

being the principal reason for believing that d'Aubignd

had completed the writing well in advance of any attempt

to distribute a printed text: "La raison principale, la

vraie, c'est qu'il ne jugeait pas les circonstances

favorables sous la R&gence pour la publication de son

Histoire. "31 The year 1612, a time of renewed religious

tension was not the most opportune moment to publish a work

.which might reignite the passions and divisions that had

burst into flame in the 1560's.

It is interesting to note here, in this account of

the rather complicated publication history of the

Histoire Universelle. that certain equivocal statements

made by d'Aubignd himself can lead the reader astray* For

31Garnier, III, 74. 29 example, in the preface to his third volume, d'Aubignd states: "En vous donnant mon troisieme tome, il me semble, judicieux lecteurs, gue vous faites deux demandes: l'une pourquoi j'ai demeurd un an sans faire travailler.

1*autre comment, ayant publid les deux premi&res parties, la troisiesme est refusde d'un privilege par Messieurs du Conseil” (H.U., VII, 1). As Garnier points out, other available texts reveal very clearly that d'Aubignd had solicited in vain a "privilege" for the first two parts; failing to obtain it for those two volumes, he decided to publish them at his own risk and peril.Furthermore, in a letter to M* Goulard, "ministre a Geneve,” referring to the recent appearance of the Tragiques (hence, 1616) d'Aubignd indicates that a request for a privilege had been made to Paris at that time, namely 1616. It would thus appear that he attempted to gain official recognition and approval as soon as he started to have his Histoire printed. In the same letter d'Aubignd explains why, in his view at least, he was refused a "privilege":

ayant este refusd d'un privilege par la haine seule de ma personne, quoyque je sois moins violent a descrire point juge en aucune endroit, et que pour eschantillon de ma modestie j 'ay descrit la Sainct-Barthelemy sans avoir use du mot de cruautd. . . . En un mot ils n'ont pas trouvd en moy un homme d menacer, maia qui aymeroit mieiix se mettre au feu que son livre (O.C., I, 475).

32ibid., III, 78. 30

One might wonder why a Protestant author so sure of the worth and integrity of his historical method and the impartiality of his approach would intentionally risk probable condemnation from a body of Catholic judges especially at a time when the violent anti-Catholic verses of the Tragiques were still ringing in their ears.

Garnier, after also posing this question, points to the quite obvious political danger of putting one(s name on a work of such political content without permission.

Hence refusal in 1616 at a time when d'Aubignd was hardly

Men odeur de saintetd d la Court" was predictable.33

The year 1618 was judged by d'Aubignd, then in the process of negotiating with the government certain property rights to Maillezais, as a propitious moment to ask for the privilege he had previously sought, and apparently his request did not fall on deaf ears. In 1619 examiners were sent to Maillezais to study his work, a favorable sign, but were unfortunately prevented from completing their mission by the movement of certain troops provoked by the "coup de tfite" of the queen mother (Marie de Medici) who had fled from Blois to put herself under the protection of the due d'Epernon at Angoul&me, a situation mentioned by d'Aubignd in the "Preface" to the third volume (H.U., VII,

2-3). Hence, the disappointed d'Aubignfi, who had in

33Ibid., III, 79. Gamier's interpretation, held his first two volumes from

distribution in order for the "commissaires” to see them,

had no further reason to wait and finally distributed them

towards the end of 1619. The publication of these first

two tomes provoked the sentence of Chatelet in January

1620; however the date of the third tome (1620) is too

late for that volume to be implicated in this condemna­

tion. This interpretation of the book's publication

history is, of course, further substantiated when one

considers that the title of d'Aubignd's book mentioned in

the "texte de l'arrdt" is the title of the first volume:

1 ' Histoire Universelle de sr. d'Aubignd, dedide A la

postdritd, imprimde a Mailld par Jean Moussat, soy disant

imprimeur du dit d'Aubignd, 1616" and not that of the third

volume which, like the second tome, does not bear the

"dddide a la posteritd" label.34

In a.study published in 1910 Samuel Rocheblave sum­

marized his version of the publication story in the follow-

• ing terms: "d'Aubignd prit son parti d'imprimer chez lui

dans sa maison de Mailld, en quelgue sorte clandestine-

ment. Le premier volume porte la date de 1616. Le second,

paru avec le premier en 1618, se vit refuser le privilege.

Tous deux'furent brCtlds dans la cour du Colldge Royal . . .

' 34Garnier, III, 83-85. en 1620, l'annde ou paru le troisidme et dernier."35

Hence, for Rocheblave, the first two volumes appeared to­

gether in 1618 and were burned in 1620 without the third,

a claim which would, of course, immediately cause one to

question the two year delay before condemnation. A letter

from a certain nsieur de Hautefontaine" to d'Aubignd pro­ vides the information that in July of 1619 the first two volumes, although printed, had not yet been brought out

("sortis"), thereby corroborating Garnier*s claims and pointing to Rocheblave's error in placing their publica­ tion in 1 6 1 8 . ^ 6

A second edition of the Histoire Universelle (1626) was planned by d'Aubignd in his retreat in Geneva, where he hoped to find an atmosphere more conducive to free ex­ pression without the troubling constraints previously encountered in France. He decided, however, to attempt to influence the ultimate decision (concerning publication permission) of the "Petit Conseil" of the Swiss city by

(1) formally thanking Geneva for its generous hospitality and (2) by sending it a copy of his "edition princeps" bearing the city's arms on its cover with a gold-lettered dedicatory inscription.37 His flattery succeeded and he

3^S«unuel Rocheblave, Agrippa d'Aubignd (Paris: Hachette, 1910), p. 113.

36Garnier, III, 74.

37ibid., ill, 156. 33

was granted permission to print a new edition on September

4, 1622; but concern over the reaction o£ the French court

lead to a reconsideration of the situation and the with­

drawal of the privilege on January 20, 1623 (O.C., I, 107).

D'Aubignd's reaction was to seek the assistance of Father

Fulgence, a liberal Venitian Jesuit whom he asked to

examine his book and to whom he wrote:

Vous verrez comment entre les loix que j'ai recues des meilleurs maistres j'observe de ne descrlre que les pures actions, sans donner, ma sentence au lecteur. Je ne luy fais present que des prdmisses, et luy laisse la facon de la conclusion. . . . Voila ma demande que je fais d'un si bon coeur, que si vous pouviez me donner une voue assur^e pour consigner en vob mains mes derniers manuscripts corrigez et aucjmentez d'une bonne partie, je le ferois tres librement. . . . Je n'ose vous parler de donner cette besougne d quelqu'un de vos imprimeurs, car si vous me faisiez sentir que cela se peust, je d6poserois entre vos mains le p&re avec les enfans (O.C., 1,312-313)

The flattering and solicitous tone of this letter

might serve to indicate the determination of d'AubignS to

avoid the prolonged publication worries he had been faced with in France from 1616-1620. The fact that d'Aubignd

later, in a letter to a M. Durant in Venice, expresses a

certain hesitancy about sending a copy of the completed

second edition to this same Jesuit because of his doubts

about how it would be viewed, might suggest that Father

Fulgence had never answered the original request:

"Monsieur, je ne puis mieux vous montrer avec quelle

diligence j'obdis A vos desirs, que de vous envoyer le 34 • ■ livre deraandS, auquel 11 manque le frontlsplce et la dernlere partie de 1'indice que j'espere vous envoyer dans peu de jours. J'en eusse envoyS un autre pour le Pdre

Fulgence, si j*eusse est£ assurS qu'il eust estS bien venu; mais faisant criminel tout ce qui me touche,

j'espargne plus autruy que moy" (O.C., I, 335).

D'Aubigne's intentions, as far as this second edition was concerned, were curiously expressed in this letter to the French Chancelier de Sillery in which a certain arro­ gant defense of his rights of expression was mixed with a mild request for correction of facts:

Qu'il vous plaise de jetter l'oeil sur quelques personnages de probite et de savoir, bien instruits au livre du monde, lesquels ayants veu et reveu mes trois tomes, y cottent les poincts que peuvent offenser, comme s'il m'estoit advenu d*avoir receu quelques mSmoires sans trebucher, et par 1a d'avoir failly en la ques­ tion du faict, car je me suis abstenu estroittement de celle du droit; afln de rSparer tout en une Edition que je veux donner au contentment de moy mesme et de mes seigneurs et amis (O.C., I, 203).

One could certainly never interpret this as voluntary sub­ mission to any form of rigid censorship, but the "Petit

Conseil," which was apparently prepared in 1626 to accept unofficially a compromise, tolerated a secret printing as long as appearances were safeguarded and the place of publication marked at the beginning of the text was mentioned as being Amsterdam.38

38Ibid., III, 158. 35

Hence, the way was cleared for the appearance of the second edition in 1626 "augmentde de notables histoires entieres et de plusieurs additions et corrections." The changes involved here, as Garnier indicates, were not only changes in detail, but also rather significant rearrange­ ments. In his study of d'Aubignd*s language, Geuchien

Ellerbroek points out, for example, that punctuation was corrected, words were added or taken out for clarity's sake and that the author Na fait disparaitre beaucoup de petites fautes (formes grammaticales, noms) et nombres inexacts."^ Chapters were also reworked to provide for better organization, and certain "mdmoires compldmentaires" from various sources were included to provide clarifica­ tion of claims for added detail to evidence. Families that were formerly hesitant to provide information for the first edition now finally responded to d'Aubignd's criti­ cism (expressed in the "Attache aux deux premiers tomes,"

H.U., VI, 374, in the "Prdface" to the third part, H.U.,

VII, 1-2 and in the final appendix, H.U., IX, 476) and contributed significant new material and additional information.

D'Aubignd presented a copy of this second edition to the new king of England, Charles I, accompanied by a letter of dedication full of hyperbole and rhetorical flourishes

^Ellerbroek, p, 8. 36

in which he proclaims that his book is "escrit d'une main

que les presents n'ont ny corromptle ny asservie, et qui

peut justement escrire sur son frontlspice: "Nihil,gratiae

datum, nihil offensae" (O.C., I, 331-333). Garnier points

out the wisdom involved in the historian's choosing such a

"belle devise," which could very well serve to compensate

for the risks involved in putting out a publication

officially unauthorized and hence vulnerable: "II devait

fdliciter et nous devons nous fdliciter qu'il n'ait pas

rdussi plus que la premidre fois a obtenir une approbation

officielle, et qu'il ait aussi echappd aux servitudes d'un

privilege.Hence, d'Aubigne’s concern for asserting

those rights of expression discussed in his letter to the

chancelier de Sillery preserved the integrity and histor­

ical validity of this revised text.

Not all critics agree, however, that the 1626 edition

of the Histoire Universelle represents an improvement over

the first version of the text. As EugSne and Emile Haag

.point out, some readers (they mention Langlet-Dufresney

and Weiss) have claimed that perhaps too much detail was

eliminated from various sections of the text and that many

of the satirical descriptions and thrusts disappeared in

the process of revision. The Haags, however, also point to

the favorable judgment of David Cldment who sees d'Aubignd

as being responsably in control of his own work and

do Garnier, III, 160. 37 entirely within his rights to change what he judged to be superfluous or unclear. Clement, in fact, describes the rather ordinary process of revision here undertaken by d'Aubignd: "J'ai confronts ces deux Editions et j'ai trouve que 1'auteur avait fait usage de sa libertS dans la seconde, qu'il y avait changd l'ordre des chapitres, qu'il en avait rassembl€ deux en un qu'il en avait souvent partagS un en deux . . .qu'il avait retouchS de style.

Jean Plattard, commenting on the second edition, makes reference to certain additions to the text which go beyond mere rearrangement and which would seem to be inconsistent with d'AubignS's clearly stated declaration in the

"Imprimeur au Lecteur" to the first edition. Here he states that he intends to conceal his participation in military events discussed. Plattard refers to the inter­ esting addition of special marks or "caractSres hSbraiqueB" in the 1626 text to indicate any occasion when d'AubignS disguised his presence by withholding his name.42

Plattard also mentions in his comparison of the two edi­ tions that the most revised chapter in the second edition, the confusing account of the battle of Coutras, does not, significantly enough, become any clearer in the second

^Eugfene and Emile Haag, La France Protestante (Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1966), p. 179.

42piattard, p. 15. 38

edition. On the contrary, it becomes further weighed

down with superfluous detail due to the fact that

d'Aubignd "paro£t surtout obdir a la regie qu'il s'dtait

imposde de donner S quiconque s'dtait distingud le renom

auquel il avait droit."43

In the 1620's, after the publication of his first

edition and during the period of preparation of the

second, d'Aubignd received many requests from military

figures urging a continuation of his Histoire Universelle

so that their particular exploits might be "mis en

honneur." D'Aubignd tells us of these urgings in the

following somewhat unenthusiastic terms: "J'ay encor a vous dire que j'ay regeu de toutes les parts de la France, des

deux Professions des principaux capitaines de l'armde

royale, de trez exprez et grands memoires pour pousser mon

Histoire jusques au temps present; je n'ay pas donnd, ny veux donner aucun coup de plume, tant que j'auray de si dangereux interprStes a mes pures et simples narrations"

(O.C., I, 309). He also hints at further unwelcome pressure from his associates to update his history when, in a letter to the "marquis de Courtaumer" in Holland request­

ing information on "le Septentrion," he points out that 4 "forces amis me condaronent a un quatriesme tome" (O.C.,

I, 366), advice which was quite obviously more than mere

43Ibid., p. 110. 39 suggestion. Witness also this letter to an English acquaintance:

Je suis exortd et pressd de Princes et des principaux capitaines de poursuivre jusques d la saison de leurs actions, lesquelles ils veulent bien estre deduictes par mon gros stil qu'ils appelent ferrd. . . .J'ai receu toutes ces exortations comme le souffre la mdche et peut estre ay travailld a la besongne trop avant pour m'en pouvoir desdire" (O.C., I, 492).

D'Aubignd, the tired veteran of both military and political skirmishes, was apparently not eager to continue his re­ search and his writing. However, as A. Thierry points out, no sooner had he finished the reworking of his history, completed in 1626, than he yielded to the requests and began to assemble materials for a fourth volume.

D'Aubigne's original plan for this additional tome was to cover events from the Edict of Nantes to 1622, centering interest upon the wars of Louis XIII against the Protes­ tants and dividing the tome into five books as he had done in the first three tomes. What we have of this entire scheme, however, is only the preface to the new volume, one chapter of the fourth book and the unfinished fifth book (which is .limited to the campaign of 1619-1622), all of which was discovered among d'Aubignd's papers. Jean

Plattard published the preface and the fifth book in 1925

^ A . Thierry, "Un Chapitre Inddit de 1'Histoire Universelle de d 1Aubignd," Bibliothdque d*humanisms et de Renaissance, 32 (1970) , 635. under the title of Supplement a 1 'Histoire Universelle but

the remaining fragment of the fourth book which Thierry

discusses in some detail, remains unedited. Thierry says,

first of all, that d 'Aubignd would probably have called

this chapter "l'Estat des Reformez en l'an 1620" because

of his attempt here to limit himself to "tableaux" of the

situation of the Protestant people on the eve of the

1621-22 war rather than provide another of those numerous detailed battle accounts of the earlier tomes. We might

also see in this chapter evidence that d'Aubignd retained, on the eve of his death, that burning conviction, so

frequently expressed in his work, that the Protestants were victims of an annihilation plot, carefully premediated and patiently carried out.45

The unpublished material, however, is also significant as a further indication of that admirable moderation d'Aubignd consistently exemplifies in his historical writ­

ings despite an obvious awareness of the justness and importance of the Protestant cause. One does find in this

section, nevertheless, the uncompromising fervor of the battle captain (a fervor carried over from his third tome) who, to the end of his life, considered accommodation with

Catholics by certain "prudents" a distinct mark of

45Ibid., p. 636. See also H.U., IX, 199 and "Le Traitd sur les Guerres Civiles," O.C., II, 13. betrayal. One also finds in this continuation a concision

of style which Thierry discusses in these terms:

On est frappd enfin par la rigueur avec laquelle est composd le texte et par la fermetfi du style de ce vieillard. S'11 cdde parfois au goClt qu'il a toujours eu pour les jeux de consonances ("l'horreur d'honneur," "pourvoiances rapproch£ de prevoiances") • . . 11 a, autant que jamais, l'art de colorer une expression d' images frappantes et pittoresques.4 6

Thierry later goes on to describe this aged partisan,

whose Btrong character is once again revealed even in his

last historical commentary, as "cette Cassandre qui crie

dans le d&sert, ce vieux gentilhomxne parmi les plus avisez

qui cingle d'un bon mot les cupides."4? This unedited-

final effort of d'Aubignd, might then be seen as an effort

of the will of the proud historian who, although scarred

by frequent official disapproval and concerned about his moral credibility, is still in control of his narration.

He wrote, in fact, the following emotional statement about

the troubling consideration involved in contemplating his

.fourth tome:

Puisque vous daignez vous enquerir si j'escris, je diray que le mauvais traitement qu'ont regu mes labours me faict reposer, et jetter dans un cabinet un gros amas de mfimoires receus depuis dix ans bien souvent par les mareschaux de camp des deux partis. Je garde cela pour quelque bonne plume qui

* 46Thierry, p. 637.

4?Idem. 42

ne soit pas criminelle par le nom de 1'auteur. (O.C., 1, 520)

Jean Plattard, having edited the preface to the fourth

tome as well as the fifth book of that volume, claims that

d'Aubignd's "effort pour connaltre la vdritd et ne dire

que la vdritd, apparalt plus manifestement dans ce volume

que dans les prdcddents.In his compilation of this

final tome, d'Aubignd thus apparently made his greatest

effort to know the entire truth and to separate it from

fable. D'Aubignd, who always reserved the right to express

in his prefaces those feelings and emotions he attempted to hide in his narration, speaks with much passion in the preface of the fourth volume about the suffering Protes­ tant "martyrs" and royal "bourreaux" of the religious struggles. But Plattard, like Thierry, is impressed with the Belf-control of the man who can still narrate history with apparent serenity and without angry outbursts.

Form and Shape of the Histoire Universelle

Having examined the story of and the difficulties

involved in the publication of the Histoire Universelle in

its first and second editions, we turn next to a study of the form of the work as originally conceived by d'Aubignd.

The text, in both of the editions published during d'Aubignd's life, was divided into three tomes of five books

*®Plattard, p. 97. each* The first tome which treated events between the years 1553, the year of the birth of Henri de Navarre, and

1570, the end of the third war of religion in France, is described by d'Aubignfi in his "Imprimeur au lecteur" as being "moins agrdable” because it nse sent de l'abr€g£, hors mis la description des batail]esN (H.U., I, 17). The second tome of five books, dealing with events between the years 1570 and 1585, "entre un peu devant la St.

Barth&lemy et achSve aux premiers exploits apparens de la

Ligue" (H.U., I, 17) while the third (events of 1585-1602), according to our author, "donnera plus de contentement pour y estre les affaires plus diligemment exprimSes, pource que l'autheur estoit parvenir & plus de connoissance et d'authorite" (H.U., 1, 17). Hence, the plan is chronological in conception with all events, of all areas treated, arranged according to the year. Beginning with

1562, in fact, the year is marked at the top of each page of the text.

The arrangement of chapters is rigidly controlled; events in France are always discussed first and are of primary interest in the historical narration. The next section, which deals with foreign affairs, is identically arranged in each book: first an introductory chapter con­ necting France with the affairs of her immediate neighbors, followed by four chapters dealing with events (again 44 chronologically ordered according to years) in the coun­ tries to the East, South, West and North of France, always presented in that order. At the end of each book there is a return to France with the last chapter devoted to an explanation of the conditions of a particular peace treaty or agreement.

The rigidity of this scheme which d'Aubignd praised as bringing order to "faits bien d£sordonn£esn (Histoire

Universelle, I, 18) has been much criticized by both historians and literary critics as being both forced and inappropriate to historical exposition. In the "Notice

Biographique et Litt&raire" of the Rdaume edition of the

Oeuvres Completes, for example, LegouSz mentions the too carefully constructed "colonnes" (chapters) of d'Aubignd's historical edifice, as being "une trop reguli&re ordonnance" (O.C., V, 145). A comparison is also made here between the tightly arranged books of d'AubignS's

Histoire and a chest of drawers with each drawer (or chapter) labeled and containing a specific historical cate­ gory to be opened in its turn. The insistence on ending each book with a peace agreement is here called "un cadre artificiel" and the claim is made that "cette division, subordonnant 1*histoire du monde pendant plus d'un demi- siScle a des trSves, & des SvSnements qui n'intSressent que la France" is pretentious on the part of one making use of 45

the word "universal" in his title (O.C,, V, 146), Actu­

ally# LegouSz continues, the history is not universal but

rather a study o£ the French civil wars while "le reste

n'est le plus souvent que hors d'oeuvre" . . . "des

bordures destinees seulement a justifier un titre ambitieux"

(O.C.# V, 147). Finally, it is pointed out that an author

so concerned with chronology has forced himself into using

naive transitions between unconnected events occurring in

the same year in what becomes actually disorder and

confusion. J. W. Thompson calls the plan of the work arbitrary with rigid scheme that gives the history "a flavor of

artificiality” and a totally false perspective. Thompson

also disclaims the pretention to universality on the part

of a highly biased Calvinist concerned essentially with the

plight of the reform movement through the period of civil w a r . ^ Zt might be interesting to note here, in relation to

the universality of d'Aubignd's work, that the author him­

self states that his idea of universal history was orig­

inally based on Henry IV and his influence on the world

(H.U., X, 14-15), an intention which was, of course,

eventually subordinated to providing a general account of

the religious wars.

Geuchien Ellerbroek discusses "la division trop

rigoureuse des trois tomes, chacun en cinq livres, qui se

49Thompson, I, 564. 46 terrainent tous par un "Edict paciflque" and stresses the fact that "ce plan devait nuire a la clartg de l 1ensemble."

He also asserts that in attempting to discuss world af­ fairs at the end of each book, d'Aubign6 was only weaken­ ing the credibility of his historical method: "Cette partie devrait forcement roster incomplete, bien que I k encore

1'auteur se soit efforc£ de rfiunir le plus de faits exacts possible."5® This statement might very well also apply to those attempts by d'Aubignfi to describe all important events in certain areas while remaining faithful to the necessity of halting his narrative at the end' of a given year. We note, for example, the halted narrative of military campaigns in the Languedoc region because d'Aubignfi had been faced with the arrival of the end of 1572 and the subsequent necessity to continue the account at a later time (H.U., III, 392). Similarly, aB part of this arbitrary organi­ zation of materials, d'Aubignd divided the siege of Jametz into three parts because the fighting which began in 1587 was continued in 1589 (the three parts: H.U., VII, 195-197, 200-207, 379), thereby accenting once again the inviolabil- of an arrangement which seems to work against the purposes of historical narration.5*

s0Ellerbroek, p. 14.

51m . Wynn, "A. d'Aubign£, Huguenot Historian" (unpub­ lished Ph.D. dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1958), p. 29. 47 * There are also numerous instances of forcing events to

fit the preconceived mold of presentation. D'Aubignd,

finding himself faced, for example, with the necessity of

discovering a peace agreement to end book two of volume

three makes use of the truce agreed to in April of 1589

between the forces of Henry III and those of Henri de

Navarre when a real conclusion of French history in 1589

would most appropriately be the assassination of Henry III

on August 2, 1589 (H.U., VIII, 90)fP In this respect also,

d'Aubign& arrives at the important agreement contained in

the "Edit de Juillet" in chapter ten of the fifth book of

tome II but the edict itself is not given until the end

of the book, chapter twenty-one, a full forty pages after

the historical event. We have a similar separation be­

tween mention of both the peace of Bergerac and the peace

of 1574 and the listing of their clauses, again saved for

the ends of their respective books.

In respect to problems of organizing materials, E.

, R6aume points to a definite lack of interest on the part of

d'Aubignd concerning attempts at composing accurate

accounts from contradictory narratives ("ce n’est pas son

gibier"), a situation which leads R£aume to further claim

that d'Aubign£ seems "denu£n of any critical sense in the

* 52xdem. 48

Histoire Universelle.**3 true In this respect that d'Aubigne will often refuse to include stories as being too uncertain to be historically valid without any attempt to verify facts from sources which presented conflicting interpretations of events (H.U., V, 58; IX, 282) or which contradict the author's own personal experiences and dis­ coveries (H.U., VII, 119-120).

A final judgment on this question of arrangement of materials comes from Henri Hauser, a respected authority on sixteenth century France, who, while agreeirgwith the opinions of other historians and declaring himself to be

"choqud de la symetric factice du plan" of d'Aubignd, points nevertheless to the entire good faith of the his­ torian. Hauser states that d'Aubignd's problem in this area arose simply from working too fast and not going into an in depth study of contradictory or suspicious reports.5*

Despite criticism of the structure of d'Aubignd's

Histoire by Hauser, as well as other historians, however, a detailed examination of the work itself will perhaps show that d'Aubignd's over-all precise concept of history and the organization of his material are in themselves highly significant for a greater understanding of the nature of d'Aubignd's historical consciousness.

53E. Rdaume, "Agrippa d'Aubignd, l'homme et l'His- toiren," Bulletin de la Socidtd de 1*histoire du Protes- tlsme francaxs, XXIX (I88d), 17V; cf. 1. Plattard, 102-103.

5*Hauser, III, 79. CHAPTER II

SIXTEENTH CENTURY HISTORICAL PRODUCTION; OBJECTIVITY

AND MILITARY ORIENTATION IN THE HISTOIRE UNIVERSELLE

Histories, "Mdmoires" and PamphletB in Sixteenth Century France-

A first area of concern in this second chapter will be to undertake a brief Burvey of the various histories, memoirs and pamphlets in sixteenth century France in order to better understand and judge the Histoire Universelle in respect to both its era and its genre. In the preface to his first tome of his history, d'Aubignd himself discusses the relative merits of three important sixteenth century

French historians, Lancelot Voisin de la PopeliniSre,

Bernard de Girard (le sieur du Haillan) and Jacques-

* Auguste de Thou, who, because of their work on the period of the sixteenth century wars of religion might provide a good starting point for a discussion of the first of these categories, "histories."

La Popelinidre is the Protestant author of an Histoire de France which covers the period between the death of

Francis II and the end of the "collogue de Poissy" and which, it has been discovered, is a compilation of accounts plagiarized from other sources. De Ruble claims, in this

49 50 respect, that La Popeliniere's history is merely a repro­ duction of the Estat de religion et republique of Pierre de La Place (H.U., I, "Appendice," p. 371) and Henri

Hauser states, similarly, that La Popeliniere "a insere dans son texte sans les nommer, les histoires presques entieres de Pierre de la Place et de Regnier de la

Planche."1 In addition to these claims M. Wynn has dis­ covered that La Popeliniere copied virtually all of Jean

Bodin's journal of the first Estates General of Blois, published in 1581.2

It is not La Popeliniere*s plagiarism, however, that d'Aubigne finds objectionable but rather his negligence and his "venalite," strange charges, as de Ruble points out, in the context of the Histoire Universelle. Negligence is, first of all, a major failing of d'Aubigne himself to which the many erroneous dates in his history attest and, secondly, d'Aubigne is not able to prove the curious accusation of wrong-doing he raises in Book Five of the

.first tome of his Histoire Universelle. D'Aubigne here claims that "le laborieux La Popeliniere" falsely accused the Protestants of (1) breaking a peace treaty and (2) of treating surrendered Catholic prisoners with severity,

1h . Hauser, Les Sources de 1 'Histoire de France (Paris: A. Picard et Fils, ldO$-19iS), III, 26-27, 78.

a & Wynn,"Agrippa d'Aubignd, Huguenot Historian" (un­ published dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1958), p. 29. charges that, as de Ruble points out, cannot be verified

(H.U., III, 23, note 1). D'Aubignd even suggests here that La Popelinidre actually "sold his pen" to the

Catholics, the ultimate condemnation of an historian, but, even here, de Ruble points to the flimsiness of an accusa­ tion which is not even to be found in the official court examination of the Histoire de France in the sixteenth century (H.U., I, appendix 1, 371). The affair is even more curious when we consider (1) that, aB Thierry claims, d'Aubignd got most of his information on the first civil wars from the history of the same La Popelinidre and

(2) that d'Aubigne makes a statement of indebtedness to

La Popeliniere in his first preface: "celui & la diligence et labeur duguel nous devons tous” (H.U., I, 3).

Aside from d'Aubignd's exaggerated condemnation of him,

La Popelini&re, who is praised for his military valor in the Histoire Universelle (IV, 365), 1b important for this study because of his attempts to impose a new rule of

.impartiality in historical narrations of events. He diB- cussed this concern in a letter to Thdodore de Bdze in

1581: "J'ay pratiqud un nouveau moyen de reprdsenter les desseins et actions d'une part et d'aultre, comme neurtre et indiffdrent aux deux partis, tel que doit 6tre

1'historiographs" (H.U., appendix 1, 371). Progress toward a more modern approach to the writing of history 52 can, hence, be seen in the work of La Popeliniere who was

the unfortunate victim of jealousy within his own Protes­

tant party. It was, in fact, this jealousy on the part of a certain ambitious minister, Odet de Nort, that resulted ultimately in increased suspicion as to his integrity and

in the actual condemnation of his history by reform leaders. Finally besieged from all sides, La Popeliniere submitted to censure by the synod of La Rochelle and promised to publish a retraction of what he actually believed to be a new impartial attempt at narrating his­ torical events, it was, hence, impartiality and not plagiarism which, for many in the sixteenth century, cast doubts on the value of La Popelinieire's history.

J. W. Thompson, however, sees this same history as, in fact, laying the foundation for that new historical method suggested above. Thompson claims, further, that insofar as the historical sense prevailed at all in this period of transition it was common only to the Protestants who had an historical thesis to defend and who drew heavily upon the historic argument to strengthen their position^ and it was La Popeliniere specifically who represents the "best historical product of the age."*

Thompson also praises the dispassionate and impartial

‘ ^J. w. Thompson, A History of Historical Writing (New York: Macmillan, 1942), I, 561.

4Ibid., p. 563. 53 nature of La Popeliniere1s history, His clear and concise style and his ability to trace complicated threads of events and phenomena, an area in which he is "unsur­ passed.” Pointing to the fact that La Popelinidre's work is "the first critical and philosophical treatment of history in the French language, scrutinizing and weighing facts in the light of ideas," Thompson claims, further, that the Protestant historian dedicated himself, as had

Jean Bodin, to the idea that "history has no other pur­ pose and no other end than the profit one drives from truth."5

The second of the historians mentioned by d'Aubignd in his first preface, Bernard de Girard, sieur du Haillan, a moderate Calvinist turned Catholic, was born in Bordeaux in 1535, served as "historiographe" of France after 1571 and died in Paris in November of 1610. His historical production included, among numerous other works, a

Histoire des rois de France of 1576 which although ending with Louis XI was later continued up through the end of the reign of Henry IV, a Histoire des comtes et dues d'Anjou in 1572 and 1580, and De l'estat et succds des affaires de France in 1595.

D'Aubignd speaks of the virtues of du Haillan, who, along with de Thou, merits the title "historien," because he '“a portd le faix et les frais des recerches de tous

-’Idem. 54 coBtez, sans avoir devant les yeux un corps d'hiBtoire qui le relevast aux deffauts, ce que M. de Thou ni moi ne pouvons soustenir" (H.U., I, p. 4). D'Aubignd also praises du Haillan's language, military prowess and gen­ eral erudition: "Son langage bien frangois, qui sent ensemble l'homme de lettre et l'homme de guerre, coirane il s'est signald et monstrd tel en trois actions dignes de lumidre. II estoit de grande lecture, l'abondance de laquelle l'a port6 a trop de conference des choses anciennes aux preBdntes, ce que plusieurs ddsirent seulement en une lecon publique" (H.U., I., 4; see also

IX, 320). It is interesting to note here that d'Aubignd gives an important indication of that combination of military and literary qualities he finds to be ideal in the historian.

Jacques-Auguste de Thou (1553-1617), Catholic moderate

"politique" and historian, was the rich and cultured friend of practically every eminent men of letters in France including Ronsard and Montaigne both of whom ^ie knew intimately. He is also the author of a universal history in Latin, Histoira Sui Temporis, the first twenty-four books of which were published in 1604 after thirty years of work compiling books and manuscripts into what became one of the greatest private collections of books of his century. D'Aubignd, who made extensive use of de Thou’s 55 history, as he had of La Popelinidre's, praises the

Catholic historian for being "plain de vie et d'honneur" and for writing "un oeuvre excellent." He criticizes the non-military de Thou, however, for having "pris du premier sans 1'examiner," for having occasionally slighted the exploits of many battle captains, for having modified his first edition, an act "gui monstre ou precipitation ou foiblesse de courage" (H.U., I, 5-6) and for the length of his "harangues." All of these minor failings are, however, mere "petits poreaux peu apparens en une face digne de tant d'amour et d'honneur" when one considers that "la

France n'a jamais produit un esprit puissant comme cettui-la" (H.U., I, 5-6). It is clear from this praise as well as from the numerous instances where d'Aubignd relies on accounts of historical events in the Historia

Sui Temporis that de Thou represents "son modfile et son guide," as de Ruble puts it (H.U., I, appendix II, p. 376), a claim which is strengthened by statements made by d'Aubignd in a letter to Simon Goulart praising de Thou as

"cet auteur excellent" from whom he claims "J'ay tird beaucoup de choses" (O.C., I, 474). D'Aubignd also sympathized with the Catholic historian who, because of his serious concern for objectivity and fairness, was con­ demned by the "parti ligueur," and "la congrdgation de

1'Index." His universal history was in fact eventually

(Sept. 1609) condemned in Rome as "l'occasione di 5 6 grandissimo scandalo et de molti mail" and the discouraged

de Thou ceased writing to pick up his pen again only to

publish his justification and to consecrate his Memoires

to the proof that impartiality had been his only rule

(H.U., I, appendix II, 378-379). It is this concern with

impartiality which perhaps provided d'Aubignd with an

outstanding example of proper historical goals at the end

of the sixteenth century.

While the very definite influence that de Thou had on

d'Aubignd's history is much discussed in almost all

analyses of the Histoire Universelle, it must be noted that

d'Aubignd could only have used the work of his fellow .

historian for the first part of his own history since the

second half of de Thou's work was not published until 1620.

Thierry seeks to discourage exaggerated claims that

d'Aubignd pillaged from his Catholic counterpart or that

he even found most of his factual material in de Thou by

pointing out, first of all, that d'Aubignd had conceived

.his project and begun writing his Histoire Universelle by

1604 when de Thou's history first appeared in print.

Thierry then attempts to put the de Thou influence in a

realistic perspective by stating that "de Thou lui donna

des compldments d 'information importants, et surtout sa

caution de Catholique au rdcit des dvdnements, mais c'est a ailleurs gui'il avait trouvd un exposd complet et ddtailld

« 57

des premieres guerres civiles."®

A further statement of enthusiastic praise by

d'Aubignd who despite Thierry's claims, might still be

regarded as a true disciple of de Thou in the realm of the

universal history, is the following claim about the

Historia Sui Temporis: "jamais oeuvre oCl il paroisse force

pour supporter un labeur, £quanimit& pour estre pareil a

soi-mesme, ni un puissant et solide jugement. Toutes ces

choses sont tellement accomplies en cet auteur sans

pareil. . ." (H.U.y I, 7). A final and most appropriate

comment on de Thou, whom Thompson calls the greatest

French historian of the sixteenth century,might be this

translation of the author's own thoughts about the writing

of history: "It is the first law of history to fear to

record what is false and, in the next place, not to want

for courage in relating the truth."7

D'Aubignd makes brief mention in his first preface of

another sixteenth century French historian, Jean de Serres

.(1540-1598), the Protestant who wrote a Commentaril de

statu rellgionis reipublicae in regno Galliae, 1571-1590

and an Inventaire qSn&ral de 1 'histoire de France, 1597.

Referring specifically to the latter work, d'AubignS com­

ments: "Je ne mets point 1*Inventaire de Serres en ce rang,

®A. Thierry, "Monluc et d ’AubignS," Bibliothdque d 1Humanisms et de Renaissance, 33 (1971), 509.

7Cited by Thompson, p. 568. quoique docte et dloquent, puis qu'il s'est contents du

Xabeur et de l'honneur que porte X'Inventaire" (H.U., I,

8). We aXso note numerous instances where de Serres is criticized in the Histoire UniverseXXe for being too"con­ ciliatory and mercenary®^ to Catholics or for taking part in Henry IV's abjuration (note I, 7,8; VI, 23,24; VIII,

375; IX, 78,282). It is interesting to note in the light of this criticism that de Serres was the royal historio­ grapher of Henry IV in the 1590's and that his most popu­ lar work, the Commentarli, which had four editions in

1572, is essentially a discussion of the religious wars under Henry II, Francis II and Charles IX with an emphasis on defending Protestants and placing responsibility on the

Guises. Thompson even stresses the uncommon exactness and the reliability of de Serres but his status as a "prudent" did not apparently merit praise for his historical efforts from the uncompromising d'Aubignd.

Surveying the field of production of histories in

France in the sixteenth century we come across some rather important individuals who, although not mentioned by d'Aubignd in his preface, merit commentary in a study of

Histoire Universelle. Among these is Jean Bodin whose treatise on historical method, Methodus Ad facilem historiarum cognitionem, of 1566 is another proof of significant change in historiography noticeable at the end

®Wynn, p. 31. 59 « of the sixteenth century. Bodin divides his work into the

human, natural and divine categories and proceeds from the

family, the starting point of history for him, to the

organization of the state itself and to the development of

the arts. One particularly interesting feature for the

student of d'Aubignd's history is a section which begins with geography and then proceeds to regional traits, an

approach which, in Charles Sears Baldwin's analysis, is

"suggestive" but which is also, in its development little more than "an aggregation under the dubious headings

Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western,"9 a plan quite

reminiscent of d'Aubignd's attempt at "universal" cover­

age. Bodin, whose history is broad enough to include

praise for both Plutarch and Tacitus, actually conceives of

history as less a progression in time than a "thesaurus of exampla,thereby avoiding that "enslavement" to absolute chronology which weakened d'Aubignd's presentation.

Concerning Bodin's significant achievements in style,

Baldwin remarks that what we have are "essays in that modern sense of the word which applies it to consecutive exposition involving argument. . . . They 'recognize the

Italian tradition of history in abjuring the decorative

a C. S. Baldwin, Renaissance Literary Theory and Practice (New York: Columbia university Press, ), p. 229. 10Ibid., p. 228. 60 dilation which was habitual in other fields.Finally that scrupulous pursuit of information and scientific interest in an unemotional presentation of the facts which is evidenced in Bodin's history might well be seen as having had some influence on d'Aubignd. Witness this interesting statement by Geoffroy Atkinson: Le scrupule qui dicta & cet auteur l'idde d'arrdter 1*impression d'un ouvrage d'histoire pour obtenir des renseignements sur 1'Orient de la part de tdmoins oculaires lui fait honneur comme historien. Cela indique un emploi conscient d'une bonne mdthode historique. . . . La conscience de l'historien d'Aubignd ddmontre, dans ce domaine de la litterature, le m§me esprit objectif et scientifique que celui de Bodin.12 Regnier de la Planche, Protestant historian and "pamphleteer" wrote an erudite Histoire de 1'eBtat de

France tant de la rdpublique de la religion sous le rdgne de Francois II (1576), one of those undeniably partisan works which still prove to be good sources for compilation of materials. De la Planche's pronounced dislike for the Guise family, here clearly expressed, is more violently evidenced in two very eloquent pamphlets he wrote against the House of Lorraine, Le Livre des Marchands (1565) and La Ldgende de Charles de Lorraine, which his status as both a Hugenot and a partisan of the Montmorencys caused him to publish anonymously.

n Ibid, p. 229.

• ^Geoffroy Atkinson, Les Nouveaux Horizons de la Renaissance Francaise (Paris: Drox, l935), p. 2. 61 A sixteenth century historian who did not have this particular problem with o££icial censureship was Pierre Matthieu (1563-1621), a moderate Catholic lawyer and partisan of the Guises who rallied to Henry XV after his conversion and became official historiographer.13 His historical production includes a Histoire des derniers troubles de France soubs leB rfegnes des roys Henri XII et

Henri IV (1600) which proved to be a significant source of information about affairs at the French court for d'Aubignd, a Histoire de France et des choses m&norables advenues depuls 1598 jusqu'en 1604 (1606) to which d'Aubignd refers his readers (H.U., IX, 318, 319), and a Histoire de France sous les r&gnes de Francois I. Henri

IV, et Louis XIII (1631, 2 vols.). Thompson reminds his readers that Matthieu is "no blind partisan but neither is he detached historian, despite his attempt at truthful­ n e s s . " ^ His compelling motivation would seem to be patriotism ("le culte du pays") which for him appears to have the force of religion and which motivated him to write a history for Henry IV justifying the policies of the French throne after 1515 and defending France's pacifistic aims. Important for other historians, including d'Aubignd because of the quantity of otherwise unknown facts in his histories, Matthieu writes with rhetorical flare and uses

l^wynn, p. 41.

^Thompson, PP» 562-563. i

62

frequent digression to illustrate points. He is also, in

Thompson's interpretation, a historian who read much and

cited his sources accurately but who interpreted badly.

Blanchard Bates, in his discussion of Matthieu, also

stressed the Catholic historian's conscientious effort to be as accurately informed as possible. Bates, of course,

is most concerned with the considerable aptitude

Matthieu exhibited for direct exposition of character, a

technique he relied upon as a means of rendering history 15 more dramatic. Finally, Rend Radouant points out that, unlike many of his fellow sixteenth century historians

such as d'Aubignd, Matthieu includes basically no military

"discours," while including only those letters and haran- 16 gues which have a particular historical interest.

Looking at those individuals who straddled the often fine line of distinction in the sixteenth century between

"histoire" and "mdmoire," we find Simon Goulart (1543-1628) who, although essentially a compiler and a zealous collec-

.tor of manuscripts, wrote an Histoire des Cinq Rois, treating events during the period from 1547 to 1597, as well as an important work of compilation, the Mdmoires de

^■^lanchard Bates, Literary Portraiture in the His­ torical Narrative of the French Renaissance (New York: 6. £. Sfcechert Co., 1945), pp. 18-20.

16Rend Redouant, "L*Eloquence Militaire au XVIe Si&cle," Revue d'Histoire Litteraire en France, IX (1911), p. 550. 63 la Ligue, published in 1576. The latter work, a combina­ tion of collected documents and the author's own observa­ tions about the events and personalities presented, is noteworthy for its bitter references to Catholics in gener­ al and to the Guises and Catherine de Medici in particular combined with a surprising concern for objectivity in re­ cording facts. Henri Hauser, in fact, calls this work an invaluable source of facts for the student of sixteenth century France and states that "c'est une veritable bibliothtlque"15 and J. W. Allen, in his discussion of six­ teenth century political documents, says that Goulart's compilation includes ali of the most important Huguenot

\ writings after 1572 except for the Reveille Matin des

Francois of 1573 and 1 5 7 4 . While d'Aubignd was familiar with Goulart's work and must have found the factual objec­ tivity admirable, he names it only once in his Histoire

Universelle, ^ in his section on the Edict of Nantes

(H.U., IX, 293). wM6moires" in the sixteenth century were usually the works of men of action involved in either military or political intrigue who had a need to make their participa­ tion in and knowledge of events known. In reference to

^Hauser, III, 106. W. Allen, A History of Political Thought in the Sixteenth Century (New York: Barnes and Noble, i960), p. 312.

1 9 Wynn, p. 42. 64

this desire to be remembered, Thompson remarks that "the

Renaissance had a far-reaching effect upon the development

of personality, possibly as a reaction to the Middle Ages

when men were supposed to cherish a sense of humility," a

situation resulting in a premium on aggressive personali­

ties in sixteenth century France.2® Similarly, Bates

points to the "quickened pace of life in the Renaissance

when writers felt a challenge to convey to posterity a

personal view of events" which lead to a reliance on

"Mfimoires. ’* 21 Frequently written well after the events

described, "m&noires" were often factually inaccurate but

colorful and most revealing as to the pers nality of the

author. An important participant in this "genre" was the

Breton battle leader Frangois de la Noue, well known for

his courage on the battlefield and for his compassion off

of it, who wrote .twenty-six memoir-like Discours polit-

iques et militaires. While the first part of the Discours

deals with immorality in France in the middle of the

• sixteenth century and the need to return to order

("discours" 1-4), most of the work is military in orienta­

tion and deals with La Noue's own commentaries on things

that he personally observed or participated in between the

years 1562 and 1570. Thompson, in reference to La Noue's

^Thompson, p. 554.

2*Bates, p. 32, 65

modest and unaffected presentation# points out that "he is

fair to his opponents, curious about ideas and his style

is Bimple, direct and vivacious."22 He was a man of

remarkable tolerance, a surprising quality in a sixteenth

century puritanical Huguenot, and his memoirs never

reflect any of the "exquisite agony” of the religious war

experience which we occasionally find in both Montluc and

d'Aubignd. La Noue sincerely abhorred the divisions that

religious differences had sown among Frenchmen and he

attempted to grasp in his memoirs the mentality that led

to the ugly civil slaughter he participated in. Far from

the military fanaticism of other battle leaders who wrote memoirs or histories of the civil wars, La Noue, who was

* himself seriously wounded in battle as his name "Bras-de-

fer" indicates, advocated union and not revenge.

D'Aubignd, of course, had much respect for his fellow

Huguenot warrior and the numerous references to him in the

Histoire Universelle often stress the compassion and mod-

eration of La Noue. Witness this account of La Noue's

refusal to allow "les lanskenets" to take revenge on

captured royal troups:

Et cela mettait tout en pidces si la Noue ne so fait avancd, qui ne tire l'espde non plus que sa troupe, sinon a sauver les gardes du roi, desquels il ne pouvoit deviner le mauvais remerciement deux ans aprds (H.U., III, 194). %

2 2 Thompson, p. 555. 66

This last statement is a reference to the Saint Bartholomew massacre of 1572 and shows that d'Aubignd, while admiring

La Noue's respect for life, considered his action imprac­ tical in a war situation. This sentiment is even more strongly expressed in the following statement from the

1616 version of the text:

La Noue, ayant empeschd le meurtre de ceux qu'il ne savoit pas devoir estre deux ans apres exdcuteurs de la Saint-Barthdlemy, fit porter les drapeaux pris a la veue du fort. La composition ne fut pas difficile et si bien gardde que La Noue paya de sa brouse 400 escus, pour quelque bagage pris, dont Mascaton se plaignoit (H.U., III, 195, note 1).

Again, the praiseworthy * act of compassion is qualified by the consequences La Noue, the battle leader, failed to foresee. D'Aubignd, however, removed the qualifying reference to the Saint-Bartholomew in his 1626 edition and allosed La Noue's act to stand alone.

Another reference to La Noue in the Histoire

Universelle, and perhaps the best summation of the reputa­ tion he earned among French Protestants in the sixteenth century, is this statement by the people of LaRochellet

II nous souvient bien d'un La Noue, duquel le personnage estoit bien diffdrent de celui que vous jouez; c*estoit nostre grand ami, qui par sa vertu, experience et Constance, deffendoit nos vies, se couronnoit d'honneur et n'eust pas voulu nous trahir par belles paroles . . . (H.U. Ill, 376).

There is, of course no reason to believe that d'Aubignd did not agree with the sentiment of a quote he chose to put in 67

his history about nle plus hazardeux capitaine de son

sidcle" (H.U., V, 73) and the man who "aima mieux estre

prisonnier que fuyard" (H.U., VI, 363). There are also

' frequent enough accounts of La Noue's military exploits in

the Histoire Universelle. such as his leadership in cal­

vary charges (H.U., VIII, 48-49), to indicate d'Aubignd's

respect for the first hand knowledge of the author of the

Discours Politiques et Militaires.

Blaise de Monluc, the Gascon Catholic battle leader

and author of a book of Commentaires, which Henry IV called

* the soldier's Bible, is perhaps the most striking anti­

thesis to the moderate Protestant La Noue. Known for his

0 cruel treatment of Protestant prisoners and for his

vigorous, military prose, Monluc undertook to write a book

"pour la deffense de mon honneur et reputation" covering

the years between 1521 to 1576. The work, which was begun

when Monluc was obliged to retire to his estate in 1570

due to battle wounds, represented seven years of dicta-

• tion. A. Thierry, devotes an article to "Monluc et

D'Aubignd" in which he attempts to capture the stylistic

and military influence Monluc had on the author of the

Histoire Universelle. First of all, it must be noted that

d'Aubignd knew the Commentaires and was pleased with the

military virtues in evidence there. It is also, significant * that both men were soldiers to the end of their lives, *both 68 were not destined to be primary military figures and both were very attached to their "mattre” and jealous of their

compatriots familiarity with these princes.23 Concerning

their basic differences, d'Aubignd was fifty years younger

than Monluc and tremendously much more religious than the

Catholic warrior who prayed only under the pressure of battle situations. The important direct influence which

the Commentaires had on d'Aubignd is stated by Thierry in these terms: "cette lecture, plus que celle d'autres mdmoires du temps a confirmd d'Aubignd dans une des iddes auxquelles il tenait le plus: il est legitime de raconter

ses propres exploits lorsgu'ils en valent la peine; elle lui a donnd aussi sans doute une legon de style.“2* The first of these major influences, the discussion of per­ sonal exploits, is an important element in d'Aubignd's history which will be discussed later.

Concerning style, Thierry notes that it was the

"langage de Monluc nullement pddant" with at times "quelque expression d'une verdeur toute militaire" that introduced d'Aubignd to the "gros still ferrd" of the Histoire

Universelle. He also notes that "les courtes harangues que d'Aubignd fait souvent prononcer par les chefs de troupes au moment d'engager le combat, font penser & celles

23A. Thierry, "Monluc et d'Aubignd," p. 507.

24Ibid., p. 512. 69 K 25 que Monluc se plut a composer pour les Commentaires.*

Zn the area of battle descriptions there appears to be

some difference between the more literary orientation of

d'AubignS and the natural, completely unadorned style of

Monluc, but one does notice here again a similar concern

for presenting animated military accounts with short

sentences and simple familiar vocabulary. There is also

similar treatment of "personnages" who are rarely

described in any kind of detail and who are frequently

presented in the heat of battle action. In a final

interesting comment on this question of style, Thierry

claims that "il est trds possible toutefois que l'auteur

de 1*Histoire Universelle ait tir6 de la lecture des

Commentaires une legon de simplicity et de force expressive,

qu'il y ait vu le module du Btyle capable de plaire aux

soldats auxquels il s'adressait, un style qui eut ravi

Montaigne," a reference to essay XXVI of the first book of

Montaigne's essays.26 Sainte-Beuve aptly depicted the

.traditional violent reputation of Monluc while acknowledg­

ing his influence on the Histoire Universellei "Entry dans

1'arSne vers le temps oil le vieux Monluc en sorait . . .

il (d'Aubigny) offre dans les rangs calvinistes, et aussi

dans la sdrie des ycrivains militaires, une sorte de

* ^ Ibid., p. 514.

26lbid., p. 515. 70 contre-partie de ce chef Catholique vaillant et cruel."27

Pierre-Victor Cayet (1525-1610), called "Palma Cayet,"

was a practioner of the "M6moires-Journaux" or journals

which represented In the sixteenth century a continuation

of a medieval chronicle tradition of recording events

without comment. A Catholic turned Calvinist who re­

turned to Catholicity with the conversion of Henry IV,

Palma was eventually appointed official chronographer. He

is perhaps most important in a discussion of sixteenth

century history, however, for his Chronologic Novenaire,

contenant . . . les choses plus memorable a advenues . . .

depuls . . . I1an 1589 jusques a la paix faicte & Vervins

(Paris, 1608), a work of nine volumes enriched by quota­

tions from important documents. A most valuable source

of information, Palma Cayet, in Hauser's terms "prdsente

tous les £ve£nements a l'avantage du roi (Henri (V) sans

un mot du blfime,"28 an indication that his partiality is

not as dependable as his editing. In praise of this latter

.quality, in fact, Thompson states that "Palma-Cayet's

knowledge of official documents and contemporary political

writings gives his work an authenticity and authority which

few other histories of the time possess," a claim he

27C. A. Sainte-Beuve, Causeries de Lundi (Paris: Garnier Frelres, 1885), 3ieme edition, X, p. 315.

28Hauser, IV, 46-50. 71 * qualifies by pointing to Palma's refusal to acknowledge the

self-interest and motives of parties and his lack of

awareness of cause and effect.29 In Us Histoire Universelle,

interestingly enough, d'AubignS devotes space only to a

criticism of Palma-Cayet for "travaillant a la magie," a

chanrge which de Ruble dismisses as unfounded (H.U., IX,

79).

The pamphlet was a viable part of sixteenth century

religious and political struggle and Huguenot pamphleteers

demonstrated a passionate reaction to what they believed to

be despotism. It is interesting to note that before 1572

Protestant writers were continually protesting their

loyalty to the king while attacking his corrupt advisers,

a situation which F. Charbonnier discusses: nDe 1560 a

1564 les pamphl£taires huguenots montrSrent encore plus

d 'acharnement contre les Guise que contre la doctrine ou

la hidrarchie de l ’Eglise romaine."30 With the Saint-

Bartholomew massacre, however, self preservation became a

.strong concern and hysteria became common, a situation

which J. W. Allen finds best expressed in the exasperation

of d'Aubignd's Tragiques.3*- Among the important Protestant

29Thompson, p. 557.

*39F. Charbonnier, La PoSsie Francaise et les Guerres de Religion (Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1970), p. 176.

^Allen, p. 308, note 1. 72

pamphlets are the works of Frangois Hotman, "homme

d'6tudes, de labeur et de passion, 11 est un des chefs de

cette Erudition milltante, auxiliaire et complice des 32 partis.,f His Epltre au tlgre de la France (1560),

naturally published anonymously, represented a violent,

rhetorical and devastating catalogue of insults and threats

against the Guise family while his Reveille Matin des

Frangais (1573-74) is a more restrained analysis of the

right of the governed to overthrow a ruler who becomes a

tyrant, a reference to Charles XX. Despite the toned

down rhetoric, however,.this latter work presented a

practical conclusion which was, in Allen's terms, "more

drastic and uncompromising than any reached before 1573

. . . a true hotch-potch of ideas current among the

HuguenotB at the moment unsystematically presented and all 33 rather vague. Hotman's De Furoribus Gallicis (1573),

written after the Saint-Bartholomew massacre and put

together from the first hand information provided by those

•who escaped slaughter in Paris, was an appeal to the rest

of Europe and a written response to Coligny's judges. It

was also an angry reaction to official hypocrisy. Lenient

points out: "Hotman veut trainer et faire pSlir au grand

32 C..Lenient, La Satire en France (Paris: Hachette, 1877), I, 55.

3 3 Allen, p. 312. 73

jour de I'histoire ces bourreaux derai-honteux, qui se

van tent & Rome et a Madrid de ce qu'ils d&savouent a

Londres, d Gendve et £ Cracovie. *-34

Perhaps the most violent of the anti-reform pamphle­

teers was Louis Dorl6ans who participated in the general

attacks on Henry III after the king had taken up arms with

the Protestants against the Ligue, even going so far as

to celebrate the heroism of Jacques Cldment, Henry Ill's

assassin as "vengeur de la religion Catholigue et de la

liberty du pays." Dorldans also became known for his

anti-Henri de Navarre statements which included this curi­

ous charge: "prestidigitateur et charlatan politique, il

dpuise toutes les ressources du mfilodrame.

The best contrast to the violent Dorldans in the

sixteenth century was perhaps DuPlessy-Mornay, the

Protestant "confident" of Henry IV who wrote an answer to

Dorldan's Catholigue Anglais and a "Remonstrance aux trois

Etats contre la Ligue." A man who understood the irapor-

.tance of discretion, tact and reason at a time of emo­

tional overraction, Du Plessis-Mornay was, nevertheless,

attached by d'Aubignd in his unfinished fourth tome:

"Plessis-Mornay, nourri et emploiS ez affaires des

Reformez et lors utile et estimd pour gel, oublia qu'il

* 3 4 Lenient, 1 5 #

3 5 Ibid., I, 91. 74 estoit irreconciliable pour ses violens et laborieux escrits, devint insatiable d'honneurs au commencement et puis de b i e n s . " 3 6 Thierry labels this an unjust critique and adds the following defense of Du Plessis-Mornay: "tous les historiens de ce grand homme ont soulignd, preuves d l'appui, son ddsinteressement, sa moderation, son attachement in6branable a la cause reformSe joint d sa loyaute a l'figard du pouvoir royal."37

D'Aubignd himself entered the arena of controversy with the violent attacks on Catholic leaders of his .

Tragigues and with the often unjust satirical thrusts of his Confession de Sancy, a satire of Cardinal du Perron, the Catholic orator, poet and "grand convertisseur" at the end of the sixteenth century. Lenient reminds us, however, that in the "Sancy" d'Aubignfi was far from the venimous lies of many of the contemporary pamphlets: "Certes d'AubignS est souvent injuste, mais sans cesser d'&tre honndte; il calomnie parfois, il ne ment jamais d bon escient."38 He claims, in reference to d'AubignS, the historian, concerned with accuracy and objectivity, that .

"plus tard quand d*Aubign& plus calme aura pris la plume

38A. Thierry, "Un Chapitre inddit de l'Histoire Universelle de d'Aubigne," Bibliotheque d 1humanisms et de Renaissance, 32 (1970), p. €42.

37Ibid., p. 637.

38Lenient, I, 173. 75 de l'historien, il saura rendre justice a Sancy et a ceux qu'il a le plus cruellement dechir&e dans son pamphlet.

D'Aubignd himself demonstrates impatience with the subjectivity and inaccuracy of many sixteenth century memoirs and pamphlets when he makes the following critique of his century's approach to history and statement of his own intentions in the Histoire Universelle:

Certes, en voyant les livres monstrueux qui courent, sales d£ flatteries impudentes, de louanges prophdtiques, de mesdisances affectdes, d'abus en la recerche des conseils, d'ignorance en la description des succed, soit pour les termes d'escolier ou pour n'avoir rien veu en soldat; voyant mettre sans honte le nom d*histoire sur le frontispice d'un ouvrage dans lequel, la porte paes£e, vous ne trouvez que des enfileures de m&noires, receus de tous venants, dictez par leurs interests; la recerche des actions particuli^res, indignes de lumidre publique; et y voyez traitter avec nonchalance ou du tout oublier les g€n£ralles, desquelles 1'histoire doit prendre ses mouvements et mutations" (H.U., l r 3).

Henri IV and the Protestant Cause in the Histoire Universelle

Having attempted a brief survey of sixteenth century historical production that most directly concerns d'Aubignd, we turn next to the important question of d'Aubign^'s intention in writing his own Histoire

UniverBelle. As the above quotation, criticizing unhiBtori cal pamphlets and memoirs, points out, d'Aubigng found

^Idem. 76 ■ flattery, false praise, foolish prophesying, partiality, sensationalism and narrowmindedness improper concerns for the historian. In his first preface, d'Aubignd, in fact, expressed a certain fear of the overall npeBanteur de

1'histoire," a unique genre necessitating the exposing of one's talent on "un eschaffaut si eslev£, oil il a pour spectateur l'univers, autant de juges que de lecteurs"

(H.U., X, 1). The temptations to fall into the above vices are very strong and the demands of readers and critics vary and are too often contradictory. D'Aubignd, however, finds the self confidence to dedicate his work to posterity and to choose, in his initial preface, the career of Henri de Navarre, his "incomparable maltre" (O.C., I,

467), as the focus of his history. His qualifications to write such an account are, as he tells us excellent:

Nourri aux pieds de mon Roi, desquels je faisois mon chevet en toutes les saisons de ses travaux; quelque temps eslev£ en son sein, et sans compagnon en privautd, et lors plein des franchises et B&v£ritez de mon village, quelquesfois esloign£ de sa faveur et de sa cour, et lors si ferme en mes fiddlitez, que, mesme au temps de ma disgrace, il m'a fi£ ses plus dangereux secrets, j'ai regu de lui autant de biens qu'il m'en faloit pour durer' (H.U., I, 9).

He has, hence, established a firm command over his material from the very beginning in order to protect himself from the charges of partiality and false praise he leveled against other types of false historians. As Sainte-Beuve puts it; "II comprend la dignitd du genre qu'il traitej il 77 est des particularity honteuses ou incertaines que

l'histoire doit laisser dans les satires, pamphlets. . . "40

He strengthens this historical authority by reminding the reader that his history was not only inspired by

Henri de Navarre, whom he at one point calls "le coeur de mon histoire" (H.U., V, 15), but also actually commanded by him. Recalling a hunting excursion during which

Navarre killed a particularly fine deer, d'Aubignd tells us that "en retournant au pare pour faire la curde, il me disoit que cette rencontre devoit estre en son histoire; et me conviant a l'escrire, je lui respondis trop fidrement (cornrne non content des actions passdes)s 'Sire, commencez de faire et je commencerai d'escrire'" (H.U. I,

10). Xn the "L'Imprimeur au Lecteur," which was actually written by d'Aubignd, we read a further statement of

Henry's desire to put aside Jesuit warning and have his life story narrated by d'Aubignd but here at the urging of the Catholic cardinal DuPerron:

II y a quinze ans que le roi Henri le Grand fut induit par un Jesuite de deffendre a M. d'Aubignd le travail de l'histoire. M. le cardinal du Perron au contraire poussa sa Majestd a permettre et puis a commander expressement la poursuitte de ce labaur, en usant de ces termes qu'il ne connoissait aucun autre qui pust fournir aux parties ndcessaires pour un tel ouvrage (H.U., I, 18)•

4®Sainte-Beuve, X, p. 318. 78

Much of the rest of the first preface is a eulogizing of Henri, who is compared to "Alexandre," "Philippe," and

"Auguste," but there is also an important statement of d'Aubignd*s providential taski

Sur ces gages accepter la peinture d'un temps calamiteux, plein d'ambitieux desseins, de fidSlitez et infid£litez remarguables, de prudences et t€m€ritez, de succez heureux ou malheureux, de virtus relevdes et d'infdmes laschetz, de mutations tant inesp6r€es qu'aisdment vous tirerez de ces narrations le vrai fruict de toute l'histoire, gui est de connoistre en la folie et foiblesse des hommes le jugement et la force de Dieu (H.U., I, 10).

Witness also this statement: "Je ne descri point ces choses en apprentif, mais comme ayant estd choisi de Dieu pour instrument de la libertd de mon prince. . • (H.U.,l, 12).

Hence, d'AubignS considered himself to be the divinely chosen instrument for the recording of his prince's exploits, a role which involved a heavy burden of histori­ cal responsibility. In a letter to the "Chancelier de

Sillery" d'Aubignd mentions the original commission, the difficult nature of the task and his determination to be fair and honest:

II m'est arrivd en mon sejour des champs d'avoir, par le commandement du grand Roy gue j'ay servy, escrite 1'Histoire de laquelle il est principal personnage, et moy fidelle tesmoing, et de prez. Le fardeau de ceste entreprise a redouble sur la fin de mon labeur, pour la peine qu'il y a, en ne suivant que la v£rit6, a se garder des haynes fraisches et des interets encores en fleur (O.C., I, 201). 79

Similar evidence of respect for the demands of his­

tory especially on one who attempts to narrate factually

and fairly events in which one played a role or about

which one has definite opinions, is expressed in a letter

to "M. Goulard, ministre & Gendve" in 1616. D'Aubignd, in

referring to his selection by the assembly at Gap to write

a history of Henri de Navarre and the religious wars,

states:

Depuis il pleut au synode de Gap de me changer mon delectable a 1'utile, et des courbettes et voltes de ma jeunesse, me reduire d 1'Histoire et au char triomphant de la vdrite. II est bien besoin gue la posterity sache de vos nouvelles par nous mesmeB, et gu'elle ne sente pas les deffauts, desguels nous pouvons accuser en cette partie l'Eglise primitive; mais j'eusse desird cette commission a guelgu'un plus laborieus et qui eust meilleures espaules pour les fardeaux de 1*Histoire (O.C., I, 474).

Another important reason why d'Aubignd decided to

write history was a desire to "instruire l'homme d bien

faire et non d bien causer" (H.U., I, 2). Edification,

hence, was a major concern of the author of the Histoire

• Universelle who had a special interest in pointing out the

proper rearing of princes.In his first preface, for

example, d'Aubignd underlines the possibilities involved

for all royalty in the edifying lesson of his Henri de

Navarre:

. . . 1'amour, nous ouvrant les yeux, nous fait voir comment ces courages royaux, par une vigueur et nature outre le commun, brisent, quand Dieu le permet,'tous ces obstacles, lors que le

^wynn, p. 294, 80

sang s'accorde avec le sens. . . . II falloit done de la gdndrositd pour demesler les ruses du monde, et puis que le ciel s'.employast d vaincre les malices des ddmons, aimez d'amours et de beautds, qu 1'attaquoyent par la partie la plus tendre, et dont se deulent le plus souvent les courages les plus eslevez. II a fallu mesmes que ce prince se soit cachd dans ses vices ou au moins dans une vie enfantine (dure, feinte aux grands courages et aux grands esprits) pour de 1I eschapper aux grandes choses, avec un coeur reprenant sa force pour les entreprendre, un esprit reprenant sa vigueur pour les diriger, et un corps r'afermi et supporter les labeurs (H.U., I, 13).

Similarly, in his appendix to his third volume d'Aubignd

provides us with another statement of what he hoped to accomplish with his history: "ayant pour but principal d'eslever les coeurs plus haut que la terre et mener les esprits dans le Sainct des Saincts, append le sanctuaire du Fort, . ." (H.U., IX, 455). Through the edifying lessons of history, hence, d'Aubignd hoped to raise mens hearts to the heights of what he considered to be the most noble actions of its most admirable figures. As Bailbd puts it: "Jusque dans le ddtail perce le souci de faire de son oeuvre un instrument de propagande ou d'ddification.

. * . L'auteur se considere-t-il comme choisi de Dieu pour indiquer comment la sagesse divine triomphe au milieu des accidents humains."^2

*2J. Bailbd, Agrippa d'Aubignd, Podte des Traglques (Caen: Association des Publications de la Facultd des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de l'Universite de Caen, 1968), p. 135. It is interesting to note that d'Aubignd's insistence on both the providential control of God in human events and the potential edification provided by historical works is consistent with much of the historical production in the second half of the sixteenth century. Jean Bodin, for example, made references to the fact that politics is the art of focusing on the influence of God in human motiva­ tion. For Etienne Pasquier also, author of an Exhortation aux Princes pour obvier aux seditions, a work which pro­ posed tolerance of Calvinism, it was difficult to be an historian without being a moralist and without looking to

God for an understanding of the mysterious destinies of men. Certain Protestant writers, likewise, grew accus­ tomed to associating divine justice with their own hatreds and desires for vengence, a typical example of which would be Des grands et redoutables jugements et punitions de Dieu, a source of many of d'Aubignd*s divinely inspired punish­ ments in the TVengeances" section of Les Tragiques. Hence, considering this sixteenth century climate of respect for providential control and edifying moral conduct in history, d'Aubignd's first preface is not at all unusual.

Sainte-Beuve makes an interesting statement about d'Aubignd's intention to honor the Protestant cause as well as Henri de Navarre in his Histoire Universelle: HL'esprit gdndral du livre est celui de la cause. II combine cet 82

esprit de secte avec son admiration pour Henri IV . . .

1*unit6 du livre, 1'esprit et l'Sme de sa composition est

Ik, dans cette impression gdndrale."43 Hence, the desire

to write about the achievements and activities o£ not only

his prince but also his religious sect was a motivating

factor in the creation of d'Aubignd's history. Legoudz,

in fact, calls the work as a whole "une des plus belles

apologies du Protestantisme au XVle sidcle" (O.C., V, p.

86) and one can easily make the connection between state­

ments of divine control over war (". . . quoique les

batailles soyent les arrests du ciel," H.U., I, 3) and the

military cause the author deemed worthy of his services.

The numerous references to the suffering Protestants

tortured and executed by Catholic oppression, whose heroic

actions and dramatic pronouncements d'Aubignd concentrates

on, is an example of such service to the cause. He labels

Protestant victims "martyrs" and even established certain

criteria, met incidentally in the Histoire Universelle

•solely by Protestants, for determining whether one fits

into that exalted category or not: "le nom de martyr ne

s'attribue qu'a celui gui meurt purement pour la foi et

qui, jusques au dernier point a le choix de la vie ou de

la mort" (H.U., I, 227). Even concerning miracles,

d'Aubignd will accept certain intervention in support of

^3Sainte-Beuve, X, 321. 83 the Protestants as being God sent while scorning Catholic belief in such intervention. Hence the strange appearance of sea food to feed the besieged people of LaRochelle is compared to the manna in the desert, and d'Aubignd in prayer received three slaps apparently from heaven at the moment of his brother's death (H.U., VI, 78-79). These plus other examples of the worthiness of a cause honored by direct aid from God (H.U., III, 21; V, 285; VII, 97-

100) contrast sharply with pronouncements that the

"bigotteries" of superstition (Catholic claims of course)

should be excluded from serious history (H.U., II, 177,

V, 244 and VII, 124, 125).

There are also many proud references to the justness of the Protestant war cause, born out of necessity and maintained by the personal sacrifices of its faithful.

D'Aubignd quotes the Cardinal de Chastillon, for example, to reinforce the following apology of the reformed relgion: "Que les rdformez avoyent este armez par la

•ndcessitd, pour la ddfense de leurs biens, vies et honneurs . . .qu'il falloit commencer d'oster la rupture de la paix du coeur de ceux qui la traictoyent pour la rompreN (H.U., II, 277-278). He then goes on to speak quite openly of the reform cause as being noble and worthy of the sacrifices, including financial ones, which all of the

Protestants, including himself, have made: "Marque le lecteur un traict qui n'a point d'exemple en l'antiquitd, que ceux qui devoyent demander paye et murmurer pour n'en avoir point puissent et veuillent en leur extreme pauvretd contenter une armde avec cent mille livres d quoi se montra ceste brave gueuserie" (H.U. II, 279).

D'Aubignd quite obviously took the religious wars seriously and had no trouble justifying either his own participation or the praise he bestowed on those who suffered because of their participation. Even the fact that he, as we have already seen, criticized La Popelini&re so severely and unjustly for doubting the good faith of Protestants in their treatment of Catholic prisoners at Mailld (H.U., III,

23) is but another indication of his intention to defend his cause. Perhaps the most telling evidence of d'Aubignd's intention to build his history around the religious reform in sixteenth century France is, however, the following statement from the eleven line preface to tome II:

Comme le premier tome a eu pour thdse gdndrale la naissance d'un parti qui est devenu grand et fort de foibles et petits commencements, ce second vous fera voir la mesme, comme esteinct et quand et quand resuscitd par merveilles tant plus estranges 3 qui plus les consid&rera. . . (H.U., III, p. 271).

There is, of course, no possibility of misunderstanding so direct a statement of intent. The growth of the "parti protestant" and the fierce determination of its members was 85 a source of much pride to the historian who undertook the specific task of telling their story of oppression and self defense.

D'Aubignd combined, hence, a defense of Protestantism with a biography of Henry IV as the principal goals of his

Histoire Universelle. One would immediately question, of course, whether such a combination could be maintained without sacrificing one or the other of the intentions, especially when the important fact of Henry's conversion to Catholicism at the end of the religious struggles is considered. As Garnier points out, however, the defense of Protestantism in the Histoire Universelle was not at all contradictory to the glorification of Henry IV.44

Garnier goes on to discuss in his third volume, in fact, this curious duel motivation of d'Aubignd, who sought to put "le signe cdleste" over the king in his first preface while returning to the defense and apology of the Protes­ tant cause whenever he addressed his "coreligionistes."

Garnier also quotes a significant statement made by d'Aubignd in a letter which demonstrates his true desire to communicate the importance of the reform cause in his history: "II est bien besoin que la postdritd sache de nos nouvelles par nous-mesmes."45

44Armand Garnier, Agrippa d'Aubignd et le Parti Protestant (Paris: Librairie Fischbacner, 1928), II, 81.

45Ibid., Ill, 81. 86 We have already noted the tone o£ deep respect d'Aubignd assumed when mentioning that his history was commanded and inspired by his prince. He, of course, wrote this in the second decade of the seventeenth cen­ tury, well after the conversion of Henry IV. He also in­ cluded in the preface of his third tome some of the most extravagant statements of praise for his former leader: u L'Europe n'a rien de si splendide; 11 est du plus haut tige du monde; son berceau s'est jou£ dans les trlomphes honorables pour causes justes gul cerchent la lumi&re et le v6rit£" (H.U., VII, 5). Similarly, as we have seen, d'Aubignd returns to this tone of praise of Henry IV and concern for stressing his merited good reputation in his appendix to the third tome. He includes here, in fact, at the very end of the Histoire Universelle a long poem of lamentation and praise written by Anne de Rohan-Soubise after the assassination of Henry IV in 1610:

. . . Regrettons, souspirons cette sage prudence, Cette extreme bont€, cette rare vaillance, Ce coeur qui se pouvoit fleschir et non dompter. Vertus de qui la perte est & nous tant amSre Et Que je puis plustost admirer que chanter, Puisqu'a ce grand Achille il faudroit un Homdre (H.P., IX, 474).

The strength of d'AubignS's reform beliefs, on the other hand, are never to be doubted, even under the trying circumstances of his prince's conversion to Catholicism.

Refusing to consider abjuring Protestantism, d'Aubignd, now 87 the "ferme," reacted angrily to those former associates, the "prudents" who turned their backs on the reform religion. Even before the official conversion, d'Aubignd worked hard to convince Navarre to remain faithful to the cause he struggled to make respectable and to the legions of Protestants who sacrificed out of trust in their leader*

His advice to the king is expressed in the uncompromising terms of the convinced partisan: "il lui valoit mieux estre roi d'un coin de la France en servant A Dieu et estre assistd de personnes d'amour et fidelitd esprouvees que de rdgner prdcairement ayant sur sa teste les pieds et la domination du pape" (H.U., VIII, 338). In another discus­ sion, d ’Aubignd pleads with Henry IV for support of "Les

Esglises de Dieun which were "plus abaisses et plus affoiblies vous ayant perdu pour protecteur" and again a statement of conviction: "Sire j'ayme mieux quitter vostre

Royaume et la vie que de gagner vos bonnes graces et trahissent mes fr&res et compagnons" (O.C., I, 75-76).

Such efforts were, of course, unsuccessful, and political realities ("la n&cessitd de l'Estat") won out over fidelity to the cause, a situation which d'Aubignd openly criticized. He also criticized the king's favoring of his more recent Catholic supporters, "les politiques," and his refusal of support to certain Protestant faithful, % d'Aubignd himself among them (H.U., V, 237,238). Another source of anguish was the king's apparent desire to bring peace to France regardless of the demands of his former Protestant associates, a concern which d'Aubignd discusses

in these terns: "mais, estant affermi et perdant peu k peu

le goust des rdformez, il coucha de sa force pour menaces,

et commence pourtant a traiter, asseurant les Catholigues

que la paix des rdformez seroit la derni&re de toutes"

(H.U., IX, 275). The king was also not adverse to using

bribes to secure treaty acceptance by influential

Protestants (H.U., IX, 281,282).

All of these difficulties and shifts of position

brought d'Aubignd to disagreement with the king but, as we

have seen, he never stopped professing admiration and

praise for Henry in the Histoire Universelle while in the

poetry, as Ernest Prarond points out, "d'Aubignd desold de

la conversion royale, a craint de le (Henri IV) peindre.

II ne touche k la figure populaire aujourd'hui que

mdtaphoriquement,Whatever the motivation (and we

recall S. Kinser's belief that the tone of d'Aubignd's

appendix was designed to assist him in getting a privilege

•to publish and also Garnier's claims that Louis XIII found

the praise of the Histoire Universelle more compromising Mm than useful for the memory of his father, ) d'Aubignd's

final word was not the severe criticism of Henry IV we find

4®Ernest Prarond, Les Podtes Historiens Ronsard et d'Aubignd Sous Henri III (Genevas Slatklne Reprints, 1969), p. 38.

4?Garnier, III, 81. 89 * in the earlier "Discours par stances” but rather a return

to the admiration of the first preface. Even at the moment of Henry's official conversion, d'Aubignd gives two reports of the king's reservations and sadness upon leav­

ing the reform religion: "S'il faut que je me perde pour vous . . . je ne souffrirai aucune forme d'instruction pour ne faire point de playe d la religion que sera toute roa vie celle de mon Sme et de mon coeur” (H.U., VIII, 341-

342) and: "Mes amis, je me perds pour vous* Je suis de la religion comme vous; je sens le z&le de Moise et de

Sainct Paul car je me fais anathdme pour sauver l'Eglise de Dieu" (H.U. , IX, 81).

D'Aubignd, himself, of course never allowed his religious convictions to be compromised by any political concerns and he likewise never allowed Henry IV 's very political decision to abjure to be mentioned without crit­ icism. As J. Bailbd points out "on peut lui rendre tdmoignage qu'il n'a jamais varid son opinion et qu'il s'est montrd un lutteur infatigable, un adversaire rdsolu 48 et franc." Hence, neither the religious cause to which he dedicated himself nor the prince whose life he chose to discuss were sacrificed by d'Aubignd in the Histoire

Universelle. He was, to the end, the Protestant "ferme" whose dislike for the weakness of the "prudents" would %

4®Bailbd, p. 69. 90 never completely eliminate In his history admiration for the king they all served. As Lenient puts it, even after the serious disagreements nla vieille affection survivait; les plus turbulents et les plus rudes, comme d'Aubignd, se seraient fait tuer vingt fois pour lu {Henri IV), and J. Bailbd, concurring with this statement, mentions the fact that concerning Henri IV "mdme la presence de ce qu'il appelle ingratitude, d'Aubignd a le mdrite de moddrer sa passion et de manifester, jusqu'au bout, & son maitre, des sentiments d*admiration affectueuse."^

Truth and Objectivity as Goals for the Histoire Universelle

. . . ceux qui ont voulu ddpeindre un historien lui ont mis d chasque main une branche, celle de la gauche avec son fueillage, pour en faire des marques d'honneur aux triomphants. Celle de la droicte est effueillde pour les chastiments (H.U., VI, 375). ---

In d'Aubignd's history such respect for truth and objectivity lead him to consider them as the ultimate goals of his Histoire Universelle. He tells us in the appendix to his third tome, for example, that "en tout ce que j'apprends d'autrui, il m'est peu advenire d'avoir dit mensonge, mais non pas d'avoir menti" (H.U., IX, 477). in a similar expression of concern for putting only what he

4®Lenient, p. 162.

^Bailbd, p. 49. 91 knows to be true in his history, regardless of any per­ sonal commitments, d'Aubignd tells us why he had to refuse some valuable manuscrops: "Je quittai le profit pour la charge, lequel, pour le service des hommes, edt destruit celui de la vdritd, aimant mieux estre manque en quelques poincts qu'a estre esclave en tous" (H.U., VI, 374). He simply would not accept court censureship as a price for information. Nor would he accept Guillaume du Vair's corrections of his Histoire Universelle in 1616: Je ne l'ay pas recusd pour sa doctrine, mais pour avoir estimd que la teste qui peut attendre un chappeau ne peut entendre au bonnet de ma liberte. En un mot ils n'ont pas trouvd en moy un homme a menacer, mais qui aymeroit mieux se mettre au feu que son livre (O.C., I, "Lettre a M. Goulard, Gendve, p. 475). In another letter, this one to M. de Lomence in 1618, d'Aubignd makes an even more direct statement of his concern with factual truth as a goal in history: "Pour moy je n'ay que celuy ("le but") de la vdritd, et faire que le

Roy (si mon livre eBt si heureux que d'aller un jour k son chevet) en y marquant comme je sers de bonne ancre la Royautd, aprds 1*avoir servie de mon sang, reproche un jour k ceux qui me reffusent, leur injuste rigueur" (O.C., I, 468).51 Marc Bensimon sees truth in d'Aubignd as, in fact,

"le seul moyen de n'dtre pas coupable, de rdaliser le triomphe permanent de sa propre vertu sur ses passions,"52

^*Wynn, pp. 315-316.

52M. Bensimon, Essai sur d'Aubignd," Studi Francesi, 21 (1963), p. 426. ------92 and Geoffroy Atkinson claims that "le souci de la vdritd et le respect des faits chez un historien comme d'Aubignd vers la fin de la Renaissance peut servir d indiquer chez cet auteur de talent un sens critique trds ddveloppd.

Impartiality was always a concern for d'Aubignd the historian and he consistently remained close to the admir­ able standards of objectivity he set for himself. In this, in fact, d'Aubignd could be seen as being in step with historical production in the second half of the sixteenth century about which Bates writes: "there was a more objective, more philosophical understanding of the p J forces that constitute the history of an age."-

Legoudz, however, states that "nous affirmons . . . que nul historien du seizidme siecle . . . n'a eu un assez grand souci de 1 ’impartialitd" and then goes on to quote a letter to the marquis de Courtaumer in which d'Aubignd discusses standards for treating friends and enemies in his history: "en n'dtablissant ny la louange, ny le deshonneur, que par les actions simples et nues sans y apporter jugement" (O.C., V, 62-63.

As an illustration of this statement of principle we note the following interesting commentary on Catherine de

Atkinson, Les Nouveaux Horizons de la Renaissance Frangaise (Paris: Oroz, 1^35), p. 426. spates, p. 16. Medici, the "Jezebel" figure of vice in Lea Tragigues

("Vengeances," 348-350): "pour vestir la prudence et le courage des hommes (elle) avoit despouilld les craintes et les storges, communes & son sexe, n'ayant rien de mddiocre en vices ni en vertus" (H.U., I, 11). Far from the black portrait of the sinful queen we find in Les Tragigues who, d'Aubignd says, even plotted Killing him at one point, this statement is an attempt to put aside partisan passion and give free rein to the balanced truth. Similarly, d'Aubignd quotes a surprisingly objective letter of

Catherine to the ambassador in Trent, le seigneur de l'Isle, pointing to her own disgust with the political and religious realities of Catholic France: "les grands et dnorraes abus, les menteries, impostures et faux miracles qui, depuis quelque temps, ont est(s descouverts en ce royaume" (H.U., I, 331). In another reference to a discus­ sion between Henri de Navarre and the queen mother, d'AubignS chooses to report Catherine's admirable reaction to insults from the street: "Elle, apr&s avoir diet par la fenStre: 'H&, que vous a-t-elle fait? Elle est cause que vous rotissez l'oye, se tourne vers le roi de Navarre en riant et lui dit: 'Mon cousin, il ne faut pas que nos coldres descendent Id, ce n'est pas nostre gibier. Soit dit sur ce qu'elle n'avoit rien de bas" (H.U., II, 40).

Further illustration of this concern for impartiality in dealing with "friends" and "enemies" is the frank 94 criticism in the Histoire Universelle for the distressing teligious inconsistency of Antoine de Navarre, father of

Henri and husband of the beloved Jeanne Albret: "Le roi de

Navarre, sur la promesse de la couronne de Sardaigne faicte par le roi d'Espagne, se rdvolte, cdl&bre son changement en une procession g&ndrale, afin d'estouffer les hontes secrettes et reproches domestiques par le front d'un acte public. . . . Voila les reformez a rimer . . . 'caillette qui tourne sa jaquette"' (H.U., II, p. 5). This is, of course, even more effective when one considers the enthus­ iastic praise of the Catholic, Frangois, le due de Guise as a military strategist and war leader: "La sagesse du due de Guise sauva la pluspart de la garnision (H.U., II,

84) and, as one of the "six choses notables en ceste bataille (de Dreux) . . . la patience du due de Guise"

(H.U., IX, 114-115). There is also the following short statement of pr&ise at the death of the famous member of the house of Lorraine: "ainsi mourut ce grand capitaine, en toutes ses parties excellent, sur tout es recognoissance des places, duquel le naturel se fust portd non k la ruine mais a 1'eBtendue de la France" (H.U., II, 143-144).

Praise of Ronsard, the poet and the soldier, is also in­ cluded in this attempt at presenting a balanced picture of the enemy: "Ronsard, gentilhomme de courage et k qui les vers n'avoyent pas ostfs 1'usage de 1'espSe" (H.U., II, 42). 95

D'Aubignd is also careful to give l?oth sides of de­ bates and treaty discussions. He provides us, for example, with the "confession de Bourdeaux,” a formal listing of

sixty-three Catholic beliefs designed for Protestants who wanted to save their lives by returning to the "paix de l'Eglise" after the Saint-Bartholomew massacre, a signifi­ cant inclusion because, as de Ruble points out, d'Aubignd is the only historian, Protestant or Catholic, who has transmitted this text. He places in juxtaposition to this, in addition, a forty point "confession de foi faicte d'un commun accord par les dgliBes rdformdes du royaume de

France" (H.U.,1, 133-162). similarly, at that key moment after the death of Henri III when Henri de Navarre had to decide whether to remain a Protestant or to abjure, d'Aubignd is careful to give both of the representative arguments. The Catholic side was represented by the sieur d'O who is quoted in the Histoire Universelle as stating

"craignez-vous d'offenser les huguenots qui sont toujours assez content des rois quand ils ont libertd de conscience et qui quand vous leur feriez du mal vous mettront en leur pridres" while the argument from the Protestant side of the question was, of course, eloquently handled by d'Aubignd in the quotation cited above. D'Aubignd, in fact, was careful not only to record both sides of the question but also to exclude that gross language in d'O's statement 96

which might have compromised the Catholic position in the

eyes o£ the reader (H.U., VIII, 336-337). In his account

of the Council of Trent, likewise, d'Aubignd gives a fac­

tual report of Catholic statements on doctrine: "Quant aux

heresies, il (le concile) anath&nateza par ses canons

toutes personnes qui ne recevoyent pas les enseignements

de l'Eglise romaine. . ," (H.U., II, 154). Even debates

among Catholic leaders concerning the situation with the

Protestants were reported carefully and with all repre­

sentative opinions recorded: "II est bon de marquer ici

que les opinions avoyent est£ fort diverses au conseil du

roi" (H.U., II, 233). As a consistent indication of his interest in objec­ tive reporting d'Aubignfi sought to use proper and accept­ able terms when referring to either side of the religious wars. He tells us, for example, at the beginning of his second .book that Nous ne refuserons a aucune des parties un tiltre honorable: c ’est celui que chacun s'attribue, afin que nul ne se puisse plaindre de son choix, sauf a renvoyer au jugement des consciences pour scavoir qui abuse de son tiltre. Que si les termes de Papiste et de Huguenot se lisent en quelque lieu, ce sera en faisant parler quelque partisan passionnS et non du stil de l'autheur. Je n'ennuyerai personne de protestations de ma candeur; car, si je pr&varique, j'ai mon lecteur pour juge (H.U., I, 131-132). D'Aubign€ will also occasionally avoid making prejudicial

statements or judgments about Catholic plans or objectives 97 by using statements like: "II £aut laisser aux historiens

Katholiques (sic) a donner a ces choses leurs vrais noms.

Je m'abstiens de juger? . . (H.U., III, 222). Likewise,

he will, at times, mention pillaging and abuses by Protes­

tant soldiers in order to demonstrate that such unfortunate

occurrences were common on both sides. In his account of

the events of 1577, for example, d'Aubignd inserts a story

about a small skirmish at the end of which both sides

claimed victory as well as the usual rewards, pillaging

and raping, which accompanied such successes. The subse­

quent confusion is described in these terms: "les

reformes desavantagez seulement au forcement des femmes, i car, ne s'amusans pas & cela, ils avoyent surpass^ les

autres en matidre de bien piller" (H.U.,V, p. 228).

It must be mentioned, however, that d'Aubignd,reports

many more examples of Catholic atrocities and abuses than

Protestant ones in the Histoire Universelle, but even the

worst of all possible Catholic slaughters, the mass

•murders of St. Bartholomew's day 1572, is not reported with

the passionate disgust one might expect. It is, in fact,

described factually with a minimum amount of emotional

involvement, as d'Aubignd himself proudly noted in the pre­

viously cited letter to M. Goulard (1616) :

. . .je sois moins violent & descrire les iniquitez de nos ennemis que m'ont estfs les PapiBtes historiens, quoyque je ne me presente point juge en aucun endroit et que pour 98

eschantillon de ma modestie j'av descrit la Salnct Barthelemi sans avoir use du mot de cruantd. » • (0«C«, 1^ 475)*

It was actually this charge of not presenting in the

Hlstoire Universelle a more critical account of this slaughter that lead to those previously mentioned correc­ tions proposed by Guillaume du Vair. The fact that d'Aubignd did not seek to exaggerate his account to cre­ ate any additional sympathy for the reformers is demon­ strated, for example, in the number of dead he reported.

While he accounts for 3,000 persons as having been killed,

La Popelini&re reported 20,000 and even de Thou, the

Catholic historian, reported 30,000 (H.U., III, p. 335, note 7).

Praise of Catholic leaders, which we have already seen in relation to le due, Frangois de Guise, is another means used by d'Aubignd to show his continuing interest in the worthwhile goal of objectivity. Monluc’s courageous battle leadership was much admired by d'Aubigne who not only openly praises the Catholic captain in the Histoire

Universelle but also, curiously enough, never criticized his excesses in the violently partisan verses of Les

Tragigues. Thierry in fact praises d'Aubignd's outstand­ ing objectivity in his historical references to Monluc:

"Son objectivity, sa retenue frappent lorsgu'on compare son texte avec celui des autres dcrivains protestants, 99

avec l*Histoire Ecceleslastique en particulier. "55 we

find out that even those Monluc atrocities mentioned in

the Histoire Universelle were only those already con­

firmed by the Catholic captain himself in his Commentaires.

When, for example, d'Aubignd refers to hangings ordered by

"Montluc, disant que les penderies a centaines connoyent

plus de terreur et de ruine de sang froid que les

meurtres par milliers aux combats" (H.U., II, 128) he in­

cludes no emotional condemnation and, in fact, is only

reporting what Monluc had already affirmed at least ten

times in his Commentaires. A perfect example of this

procedure of avoiding unfounded and partisan charges

against Monluc is the following reference to the killing

of people on the island of Rd under Monluc*s orders:

"... pour le commandement qu'avoit fait Montluc, comme

il dit en ses Commentaires, de n'en sauver aucun" (H.U., II,

269).

The fear which Monluc inspired in the reform popula­ tion is curiously judged by d'Aubignd to be a proper

tribute to his courage: . . la grand'cornette noire de

Montluc, qui avoit fait de si beaux exploits, et de

laquelle son maistre disoit que tous les huguenots ne

l'oseroyent manier s'ils l'avoyent trouvee dans un fossd"

(H.U., III, 385). it would seem in this instance, as in

5^Thierry, "Monluc et d'Aubignd," p. 519. I 100 many others, that d'Aubignd is concerned about softening the angry reaction of other historians to the violent excesses of the Catholic captain. Thierry notes, for example, that "d'Aubignd s'eat appliqud A attdnuer

1'impression possible donnde par la lecture de certains 56 passages des Commentaires." He will even attempt to relieve Monluc of the burden of wrongdoing by balancing his Catholic massacres with a Protestant atrocity:

. * . Bajas et Gironde oil il fit pendre soixante soldats. II (Monluc) assidgea Grane; le prit par composition; la foi faussde, tout passd au fil de l'espde. De mdme fagon il traicta ceux qui estoyent retranchez au passage d'Agen; la ville bien tost quitde. D*autre costd Duras avoit pris Lauzerte et tud cina cents hommes, le quart des prestres (H.U., II, 90).

Even the tragic slaughter and betrayal of 300 prisoners who were disarmed and massacred at Terraube was merely reported by d'Aubignd without emotional reaction: "la foi faussde A ceux de Terrobe" (H.U., II, 91).

D'Aubignd, of course, professed to concentrate not on

Monluc's massacres but rather on his extraordinary bravery.

He marvels, for example, at a particularly well executed attack in these words: "Ce coup failli, nostre chef gascon, ayant le feu a la teste, attrempa la joye des reformds par la prise du Mont-de marsan. Ce fut une attaque heureuse et hardie outre mesure. . .” (H.U., III,

"i • 5 6 Ibid., p. 521. 101 99). Similarly# he underlines the value of Monluc's in­ spirational qualities for producing victories: "Montluc, avec brave discours, eschauffa ses Gascons It l'envi des

Espagnols, attire tous les capitaines d son opinion et

Burie mesmes a y marcher alaigrement" (H.U., XI, 94).

Such admiration, which was of course recorded thirty years after the events described, is the admiration paid by one old warrior to another who risked his life for a cause and for his king. It must also be recalled that d'Aubignd himself had also shed blood in the course of his war exploits, sometimes even with pleasure (see H.U., V, 243)

VI, 216).

Le Baron des Adrets, another Catholic warrior known for his violent abuse of Protestant prisoners and popu­ lace, was also treated with understanding and objectivity in the Histoire Universelle. D'Aubignd, in fact, announces to his reader the very unpartisan desire to write an apology of this moBt unpopular battle leader and convert from the reform ranks: "Je ne pus passer outre sans donner a mon lecteur un petit compte pour apologia a ce capitaine 4 excellent" (H.U., II, 72). He goes on to include a ques­ tion and answer session with des Adrets for the purpose of

4 allowing the baron to explain both his atrocities and his joining of the Catholic side of the civil war. Des Adrets is quoted in fact without any interpretive commentary or 102 critique on the part o£ d'Aubignd, here apparently only

interested in the truth, and the Catholic captain actually

succeeds in communicating his motivation with statements

like: "Nul ne fait cruautd en la rendant; que les premieres s'appellent cruautez, les secondes justices" and "le seul moyen de faire cesser les barbaries des ennemis est de leur rendre les revanches" (H.U., II, 73).

In another attempt to demonstrate fidelity to his goal of impartiality d'Aubignd will often mention that he is using Catholic historical sources for those severe criticisms of Catholic figures we occasionally find in the

Histoire Universelle. For example, after giving this devastating portrait of Pope Paul IV: . . il se rendit violent en toutes choses, envieux, de dur accds, rude, faisant l'hdbdtd, mais plein de tromperies, ingrat, insatiable d'amasser, prodigal a despendre, perdu dans les voluptez qui le perdirent," d'Aubignd adds a qualifying explanation of his sources: "Ce sont les termes des autheurs Catholiques qui en ont escrit, desquels mesmes j'ay retranchd le plus licencieux" (H.O., II, 324).

D'Aubignd also sought to right injustices done by other historians who either misinterpreted information or bent it to serve their purposes. We read, for example, expres­ sions like "je n'eusse dit que cela si ce n'estoit pour relever ce que mes devanciers ont errd en circonstance" 103 * (H.U., IV, 52) as well as corrections of battle sites

(H.U., III, 389) or of Individual accomplishments (H.U., IV, 170).

The praise of the fidelity of the Catholic troops at

Ndrac in 1621 (Supplement 5 l'Hist. Univ., pp. 70-71) is

still another example of an attempt at objective reporting

in the Histoire Universelle. in a reference similar to

those dealing with the exploits of Monluc, d'Aubignd refuses to condemn the Catholic due de Joyeuse for killing prisoners because of the nature of the surrender terms:

"mais au fonds leur capitulation fut au terme de la discretion, si bien qu'on peut appeler cruautd ce qui se pasBa, mais non pas perfidle, comme quelques-Uns ont voulu. Estans prls at saisis, le due commands qu'ils fussent mis en pieces" (H.U., VII, 121). There is even a reference in the Histoire Universelle to d'Aubigne's refusal to accept the great Protestant victory at Coutras as extraordinary because of the following fair appraisal of respective strength:

Plusieurs ont trouvd et descrit le gain de cette bataille comme miraculeux. Je n'en juge pas ainsi, pource que, du parti catholique, il n'y avoit qu’environ 5,000 hommes de pied. . • . Les autres n'estoyent que 500 moins . . • j'estime la aualitd plus que la quantity (H.U., VII, 158).57

As a further concession to impartiality, d'Aubignd will often pass up an opportunity to express his

5^Wynn, p. 317, 104 dissatisfaction with a particular turn of events and allow only a hint of disapproval to seep into his reporting of the facts. In discussing a "conference” which took place between Henri de Navarre and Catherine de Medeci, for example, d'Aubignd refuses to comment on Navarre's appar­ ent over-willingness to negotiate with the enemy: ”comme je m'abstiens de jugement en autres choseB, ainsi ferai- f je en celle-lS" (H.U., VI, 288). Similarly, after having quoted a part of Henry Ill's speech at Blois in 1588, d'Aubignd chooses a particularly confusing and ambiguous statement from that speech, quotes it separately so that it may be effectively judged by the reader himself, and then adds: "Soit dit sans y apporter mon jugement" (H.U.,

VII, 321)• Concern for not allowing his own opinions to dominate the historical accounts in the Histoire

Universelle is obvious in a long passage dealing with "la tragique avanture de dom Sdbastien de Portugal" at the be­ ginning of which d'Aubignd states: "N'estant juge de ces

'dispareri' (opinions contraires), je me contenterai de dire historiquement et par abbrdgd ce que plusieurs en nt escrit" (H.U., IX, 404). He does, however, here allow himself to suggest by the choice and arrangement of his words his own evaluation of the events narrated. An even more obvious, but still indirect, statement of opinion can be found in d'Aubignd's account of Spanish abuses in 105

Mexico, a situation which he "refuses" to comment on in these clever terms:

. . . je renvoye mon lecteur aux Espagnols qui en ont escript, meu de deux considerations. L ’une que je ne sgaurois entrer en ce discours sans passion contre les cruautds et perfidieB, ce qui seroit soupgonnd d'un Francois, et cette passion contre ma profession. L*autre cause est que la pluspart de ces conquestes sont avant mon temps. . . (H.U., 1, 115-116).58

D'Aubignd*s attempt to include some measure of praise for all of the Catholic leaders at the time of their deaths is a firm indication of concern for objectivity in the

Histoire Universelle. A perfect example of these short statements of final evaluation is this reference to the

Catholic connetable de Montmorency who died at the battle of Saint-Denis in 1567

XI faut venir au connestable, lequel le lendemain mourut chargd de six coups, en aage, en lieu et condition honorable; grand capitaine, bon serviteur, mauvais ami, profitant des inventions, labeurs et pertes d'autrui, agissant par ruses, mais, a leur ddfaut usant de sa valeur (H.U., II, 249).

The admirable concision, the inclusion of both the good and bad qualities and the avoidance of any excessive statements of emotional reaction to the death make this ideal for impartial evaluation. At the death of Charles IX, likewise, d'Aubignd mentions the king's appreciation of music and poetry as his positive qualities and his tragic mistake in permitting the St. Bartholomew massacre as his major fail­ ing. Even Henri III, the much maligned eccentric, receives

®8Wynn, p. 318. 106 this beautifully written and balanced evaluation from d'Aubignd:

Voild la fin de Henri troisiesme, prince d'agrdable conversation avec les siens, amateur des lettres, liberal par-deld tous les rois, courageux en jeunesse et lors ddsird de tous; en vieillesse aimd de peu, qui avoit de grandes parties de roi, souhaitd pour l'estre avant qu'il le fust, et digne du royaume s'11 n'eust point rdgnd; c'est ce qu'en peut dire un bon Francois (H.U.i VIII, 78-79).

Hence, d'Aubignd*s intentions in establishing objec­

tivity as a goal of his history were sincere and, as we

have attempted to show, his efforts manifested themselves

in many different directions. It must be recalled, however,

that we are still dealing in the Histoire Universelle with

the Protestant partisan who conceived of his history as,

in part, the record of the struggles and growth of the

reform cause. Thierry makes a good statement explaining

the nature of this strange alliance between partisanship

and objectivity: "cette moderation & l'dgard des ennemis

nouB semble un des traits marquants d'Aubignd-historien;

.en revanche la passion l'dgare souvent lorsqu'il s'agit des

siens."59 Similarly, Jean Plattard claims that the best

way to appreciate d'Aubignd's impartiality is to compare

the tone of the "prefaces," particularly the preface to

the fourth tome in which "il y montre & nu son Arne,

compatissante aux souffranees de ses coreligionnaires, *

59Thierry, "Un Chapitre inddit de 1*Histoire Universelle," p. 637. 107

indignde des violences exercdes par le pouvoir royal,

dcoeurde par les lachetds des rendgats de son parti*1 to the body of the history where "l'historien a retrouvd sa

serdnitd . . . il se borne & rapporter les actes sans les juger." The striking contrast is sufficient cause to admire, as Plattard does, d'Aubignd*s. goals: "Quelle force d'dme il fallait au partisan pour se moddrer et juger ses adversaires avec justice."

Fairness and control in dealing with enemy exploits did not, in other words, involve any less partisan concern over the justness of the cause he fought for and defended.

Respect for history, however, led him to make such con** cern less a matter of emotional reaction than a matter of allowing facts, which were still, of course, subjectively chosen and arranged, to paint the "true" picture of events. As Henri Weber points out, in relation to Les

Tragigues: "Pour d'Aubignd 1*impartialltd en matidre d'histoire est avant tout une question de ton: l'historien

.se contente de faire parler les faits, le podte les commente avec son dmotion et son indignation."®1 Garnier, also referring to Les Tragigues, adds: "11 (d'Aubignd ne

Plattard, Une Figure de Premier Plan dans Nos Lettres de la Renaissance (Paris: Boivin et Cie, 193i), i?.Tm------

' Weber, La Crdation Podtique au XVXe Sidcle en France (Paris: Librairie Nizet, 19^6), p. 6 M . 108

prdtendait pas lui assigner la raSme valeur qu'a son

Histoire Universelle et c'est elle seule qu'il chargeoit

de deposer sous serment aupres de la Postdritd en favour

de ses coreligionnaires."®^ Prom the "Aux Lecteurs" of

Les Tragigues themselves we read the following statement

of historical intention:

Mais tout cela attendra I 1Edition de l 1Histoire Universelle en laquelle c'est chose merveilleuse gu'un esprit ignd et violent de son naturel ne se soit monstrd en aucun point partisan, ait escrit sans louanges et blasmes, fidelle tesmoin et jamais juge, se contentant de satisfaire a la question du faict sans toucher d celle du droict (O.C., IV, 10)•

What is, however, perhaps the most striking statement of

the historian's sincere respect for truth is this sentence

from the unfinished fourth tome of the Histoire

Universelle: "Quand la vdritd metle poignard a la gorge, il

fault bayser sa main blanche, quoique tachde de notre

sang" (Supplement a 1*Histoire Universelle, p. 8).

Military Orientation of the Histoire Universelle

As a part of this discussion of the historical inten­

tions or goals of d'Aubignd's Histoire Universelle, a work which, of course, includes a great number of battle

descriptions, it might be helpful to examine (1) the vari­

ous considerations that went into the accounts of these

battles and (2) the nature of the military orientation of

the history.

62Garnier, III, 155. One is, first of all, immediately Btruck when read­ ing the battle descriptions of d'Aubignd by (1) the detailed emphasis on the identity and the behavior of all categories of participants and (2) by the commentary on the judgments of the battle leaders of both armies, A somewhat consistent pattern of presentation of these battle scenes revolves around a brief topographical site- setting, which is all too often most inadequate for the reader not familiar with sixteenth century French geography. This is frequently followed by the descrip­ tion of the deployment of forces and the account of the battle itself presented in great detail as regards, es­ pecially, the exploits of courageous leaders. A final commentary on the battle resultB follows, usually includ­ ing a listing of the dead members of the most noteworthy noble families, the most famous of whom merit short state­ ments of praise summing up their valor and dedication to their cause, and often a numerical statement of general battle losses. Accounts of any atrocities and the nature of such incidents are frequent additions to this pattern of battle description and, finally, a chapter of analysis of results and future possibilities is often appended to accounts of the most noteworthy battles.

The importance of these descriptions for an author * who reproaches previous historians for "n1 avoir rien vu en 4

no soldat” (H.U., I, 2) and who was motivated, in part, to write his history for war leaders, "en leur favour et & leur honneur" (H.U., I, 133) is quite obvious by their frequency alone. One can, however, also appreciate the importance of this military orientation by other numerous statements in the text such as d'Aubignd's promise to include in his history "plus arguments pour l'eschole de la guerre et des affaires, que les grosses multitudes n'en ont donnd" (H.U., III, 270). Also witness this letter to

M. Rohan giving d'Aubignd*s military summation of European history:

Vous voyez, Monseigneur, quel est le visage de 1'Europe entiere, epouvantable de trente- quatre armdes, sur lesquelles le ciel gresle et faict plus de meurtres justea que d'injustes: le couteau, la faim et la peste marchent au son des tambours et font leurs chargeB plus souvent que les trompettes ne la sonnent. L'ltalie, l'Alemagne, la France, et les Fays Bas sont puants de morts et plus que les charougnes y puent les defections, les infidelitez et le mepris de toute vertu en un temps oft elle feroit tant de besoin (O.C., I, 403).

Reaction to this war orientation and pattern of bat­ tle presentation includes Jean Plattard's concise critique of two lacunae in the war exposds: (1) failure to indicate objectives and (2) insufficient geographical or topographi­ cal description. To illustrate his criticism, Plattard chooses d'Aubignd's description of the siege of Poitiers by

Coligny in September 1569 (H.U., III, 100-109) which is lacking in that precision of location necessary for clarity Ill and which is also faulty in chronology, an area of constant negligence on the part of d'Aubignd. This episode is,

however, a perfect illustration of those elements involved

in d'Aubignd*s typical war description listed above. As

Plattard points out: "le rdcit est riche de details

techniques, de chiffres prdcis sur les pertes de la

garnison et de l'assidgant" to which one can add the usual mentioning of all leaders.**3 Jacques Bailbd also notes

that, despite his pretention to exactitude, "d'Aubignd raconte trop confusdment les batailles. II est trop prds des dvenements pour les diminuer et pour porter un

jugement definitif" to which he adds, again, a critique of d'Aubignd's frequent negligence as far as signaling objec­ tives is concerned.

It is necessary to point out here the fact that the battles described by d'Aubignd were usually not the great battles we normally associate with war accounts but rather those "sidges" or skirmishes more common to sixteenth cen-

.tury military history. It is when dealing with these small encounters that d'Aubignd is at his best at organizing his presentation "depuis la methode a suivre dans les premidres approches jusqu'au protocole des capitulations, qui se faisaient selon des formulas diverses et pittoresques." **5

®3Plattard, p. 120.

64Bailbd, p. 165.

^Plattard, p. 124. Among the categories of these capitulations we note, in d'Aubignd's terms, various possibilities ranging from "les plus glorieuses avec la mdche allumde, le tambour battant, les enseignes ddploydes" (H.U., VI, 61 and 68) to the less honorable ones with "enseignes baissdes, m&che dteinte, caisse ddbandde" and men with sticks in hand often dressed

"en chemise" (H.U., VII, 376).

In his "Notice biographigue et littdraire," A.

Legoudz discusses the numerous military episodes of the

Histoire Universelle which do not however include any one great battle, such as Monluc at Siena, with which the author can be identified, The reason for this omission is, as others have pointed out and as we have noted above, the fact that "les plus grandes batailles d'Aubignd ne sont le plus souvent que de 'gentils' combats" (O.C., V, 138).

D'Aubignd, however, demonstrates in his history both an impressive familiarity with war equipment and a very definite respect for military valor. Legoudz points, in his respect, to d'Aubignd's criticism of Biron for wasting his time with "la trop ennuyeuse recerche des hommes de lettres de son temps" to the detriment of those captains

"mal partagez" (O.C., V, 139). The "notice biographique" also notes d'Aubignd's speciality, in historical descrip­ tion as well as in military practice, as being the details involved in the construction of fortifications 113 because of the significant fact that he Is "au courant des

Inventions modernes" (O.C., V, 141) and also due to the

fact that "la curiositd de cet esprit inventif, de cette

intelligence ouverte & toute speculation, ne demeure

dtrang&re a aucune des connaissances humaines." It is for

these reasons that Legou3z calls d'Aubignd "un des homines

les plus extraordinaires de son temps" (O.C., V, 143) who

combines the specialized knowledge of the war captain with

the literary artiBtry of the poet.

Legoudz, however, finds d'Aubignd's organized mill*

tary descriptions often .exaggerated because of the personal

participation of the historian who perhaps looses his

perspective and does not do justice to all important

aspects of a battle "parce que le capitaine a vu de trop

prds ce gue raconte l'historien" (O.C., V, 148). Simi­

larly, while the technical detail in these repeated

patterns of battle description is impressive, d'Aubignd

makes his account confusing because of lack of precision

• in sorting out facts. Legoudz chooses the account of the

battle of Dreux as an example of what the plan of battle

. presentation devised by d'Aubignd can produce if properly

handled. Here, "le peintre a su donner du jour et de la

perspective 3 un plus vaste tableau, enfin gu'il termine

son rdcit par un rdsumd clair des six choses notables en

cette bataille" (O.C., V, 148). Hence, the description 1X4

can be historically valuable as long as laws o£ proportion

are observed and personal participation or prejudices are

not allowed to control the narrative.

The difficulty the reader has in getting a clear

picture of events in d'Aubignd's narrative is often caused

by the emphasis on those long military descriptions

described above which outnumber and completely overshadow

any diplomatic, political or court episodes. Impatience

with diplomatic concern inspired a brevity in those

areas, which is attested to in at least four distinct

references in the text. We read, for example, "Je ne

sgaurois accroistre mon livre de tant de raisons,

r&p&t&es tant de fois et desguiBdes de tant de couleurs;

aussi peu me voudrois-je enfler d'un gros amas de

declarations, protestations et apologues d'un cost&,

d'ddicts, de lettres patentes, proclamations pour les

compagnies et arridrebans de 1 'autre" (H.U., II, 235).

The impatience with the non-battle aspect of the religious

.conflict is quite discernible here, as it is in the

brusqueness of the halt in this important political dis-

.cussion involving the Cardinal de Chastillon: "On lui

demands le moyen d'establir une bonne paix; il respondit

hardiment: 'Qu'il faloit commencer d'oster la rupture de

la paix du coeur de ceux qui la traictoyent pour la

rompre.' Et d cela joignit tout le parcours des raisons

qui traittoyent en la bouche de chacun que, pour ne donner 115

la peine de relire, je ne prendrai point celle de les coucher" (H.U., II, 278).

One would find it rather difficult to come up with examples of such authorial intervention in the midst of an important battle description and there are other even more direct statements of preference for army activities over diplomatic efforts, such as the following qualifica­ tions: "A ce mot il faut faire raison au cardinal de

Chastillon, qui se plaint en Angleterre de ce que nous oublions. II nous excusera si les plus curieuses affaires nous ont emportd" (H.U. Ill, 61). Also witness this statement made after a discussion of royal politics:

MI1 faut maintenant entrer en la partie qui nous donne l'ouvrage le plus honorable. Nous reprenons les choses laissdes au sidge de Berg. . ." (H. U ., VIII, 390). The

"plus curieuses affaires" of the first quote are, of course, further references to those types of "sidges" mentioned in the second, the continuing dominant interest of the author.

D'Aubignd is even more uncomfortable with descrip­ tions of festivities than he is with lengthy political speculation and, again, just as in the case of the polit­ ical or diplomatic discussions, he will often seek to fall bak on comfortable and familiar military ground. "Au lieu a

6 ®wynn, p. 311. 116

de vous conter les nopces," he states at one point, "j'aime mieux vous dire qu'Jt la minulct de leur consommation, le due de Bouillon . . . avertl que la garnlson de Stenal

estolt accreue pour une entreprlse sur Sedan, qultta le

lict et les ddlices pour . » • aller surprendre Stenal"

(H.U., VIII, 346). One might, In fact, make a comparison here between the stated actions of the duke of Bouillon and the preferences shown for action by d'Aubignd the historian. The same refusal to dwell on ceremonial events within the context of his history leads d'Aubignd to state further: "Je laisse aux historiens du pays il descrire I'ordre des bandes, les livrdes, et encores com­ ment, le jeudi suivant, les cdrdmonies se passdrent en la prise de possession" (H.U., VI, 334) and then to lapse

Immediately back into the realm of military preparation and conflict.

There are at least six examples in d'Aubignd's

Histoire Universelle of military lessons which, most often, seem to function as illustrative examples for future war captains and which significantly contribute to an under­ standing of the military orientation of the text. In one of these, for example, we read:

Je suis aprds a vous conter un des plus opinastres combats que j'aye veu, leu ni ouy

6 7 Ibid., p. 312. 117 dire. Mais cela n'est pas le plus grand proffit que vous y puissiez faire; c'est d'apprendre en quels lieux et comment les gens de pied peuvent engager la cavalierie. . . . Me desdaignez point done cest affaire, encore que les homines n'y eont pas contez a milliers; c'est S la confusion des batailles oil il y a le moins & prof iter (H.U., V, 240-241). ---

The interest in instructing future leaders is expressed here, as it is in most of the other "soldier-lesson" episodes, in the rather dogmatic, self-assured tone of the tested warrior. Similarly, d'Aubignd makes use of digres­ sions to illustrate particular points or to indicate important lessons which will often be introduced by re­ marks such as: "Mais il arriva deux petits accidents, qui me feront donner sur les doigts a deux erreurs qui se commettent en la milice frangoise" and concluded with an apologetic statement: "je m'arrdte et prie le lecteur de juger bien de ma digression, si elle est avec profit"

(H.U., VI, 225-226). To illustrate lessons in proper behavior d'Aubignd also makes use of anecdotes such as the story of a certain old and wounded nobleman who finds out that the king of Mavarre and the vicomte de Turenne, his former associates in the religious wars, had a playful love interest in the woman the old gentlemen loved:

Ce mdpris lui fut si dur qu'il les voulut ni voir ni halener depuis; qui plus est en quitta religion et parti. Voye d'un costd, mon lecteur, coinbien ceux qui n'appuyent leur parti que par la force et qualite des places se trompent au choix facilment (H.U., V, 357). 118

The distracting Influence of passion is, quite obviously

not one of the desirable ingredients in the "bagage" of

the sincere partisan. A further indication of concern for

the training of future war leaders is contained in the

projected continuation of the Histoire Universelle. the

fourth tome, when d'Aubignd describes three exemplary

lessons of a captain: (1) the good retreat before power­

ful enemies, (2) the throwing of relief forces into a

besieged city and (3) the creating of effective defense

before a powerful enemy®8 (Supplement a l'H.O., 139, 146,

194).

Hence, after having noted the plan and frequency of

battle descriptions, as well as some of the numerous

statements and episodes which indicate a certain preoccu­

pation with soldierly affairB and attitudes, one can

appreciate the presence of a definite military orienta­

tion in d'Aubignd*s Histoire Universelle which, in fact,

seems to be the dominant focus of the entire text. The

,problem of accepting this particular historical perspec­

tive is well put by Ellerbroek who wisely cautions

against the temptation to judge historial texts of the past

from the point of view of modern techniques and concerns:

Que toute sa documentation ne porte que sur la guerre et les traitds de paix, que son Histoire

a ®8 Wynn, p. 311. 119

soit essentiellement une histoire de batailles, que nous ne voyons que rarement apparattre la population des villes et de la campagne, c'est ce qui ne saurait nous dtonner; il faudra encore cent trente ans pour qu'une autre conception de 1'histoire se fasse peu a peu jour.

He goes on to quote a letter from Voltaire to d'Argenson in 1740 which succinctly suggests the same problem of historical distance: "11 semble que, pendant quatorze ans, il n'y ait eu dans les Gaules que des rois, des ministres et des gdndraux; mais nos moeurs, nos lois, nos costumes, notre esprit, ne sont-ils done rien?"69 Judging the work as we have it, hence, first necessitates recognition of d'Aubignd*s own priorities not only in planning his presen­ tation but also in choosing a proper sixteenth century historical focus for his text. As a part of an examina­ tion of the motivations or historical intentions of the author, the importance of the military focus of this six­ teenth century battle captain and historian had, then, to be acknowledged and discussed. We might include in this discussion this enlightening statement by d'Aubignd on the subject of his attitude toward history:

Si le fer bien mis en besongne A la premidre gloire de la ddcadence d'un parti et de l'dldvation de 1'autre a l'entidre victoire et A 1 'establissement de la paix, le second honneur est aux plumes bien tailldes, qui ont mend les esprits aux pensdes, aux connoissances, aux affections partisanes, et

^^Ellerbroek, p. 14. 120

en fin aux cholx qui ont enfld ou diminud les partis, soit en nombre soit en ardeur {H.U., VIII, 324).

The choice of words in this quotation is curiously

reminiscent of d'Aubignd*s intentions in Les Tragigues where peace is referred to as the ultimate goal after the

turmoil of the religious wars and where the disorder of

the earth ("la decadence") is replaced by order and

sanctity ("l'dlfivation"). There is also the suggestion here of that concern for the fall of the guilty (nle parti Catholique") and for the eternal rule of the just and the peaceful ("le parti Protestant") which is so essential to the Tragigues. Even the organization of materials in the Histoire Universelle belies a concern for such a scheme of events. Each book ends, for example, with a peace treaty or agreement thereby accenting what might be seen as a constant reminder of the ever-present goal of the armies of the "just." The military exploits them­ selves, described in such detail in the history, can be

seen as a part of that universal conflict between good and evil which becomes the motif of "le monde a I'envers" in

Les Tragigues. Similarly, the discussion of those Prot­ estant martyrB who must wait for their just rewards after the judgment of the next world recalls the "Jugement" section of Les Tragigues in which one of the main themes

is the hoped for reversal of fortune after the suffering of this life. The preoccupation with mentioning the 121

grotesque punishments meted out to Protestant victims In

the Hlstoire Unlverselle Is both a further stressing of

the guilt of Catholic "decadence" and an illustration of

the lack of justice on this topsy-turvy earth. The

Protestant "victoire" to be hoped for is the ultimate vindication of their martyrs as well as the insuring of

security for the reform populace, and it is "la plume bien

taillde" of historians and poets like d'AubignS which will

tell the tale of the "elevation" of their cause. CHAPTER III

QUOTATION, ANECDOTE AND PORTRAITURE IN

THE HISTOIRE UNIVERSELLE

The concern for remaining faithful to the seriousness of the "devoir" of history and to the objectivity which we noted in the content of the Histoire Universelle is also evident in the style of the work, and the short quotation, one of d'Aubignd's principal stylistic devices, is the

« means he most often chooses to demonstrate this objectiv­ ity. The short quotation is also, interestingly enough, used by d'Aubign& as a means of pointing to the drama inherent in the history he discusses. These elements, in addition to an examination of both the important and fre­ quent use of anecdote and the interesting construction plan for presenting historical portraits, will be the main areas of investigation in this chapter, with a particular focus on an ever present concern for concision. I have chosen these stylistic usages because (1) they are most noteworthy due to d'Aubignd's frequent reliance on them and (2) they contribute to a true and accurate impression of the Histoire Universelle. It is, hence, my conviction that, far from being an isolated concern, style must be

122 123 studied in relation to content and that the selection of specific categories of style must be representative of the tenor of the entire work.

Quotation: Objectivity and Theatricality

Objectivity, as far as content is concerned, involved restraint from a too passionate and partisan reaction to events as well as attempts at impartial judgment of actions and personalities on both sides of the struggle.

Similarly, objectivity manifests itself in the Histoire

Universelle in the frequent refusal to include those lengthy self-indulging quotes and grandiose descriptions of people and events which serve to glorify rather than to portray. Outstanding evidence of this concern for restraint can be found in those numerous short quotations whose simplicity and directness d'Aubignfi finds worthy of historical narration. He frequently chooses to quote, for example, extremely short inspirational statements by battle leaders as being more effective than the lengthy oratorical rantings about the nobility and sanctity of cause to be found in other sixteenth century historians.

When the Protestant hero, the "amiral de Coligny," wants to inspire his troops to bravery in an important battle he is quoted by d'Aubignd as merely stating "courage, mes amis, le dernier qui se rallie emporte le fruict de la bataille" (H.U., II, 113). No statement about the worthiness of the battle leader or the integrity of his

cause is added to this concision by d'Aubignd who allows

the simplicity of the statement to be its own merit.

Similar evidence of the historian's definite intention to

remain faithful to this stylistic device is this repre­

sentative statement about "le baron d'Adrets": "En les

afrontant il dit pour tout harangue: 'Les voild, les

tueurs de femmes et d'enfants, et les amoureux de chevres,

donnons'" (H.U., II, 60).

An almost classical concern for concision can be

noted, hence, in d'Aubignd's use of quotation. Rend

Redouant notes, in fact, that "en homme 'chiche de

harangues' il aime les mots, les formulas brdves et

saisissantes, et, en admettant qu'il ne donne pas son

empreinte aux laconiques paroles qu'il rapporte, il leur

sacrifie peut-dtre les discours plus ddveloppds,

prdcisement parce qu'il leur manque 1'impressionante concision, 1,'energie concentrde dont il fait tout de cas.”^

Examples of such concentrated "energie" and concision as

regards quotation abound in the Histoire Universelle and, curiously enough, they are often combined with a statement of action or achievement into a regularly repeated plan

3-Rend Redouant, nL'Eloquence Militaire au XVle Sidcle," Revue d'HiBtoire Littdraire en France, IX (1911), p. 515. 125 of presentation. A typical example of this pattern, which we have found to be one of d'Aubignd's most frequently used stylistic arrangements, is this simple quotation of d'Andelot at the battle of Jarnac (1569): "'Faites comme

>1 moi'" followed immediately by the example of his action:

". . . allant au pas de charge, donna du poing qui tenoit la bride sous la visidre d'un qui l'affrontoit. . ." (H.U.,

III, 50). Similarly, the words and actions of the aged

"Saint-Cire Pui-Greffier" are described in these terms:

"'Frdres et compagnons, voici comment il faut falre.'

Let dessus . . . le visage descouvert et la barbe blanche comme neige . . . il donna vingt pas devant sa troupe, mena battant tous les mareschaux de camp et sauve plusieurs vies par sa mort" (H.U., III, 127-128). We read also a reference to an attempt by the head of a group of "enfants perdus" to inspire his forces by the now familiar word and example method: "... ayant tournd le visage & ses capitaines, leur cria: 'Vous me voulez done laisser perdre.' Et sans marchander se prfjeipite dans tout ce qui estoit avanc£. . ." (H.U., III, 73). In another episode a battle leader makes verbal reference to the divine message conveyed to his troops by lightning, a situation d'Aubign£, predictably enough, describes in these terms: ". . . il ramena par la manche du mandil ceux qui fuyoyent, en disant: 'Courage, cest esclair montre que 126

Dieu veut estre de la patrie,' Dont les vingt ayans passfi la grille, forcent le corps de garde. . (H.U., III,

153). Even on his death bed itself Coligny provides d'Aubign6 with an ideal statement and further example of courage: "'Ces playes me sont douces, comme pour le nom de

Dieu, priez-le avec moi qu'il me fortifie.' II fait ses priSres et commande a l'oreille a un de ses gens de

t mettre entre les mainB de Merlin cent escus, pour distribuer a quelques pauvres" (H.U., III, 307). And we note, finally, the same pattern of short remarkably con­ cise citations followed immediately by the inspiring example of action in the following reference to the

Prince de Cond6 leading a charge while wounded:

'Voici, noblesse vrayement frangoise, ce que nous avons tant ddsird. Allons achever ce que les premieres charges ont commence, et vous souvenez en quel eBtat Louis de Bourbon entre au combat pour Christ et sa patrie.1 Respondant A la devise de sa cornette, qui animoit un curse romain de ces mots: 'Doux le pfiril pour Christ et le pays.' Achevant ces paroles, il baisse la teste et donne a huict cents lances, dans lesquelles sa troupe parut peu. . . (H.U., III, 51).

It is interesting to note here d'Aubignd's stylistic originality compared to some of the acknowledged masters of historical writing at the end of the sixteenth century.

De Thou, for example, attributes to Condd in the situation described above "une harangue animfie d'un ardent sentiment religieux qui semble nolle et faible aupres de la nerveuse allocution de d'Aubign€.A major part of this refusal to

2Ibid., p. 535. follow in the footsteps of other historians was the very

concern for brevity and concision we have noted in the

Histoire Universelle: "I»a profession que je fais de

n'enfler point mon ouvrage dee labeurs d'autrui, la

briesvetd que j*observe mesmement es choses eslongudes me font quitter tous les rdcits expres me contentant de

vous dire que ce livre ddduit plusieurB institutions

tirdes d*auteurs presques tous catholiques" (H.U., I,

170)• Hence brevity is the originality in style (form) which d'Aubignd adds to his impartial search for informa­

tion (content) among Catholic historians. He will, in

the interest of correct history, use information provided by both Protestant and Catholic accounts but he will place

it into his own mold of historical presentation and cut away much of the rhetorical and partisan fat which sur­

rounded the previous core of truth.

The dramatic effect of the short quote and example

usage cannot, of course, be overlooked, it often appears

that d'Aubignd evidences, in fact, a "theatrical" concern

for combining proper staging of events with the most

dramatic statement packed into the fewest possible words.

The above quotations indicate quite clearly this theatri­

cal bent on the part of the historian, still, of course,

conscious of the dictates of objectivity. This stylistic * device is also to be noted in those references in the

Histoire Universelle to the martyrs who give themselves X28

over to torture and death with just the right sentence on

their lips: nIl y a du dernier que, voyant le bourreau

mettre le feu par derridre, il lui dit: 'Approche et mets

le feu par devant,' si je 1'eusBe redoutfi, je ne fusse

pas venu en ce lieu" (H.U., 1, 203), or: M0 bois agrdable,

brusle-moi et me ddlivre de ce monde" (H.U., I, 206).

There is also this dramatic citing of another martyr's

reaction to cries of "misericorde": "Elle m'est asseur&e,

deraandons-la pour vousn (H.U., I, 208; see also 1, 210)

and a young woman martyr's pronouncement at the moment of

her death: "Mon mari, c ’est a ceste heure que nostre

mariage s'accomplit avec Christ" (H.U., I, p. 213).

Another young girl martyr is quoted by d'Aubignfi as

screaming to her pursuers: "Tirez, tuez-nous tous deux"

(H.U., III, 180) and a young soldier betrayed by his

captain cries out: "'Est-ce la paix, dit-il, et la foi

royale? Venge, 0 Dieu, ceste perfidiel1 Ce disant il

despouille son manteau, et mourut & coups d'halebarde"

.(H.U., III, 325). What could be more dramatic, finally,

than the pose of a man, holding his cut-off hand and say­

ing, as d'Aubignd describes it: "'A la prerai&re qui fut la

droite, coupee, je la portai de la gauche a la bouche pour

la baiser,' et, d la seconds, met la bouche d bas pour la

baiser aussi" (H.U., I, 216).

Dramatic situations, again, often involving Protestants 129 dying for the cause d'Aubignd defended, are occasionally

presented in the context of the briefest of statements and

the shortest commentaries on the events with a clear

intention not only to surprise the reader but to shock

him. When, for example, d'Aubignd wants to present the

death of a certain Protestant captain he gives few back­

ground details, preferring to describe it according to the

usual formula: n. . . il tourna visage d ceux qui le

tiroyent pour leur dire: 'Vous le payerez, galands.' Et

aussi tost fut tu£ d'une arquebuzade entre leB deux yeux.n

(H.U., II, 286). The swiftness of the description of this

event which shocks the reader into appreciating itB

finality, is, therefore, another example of this theatri­

cal use of the quotation. Witness also this reference to

a woman, condemned to be strangled by her servants, who

sayB to her husband "'. . . Je vous supplie que ma mort ne

soit point souillde par ces vilaines mains, mais que les

vostres, honorables pour leur valeur, me conduisent elles

.mesmes au repos.' Cela dit, il l'appella sa maistresse

et lui demands pardon . . . et puis lui mit des bandes de

toile au col, avec lesquelles il 1 'estrangla" (H.U., II,

292). Again, the lack of transition between statement and

event (death) is most effectively arranged to attract the

surprised reader's attention. Similarly, d'Aubignd will

use a quote which clashes quite dramatically with the

circumstances surrounding it, such as this combination of 130 military and religious motivation: "Compagnons, recommandons-nous & Dieu et & Nostre Dame de frappe fort: le premier qui tirera que la bourre n'entre (dans l'ennemi), je le tuerai, si j'en eschappe" (H.U ., III,

192). The dramatic combination of setting and statement is, hence, quite obviously arranged by the historian to produce the maximum degree of interest for the reader without subjecting him to the tiresome speeches quoted by other less stylistically oriented historians.

D'Aubignd extends this "short quote and action exam- i pie" usage to the career of Henri de Navarre with such references as:

Pource que le roi de Navarre ayant dit: 'Mes compagnons, il y va de la gloire de Dieu, de l'honneur et des vies, soit pour se sauver ou pour vaincre. Le chemin en est devant nous. Allons au nom de Dieu, pour qui nous combattons,1 il prend la salde, pard, comme les siens, d'armes grises, ayant devant lui huit gentilshommes. . . (H.U., VII, 151).

He note here the same refusal to incorporate anything more than the minimal but effective short statement and the immediate reference to participation in battle action.

Again, Redouant reminds us of d'Aubignd*s basic differ­ ences with the lengthy more traditional style of De Thou who in a similar reference to Henri de Navarre's activi­ ties at the battle of Coutras "lui attribue une grave et solennelle harangue qu'on serait tentd de croire plus faite pour les catholiques qui la liront dans la suite que 131 pour les protestants qui sont census I'entendre."^

D'Aubignd, in fact, took offense at such reportage of the speeches of his prince and would not admit that Henri made use of anything but the short, concise style we find reported in the Histoire Universelle. He notes, for instance, that Henry's language in prayer is the uncom­ plicated brevity of what he terms the "langage de Canaan."

In what is actually an accurate description of his own concern for the direct and simple language of real com­ munication d'Aubignd states: "Les derniers qui ont escrit . . . lui (au roi) font faire une pridre en laquelle ils n'ont pas observd le langage de Canaan qui estoit lors en la bouche de ce prince. Car ils le font parler & Dieu par vous, ce qui lors luy estoit grandement ridicule, ayant appris de s'adresser a un Dieu comme £ un pere"

(H.U., VIII, 189). Hence, unadorned language, like un­ adorned truth, quickly became an essential part of that goal toward which the historian d'Aubignd strove.

There is, of course, a vast array of further examples of the short quote in the Histoire Universelle, which, as has been mentioned, is one of the most frequently used stylistic devices in the work. There are, for example, instances when d'Aubignd uses the quote in a humorous or amusing context, one example of which is the tale of a certain captain, who, having fainted from his wounds in a

3ibid., p. 537. 132 farm yard, Is awakened by the peasant farmer: ”'Tu ne

mangeras plus mes poules1, ce qu'il fit pourtant depuis"

(H.U., XI, 268). There is the quite obvious intention

here to use this amusing dramatic confrontation to relieve

the tension of battle description. Similarly, the comi­

cally naive reaction of a battle viewer is well captured

in a sentence d'Aubignd attributes to him: "0, dit-il, si

le Grand Seigneur avoit deux mille homines de mesme (que)

ces blancs, pour mettre & la teste de chacune de ses

armies, l'univers ne lui dureroit que deux ans" (H.U., XI,

249). Witness also the comical "qui pro quo" of a captive

reform pastor throwing his captor in a hole and screaming

to the Catholic villagers to finish him off: "il le jette

dans la cave et en mesme temps cria: 'Au ministrel au minister."1 (H.U., VII, 72). Again, these statements,

carefully and intentionally placed in the midst of descrip*

tions of battle preparations, represent a change of pace and a moment of relief, in like manner, relieving the

sometimes tedious pace of narration by replacing mere

statement of fact with direct quotation is a stylistic device used by d'Aubignd. When, for example, he wants to

avoid simply listing the number of battle casualties he will halt his narrative to report a first hand estimate in

the form of the short quote: "Un Picard . . . interrogud combien il y avoit de cornettes en leur armde, respondit: 133

'Diex-huict; chasque trouppe, l'une portant 1'autre, de quatre vingts chevaux'” (H.U., II, 240).

Short quotations also frequently serve as dramatic finales for chapters and descriptive passages In d'Aubignd*s stylistic scheme of arrangement. One chapter on "les guerres d'Orient," for example, concludes with this carefully staged comment by a captive Italian noble­ woman who set fire to a supply of gunpowder to avoid being ravished: nO infidel!, saremo adesso compagni di questa morte, no de l'altra vita" (H.U., III, 226). Another chapter ends again most dramatically with the flight of the young due de Guise from a 1591 battle and the excited

Bhouts of onlookers: "Le Guisard se sauve" (H.U., VIII,

235). Witness also this climactic chapter ending state­ ment referring to the due d'Anjou and made by the queen of

Navarre to d'Aubignd himself in 1583: "Le voyez-vous-li, et tout ce qu'il brouille en Flandres et en Porgugal?

Je sgai bien son but: e'est de ruiner ceux qui se

.mettront entre ses mains" (H.U., VI, 293). Similarly, an ironic statement of Catherine de Medici to reform leaders at the "assemblde de Poissl" concludes an important chapter in d'Aubignd*s first tome: "Vous pouvez vous asseurer autant sur ma parole que sur l'escriture mesme"

(H.U., I, 313). In each one of these chapter endings, which are representative of the usage in the Histoire 134

Universelle generally, we note, hence, the emphasis again

on the essential combination of brevity and heightened dramatic interest.

D'Aubignd also extends this deliberate use of the quote finale to various interior passages which stand out

in his history because of either a sharp change in subject matter or a noticeable difference in vocabulary and im­

agery. He ends one description of a battle encountered with an accent on the nobility of a prisoner who wants to die at the hands of a high officer: "De vostre main,

Monsieur, et non pas de.ces gens-13" (H.U., III, 127).

In like manner, he accents the drama inherent in a meeting between the wounded Coligny and his aged counsellor, also a battle casualty, by ending the passage with these

appropriate words of the "admiral": "Si que Dieu est tr&s doux” (H.U., III, 130). A final example of this stylistic

technique comes from a discussion of the due d'Anjou's

activities in 1580. I will here quote the beginning of

•the following paragraph to demonstrate the importance of

the short quote as a conclusive ending to a passage quite different in tone from the historical narration that

surround8 it:

II respondit: 'Si nostre chef nous traictoit 3 la rigueur des anciennes loix, n'ayant pas tenu 3 nous que la place ne soit perdue pour nostre gloire particuliere, il nous feroit trancher la teste a tous dix.' II est temps d'aller ou nous sommes obligez. . . (H.U., VI, 90). 135

Again, the obvious attempt to arouse the reader's interest

by lapsing from reportage to direct citation illustrates

d'Aubignd*s continuing awareness of the importance of « style in historical narration, an awareness not shared by many of the other sixteenth century French writers of

history.

Finally, we might mention the stylistic significance of those short, very effective quotations which d'Aubignd claims to be the last words of some of the major figures

in the religious wars. Francois le seigneur d'Andelot, brbther of "1'admiral" and one of the Protestant leaders of the first decades of civil strife, expires in d'Aubignd's account, with this jewel of a statement on his

lips: '"La France aura beaucoup de maux avec vous (les

Protestants) et puis sans vous, mais en fin tout tombera

sur l'Espagnol.' L'admiral 1'ayant repris, comme d'une resverie: 'Je ne resve point, dit-il, mon frdre, l'homme de Dieu me l'a dit.' Sur ces propos il rendit 1'esprit"

.(H.U., III, 58). Naturally, the violent deaths of those martyrs we have already discussed lend themselves per­

fectly to this kind of dramatic final quote in the

Histoire Universelle: "Nicolas Mousche (a German transla­

tor employed by Coligny) qui ne voulut sauver, quoi que prid par son maistre, leur avoit avancd ce propos disant:

’Mes amis, je n'ai plus que faire de secours humain, c'est 136 ma raort que je regois volontlers de la main de Dieu, sauvez voug" (H.U., III, 316). Coligny, himself, dies in d'Aubignd1s account with, again, the oft repeated quote of concern for the integrity and worth of the man who killed him: "'Jeune homme, respecte ma vieillesse.' Et puis au premier coup: 'Au moins, dit-il, si je mourois de la main d'un cavallier et non point de ce goujat'" (H.U. Ill, 317).

Anecdote in the Histoire Universelle

Like the short quotation, anecdote is an extremely important stylistic concern in the Histoire Universelle because of both the frequency with which it is used and the variety of roles it plays. There is, for example, the frequent usage of the soldier anecdote usually concerned with providing a lesson in proper military behavior or courage. There are also the numerous anecdotes which, like their counterpart in the category of the short quotation, are designed to relieve the tension of war narration, as well as anecdotes of violence and suffering, dramatically narrated in order to produce the maximum emotional effect on the reader.

Turning first to the military or war anecdote, we note • the concern of the reform captain to focus attention on those specific exploits of his fellow soldiers which he either personally witnessed or heard from other sources.

His primary stylistic concern in these stories was to remain faithful to that type of preferred military style

which Montaigne had defined as "ni pddantesque, ni

fratesque, ni pleideresque, male plustost soldateBque”

{EsBaies, I, 26) and which Jean Plattard sees as, in

fact, one of the most valuable elements of the entire

Histoire Universelle: "avec quelques grands tableaux et

quelques anecdotes de guerre, ils sont ce qu'il y a de

plus attachant dans ce livre: d'Aubignd mdmorialiste et

mdmorialiste militaire."4 From his own travel exper­

iences, of course, d'Aubignd collected many of the stories

and anecdotes which lat$r filled his history and, as

Bailbd tells us, he was eager in his old age to share some

of these previous moments of the events of his exciting

past: "D'Aubignd n'a pas hdsitd a raconter des histoires

gaillardes et il a conservd ce tempdrament jusqu'i son

extrdme vieillesse. C'est un aspect sdduisant de son

naturel, qui mdle a l'austdritd du calviniste et &

l'energie du soldat, un c6td enjoud et aimable."5

A typical example of the narrative "energie du soldat"

• is a story dealing with the exploits of the baron des

Adrets in which d'Aubignd spares none of the bloody

4Jean Plattard, Une Figure de Premier Plan dans Nos Lettres de la Renaissance (Paris; Boivin et Cie, 1931), p T u r . ------

^Jacques Bailbd, "Rabelais et d'Aubignd," Bibliothdque de 1 1Humanisme et de la Renaissance, XXI (1959), 405. “ 138 details of military excess. The punishment of soldiers by compulsory cliff jumping is dwelled upon and embellished with appropriate quotes as an ideal and colorful illus­

tration of the military tactics of des Adrets (H.U., H r

54) and, as is the case with most of d'Aubignd*s anec­ dotes, we perceive an intention to isolate the story by providing it with an identifiable beginning and end.

There are, in fact, direct statements in the Histoire

Universelle which demonstrate this intention to include

stories for the purpose of not only making historical narration more interesting through Btylistic arrangement but also to isolate particularly important details in content. After pausing to tell an amusing anecdote about the fortunes of frightened soldiers involved in Monluc's campaign in Guyenne (1567), d'Aubignd adds: "J'ai relevd cest exemple notable de tdmdritd, tesmoignd par mes yeux et escrit par les autres ndgligemment" (H.U., IX, 268).

Might this not be read as the admission of a need to defend the use of anecdote in a genre (and a "devoir") which d'Aubignd so frequently referred to as serious

("eschaffaud public") and unworthy of frivilous exagger­ ation? We have, hence, a curious example of our histor­ ian's refusal to abandon that concern for variety of style so essential to his literary career as poet and writer of fiction. Many of these historic "contes," told with all of the

flair of the gifted "raconteur," deal with the lessons in

military courage referred to earlier. A typical example

of this recurring anecdote theme, in fact, is the account

of a Protestant captain who confronts his torturers with

his bravery, a story which becomes in the hands of

d'Aubignd the stylist, an artful blend of quotation and

interesting story line (H.U., II, 286). He applies simi­

lar concern for the brief but effective story of courage

as an illustration of proper battle conduct. In one

anecdote, dramatically told without any superfluous detail

or repetition, d'Aubignd narrates the plight of a soldier

who, after shooting gun powder, was thrown by the blast

and eventually made "valet de chambre" of Henry III for

his bravery (H.U., IV, 318). Similarly, we have the

account of two soldiers, the last survivors of a fire, who

courageously threw themselves hand in hand into the fire

rather than yield to the enemy (H.U., V, 293), another of

.those many stories told with a concern for both brevity

and careful word arrangement. Such stylistic concern is

so evident in d'Aubignd's use of anecdote, in fact, that

he will occasionally interrupt his narration to clarify his

historical purposes: ". . . si en cela il se trouve

dpisodid plus propre aux poStes qu'aux historiens, non * maistre Tacite me ddfendra contre les subtils esprits qui 140 m'en attaqueront” (H.U., VII, 40). He also at times felt obligated to underline his role as a mere narrator lest one of his beautifully arranged stories contrast too

Bharply with the rest of the historical narration: "Me me soupconnez pas d'avoir fait ce compte pour ma delectation? j'y perdis trop" (H.U., VII, 59).

Perhaps the most interesting category of anecdotes in d'Aubignd's history, however, is that collection of humorous tales quite obviously told by d'Aubignd with the intention to entertain, as well as occasionally to instruct, his reader. There is, for example, the brief account of Elizabeth of England's refusal of the due d'Alengon as a potential mate because of his ugly por­ trait, a topic which was, to say the least, not taken too seriously in sixteenth century circles (H.U., V, 30).

There are also more well developed stories involving his­ torical characters placed in compromising and comical positions, such as Henry III in monk'B costume fleeing from a lover's window as her husband approaches (H.U., V,

348-9) or Catherine de Medici practicing "le langage de

Canaan" (the simple Biblical language of Henri de

Navarre) at night much to the delight of the eavesdropping members of her household (H.U., V, 363). In each of these welcome glimpses in the very human vulnerability of great historical figures there is a descriptive vitality not unlike what one often finds in Rabelais, whose character

Ficrochole is even alluded to by d'Aubignd in a reference to bad advice from a king's counselor (H.U., VI, 250).

AIbo in a humorous vein we have accounts of a bear inter** rupting one of Henri de Navarre's hunting trips and reversing the customary role by chasing ten Swiss guard

soldiers (H.U., V, 365-366), and of a man hanged so poorly by the "parlement" of Toulouse that the rope broke three times (H.U., V, 367-368). Again, the account is brief but extremely effective by means of admirable concision on the part of our gifted story teller. A typical example of the very definite flair with which d'Aubignd tells these humorous stories is the account of a young military officer, "killed" and buried, who returns to his friend's lodging and is greeted by: "Capitaine Atis que vous estes froid.” D'Aubignd even underlines such occasional bursts of playfulness in his history by refusing to burden down such a delightful tale with serious commentary: "J'en

.laisse dire l'advis aux thdologiens" (H.U., VI, p. 62).

Similarly, he will often put aside the serious concerns of battle description and concentrate on humorous detail, such as the previously cited tale of the ingenious Protestant minister who saves his own life at the expense of a Jesuit captor, a perfectly developed "qui pro quo," There is also a considerable amount of clever playfulness in the 142

Histoire Universelle at the expense of some of the major

Catholic figures such as Cardin.al Du Perron whor as a representative of the converted Henry IV, was subjected to a show of stubborn Vatican disapproval of his master.

During a ceremony, "dedicated" primarily to his visit, the cardinal was obliged to extend himself in abject humility on the floor of the church, listen to the appropriate psalm "Miserere Mei" and receive blows with a large stick held by a "pendtencier" "& chague couplet" (H.U. XX, 230).

Certainly d'Aubignd could not have chosen a more effective anecdote to underline the irony of poetic justice while stylistically again relieving the tension of the more serious commentary.

D'Aubignd, in fact, makes frequent use of irony in his anecdotes as another means of achieving a variety of tones and reactions. Witness, for example, the cleverly arranged story of Turenne who is (1) quoted as stating that "il aimait roieux estre chien que huguenot/1 (2) in­ fluenced by La Noue and a debate on transubstantiation and (3) converted to the reform religion, all within the space of a few powerful lines of narration (H.U., IV, 346).

Also, in his dramatic and detailed account of Navarre's escape from Catherine de Medici's court, d'Aubignd enjoys pointing out the coincidental nature of the psalm for the day: "Seigneur le roi s'esjouira d'avoir eu ddlivrance" 143

(H.U., V, 13). In one o£ his anecdote masterpieces, the story o£ the man who escapes execution, arrives safely in his home town with prayers of thanksgiving on his lips and is subsequently killed by a relative, d'Aubignd cleverly builds suspense and anticipation and masterfully milks the surprise ending for all it can given (H.U., V, 254). In another example of ironic reversal, d'Aubignd tells of the stabbing of a violent Catholic officer on the exact spot where he committed anti-Protestant atrocities" (H.U., VIII,

35), a tale in which d'Aubignd allows his partisan approval to shine. Similarly, he betrays strong disap­ proval when telling the story of an assassin sent by the

Jesuits to kill a Protestant leader in the Netherlands with true Catholic blessing, communion and these ironic words of farewell: "Allez en paix, car vous irez comme un ange & la garde de Dieu” (H.U., IX,263). Here, as in many other stories of this nature, d'Aubignd, the knowledgeable

"raconteur," allows the facts to tell their own tale of injustice and immorality without any potentially harmful moralizing commentary.

The final, and largest, category of anecdote in the

Histoire Universelle involves a concern for eliciting emotional reaction from the reader. D'Aubignd's memorable accounts of captured soldiers, tied four by four together and killed by lackeys with sticks when they could no longer 144

walk (H.U., IV, 243-244), and of a soldier whose chest was

so opened by a bullet that he could see his own heart

(H.U., IV, 325) quite obviously involve the selecting of

details designed to inspire pity. In like manner, we

have detailed accounts of the many ordered atrocities by

Spanish leaders such as the strangling of prisoners in

front of the Dule of Alba (H.U., V, 63-64) or the cruelty

of Phillip II: "on delivra les prisons pour donner au roi

une entre© agreable et selon son commencement car on lui

tapissa les rues de plusieurs pendus et entre autres

grande quantity de vieillards.n (H.U., VIII, 385| see also

VIII, 213). Such accounts, told again with the quite

obvious concern for emotionally involving the reader,

involve a criterion always essential for good story tell­

ing, namely effective selection of detail. A good

example of this stylistic concern for detail and emotional

effect in anecdote is the following description of a

particularly bloody death: "son poing coupd et puis tird

. & quatre chevaux, le tout brusld, les cendres jettdes au

vent" (H.U., IX, 25). Naturally, the many martyr-stories

d'Aubignd tells in his history also fall into this cate-

N gory of emotionally stimulating anecdotes, as those

previously mentioned quotes illustrate.

Fear, shock or surprise are also among the reactions

d'Aubignd the storyteller frequently likes to elicit from 145 his reader. He will, for' example, accent the mysterious or other-worldly nature of anecdotal details to arouse the curiosity of the reader. A good example of this technique is, in fact, the account of the strange circumstances surrounding the death of the cardinal of Lorraine in 1574, in which d'Aubignd stylistically creates that inescapable atmosphere of mystery and the occult so essential to good horror stories (H.U., IV, 298-99). The intention to shock the reader is obvious in stories such as the one- describing the horrible death of Bussy, queen Marguerite's lover, which ends with that undeniably effective and unforgetably gruesome detail so essential to the beBt of the "Gothic" tales: "... apr&s qu'on lui eust passd la langue d travers la gorge pour le signaler en maquereau, il fut jettd dans les fosses" (H.U., VI, 193). The sur­ prise element is evidence in those stories often stressing unexpected but fortunate escapes from war horrors. Wit­ ness the tale of two girls who, after being buried up to their shoulders by enemy soldiers, were rescued "n'ayant mal que l ’dtonnement" (H.U., VI, 331). The dramatic possibilities involved in the unexpected turn of events do not escape d'Aubignd's attention, as the tale of a

Marseilles man greeted simultaneously by both a kiss and a knife in the stomach by his brother demonstrates (H.U.,

VII, 84). The oft-repeated dramatic account of the death 146 of Mary of Scots with her head unexpectedly falling from

her wig is but another example of these short anecdotes

which end on a note of surprise (H.U., VII, 252-253).

The interest in dramatic touches and situations

caused d'Aubignd to accent unusual and unique anecdotal

details. He tells the story of the assassination of the

due de Guise, for example, as an adventure story and is

the only historian to report- that the duke's last words

were a highly dramatic reference to Henry III: "Traistre

roi" (H.U., VII, 390). In like manner, he includes an

extremely dramatic anecdote as an effective illustration

of the disgusting atmosphere of sodomy during the reign

of Henry III. The story, involving a younger priest who

was placed under an altar to be sexually abused, is con­

cluded with this carefully chosen and cleverly tevealing

statement: "Id coiranis en sa personne ce que je ne puis

exprimer et aprds avoir eraployd les cierges & lui brusler

les parties honteuses 1*avoir laissd pour mort" (H.U.,

.VIII, 57-58). There are, of course, numerous other

anecdotes in which d'Aubignd sought to arouse the reader

with unexpected and gruesome final details. Witness, for

example, his account of the siege of Paris, a time of

great famine and disease in the midst of which he person­

ally lodged four women and eighteen children in his tent

only to return later and find all dead. Most interesting 147

for our purposes, however, is this final touch: "quatre

corps incognus qui servoyent de porte au logis” (H.U.,

VIII , 201), which points again to that stylistic concern

for providing effective and unprepared anecdote endings.

Further evidence in the Histoire Universelle of a

desire to, if not shock, at least surprise the reader with

strange events and details is available in stories like the

one about a Venetian admiral whose nose and ear were cut

off and who still reproached his executioner (H.U., IV,

102). Strange deaths, as we have previously noted in

relation to the martyrs, are frequently referred to by

d'Aubignd who seeks out the most grotesque stories to

include in his history. We read, for example, exciting and

swift moving accounts of the suffering and death of a

French bailiff who was "tird en la rue, tu6 et jettd dans

un puits” (H.U., IV, 181) and of prisoners subjected to new

horrible torture instruments placed in their mouths, the

"poires d'angoisse" which could be removed only by the

jailer's key. D'Aubignd adds here a touch of black humor

and again the totally unexpected final touch by pointing to

the fact that the prisoners were obliged "de prier Dieu

pour la santd et pour l'heureux retour de leur maitre" with

the key (H.U., IX, 216-127). D'Aubignd himself partici­

pates in events which are told with all of the color and

immediacy one could expect from the first hand account. 148

Often, in fact, such personal recollections of first hand

experiences depend upon the storytellers concern for the unexpected and effective final event or statement. Wit­ ness the high drama of the story involving a warning of the imminent need to escape which was presented to d'Aubignd at a ball and which necessitates, in the final moments of the anecdote, an account of a thrilling escape

in valet's clothes through the queen's room just in time to escape death (H.U., V, 127-128).

There are, as we have already seen, frequent touches of the "believe it or not" in d'Aubignd's anecdotes, and the tale of a prisoner who jumped from a high place, wounded himself and was dissected by doctors before he was actually dead (H.U., V, 213) is a good example of this usage. Stylistically, of course, this type of story offers d'Aubign& further opportunity to arouse the reader's interest or emotional involvement through the choice of detail or by effectively ending stories with the most Bur- prising element. There are, for example, carefully chosen references to a soldier strangely "tu£ d'une barrique qu'une femme lui jetta sur la tfite" (H.U., V, 187) and a monk who was forced to throw down his cross and run when sudden combat became unavoidable (H.U., VIII, 187). In like manner, after introducing a story about a "cordelier" % and founder of a religious order of Saint Elizabeth, 149 d'Aubignd abruptly ends his account with a reference to this same monk's fetish for having his most beautiful fol­ lowers whipped "avec une queue de renard," and here, as in many other stories, d'Aubignd is quite obviously concerned with arousing interest through unexpected detail (H.U.,

VI, 144). in another example of such arrangement and colorful description of eventB, d'Aubignd finds a moment to tell a tale of a certain grotesque procession to Chartres during which the participants suddenly commenced whipping themselves as part of penitential cult supported by Henri

III. At times, in fact, d'Aubignd, apparently aware of these frequent "lapses” into artful story telling in the midst of historical narration, planted statements of apology: ”Je m'arreste et prie le lecteur de juger bien de ma digression si elle est avec profit” (H.U., VI, 226).

Apart from such reservations, however, we might very well have here that "goflt de 1'horrible pour I'horrible” or

"traduction charnelle de l'idde" which Henri Weber asserts are the frequent partners of d'Aubignd's quest for truth in his prose and poetry: ”11 semble qu'il n'y ait pas Id complaisance dans l'horreur, mais volontd de peindre exactement la sensation dprouvde pour susciter 1*indigna­ tion.”6

€Henri Weber, La Crdation Fodtique au XVIe sidcle en France (Paris: Librairie Nizet, 1956), II, 667. There are, however, situations which d'Aubignd frankly

finds to be beyond the scope even of his mixture of

literary artistry and historical narration. Ceremonial

and court functions and formalities, for example, with all

of their petty little intrigues and "liaisons," are infre­

quently touched upon in the Histoire Universelle because

they are offensive to serious taste: "Si je n*avals honte

quand je trouve une histoire ddgenerant et marquer les

couleurs des robes et employer les parties de l'argenterie”

d'Aubign& states at one point in order to excuse himself

from stories about court intrigues at the time of the per­

formance of his ballet, Circd (H.U., VII, 118). In like

manner, d'Aubign6 will occasionally restrict himself from

entering the controversial arena of sexual or scatological

tales so common in those sixteenth century pro and anti-

Ligue pamphlets we have already mentioned: "Les satyres des

liguez en ont produit des choses puantes au nez du siScle

et, qui sont defendues et l'histoire" (H.U., VII, 306).

• There are even references to authorial intervention in the

Histoire Universelle as a means of justifying humanitarian

sentiment. In the story of three "demoiselles" saved from

execution by Protestants, for example, d'Aubignd accents

this compassionate concern for suffering humanity here

combined with his consistent desire to vary both the tone

and content of his history: "C'est pour n'emplir pas X51 toujours mon livre de choses horribles et d6natur£es"

(H.U., V, 252, 253). Similarly, after the story of a man who saved his drowning brother by being thrown into the sea in his place and who subsequently swam six hours to safety, d ’Aubignfi flatly accuses those who did not appre­ ciate his "believe it or not" ending of not having any humanitarian sentiment (H.U., VII, 239-40). Finally, after an obviously flattering story about his own brother, d'AubignS feels obligated to justify his intentions in the

Histoire Universelle by adding "mais c'est un frdre"

(H.U., VI, 81-82). Apparently, therefore, the story­ teller's desire to shock or emotionally arouse his readers, was at times kept in check by the historian.

Satire, however, waB not excluded from the anecdotes of the Histoire Universelle and there are more than a few examples of stories cleverly told with just the right measure of critical language and the ridiculous. A sat­ irical thrust at the violent anti-reform Pope Sixtus V was, for example, accomplished in story form when d'Aubign6 tells us about the phenomenal career of a little boy who

"& l'aage de douze ans fut porcher" and who later became both a monk and a "fouetteur sans piti6" (H.U., VI, 250).

The almost fairy-tale vocabulary and tone of the story

7Wynn, pp. 314-315. barely disguises a quite serious attack on the question­

able integrity of the head of the Roman Catholic church.

Jesuits are frequent targets of this seemingly playful

technique of condemnation through the use of anecdote

(H.U., IX, 25) as is, as we have seen, Henri III whose

predilection for his corps of "mignons" and for religious

ceremonies which extend "beyond the fringe" did not quite

suit the taste of our military historian (H.U., VI, 170,

239, 240; VII, 218). An interesting commentary on these

Henry III oriented anecdotes of sin, in fact, is Pierre

La Fue's study, Henri III et son secret, which includes

accusations against d'Aubignd for using in his history

overly licentious stories which focus far too much atten­

tion on abnormalities.** Even Henry's death is shrouded

in ironical detail by d'Aubignd who ends his account of

the famous assassination with an effective and eerie

reminder of the king's guilt: Henry was killed in the same

house and room, claims d'Aubignd, where he resolved the

Saint Bartholomew murders (H.U., VIII, 78). Even the masters of Gothic horror would find this to be a master­

piece of both "lex talionis" and political satire told with

all of the subtly and control of one well acquainted with

good fiction.

8Pierre La Fue, Henri III et son secret (Paris: Hachette, 1949), p. 15T1 153 Such satiric and literary ability are also obvious in the handling of Charles, le cardinal de Bourbon, the

Guise claimant to the throne after Henry Ill's death and d'Aubignd chooses again, anecdote as a most effective means of demonstrating such ability. We are told that a doctor refused to visit the imprisoned cardinal because, when he asked to see nle roi," a title which Protestant and royalists refused to Charles, he was referred to nle cardinal” (H.U., VIII, 150). Again, the story is kept admirably brief, to the point and, thereby, satirically effective. Similarly, the anecdote chosen to point to the vulnerable streak in the due de Joyeuse tells of the

Catholic leader's desire to enter a monastery "pour guelques desplaisirs gu'il avoit receus en la familidre frdquentation d'Henri III," of his return to the world as a Ligue leader, and finally of his retreat from "les voluptez vicieuses gue Paris lui fournissoit" to the monastery as "Pdre Ange" (H.U., IX, 103). Again it would be difficult to find a more concise and controlled narra­ tive which gains satiric strength from its very lack of superflous detail. Saint Luc, another Ligue leader, is the subject of a satirical anecdote directed against the naivetd and foolish superstitions of Henry III. The duke is chosen in d'Aubignd's masterful story to warn Henry of the dangers of his odious life by entering the kings room to "contrefaire un ange" bearing a warning from on high 154 * (H.U., VI, 72-73). Concision and irony also combine, finally, in a satiric reference to Henry Ill's inability to escape his family's responsibility for the Saint

Bartholomew massacre. There is the famous anecdote of

Henry's confrontation with a Protestant German leader who leads the French prince to a portrait gallery of massacred

Protestant nobles and plants seeds of guilt that grew in the night to such confusion that Henry mistakes commotion about a fire for the beginnings of another massacre (H.U.,

IV, 195-198). The anecdote, again of only a page, com­ bines drama and historical commentary with unforgettable intensity and immediacy.

As is noticeable in my commentary on d'Aubignd's extensive use of anecdote in the Histoire Universellet concision, brevity and vitality of vocabulary are among the stylistic elements most often responsible for the literary effectiveness of the stories. It is, in fact, concision and brevity, as we have already pointed out, which are the most noteworthy stylistic concerns of d'Aubignd in the entire Histoire Universelle, a claim to which any examination of the direct and powerfully com­ pact stories will attest. This is not, however, a denial that d'Aubignd occasionally likes to include long and, fre­ quently, even excessively long sentences in his history. 155

This usage, however, does not contradict our observations as to brevity for two reasons. First of all, our concern here has been principally with the length of quotations and anecdotes rather than sentences, and, secondly, even with the longest of his sentences d'Aubignd maintains rigorous control over the ordered grouping of words.

While Geuchien Ellerbroek points out in his Observations

Sur la Langue de 1 'Histoire Universelle de d'Aubignd;

"Ce qui frappe a une lecture mdme superficielle de

1'Histoire Universelle c'est la longueur des phrases; il est assez rare que le rdcit ait une allure vive et preste,” he goes on to point to the internal concision maintained in the history in spite of nle frdquent emploi des con­ structions participales et relatives et de la prddilection de 1'auteur pour les conjonctions, surtout pour la conjonction tet. ",9 Ellebroek further points to d'Aubignd's concern for concision and control by underlining the rigorous order of composition in the Histoire Universelle and to d'Aubignd's "ddsir de dire et d'enchainer logique- ment tout ce qu'il salt."10 in like manner, Michel

Jeanneret points to d'Aubignd consistent admiration for the restraints of 'tauguenot style" involving as it does "une tradition d'austdritd qui condamnait 1 'ostentation dont se

^Geuchien Ellerbroek, Observations sur la Langue de d 'Aubignfe (Enschede: M. J. Van Der Loeff, 1925), p. 127.

10Ibid., p. 130. 156 paraient les artistes mondains" as well as directness, use of archaisms and "l'etoltesse du champ lexical.”

Jeanneret goes on, however, to add that despite d'Aubignd's acceptance of the constraints of certain literary norms, namely, directness and concision, he still "mdnage une marge d l'afflrmatlon de son individualltd,a quality which Sainte-Beuve admires in d'Aubignd, ”un dcrivain tout naturel et involontaire.Sainte-Beuve in fact also points to those previously mentioned statements d'Aubignd occasionally includes as a means of excusing himself for anecdote digression as admirable evidence of a desire not to exceed "les bordures de son tableau” and aB ample indication that ”11 voudrait rester dans les proportions de 1'histoire.

Such a desire to limit himself might be qualified, however, by d'Aubignd's literary appreciation for imagina­ tive and stimulating narration. As Henry Weber points out:

”L'imagination de d'Aubignd, guidd d'ailleurs par celle de

Rabelais, substitue quelquefois a la simple anecdote

1'invention gratuitement burlesque, qui matdrialise les

Jeanneret, "Les Styles d'Agrippa d'Aubignd," Studi Francese, No. 32 (1967) , pp. 251-252.

12c. A. Sainte-Beuve, Causeries de Lundl (Paris: Garnier Frdres, 1885), X, 316.

13Ibid., pp. 318-319. 157 hyperboles du langage. In this connection, we might recall an interesting anecdote in the Histoire Universelle about ”le baron d'Arros," governor of Bearn, described by d'Aubignd as being over eighty and blind, who dramatically calls on his son to strike his enemies to receive God's blessings. The baron de Ruble is quick to point to the fact that the real d'Arros was neither eighty years old nor blind and that d'Aubignd's version is quite frankly romanesque embellishment added out of a literary concern for making the anecdote more effective: "D'Aubignd drama­ tise son rdcit aux depens de la veritd" (H.U., IV, 209, note 3). De Ruble also suggests another use of anecdote by d'Aubignd for other than full service to the truth when he points to the author of the Histoire Universelle's refusal to end a certain anecdote with a reported Protes­ tant atrocity. The incident involved the killing of a priest by men disguised as pilgrims, a crime fully re­ ported by La Popelinidre but omitted by d'Aubignd, who here allowed his partisan concern to overrule an opportun­ ity for further stylistic and dramatic embellishment.

In conclusion, concerning the importance of brevity and concision in the Histoire Universelle, we have a rather significant statement by d'Aubignd which supports our emphasis on them as perhaps the most important

a

*^Agrippa d'Aubignd, Les Oeuvres, ed. Henri Weber (Paris: Gallimard, 1969), p. xliv. 158

stylistic concerns. In an "attache" to the first of two

tomes of his history he states:

Vous avez, mes lecteurs, en ces deux tomes fort petits, une histoire, fleurissante de tant de mouvemens et de varidtez que les plus impatiens esprits accuseront ma brievetd, quoi qu'en faveur d'elle je n'aye retranchd aucune pidce qui appartlnt I l'ouvrage, comme j'ai peu estimer. Peut-estre que les clauses, entdes l'une dans 1*autre pour rendre le style plus concis, contraindront un ceil courant de rebrousser chemin. Mais j'obtiendrai mon pardon quand, en desnouant le noeud, on y trouvera quelques perles ou quelque fruict oublid (H.U., VI, 367).

We note, first of all, the fact that he stresses that

stylistic "varidtez" of his history which we saw so well

reflected in the use of quotation and anecdote. Secondly,

his comments about sentence structure in the Histoire

Universelle remind us of Ellerbroek's analysis as well as

our own observations about the dominant concern for con-

cision, even in the longest of his sentences (nle style

plus concis"). It is hence clear that these literary

considerations were of primary importance to d'Aubignd

.himself who mentions them directly as the essential

stylistic ingredients in his overall composition plan.

Literary Portraiture in the Histoire Universelle

We will here undertake a brief examination of

d'Aubignd's use of literary portraiture and make some

statements of comparison between the Histoire Universelle

and this usage in other sixteenth century production. 159

Before doing so, however, it might be helpful to comment on the nature and history of the historical portrait in general. E. Courbaud states in a study on Les Procddds d'Art de Tacite dans les Histoires: "Pour nous modernes, depuis St. Simon et Michelet, faire un portrait hiBtorique, c'est d'abord peindre le personnage par le dehors . . . le voir dans son air individual, avec sa physionomie, et sa tournure, ses gestes et son attitude, le voir en un mot, comme s'il dtait 1&, devant mous."*5 Such a direct approach is, of course, but one method of attempting the historical portrait, and Taine in his Essai sur Tlte-Live

is careful not to limit portrayal to external or immediate considerations. He suggests the very viable possibility of making use of indirect means of presenting individuals through their words and actions*® and Blanchard Bates, in his previously mentioned discussion of this question, reminds us that "literary portraiture commonly supposes a more concentrated preoccupation with the presentation of

.a person. . . . it may be drawn at one sitting or elaborated 1 7 gradually throughout a work." Hence, it is important to

1 5 E. Courbaud, Les Procddds d'Art de Tacite dans les Histoires (Paris: Hachette, 19l8), p. 167.

*®Henri Taine, Essai Sur Tite-Live (Paris: Hachette, 1860), p. 186. 1 7 Blanchard Bates, Literary Portraiture in the His­ torical Narrative of the French Renaissance (New York: G. E. Stechert Co., 1945), pp. 2-3. 160

underline in this study of the Histoire Universelle the

fact that, apart from the full-length or direct portrait,

there exist other less rigidly determined means of convey­

ing a literary understanding and appreciation of histor­

ical personnages.

Following Bates' example, we will undertake to

categorize briefly the use of portraiture in literature

from antiquity to the seventeenth century. Usage in

antiquity, first of all, revolved around a distinct talent

for sharp summary of character and extensive use of what

we have briefly noted above to be "direct" portraiture.

Tacitus, for example, demonstrated, in Bates' words "a

remarkable capacity for evoking persons through a few, well observed traits" but he also mastered the more in­

direct technique involving an arranged and "selective 18 narrative of a man's actions." Hence, progressing from

the more direct and immediate characterization of a

Thucydides from whom we receive general insight into the

.personalities and character of the citizens of Athens to a

combination of direct and indirect methods in Tacitus and

Plutarch is important. Bates points, for example, to

Plutarch’s growing interest in personal details, to his manner of making "the well observed trait or means of

illuminating an individual suggestively" and to his *

18Ibid., p. 4. 16X development of the anecdote into a "forceful instrument for characterizing men in their action.This last point is, of course, most interesting in the light of our awareness of d'Aubignd's usage in the Histoire Universelle.

In the Middle Ages a new attitude made itself known in the form of increased emphasis on the stressing of out­

standing virtues and on the development of ideal types rather than on the presentation of full literary portraiture.

As Bates puts it: "Deeds and events, even if assembled about a person, were arranged less for the illustration of the individual than for the elevation of an ideal of goodness or valor."2® Genuine literary portraiture, involving such individualized concerns as the use of words, actions and anecdotal characterization was, hence, as

C. Haskins points out, far from being the common practice in medieval times.21 With the Renaissance, however, came a more favorable climate for the development of portraiture in literary works. It is G. Jeckel's thesis in his Die

Schliderung des Menschen bei den franzosischen Geschicht

Bchreibern der Renaissance , for example, that the sixteenth century represented a quite discernible turn on

Idem.

2°Bates, p. 6.

21c. Haskins, The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1 §2*1), p. 244. 162 the part of French historians towards attempts at the grasping and reproduction of individual traits and be­ havior.22 Similarly, Bates claims that "in following successively the glances of the sixteenth century man as hiB eyes turned to his fellow men, to himself and to dis­ tant races, it is possible to note the development and interplay of certain elements in historical por­ traiture. ”23 True literary portraiture, in the sense of individual depiction and the pursuit of differentiating factors, was, hence, an important concern of the French

Renaissance, a period which was paying increased atten- r tion to the human substructure of history as an art.

Michelet extends, of course, this observation to the point of dramatically claiming the Renaissance to be the actual

"ddcouverte de l'homme."2^

Before looking specifically at d'Aubignd's use of portraiture in the Histoire Universelle, we will briefly discuss two other sixteenth century French historians and practitioners of this literary and historical device,

Pierre Matthieu and Jacgues-Auguste de Thou. We recall,

22G. Jeckel, Die Schilderunq des Menschen bei den franzosischen Geschicht schreibern der Renaissance (Wertheim am Main: Bechstein, 1929), p. 29.

2^Bates, p. 10.

24J. Michelet, Histoire de France (Paris: Calmann- Levy, 1898), IX, 8. 163 « of course, that Matthieu was the Catholic historian and

French royal historiographer under Henri IV who wrote an

Histoire des dernlers troubles de France. As Bates points

out, Matthieu had frequent recourse to portraiture in his

history in order to capture the true spirit of partisan­

ship and division that reigned in France in the second

half of the sixteenth century and by means of such inter­

est he managed to exhibit considerable aptitude for direct

exposition of character. He is also noteworthy in this

context for his repeated attempts of capturing the essen­

tial characterization of a person by means of the brief natural remarks and every day actions. His interest lay,

hence, more in the process of gradually constructing a complete and final portrait than in the more common single

and complete traditional biographical summary. As Bates

states: "Matthieu had a marked penchant for literary

portraiture as a means of rendering history more dramatic.

Direct exposition of character, further developed by deeds,

.was his chief manner."25 He was, hence, an important contributor to the significant progress which was being made in sixteenth century France in the area of literary

portraiture.

De Thou's Histoire Sui Temporis, a vast "universal"

history covering events in France from Frangois I to

^Bates, pp. 19-22. 164

Henri IV, represents a major scholarly effort both to

record facts and to capture the spirit of a century. He

have already noted the favorable reaction of his contem­

poraries to De Thou's sincere attempts at objectivity and

to his depth of insight. Turning now to the specific

concerns of literary portraiture, we find his text liter­

ally filled with biographical sketches and evaluations

which underline his basic and consistent interest in

individuals as well as portraiture. De Thou, however,

being the serious and judicious magistrate-historian,

weighed his history down with a heavy Btylistic combina­

tion of legal terminology and inflated oratory, thereby

giving his sketches an air of what Bates calls "portrait-

funeral orations,"2^ Often, in fact, his portraits were

given in the form of eulogies which included summary

evaluations of the worth of various historical figures as

well as some amount of factual material to back up the

evaluation. Also admirable in De Thou are his efforts to

•use information from various sources as a means of further

insuring objective reporting.

Turning now specifically to d'Aubignd, we note, first

of all, that previously discussed primary goal of objec­

tivity which was still quite operative as regards literary

portraiture in the Histoire Universelle. There is also, of

26Ibid., p. 25. 165 course, the important consideration o£ judgment as it

colors events and forms impressions based often on criteria

quite different from factual information. As Samuel

Rochblave claims, in fact, literary portraiture in the

Histoire Universelle is often dependent upon the emotional

and professional involvement of d'Aubignd at the time of

writing* The soldier in other words often contributes

partisan reactions to and evaluations of historical per-

sonnages under consideration.27 Hence we have the impor­

tant dual role of reform soldier whose hero was Henri de

Navarre and historian whose chosen guide was Tactius

(H.U., VII, 40).

Keeping such orientation in mind, we might now attempt

to limit our discussion to those specific qualities and

tendencies most often associated with the specific art of

literary portraiture in the Histoire Universelle. First

of all, there is, as we have already seen, d'Aubignd's

consistent appreciation of brevity and concision in the

.history which will lead to brief character appraisal and

succinct description of personal qualities. Secondly,

there is that flair for the dramatic or theatrical state­

ment which, combined with d'Aubignd's pictorial turn of

mind, produces some striking and unforgetable poses. This

2?Samuel Rocheblave, Agrippa d'Aubignd (Paris: Hachette, 1910), p. 128, 166 ■ last consideration is, of course, intimately connected with d'Aubignd's poetic awareness of the power of imagery and the potential strength of a few well chosen words. We muBt also recall that military orientation, which we discussed above, with its forceful clipped descriptions and emphasis on valorous conduct and patriotic duty. An

excellent summation of all of those qualities which combine to make d'Aubignd a fine painter of literary portraits is this statement by a fine critic of these qualities,

Blanchard Bates: "Soldier, poet and stern disciplinarian of historical writing, d'Aubignd created literary por­ traiture that was evocative in its chastened lines. In concise and seemingly impersonal phrases the acute eyes of the warrior thoughtfully cast judgments without overtly

impairing the objectivity of the historian."2®

In order to best appreciate the truth of this signifi­ cant statement of praise we will briefly analyze the portraits of four of the major historical participants

(two Protestants and two Catholics) in the events des­ cribed by d'Aubignd in his Histoire Universelle. Looking first at the picture d'Aubignd paints of the Protestant battle and moral leader, "l'amiral de Coligny," we are

struck immediately by the predominance and admiration and respect in the treatment. Coligny is quickly shown to have

^®Bates, p. 30. 167 all of the necessary qualities to represent the worthy reform cause in the minds of his correligionists. Mili­ tarily he is praised for his handling of a demoralized

Protestant army defeated at Saint Denis in 1567 in these enthusiastic terms: "Ce fut chose merveilleuse de I'ordre que mit I 1admiral & la nourriture d'une grosse armde sans argent, sans place de retraicte et avec fort peu de bagage" (H.U., II, 280-281). In like manner we have two broad brush strokes of praise designed to contribute a permanent glow to the carefully constructed portrait:

". . . 1'admiral, qui en ceste partie excddoit son si&cle”

(H.U., III, 270) and "ceste recerche extraordinaire me sera alloude pour le plus grand capitaine de son sidcle

(Coligny). Et aussi nous avons poursuivi le succ&s de ceste personne, pource qu'elle donna le bransle au reste"

(H.U., III, 320).

Establishing a stylistic pattern which he will main- I tain throughout, d'Aubignd provides us not with any single polished portrait of an individual but rather with many short statements (or "brush strokes") which, when put together, form a unified and identifiable picture. He is, hence, constantly adding dimensions and shades of meaning to his original sketches throughout his history until all necessary detail has been given. Concerning Coligny, for example, we are always discovering such new and signifi­ cant insights into his personality as his sincere piety and religious fervor, a quality which is added to his military valor and leadership ability in the context of

the Saint Bartholomew assassination: "parmi ces douleurs,

le blessd dit d Merlin et d un autre ministre qui le

consolent: 'Ces playes me sont douces, comme pour le nom

de Dieu, priez-le avec moi qu'il me fortifie.'" (H.U.,

III, 307). This quality had, of course, also been briefly

suggested in that earlier encounter with the aged man in

the stretcher which we discussed in another context. Here,

again, d'Aubignd seeks to feed new information and detail

to the reader still in the process of attempting to

arrive at the definitive portrait. We recall in this

episode the dramatic meeting of Coligny with the old

officer who "regarda fixement son chef, se sdpara la

larme a l'oeil, avec ces paroles: 'Si que Dieu est tres

doux.' La dessus ils se dirent adieu, bien unis de

pensdes sans pouvoir dire davantage" (H.U., III, 130).

Finally, to accent further these qualities of courage and

.piety, which by repetition and stress are obviously the

main colors in d'Aubignd's final portrait, we have an

extraordinary profession of Coligny's patriotic and

religious service by Charles XX, who even calls him "mon

pSre" and whose sentiments are fully quoted by an enthusi­

astic d'Aubignd (H.U., (III, 309-310).29

29Wynn, pp. 229-234. 169 Concerning the famous Protestant battle captain and writer of "mdmoires," Frangois de la Noue, we have the same stylistic procedure of composing the total portrait by means of numerous brief references to various out­ standing qualities. We have first, as we have seen, that sincere praise for La Noue's military valor and humani­ tarian interest presented in d'Aubignd's account by the people of La Rochelle themselves: "... c'estoit nostre grand ami, qui, par sa vertu, experience et constance, deffendoit nos vies. . (H.U., III, 376). We also have, however, an important nuance of criticism of La Noue in the Histoire Universelle for being perhaps too naively trusting and generous at a time when the realism of treacherous betrayal made idealism and unilateral dis­ plays of virtue unwise: "La Noue . . . qui ne tira l'espde . . . sinon k sauver les gardes du roi, desquels

11 ne pouvoit deviner le mauvais remerciement deux ans apr&B," a reference to the Saint Bartholomew massacre

(H.U., III, 194). The major thrust of this section is, of course, praise of both La Roue's outstanding generosity in paying personally for the pillaging done by his men and his great integrity in preventing further slaughter

(H.U., III, 195).

Besides this important streak of humanitarian!sm, % other qualities d'Aubignd adds to his portrait of La Noue 170

include the extraordinary integrity, courage and military

prowess he showed in service to the reform cause. In one

significant and striking reference to La Noue we read of

his refusal to flee inevitable capture because "il aime

mieux estre prisonnier que fuyard" {H.U., VI, 363) and

there are numerous references to his battle prowess such

as the previously cited anti-League calvary charge in

1589 (H.U., VIII, 49). There are also, however, two

interesting anecdotes which bring out in a concrete and

dramatic fashion qualities which d'Aubignd discusses more

directly elsewhere, again demonstrating the importance of

stylistic variety in the Histoire Universelle. In one of

these, an overly zealous old reform minister strikes La

Noue, who, after refusing to allow his soldiers to punish

the man, "fit emmener ce vieillard a sa femme, la chargeant

qu'elle eust soing de lui" (H.U., IV, 14). In the other of

the selected anecdote additions to the La Noue portrait,

the Protestant captain is Bent crashing through a door by a

.certain Les Brudres "qui lui donne d'abordde un si grand

coup d'halebarde dans l'estomac armd, qu'il le fit

trdbuscher contre une porte si rudement qu'elle fut demie

enfoncde" (H.U., IV, 297). Eventually, of course, La Noue

regained control and victory, but this dramatic and humor­

ous demonstration of his vulnerability is another good

example of that pictorial ability which d'Aubignd, the poet, 1

171 uses to give literary life to his historical portraits.30

In his treatment of Charles IX d'Aubignd again attempts to create an impression by means of the gradually revealed historical portrait. In this case, however, we have an uncommon mixture of sadism, filial love, mental disorder and cultural appreciation which combine to give us one of the most interesting and unusual of all of the finished portraits in the Histoire Universelle. Charles is, of course, essentially known as the king of the Saint

Bartholomew massacre (1572) and d'Aubignd treatment of him revolves around his participation in and reaction to this terrible event. Seeking to isolate in this discus­ sion those most dramatic of the references which represent only the most colorful highlights of the d'Aubignd por­ trait, we might begin with a claim by Henri de Navarre that

Charles attempted to implicate him in affairs of sexual perversion and debauchery: ". . . de quelque horreur o£l le roi Charles l'avoit mend, et cestui-la jamais en public"

(H.U., III, 356). The statement is important because of the sensational nature of the charge and also because of the fact that Charles had not shared his brother Henry's fame in the area of sexual debauchery. D'Aubignd, hence, is apparently seeking to present the results of his own personal examination of the king's colorful personality

30Ibid., pp. 234-237. 172 t when he claims that Charles was "acharnd & toutes sortes

d'amours" (H.U., IV, 256).

Another important ingredient in the mixture of the

various "shades" of the literary portrait are, as we have

seen, Charles' love and appreciation of music and poetry,

qualities which,while less sensational, are openly admired

by d'Aubignd in his history: . . l a musique, de laquelle

il estoit fort amoureux aussi bien que des vers; car il en

faisoit qui estoyent recevables" (H.U., IV, 256-257). We

also have reference to the king's great love of hunting, a

pastime he quite obviously preferred to statesmanship:

. . le roi, qui fuyoit les affaires et cerchoit see

plaisirs dans les forets” (H.U., IV, 183). It is, however,

in the area of mental disorder and emotional weakness that

we have the most memorable reference to Charles in the

Histoire Universelle. When he bursts loose with verbal

abuse of le prince de Condd, for example, he is described

as noutr6" and enraged to the point of insanity: "le roi

.outrd l'appelle enragd, s6ditieux, rebelle, fils de

rebelle; lui jurant que, si dans trois jours il ne changeoit

de langage, qu'il le feroit estrangler" (H.U., III, 326).

There is also that much discussed reference to Charles'

unstable behavior during the massacre when, according to

d'AubignS, he "giboyoit de la fenestre du Louvre aux corps

passans" (H.U., III, 333). Finally, there are references 173

to disturbed nights and guilt-ridden dreams of new up­

risings and blood shed (H.U*, III, 357) which shortened

the life of the disturbed king: "on cogneut au roi

quelques tristesses non accoustumdes gui s ' augmentoyent

par les inquietudes de la milct" (H.U., III, 355). Hence,

weakness remorse and emotional instability dominate the

completed portrait of Charles IX after the various

anecdote statements and descriptions in the Histoire

Universelle are compiled for evaluation.31

Another of the most interesting and important of the

historical portraits of the Histoire Universelle is that

of Catherine de Medici, the crafty, powerful and often

unpredictable force in French political and religious life

of the sixteenth century. Because of the great quantity

of references to her in the Histoire Universelle, I will

attempt again to mention only a few of the most striking

and memorable portions of a fascinating portrait. One of

the essential elements in the career of the famous queen

.was her ability to play the political game of "middle of

the road" conciliation, always seeking, of course, to

further the interests of the French throne, a situation

which d'Aubignd stylistically captures with appropriate

imagery: "La Roine jettoit parfois de 1'huile sur tel feu,

parfois de l'eau, selon que l'esldvation de l'un de ses

31ibid., pp. 251-253. partis menacoit la maison de France, et en cette maison son authority" (H.U., I, 301). Her political instincts, hence, were responsible for much of French history in the latter half of the sixteenth century and d'Aubign£ attempts to capture the totality of this important person­ ality by demonstrating such varied qualities as her dig­ nity, courage, jealousy, diligence and hypocrisy. The previously mentioned anecdote in which Catherine refuses to react angrily to some crude personal insults elicits praise from the Protestant d'Aubignd: "Soit dit sur ce qujelle n'avoit rien de bas" (H.U., II, 40). Similarly, there is a measure of admiration in the account of

Catherine's integrity in both hastening to the court in

1578 to assist in possible religious negotiation (H.U.,

V, 366) and in going to console le cardinal de Bourbon at the cost of her own health in 1588 (H.U., VII, 396).

Despite Catherine's Catholic ties, she provides some early evidence of jealous concern for maintaing her own influence and power at the possible expense of the Catholic cause. At the battle of Dreux in 1562, for example, she was apparently negotiating secretly with the Protestants because of a jealous reaction to the glory the Guise family had acquired in victory: "Ainsi, comme de l'une de ses mains elle travailloit a la ruine des rSformez en apparence, de 1'autre elle remue a bon escient un X75 acheminement d'accord pour la jalousie qu'elle print du t due de Guise sur la gloire acquise & Dreux" (H.U., 1 1 ,

122). This demonstration of a jealous respect for power which she assumed rightfully to belong to her and her young kings was repeated whenever circumstances seemed to be playing against her interests. With, for example, the accession of Henry III to the throne, d'Aubignfi paints in bright colors that driving need to maintain her position of authority which was a key to Catherine's success:

Le Conseil de France n'eut pas plustost halen6 ce prince qu'il lui osta tous ses d6sirs pacifiques, si bien qu'on soupgonna que e'estoit du mouvement de la rigente, qui, n'ayant peu avoir l'honneur de la tranquillitd, ne voulut pas que l'arrivde de son fils fust marque de son Xmpuissance ou de sa mauvaise volontd (H.U., IV, 269).

Hypocrisy, a dominant shade in the Catherine de Medici portrait of the Histoire Universelle, was a constant fear of those reform leaders who attempted negotiation with

"la regente" throughout the years of the religious struggle.

When, for example, she wanted to trap Henri de Navarre in the friendly web of the French court where she could keep vigilant surveillance over him and stiffle reform advances in 1578, she hypocritically feigned interest in a peace treaty:

la roine estoit Id pour pacifier en apparence, mais en effect, e'estoit pour, avec toutes * inventions equises, attirer son gendre a la cour, a deffaut de lui, quelquesuns de ses principaux serviteurs, ou, pour le moins, y jetter des 176

sentences de divisions notables, essayer de £aire desmordre les places de seureti avant le temps, ou en tous cas apprendre des affaires du parti (H.U., V, 358).

Certainly d'AubignS makes us appreciate the dishonesty and deceitfulness of a person who would play peace games with possible terrible war consequences as the inevitable price of negotiations. He is, of course, only strengthening here an impression he has carefully constructed in the

Histoire Universelle portrait by means of such strong accusations as her false, politically motivated display of emotion at her son Charles' death: "... adjoustant a la despense les larmes et regrets si bien composez gu'elle croyoit par Id arracher de la pens£e des grands et du peuple 1*opinion, que presque tous avoyent, qu'elle eust apportd de la fraude et de 1'artifice & la mort de son fils" (H.U., IV, 262). D'Aubign^'s readiness to accept this selfish and hypocritical motivation points to an inevitable negative focus in his historical portrait of the Italian regent. When we consider, further, that he even gives credence to Catherine's alleged approval of the

Saint Bartholomew massacre, supposedly given at a 1565

Bayonne conference with the Spanish duke of Alba (H.U.,

II, 220), we further appreciate this satirical focus.32

The most developed, important and interesting liter­ ary portrait of the Histoire Universelle is, of course,

32Ibid., pp. 254-261. that o£ Henri de Navarre, the historical focal point of the entire history. Since, however, we have discussed the nature of d'Aubignd's treatment of his princein Chapter

IX, with many specific references to the text, it would only be repetitious to attempt such treatment again here.

It only remains to repeat for the Henri de Navarre por­ trait, as well as for all of the other literary and historical portraits of the Histoire Universelle, the following comments by Blanchard Bates about d'Aubignd:

"Portraits were formed which were essentially the war­ rior's forthright judgments lacquered with the clear, objective art of the historian. Furthermore, despite the severe discipline of the historian, the pictorial power of the poet who had evoked such forceful images in Les

Tragiques persisted. With poetic turn of mind he 33 achieved realism in a few words."

^Bates, P» 27. CHAPTER IV

SUPERNATURAL MANIFESTATIONS, SUPERSTITION, AND

MYSTERY IN THE HISTOIRE UNIVERSELLE

The subject for examination in this chapter will be d'Aubignd's attitude toward and use of superstition in all of its religious and secular varieties. We will, for example, discuss miracles, premonitions, dreams and magic

in the Histoire Universelle, being careful to present the

scoffing denials of authenticity by the seriouB historian as well as acknowledgments of providential control by the curious believer. It will be noted that the quantity and nature of examples in the three tomes of the history might well be an indication that this is not only a worth­ while subject for investigation but also a very important 4 preoccupation of the sixteenth century historian. It is also, as we will show, an essential element for under­ standing d'Aubignd's attempts at objectivity, a topic which has been a major concern throughout this disserta­ tion. Thematically, hence, superstition and the super­ natural were chosen not only because of d'Aubignd's fre­ quent references to them, but also because they serve to illustrate further some of the important historical

178 179

problems and characteristics discussed earlier. We will

also briefly investigate here d'Aubignd's curiously un-

historical and, again, subjectively partisan attempts to build intrigue by hinting at or discussing mysterious deaths and assassinations, usually involving poison, and usually false.

Miracles in the Histoire Universelle

Looking first at those miracle episodes and refer­ ences to past miracles in the Histoire Universelle, we notice a definite concern for underlining divine approval or intervention by means of strange events. Protestant martyrs, for example, demonstrate in d'Aubignd's account that same participation in the divine scheme we find in traditional martyrologies. Among the lengthy list of examples of such miraculous intervention is the account of an individual whose name and date of death are provided to add authenticity to a historical discussion and who gave a

sign of his entry into paradise by folding his arms into a cross after his death {H.U., X, 205). Witness also the discussion of a man who speaks despite the fact that his body is ravaged by fire (H.U., I, 206) or of a child mysteriously held up on the water to prevent drowning (H.U.,

II, 8). In all of these martyr-miracle stories there is an obvious and consistent desire to convey a belief in the worthiness of a cause so providentially honored. There 180

comes, however, a moment when d'Aubignd feels obliged to make an explanatory statement concerning hiB apparent willingness to accept such unnatural events in history, a

genre he had established as belonging to the narration of

factual information rather than superstitions:

Je dis pourtant que ces choses creuSs, et surtout, ou elles estoyent veues, furent rdputdes pour miraculeuses, ou soit qu'elles le fussent, ou soit que les spectateurs fussent incapables d'y trouver des causes naturelles; tant y a que toutes ces sortes d*accidents aiddrent a la doctrine et Constance des uns et aux moeurs des autres, pour eschauffer les esprits aux choses que nous venons ci-aprds (H.U., I, 231).

There is, hence, an expressed belief in (1) actual events which cannot be explained by natural causes and (2) the efficacy of such events for inspring belief in the worth­ while cause of the reform religion. Such justification is, of course, extremely important for understanding the fre­ quent supernatural references which sometimes seem to

clash with the objective historical narration of the

Histoire Universelle.

Looking again at miracles in d'Aubignd's history,

aside from those specifically connected with martyrs, we

find examples of unnatural events raised to the level of

the miraculous by means of references to God and his grace.

In a story about a man who survived burial twice we read,

for example: "Frangois Sevile, trois fois mort,enterrd et, par la grace de Dieu, rdsuscitd," a statement d'Aubignd 181

defends against "quelques ministres” who found it to be a mere curiosity (H.U., XX, 88). Similarly, there is a hint

of divine approval in the famous episode of the unexpected

appearance of an abundance of sea food to the suffering

population of La Rochelle in 1573 "ce gu'on n'avoit

jamais veu en ce lieu et dont les rdformez ont encores

les tableaux en leurs maisons pour mdmoire comme d'un miracle" (H.U., XV, 35), an interpretation d'Aubignd quite obviously shared. To indicate the importance of this

event, in fact, d'Aubignd makes a reference to it in Les

Traqiques (Fers, 1290-1294), a procedure we will find repeated in other miracle episodes. For example concern­

ing the appearance of a strange star, also in 1573, d'Aubignd enjoys pointing to scientific approval of a miraculous interpretation in both the Histoire Universelle; * "Plusieurs doctes astronomes l'estimdrent la plus grande merveille qui ait paru au ciel, l'appellans l'estoile de

Bethlehem" (H.U., IV, 94) and in Les Traqiques (Fers,

.1297-1300). There is also the apparent desire to have the

reader accept as miraculous the two "prodiges" which

signaled the death of the Cardinal de Lorraine in Les

Traqiques (Misdres, 371) and in the Histoire Universelle:

"le premier, la plus signalde tempeste qui ait estd de mdmoire d'homme . . . Le second prodige . . . c'est que la * roine (Catherine de Medici) . . . se jetta d'un tressaut 182

sur son chevet, met les mains devant son visage et, avec un oui violent, appella £ son secours ceux qui l'assistoyent,

leur voulant monstrer au pied du lict le cardinal" (H.U.,

XV, 299-301), a vision d'Aubignd gives to the reader with

the corroborating authority o£ Henri de Navarre as a wit­ ness to its accuracy. A final example of this use of the

same miraculous occurrence in both of the major works is

the episode of the rain-blood in the Netherlands (Les

Traglgues, Fers, 1511-12): "on dit aussi qu'il y ait eut un

prodige d'une pluye de sang, si chaud qu'il pergoit un pied de glace," a statement which d'Aubignd apparently accepts

as accurate (H.U., VII, 266).

In the miraculous episode of the man killed, buried

and returned to life, which was discussed as an anecdote

in chapter three, d'Aubignd relieves himself of the burden

of claiming miracle by stating: "J'en laisse dire l'advis

aux thdologiens" (H.U., VI, 62). The most striking of the miraculous occurrences which d'Aubignd personally experi­ enced is the episode in the Histoire Universelle in which

the author, while praying: "Ne nous indui point en tenta-

tion" was struck three times in a strange manner: "il

receut trois coups d'une main large." The incident, witnessed by members of d'Aubignd's company of soldiers and

repeated a second time when the prayer was attempted again,

is explained to the perhaps skeptical reader in these 183

memorable terms:

J'eusse supprimd cet accident s'11 eust estd sans tesmolns. J'en garderai les dlverses interpretations pour les familidres instructions de ma maison, estant la vdritd que, le mesme soir, le capitaine Aubignd, mon cadet, venoit d'estre tud. . . (H.U., VI, 78-79).

Notice again (1) the need for presenting a certification of

authenticity for the unnatural event, (2) the hesitancy to

delve into the realm of supernatural interpretation and

(3) the desire to convince the reader of the probable

authenticity of the event by means of the strange coinci­

dence of the brother's death. D'Aubignd is able, hence,

to cleverly maintain his pose as the historian while

defending the truth of something which lies beyond the realm of mere factual narration. Similarly, he gives the

support of his personal participation to an account of a

strange "nude ronde, d'une couleur horrible 8 regarder" which accompanied the plague to a certain city in 1586 and which "leur spectateur jugea pareille en toute chose au

flegmon qu'on lui avoit eue & Orldans." This phenomenon

lasted the exact duration of the plague and was personally witnessed by the military historian who, again not wanting

to enter into interpretations of the supernatural, adds:

Ayant fait ce prdsent aux physiciens, je m'en retourne d

soldats" (H.U., VII, 20-21). The desire to present these miraculous events as being appropriate to history leads d'Aubignd occasionally to make statements about his 184 sources: "Je ne garentis ce conte que sur le constant bruit, sur le raport de Chorrin et la confirmation de plusieurs qui estoyent & Rome lors." This statement is an introduction to the bizarre tale of thunder and lightning bearing divine punishment for the sins of love: "un coup de tonnerre seul . . . vint donner a la fenestre de la chambre bien close. Les deux qui estoyent sur le lit furent frapez par le tuyau des parties honteuses de devant et la foudre sortait par celui de derridre . . .

Soit dit a la crainte des hommes et d la gloire de Dieu"

(H.U., VIII, 203). Again, the providential nature of the event serves to put it in the category of the miraculous and d'Aubignd is willing to accept it, as he says, on the authority of others. He is also, as he tells us in his autobiography, Sa Vie et Ses Enfants, willing to accept the extraordinary manifestation of favor from on high toward a seventy year old woman whose breastB fill with milk to feed her dead daughter's baby after a sincere innovation: "0 Dieu qui te nourrira?" Even here, however, out of the context of history with its serious demands, d'Aubignd will accept this miracle only after checking its authenticity: "Cette histoire avant qu'estre imprimde a estd verifide par l'acte public de l'Eglise" (O.C., I, 97).

There are also numerous references in the Histoire

Universelle to unsubstantiated and, hence, rejected claims 185 of miracles as well as sarcastic out right denials of various Catholic claims. He makes, for example, a quali­ fying statement toward the beginning of his first tome as a guideline for future reference: "Quant aux miracles, ils disent que ceux de Christ ont estd vdritables pour approver sa doctrine, authoriser ceux qui la suivent et non les autres: ceux de l'Antdchrist n'ont estd miracles, ni vrais, ni vrayement" (H.U., I, 166). It will be obvious in the rest of the history, of course, that

Christ unleashed his "special effects" on the side of the

Protestants, leaving the Catholic "anti-Christs" with many false and ridiculous claims. Witness also, again, this early explanation of judging unnatural events:

Je dis pourtant que ces choses creuds, et surtout, o\X elles estoyent veues, furent rdputdes pour miraculeuses, ou soit qu*elles le fussent, ou soit que les spectateurs fussent incapables d'y trouver des causes naturelles; tant y a que toutes ces sortes d*accidents aiddrent d la doctrine et Constance des uns et aux moeurs des autres, pour eschauffer les esprits aux choses que nous verrons ci-aprds (H.U., I, 231).

We notice in this important previously mentioned passage a statement of belief in the possibility of miraculous intervention combined with, as we have seen, a reference to the importance of such possible intervention for inspiring service to the reform cause. D'Aubignd, hence, is here the pragmatist who is announcing his own intention as regards miracles in his history. Failing in his 186

attempt to verify the occurrence by means of witnesses or

possible natural causes, for example, he will often pro**

claim the event miraculous and, whenever possible, show

its inspirational effect on the populace. Ironically,

this type of rationale is consistently mocked in

d'Aubignd's satirical Confession Cathollque du Sleur de

Sancy in which we find references to (1) Cardinal de

Lorraine's pragmatic willingness to promulgate false

miracles to inspire useful piety and (2) to other Catholic

leaders' determination to make false claims of cures

involving blindness and other physical disabilities

(O.C., II, 270-274).

In the category of false miracles d'Aubignd gets

unexpected assistance in refuting various Catholic claims when he quotes Catherine de Medici's criticism of the

primitive church: "Ils voyent aussi, dit-elle, les grands

et dnormes abus, les menteries, impostures et faux miracles qui, depuis quelque temps, ont estd descouverts

en ce royaume" (H.U., I, 331). . This is, of course, the

expressed opinion of d'Aubignd, here the very partisan

Protestant who, despite the acceptance of other unnatural

events, will make firm statements of disbelief in, for

example, Jesuit claims: "... l'on dit que Xavier a fait

chose merveilleuse, comme d'envoyer resusciter les morts

par un gargon qui portoit son baston, lesquelles je n'ai 187 « pas pensd dignes de 1*histoire, qui eet denude de £oi par ceux qui la remplissent de miracles" (H.U., II, 177).

Applying his own criteria, d'Aubignd excludes such refer­ ence to Jesuit miracles either because of a lack of witness- authority or because of the disservice such providential intervention would do to the reform cause.

After noting the willingness to include other such

Protestant episodes as "dignes de 1'Histoire" we might conclude that the latter consideration was operative.

There are, however, occasions when d'Aubignd, the

t historian, rejects Protestant as well as Catholic inter­ pretations of strange events in a genuine attempt to be

"digne" of his obligations. Witness, for example, the episode of the "espine qui fleurissoit au cimetidre Saint-

Innocent" and this fascinating bit of balanced reporting in the Histoire Universelle:

Les confrairies y alloyent le tambour batant, crians que ce jour-ld l'dglise refleurissoit par la mort de tant d 'hdrdtiques. Les autres disoyent que ceste fleur avoit paru dans le champ des innocens meurtris et non pas des meurtriers, signe que l'dglise qui estoit affligde, revivroit. Nous laissons la ces doubteuses interpretations pour, en poursuivant les effects de la journde. . . (H.U., III, 335).

Once again, hence, as in the case of partisanship vs. objectivity, d'Aubignd refuses to allow himself to be placed solely in the ranks of Protestant apologists. To

% further enforce this refusal, in fact, d'Aubignd will resist temptation and not tell, as do de Thou and other respected historians, the tale o£ a strange boy in blue who appeared mysteriously and distributed bread and con­ solation to oppressed Protestants in the Netherlands: "Je laisse a part ce gu'on alldgue par miracle, pour n'en conter gue de bien testifies" (H.U., IV, 153). Nor will he accept as necessarily miraculous accounts of a strange water source which helped the sick of Protestant

LaRochelle despite admitting that it was "chose gui n 1 a estd veue ni devant ni depuis." His reason for reject­ ing a providential interpretation goes back again to a need for verifying whether the act is indeed unnatural:

"Pour n'en faire un miracle, il faut juger gue e'estoit l'dsgout des terres fraichement remudes, gui pouvoyent avoir en soi guelgue humeur des dernidres pluyes" (H.U.,

V, 285). Such caution is indeed an essential part of d'Aubignd's unigue integrity among historians of his era.

Caution was also a consideration as regards the ability to back up claims with factual information and, concerning statements or rumors of unnatural events, such caution becomes even more important. When, for example, d'Aubignd is aware of a rumored occurrence, such as the strange death of the person who unsuccessfully attempted to take Henri de Navarre's life, he will refrain from including the event until verified: "On m'a promis 1*estrange mort de Gavaret, mais, ne l'ayant point encor receue, je ne la puis donner a mon lecteur" (H.U., VI,

182). Similarly, he will often, for the same of histori­ cal "devoirs," avoid overly enthusiastic reactions to those Protestant successes and victories which others might see as miraculous: "... sans tourner les succds en miracles desquels doit estre sobre 1'historian" (H.U.,

VI, 166). we are reminded here of the cautious statement d'Aubignd makes in his Avantures du Baron de Faeneste concerning the dangers inherent in falsifying claims or in over enthusiastically accepting unsubstantiated and most often false claims of supernatural intervention: "Cela ne peut servir que couverture aux niais et qui veulent desjet estre convertis et au contraire ces villonneries vous ostent tous les esprits qui ont quelque soin de salut parce que jeunais le mensonge n'edifia la vdritd" (O.C.,

II, 441). This undoubtedly remained an important consid­ eration throughout the writing of his history which, as we

.have seen, he specifically dedicated to "la vdritd."

Looking briefly at some representative statements on this question of the use or rejection of miracles in the

Histoire Universelle by critics of d'Aubignd's work, we find first that Jean Plattard, pointing to the essential caract&re religieux" of d'Aubignd's life, notes that » "Dieu est sans cesse prdsent a sa pensde. . . . Il le sent corome une Providence non settlement veillant sur le cours

des dvdnements historiques mais intervenant dans les

moindres incidents de I 1existence des individus,"**

Supernatural events and manifestations are hence, for

d'Aubignd, as for most of his contemporaries, signs of

divine approbation and, in the Histoire Universelle# the

Protestant cause is deemed a worthy recipient of such

occasional intervention. As Henri Weber puts it: "La

juxtaposition d'dldments surnaturels d une scene terrestre

exprime le besoin de rendre accessible aux sens ce que

promet la foi. Miracles, hence, frequently function for

d'Aubignd as, perceivable stimuli to faith, a situation

Jacques Bailbd also stresses: "D'Aubignd, dont la vie a

dtd marqude par des prodiges, et qui, se croyant choisi

par le Seigneur, considdre tous les dvdnements comme des

signes, peut, mieux que tout autre pdndtrer dans le monde

fantastique."3 Bailbd also goes on to point to those * occasional moments of childlike naivety in d'Aubignd's

.works when he becomes distracted from mere historical

*J. Plattard, Une Figure de Premier Plan dans nos Lettres de la Renaissance (Paris: Boivin & Cie, 1931), p. 4.

2Henri Weber, La Crdation Podtique au XVIe sldcle en France {Paris: Librairie Nizet, 1956), p. 637.

3Jacques Bailbd, Agrippa d'Aubignd. Podte des Traqiques (Caen: Association des Publications de la Faculte ces Lettres et Sciences Humaines de l'Universite de Caen, 1968), p. 238. 191 observation and turns with credulity toward the miraculoust

"Cet homme puissant par l'ardeur de sa £oi, par la probitg

de ses convictions et par l'dndrgie qu'il met & les

defendre, devient soudain le plus nai£ des en£ants quand

il £ait dcouter la voix du seigneur, ou tourner les yeux

vers ses miracles."^

Predictions, Dreams and Magic in the Histoire Universelle

Turning now to prophesies and dreams in the Histoire

Universelle, we note a similar breakdown between those

which are to be believed, or at least accepted, and those

which are quite obviously mere false superstitions. In the

first of the categories we note, for example, the appar­

ently accepted claim that a mysterious black dog haunted an * Italian cardinal legate of the pope: "le Cardinal

Crescence . . . rendu maniaque par la frayeur d'un chien

noir qui lui apparut au commencement de sa maladie, et

n'abandonna son lict que jusques au point de la mort"

.(H.U., 1, 30). Similarly, there is another account of a

papal legate whose actual death was predicted accurately:

"'Cestui-la peut bien se reposer arrogamment, car, dans

peu de jours, il sera renversfi.' Ce qui arrive quelques

sepmaines apres. . ." (H.U., I, 211). Here again there is

no appended disclaimer or hint of disbelief on the part of

4Ibid., p. 192. 192

d'Aubignd who also lends a sympathetic ear to the possi­

bility of lightning bearing a divine lesson for the

faithful: "Un esclair seul, en temps serain, vint si

furieux gue tout guittoit servas, sans le miniBtre gui

avoit fait la priere, car 11 ramena par la manche du mandil ceux gui fuyoyent, en disant: 'Courage, cest

esclair monstre gue Dieu veut estre de la partie"1 (H.U.,

111, 153). In another episode d'Aubignd provides us with

a prophetic warning to the prince de Condd by a strange old woman described as being "horrible de visage":

"'Prince, tu souffriras, mais Dieu sera avec toi et te d&livrera'" combined here with a subsequent dream by the prince about three bloddy battles which he alone sur­ vived (H.U., IX, 105). And there is also, of course, the previously mentioned episode of the death of the seigneur d'Andelot, brother of l'amiral de Coligny, who dies as a

Protestant hero with appropriate predictions and God-

inspired dreams: "II vint mourir . . . d'une fi&vre chaude,

.dans l'agonie de laquelle il s'assit pour dire: "La France

aura beaucoup de maux avec vous et puis sans vous, mais en

fin tout tombera sur l'Espagnol: L'admiral l'ayant repris,

comme d'une resverie: 'Je ne resve point, dit-il, mon

frere, l'homme de Dieu me l'a dit'" (H.U., III, 58). In

all of these representative episodes, interestingly enough, we notice either implied criticism of Catholic leaders 193 $ receiving warnings from on high or, on the other hand, encouragement for Protestant leaders urged to act courageously in battle with prophetic manifestations provided by God to show his support.

There are, of course, further examples of this type of acceptable predictions in the Histoire Universelle, along with an interesting statement which d'Aubignd inserts as, in context, a criticism of those who refuse to believe in such potential intervention: "tout cela fut interpret^ prophdtiguement par ceux gu'on appelloit fols"

(H.U.f III, 303). Obviously not considering himself "fou" because of his willingness to accept the supernatural manifestation, d'Aubignd underlines a strange augur accompanying Henry Ill's ascent to the Polish throne:

n. . . ne puis-je oublier 1'invention d'un aigle blanc, gui, par moyens, lesguels ne se voyoyent pas, vola tousjours au-devant de ce roi, battant des aisles, et le bien-veignant, tant gue les rues durdrent" (H.U., IV, 201-

202). While on the subject of the French royal family, there is a similar discussion of Charles IX's strange restlessness after the St. Bartholomew massacre which has an intended air of mysterious possession to it: "c'est gue, depuis la St. Barthelemi, ce prince n'avoit repos gu'entrerompu de tressaux et de gfiraissements, gui se * • terminoyent en reniements et en propos tendants au ddsespoir" (H.U., IV, 256). similarly, d ’Aubignd enjoys

unraveling the "yarn" of strange circumstances surrounding

the death of Catherine de Medici, involving as it does

both predictions and dreams. The dream episode involved

Henry Ill's nightmares of being attacked by various lions

which, according to certain prophesies made by the queen's

"devins," represented the Guise family. D'Aubignd,

understandably confused by this complicated bit of mysteri­

ous intrigue, is quite willing nevertheless to give an

account of the full series of interpretations and dreams

(H.U., VII, 397). In another death episode, this one

referring to Pope Sixtus VI, d'Aubignd is only half mock­

ing when he alludes to devil association and strange

coincidental circumstances: "... toute l'armde fut

abruvde qu'd la mort de ce pape estroit arrivd presque

chose pareille que l'on conte d'Alexandre sixidme et

autres, qui avoyent fait marchd avec le diable pour la

durde de leur regne.” We go on, in fact, to read an

•anecdote about the circumstances surrounding the pope's

premature arrival in hell and the devil's delight in secur­

ing him (H.U., VIII, 201-202).

Just as with miracles, however, d'Aubignd casts aside

many of the predictions and dream references as being

either without the foundation of proof or simply ridicu­

lous. He is quick to point out, for example, the X95 obviously false nature of one of the many predictions

Catherine de Medici received from her corps of "devins":

"Et la roine mdre se laissa aller a ce dessein sur la promesse des magiciens gu'elle verroit tous ses enfans rois" (H.U., IV/ 64). The Italian queen, because of her superstitious inclinations and constant gullibility, often plays in fact the role of the victim of such false prophesying in the Histoire Universelle. D'AubignS, again apparently unconvinced of the accuracy of the prediction, tells of the reason for Catherine's extraordinary fear of

Sainct-Germain: ". . . l a roine qui donne l'alarme la plus chaude qu'elle pfit, fait fouiller tous les coins du chateau, presse le roi de vuider, le faisant souvenir que ses devins, desquels elle faisoit tousjours grand cas, avovent dit que le roi devoit se donner garde de Sainct-

Germain" (H.U.. IV,223). Such ridiculous faith in the counsels of magicians was, historically, as we have pre­ viously noted, an important part of Catherine's vulner­ ability.

The regent-queen of France, however, was not the only victim of false prophesying and d'Aubignd takes care to balance his record on the subject with other examples of inaccurate predictions. "Un jeune Nostradamus," for example, is caught in the act of making sure of the accur­ acy of his far fetched predictions: "Sainct-Luc, lui 196 « demandant que deviendroit le Pousin, le prognostiqueur, aprfis y avoir pens6 profond&ment, respondit qu'il pferiroit par feu, et le mesme fut trouv& comme on pilloit la ville, mettant le feu partout" (H.U., IV, 272). There is, hence, an evident desire in the Histoire Universelle to uncover some of the fraud that was the inevitable result of excessive sixteenth century interest in the supernatural, a desire we find expressed in statements like the follow­ ing: "J'ai est£ assez chiche des augures et prodiges, de la quantitd desqueIs plusieurs historiens fleurissent; et, comme nous avons dit, en se parans de miracles ils se despouillent de cr&ance et d'Authoritfi." Here, however, there is a subsequent reference to an acceptable dream promonition of a girl who dreamed that a certain person was killed and, when she fell asleep again, "elle le vid estendu mort sur un coffre . . . ce qui fut av6r6 en tous ses poincts" (H.U., V, 244). While pointing to that great bulk of false stories and rumors, hence, d'Aubignd is careful to keep himself open to any possibility as long as the authority of personal witnesses is available. As he himself again puts it in the Histoire Universelle;

J'ai remonstrd & ceux desquels je la tiens le grand p6ril qu'il y a de resemer la bigotterie entre ceux qui font profession de s'en estre repurgez, mais les tesmoignages constans de personnes signal6es en probit£ m'ont fait ici * passer par-dessus toutes mes circonspections (H.U., VII, 98). The court of Henry III was ripe for d'Aubignd's

criticism because of its strange interest in sexual

perversions, religious abuses and supernatural manifesta­

tions. He explains this atmosphere in a reference to one

of the "mignon's" more acceptable escapades, the pre­

viously mentioned attempt by the due de Joyeuse to

"contrefaire un ange" and morally enlighten the king: "Ils

entreprenoyent cela sur un esprit affoibli par

bigotteries, par songes estranges et terreurs ordinaires,

qui le faisoyent cacher sous les licts, cercher les basses

vodtes du Louvre au moipdre tonnerre qu'il oyoit" (H.U.,

VI, 73). There is, of course, no need to seek any pos­

sible corroboration for such vain and frivolous practices

which hardly evidence divine control or intervention.

Often, however, d'Aubignfi will even hesitate to admit an

unnatural explanation of the strangest and most serious of

signs in his Histoire Universelle. When, for example, he

gives an account of the intriguing Latin prediction of a

.potential "an des merveilles" in 1588 ("octuagesimus

octavus mirabilis annus") he, the historian, prefaces his

remarks with an apology: "II faut qu'il m'eschape en ce

lieu, contre ma sobridtd aux choses qui sont contre le

cours de nature. . (H.U., VIII, 124),

A very definite distaste for indiscriminate and

secular belief in the supernatural is expressed by d'Aubign€ in his account of the reaction of the "mar&schal de Biron"

to his condemnation to death. He reports that Biron nse

souvenant qu'un devineur lui avoit dit qu'un seul coup de

Bourgignon par derriclre 1'empescheroit de venir d la

royaut& et ayant appris que le bourreau de Baris estoit

Bourguignon, il eut une perp&tuelle apprehension."

D'AubignS's unsympathetic explanation of such predictions

and apprehension is simply that: "... cet esprit

couroit des bigotteries, apprises de nouveau, d la

raesconnoissance de Dieu" (H.U., IX, 368-69). Similarly,

in one of the final episodes of the Histoire Universelle,

d'Aubign£ refers to claims that Henry IV was troubled by

ghost visions, especially by one called "le grand

veneur," but feels obligated to again add a note of

skepticism to such unverified claimB: "On marque

d'ailleurs plusieurs predictions des magiciens, lesquelles

je laisse toutes comme de peu de foi" (H.U., IX, 461). At

times, therefore, d'Aubign& will react with unqualified

.disbelief to tales of the unnatural while reserving

approval for the less doubtful and usually Protestant

oriented tales of supernatural intervention. Concerning

such approval, interestingly enough, Jacques Bailbd points

out that d'Aubigng was so impressed by the use of dream

predictions in ancient epics that he found added justi­

fication for entering the intriguing realm of the • 199

"merveilleux chrfitien" (or "protestant") in his own works.5

Among the references to enchanters and devil posses­

sion, some of which we have already seen, are accounts

which again indicate. d'AubignS's credulity. In one such

instance a woman's prediction about divine support of the

reform cause is followed by a direct statement of God's

ability to intervene in even the most difficult of cir­

cumstances: "la dame du lieu et ceux de l'Eglise

commencerent a rendre graces a Dieu d'une chose inesp£r£e,

ne revoguant point en doute ce que Mercier leur asseuroit

pour avoir veu d'autres oeuvres de lui, comme ayant

chass£ 1'esprit immonde des corps d'une femme . . . et

d'une homme" (H.U., VII, 97), a claim backed up according

to d'Aubigne, by the authority of witnesses. In another

episode there is a claim that a ghost-like sick woman, due

to die at any moment, got up from her death bed and

accurately warned her city of approaching attack: "Mais

elle n'est creue et prise pour un fantosme . . . ceste

■femme passa par la bresche qui venoit d'estre faite, et,

depuiB, a vescu plusieurs ans" (H.U., VII, 100).

We recall, of course, Catherine de Medici's dependance

upon the counsel of her "devins" and d'Aubign€'s reluct­

ance, in those instances, to accept their activities as

* 5 Ibid., p. 192. anything but "magical" fraud. Such reluctance is actually quite consistent with various statements made d'Aubignfi in his correspondance and about d'Aubignd in many of the critical commentaries on his works. In a letter to

Louis XIII, for example, he complains of "tous les fatras de fausses devotions, de grains benitB, de pardons par les mains du Pape, de voyages et de voeux" all of which bear the imprint of a hypocritical desire to impress the faithful with demonstrations of false magic (O.C., 1, 508).

He goes on in the same letter, however, to point out the strange and humanly unexplainable coincidence involving

Henry Ill's death: "un vilain moyne espandit le sien

(Henry's blood) au mesme moys, au mesme lieu, en la chambre et en l'endroit de la chambre od il avoit fait toucher & la main pour la Sainct-Bartheldmi" (O.C., I, ■

510). Divine punishment in the tradition of "lex talionis," a form of supernatural intervention, is quite obviously implied in this comment in support of the reform

.cause and even more forcefully and strikingly stated in a reference to the Catholic convert, Henry IV:

La funeste mort de vostre dernier et excellent predecesseur ne vous apprend pas seulement a quoy tienent les vies des Roys, mais encor comment Dieu sgait vendanger les esprits de ceux qui 1'abandonnent, par les mesmes iniques moyens dans lesquels ils cerchent asseurance contre la main puissante de l'Eternel (O.C., I, 510). --- 201

Among the other important statements about magic and superstition made by d'Aubigne in his correspondance is an interesting and enlightening episode narrated in a letter to a M. de la RiviSre. Here we read that Henry 111 called upon the services of d'Aubign& to interview a prisoner who was formerly one of the queen mother's magicians in order to determine if he actually had powers. D'Aubignd, who was acquainted with such matters, having frequented vari­ ous magicians at Lyon in his youth, brushed up on some texts of magical formulae and enthusiastically undertook the interrogation. The results of his efforts and consultations with various others was a strange concluding statement of belief in witchcraft but not in magic: "il n'y a point de magiciens tels qu'on les eBtime . . . mais seulement des Sorciers qui trompez par le Diable d'un plus honeste nom, en trompent les autres" (O.C., I, 436-

437). "Les Sorciers" themselves, as we have seen in reference to Queen Catherine in the Histoire Universelle, are of interest to d'Aubignd in their false claims as well as in their manifestation of supernatural powers. He likes to pass along stories of claimed possession and crimes committed in the context of the witches' "sabat," for example: "les Sorciers bien examinez doivent estre severement punis, non pour leur fantaisie, mais pour leurs actions effectueles qui ne paraissent que trop" (O.C., I, 202 * 431).6 He will also, however, not seek to hide his convic­ tion that, as Legoufiz puts it, wil y a des sorciers qui, trompez par le Diable d'un plus honneste nom, en trompant les autres,” a frame of mind which led him to he in awe of even a simple "presdigitateur" whose words alone frightened him: nJe ne sgay s ’il l'eust peu faire mais je ne le voulus pas essayer" (O.C., V, 124-125).

Among the reactions of critics to d'Aubign6's belief in magic, in all of its varieties, is this observation by

Henri Weber: "Quelque plaisir qu'il £prouve d ddnoncer les supercheries, il n'en est pas moins persuad6 qu'il existe des cas de veritable possession, puisque la Bible en fournit des examples . . . il recueille enfin, chez lui, un muet des environs qui, poss€dant un don extra­ ordinaire de seconde vue, lui aurait prddit la mort d'Henri IV."^ D'Aubignfi, hence, combines, in all of his works, reluctance to admit the possiblity of supernatural intervention with direct statements of belief in that very intervention, a situation which Bailbfi discusses in the context of the Baron de Faeneste: "Dans Faeneste nous voyons 6num£r6s tous les modes de divination . . . par la bouche d'Enay d'Aubignfi Stablit une distinction entre la

®See also Wynn, p. 326.

• ^Agrippa d'AubignS, Les Oeuvres, ed. Henri Weber Paris: Gallimard, 1969), p. xxxix. 203 vraie et la fausse sorcellerie, ce qui temoigne de o beaucoup de cr€dulit6." Bailbfl, In his book on Les

TragigueSf also points out d'Aubign£'s occasional desire to use the supernatural as a means of "faire trembler les m&chants par la crainte du jugement et de la vengeance divine,"9 a practical motivation we repeatedly noted in relation to the reform cause in the Histoire Universelle. i This type of supernatural curiosity and orientation is not, of course, at all unique in the sixteenth century, even in the more serious genres of history and religious poetry. As BailbS notes:

On sait que d'Aubign£ avait la curiosity de l'inconnu, du secret, du r€el‘ intangible, et se sentait attir£ par ce qu'il y a d'oculte dans 1*existence. II partageait, dans ce domaine, la cr€dulit6 des grands esprits de son siScle, un Jean Bodin ou un Ronsard, dont 1* Hymne des Demons tragait un tableau hallucinant du monde invisible .... C'est la marque d'un siScle qui n'a pas le sens de 1*impossible . . . d'Aubigne dont la vie a 6t£ marqu&e par des prodiges, et qui, se croyant choisi par le Seigneur, considdre tous les 6vSnements comme des signes.10

D'Aubign(s, credulous by nature, found, hence, encouragement for including supernatural episodes in his history from major contemporary literary and historical figures,

®J. BailbS, "Rabelais et de'Aubign6," BibllothSque de l'Humanisme et de la Renaissance, XXI (1959), 415.

^Bailbd, Agrlppa d'AubiqnS, Po6te des Tragigues, p. 166.

1 0 Ibid., pp. 237-238. 204 including De Thou who, for example, is accused by E.

Pueter in his Geschichte der Neuren Histiographie of stat­ ing that divine justice governed the destiny of nations.^

He also was familiar with the supernatural arguments and justification to be found in the Protestant and Catholic pamphlets which either sanctified the God inspired reform cause and martyred its victims or made divine avengers out of Catholic assassins such as Jacques Clement. It is remarkable, in fact, that, considering this inviting climate as well as his own background of dream visions

(O.C., I, 6), study of magic and religious fervor, d'Aubignd was able to evidence the rational self control and balance we find so frequently present in his Histoire

Universelle.

In hiB excellent study of "d'Aubignd and Sixteenth

Century Occultism" Robert Griffin tries to establish the background for those supernatural references we do find in d ’Aubign£'s works, including the Histoire Universelle.

On the biographical level, for example, we learn that, as we have seen, d'Aubign& secretly studied magic for a year in Lyon, became proficient enough to have been offered a post as court astrologer by Charles IX and was "an intimate" of the two Henrys* (III and IV) academies in the

^ E . Pueter, Geschichte der Neuren Histiographie (Berlin: R. Oldenbourg, 19li), p. 148. 1570's where "occult issues were of continuous inter­

est. "12 on the question of the atmosphere of sixteenth

century in which "numbers, Biblical events, political

happenings and daily occurrences all developed secondary,

symbolic and always important meanings,"13 Griffin

explains the importance for d'Aubign6 of the fact that

"the amalgamation of occultism, mysticism and Christian

theology . . . enabled the French, aB it did the Italians,

to extol the Christian truths and at the same time give

them reasons for advocating and defending the values of

the occult."14 There is also the important influence on

d'Aubignfi of Cornelius Agrippa whose conviction it was

that man, being limited in what he can know, needs the

occasional direct revelation by God to understand the

1C secrets of the creation. There is always, of course,

the need to look again, at the partisan nature of

d'Aubignd's use of the occult in his own works. Recalling

our discussion of the many examples of such concern for

.underlining divine approval of the Protestant cause in the

Histoire Universelle, we might not£here d'Aubign£'s

^ r . Griffin, "D'Aubignd and Sixteenth Century Occultism," Romanische Forschungen, 79 (1967), p. 115.

13ibid.f p. 116.

14Ibid.( p. 120. ^griffin, p. 124. 206 additional criticism of the Catholic Catherine de Medici's entourage of phony sorcerers in the Tragiques (Les

Misdres, 861-68) as well as the presence of a comet, a

God sent presage of evil, before the death of Charles IX

(Fers, 1297-1300). Such mixing of anti-Catholic distrust of the supernatural wich obvious belief in properly interpreted pro-reform divine manifestations causes

Griffin to remark, in conclusion, that "like most frim

Protestants of the period, d'Aubignd's hatred for Roman

Catholicism may have included a dislike of icon or statue worship because of its afinities with the icons and figures used by sorcerers, witches and astrologers. . . .

But the Huguenot could not separate his enemies from his friends by using magic as a touchstone, for magical intrigue, like religious hermeticism, affected both religious camps."I®

Mystery and Assassination in the Histoire^Universelle

The final area of investigation in this chapter will be, as we mentioned earlier, d'Aubignd's attempt to heighten dramatic suspense in his history by means of allusions to various mysterious murders or assassination attempts on the lives of famous sixteenth century figures.

While not directly involving supernatural intervention or

1 6 Ibid., p. 131. 207 the occult, these episodes, usually involving false

claims of poisoning, are quite obviously included by

d'Aubign& in recognition of the universally intriguing

appeal of the mysterious. They are, in addition, most

often the results of rumor, innuendo or, at best, hearsay

evidence and, in most cases, their historical value or

authenticity has been subsequently disproven.

An interesting first example of such usage in the

Histoire Universelle would be d'Aubignd's discussion of the

death of Don Carlos, son of Philip II of Spain and, in

this account, condemned by the Inquisition to be poisoned.

D'Aubign€ creates an action-packed and sympathetic

scenario of a young victim of fate who, deploring the

injustice which surrounds him, attempts suicide many times:

nil se jetta dans le feu . . . il s'eropescha deux jours de

boire . . . il essaya le mesme par la faim et puis par le

manger et encore par un diamant . . . il le voulait

avaller" and, finally, is put out of his misery and

.summarily "condamn€ par 1 'inquisition d estre empoisonnd;

ce qui fut fait en juillet" (H.U., III, 207). No one can

deny the fascinating appeal of such an extraordinary story

involving as it does paternal cruelty, youth, innocence,

dramatic suicide attempts and murder by Catholic extrem­

ists. As fiction it is, hence, excellent but as history

it is, as de Ruble points out "un tissue de fables" 208

(Charles died from natural causes) copied £rom a 1580

Apologie du Prince d*Orange (H.U., III, 207, note 2).

Interestingly enough d'Aubignd follows this unhistorical

claim with another equally false but equally intriguing

poison mystery: "Peu de jours apres, Elisabeth (de

Valois), roine d'Espagne, passa par la mesme mort tout par

l'authoritd de l 1inquisition" (H.U., III, 207-208) and

here again de Ruble is obliged to set the historical record

straight: "L'empoisonnement de la reine d'Espagne est une

fable aussi mensongdre que l'empoisonnement de don Carlos

(H.U., III, 207, note 4). D'Aubignd appears again to be

overly trusting in the dubious authority of the Apologie

du Prince d*Orange and remarkably unscientific in his

attempt to find the truth.

The description of the death of Jeanne d'Albret,

mother of Henri de Navarre and cherished female reform

leader, is again embellished with the mysterious poison-

murder intrigue:

La roine de Navarre, travaillant d Paris aux prdparatifs des nopces, se trouve prise d'une fievre a laquelle elle ne r&sista que quatre jours, sa mort causde, sans dissimuler par une poison que des gans de senteurs communiquerent au cerveau, donnez, a un nommd Messer Rend Florentin, execrable depuis, mesmes aux ennemis de ceste princesse, par un Saint-Barthdlemi, grand empoisonneur, et accusd d'avoir fait mourir plusieurs princes (H.U., ill, 290-291).

D'Aubignd here appeals even further to the aroused curi­

osity of the reader by implicating Rend Bianchi, Milanese ?parfumeur" of Catherine de Medici, in the death of the

Queen of Navarre. Unfortunately, again, the entire account, interesting as it is, is a fabrication which first appeared in a 1574 Protestant pamphlet, le Dlscours

Merveilleux de la vie, actions et ddportements de Catherine de Medicis and in the famous R&veille-Matln des Francois of the same date. As de Ruble points out: "L'empoisonne­ ment de Jeanne d'Albret est une fable inventde par la passion religieuse" (H.U., III, 291, note 1), obviously included by d'Aubignfi in one of his more partisan, and literary, moments. Queen Catherine is also implicated in the rumored poisoning of the Cardinal de Lorraine, but this time a cautious d'Aubignd is more hesitant to accept the "sensational" claim as historical fact: "Quelgues uns ont os& escrire que la roine, estant de nouveau entrde en soup^on contre la maison de Lorraine, avoit practicqud ceste mort par les mains de Sainct-Nicaise, estim€ bastard du cardinal, et ce, par un present de double ducats parfumez? (H.U., IV, 299). Not withstanding such restraint, d'Aubign£ cannot resist the temptation to include a ridiculous rumor list of some of the other alleged poison victims of this same notorious "Sainct-Nicaise”: "Il a couru un gros livre hideux des empoisonnements qu'on lui attribue . . . comme des trois enfans de la roine, du prince Porcian, d'Andelot, du Cardinal de Chastillon, de la 210

princesse de Condd, de quelques ministres ..." (H.U.,

IV, 299-300).

The mardchal de Montmorency also dies, In d'Aubignd's

account, In the familiar strange manner: "Montmoranci

ayant pris par ses tristesses, comme par la bouche, une

mauvaise condition gui lui accourcit la vie,” which,

according to de Ruble, is but another "allusion & un

prdtendu empoisonnement . . . Ce bruit n'a aucun

fondement" (H.U., IV, 376, note 2). Once again, hence,

research and accuracy are sacrificed for sensationalism

and mysterious intrigue. These concerns are, of course,

not always connected with d'Aubignd's own gullibility*

Concerning the death of the duke of Alba, for example, we

read of a grotesque poison claim from another source:

"les Italiens disans tout haut que les Espagnols avoyent

empoisonnd leur maistre, et qu'un venin lent lui donnoit

la jaunisse et l'enfleure de ventre et de jambes dont il

se plaignoit. . ." (H.U., VIII, 132). With the passing of

. Gabrielle d'Estrdes, famous mistress of Henry IV,

d'Aubignd again enters a convincing claim of poisoning

with a detailed and horrible account of agony:

. . . ayant mangd d'un poneire, comme quelques- uns veulent, et les autres d'une salade, elle sentit quant et quand un tel feu au gosier, des trenchdes i l'estomac si furieuses, qu'ayant passd le vendredi en douleurs horribles, le samedi au matin le mal la rendit hideuse et mesconnoissable d tous ses domestiques et parens, la teste tournde presque devant derridre. . . (H.U., IX, 297). 211 « Here again de Ruble feels obliged to add a note of expla­ nation to d'Aubignd's fascinating account: "la question de savoir si Gabrielle d'Estrdes fut ou ne fut pas empoisonnde est trds douteuse. D'Aubignd semble croire It ce crime; les autres contemporains n'en disent pas un mot" (H.U., IX, 297, note 4). Hence, while not completely on the side of error and ridiculous rumor, d'Aubignd remains on historically unsure and dangerous ground in support of an unproven and dubious claim.

Besides the poison episodes, however, there are political assassinations and assassination attempts in the

Histoire Universelle which serve as illustrations of

Catholic, and especially Jesuit, fraud. In his discussion of an attempt on the life of the reform hero in the

Netherlands, the due d'Orange, d'Aubignd outlines what will become a familiar scenario: violent attack on a reform leader by a mindless individual at the urgings of

Catholic leadership: nle prince d'Orange eut dans sa chambre un coup de pistolet dens la gorge, de la main d'un

Joanille, Buscitd par G. d'Anaste, son maistre; . . . mais principalement confirmd a ce dessein par le Jacobin

Timmerman, qui lui persuada qu'il deviendroit invisible sue la vertu de quelques caract&res et petits ossements"

(H.U., VI, 335-336). De Ruble in his commentary on this incident again attempts to set the historical record 212 straight: "Antoine Timmerman dtait dominicain. Sa culpability est au moins douteuse et n'est certifide gue par des pieces contestdes" (H.U., VI, 336, note 2).

D'Aubignd, hence, demonstrates here an excessively partisan concern for leaving the blame of serious politi­ cal assassination at the doorstep of the Catholic enemy even if it involves accepting unconfirmed rumor.

With the assassination of Henry III in 1589 by the monk, Jacques Clement, d'Aubignd has an opportunity to repeat the outline given above and again allow himself the luxury of partisan commentary. We again have the violent act committed by a confused young monk at the instigation and urging of Catholic authorities who promised him everything from fame (". . . il demeureroit dans Paris homme de marque connu pour serviteur de tyran") to church advancement ("s'il echapoit en vie d'un acte si gdndreux, il avoit tout l'eccldsiastique pour respondant d'un chapeau rouge") to martyrdom ("le corps de l'Eglise, qui ne peut errer, l’asseure de la bdatitude du plus haut degrd, d'estre canonist et mis au rang des saincts," H.U.,

VIII, 74). Even in the commission of the violent stabbing itself Cldment is still under the spell of the Catholic cause and his outstanding service to it: "Le couteau estant demeure, ce prince (Henri III) l'arrache et en donne dans le front & son meurtrier, qui aussitost estendit ses 213 deux bras contre une muraille, contrefaisant le crucifix"

(H.U., VIII, 75). It is interesting to note that de

Ruble finds it remarkable that d'Aubignd "ne mentionne pas une tradition, fort rdpandue de son temps, d'apr&s laquelle la duchesse de Montpensier s'etait livrde a

Jacques Cldment pour l'encourager k l'assassinat de Henri

III" (H.U., VIII, 74, note 2). A good explanation of his not including in the Histoire Universelle such a popular pamphlet item might very well be his desire to remain faithful to the outline we discussed and leave the

Catholic church authorities solely responsible for a crime they again plotted and encouraged. In other words, his anti-Catholic intentions took precedence, in this case at least, over any temptation to arouse the reader's inter­ est with the perhaps more sensational sex intrigue of the duchess episode.

D'Aubignd's description of an assassination attempt on the life of Henri IV in 1594 by an eighteen year old boy,

Jean Chastel, provides us, remarkably enough, with the same scenario of events and motivations. Again Chastel is said to have acted solely upon the advice and encouragement of

Catholic, here Jesuit, leaders with, again, promises of divine approval for committing the necessary violent act of vengeance: ”11 estoit venu la pour tuer le roi, induit k cela par ses confesseurs, notamment par les jdsuites, qui 214 * appeloyent acte mdritoire de tuer les tyrans, nommans

ainsi le roi, pour ce qu'il n'avoit pas eu 1 'approbation du pape." The act, of course, did not turn out to be quite as violent as anticipated, as d'Aubignd's rather comical description demonstrates: "... pensant donner dans le corps du roi, qui se baissoit, lui donne d'un cousteau un coup en la levre de dessus, a travers laquelle

il lui rompt une dent" (H.U., IX, 24). The burden of responsibility for instigating such an attempt, however, fell heavily on the shoulders of the French Jesuits who were severely punished "comme corrupteurs de la jeunesse, perturbateurs du repos public, ennemis du roi et de l'Estat" (H.U., IX, 25), accusations which d'Aubignd, whose history is full of strong criticism of Jesuit political and religious abuses, quite obviously enjoyed making.

The assassination attempt plotted against the

Protestant leader in the Netherlands, le prince Maurice, involves the now familiar outline as well as, again,

Jesuit participation. Here, in fact, d'Aubignd acknowledges the similarity between this and previous episodes and merely refers back to examples of promises made to other assassins rather than repeat the entire script:

. . . encore un assassin contre le prince * Maurice: c'estoit un Pierre Panne, d'Ype, incitd a cela par un sien cousin, ddpeschd des Jdsuites au commencement et puis par les 215

provincial et recteur des j£suites de Dou£, avec les persuasions que nous avons alldgules aux autres assassins, tant pour lui que pour ses enfants (H.U., IX, 263).

Again, hence, the intended perpetrator of the crime is an unthinking young man lured by extravagant promises to commit a "holy" act of violence. What is added here, however, is additional condemnation of the dangerous hypocrisy of the Jesuits who not only plot crimes but who also cloak their true political intentions in the mantle of divine approval: "En fin, cet honune se confessa au provincial, eut absolution et receut le sacrement et ces paroles pour adieu: 'Allez en paix, car vous irez comme un ange a la garde de Dieu?" (H.U., IX, 263). D'Aubignd underlines the important fact that he went, of course, only to torture and death after confessing his crime and repent** ing of succumbing to the fraudulent lure of the criminal

Jesuits: "il jure qu'il s'en estoit repenti, estant esloignd des j£suites, promet, si on lui veut sauver la vie, d'en faire prendre; mais on ne laissa pas de le faire mourir d'une simple mort" (H.U., IX, 264).

Hence, partisanship and consistency of style combine in these episodes to underline an intention to ridicule false Catholic claims of protection and reward as well as to stimulate reader interest. The fact that many of the episodes involve exaggerated and sensational claims is further evidence of that same dominant stylistic concern 216 for variety of tone we noted In the use of quotation and anecdote. The potential effectiveness of such a tech­ nique, involving as it does dramatic intrigue and con­ trolled suspense, provided, of course, sufficient temptation for d'Aubignd, the literary artist, to qualify, when convenient, his frequently expressed respect for truth* CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION TO THE TEXT

We have seen In the course of this dissertation many sides and preoccupations of d'Aubignd the historian which often involve contradictions, errors in interpretation and partisan concern mixed with unique attempts at objectiv­ ity. In the final chapter of our study alone we find, for example, d'Aubignd the believer in miracles and super­ natural manifestations, d'Aubignd the historian disclaim­ ing false, and usually Catholic, claims of such unnatural events, d'Aubignd the partisan defender of divine approval of the reform cause, and d'Aubignd the master of frequently unhistorical mysterious intrigue. We note, along with

Legoudz in the "Notice Biographique" in the Rdaume edition of the Oeuvres Completes, the complexity of the author who

"croit aux miracles, aux prodiges, aux apparitions, aux pressentiments, au surnaturel" (O.C., V, 117) to various degrees in all of his works but who, nevertheless, can be heard to express categorical disbelief in supernatural effects. While professing, hence, to "oster ces bigotteries de son livre" he finds no contradiction or

"di£ficultd de recueillir lui-m&me de toutes mains et

217 218 consigner les anecdotes les plus invraisemblables ou les moins interessantes" (O.C., V, 120). similarly, while preaching the necessity of objectivity, careful investiga­ tion of dubious or unnatural claims and the seriousness of historical production, he will include subjective partisan commentary and blatantly false rumorB either because his religious beliefs are stronger than his historical convictions or because his literary interests are aroused by the mysterious intrigue of assassination and murder.

We note, however, that such contradiction and incon­ sistency, which we have pointed out in all four chapters of this examination of the Histoire Universelle, are the admitted and understandable failings of a man who was both participant in as well as narrator and analyst of the violence, deceit and confusion of the end of the sixteenth century in France. Factual errors, occasional lapses of memory and an inability to abstract himself at all times from events were, as we have seen, common characteristics of the major historians at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century.

D'Aubignd, hence, because of the quite obvious attempt to be objective, complete and in accord with other researched accounts represented definite change from pamphlet satire toward a more modern concept of history. Witness, for example, this revealing expression of d'Aubignd dominant 219

interest in historical truth which he includes at the end

of his appendix to the third tome:

Comme ce peintre grec gui se cacha derridre son tableau pour aprendre de ses nouvelles par toutes sortes de bouches et d'esprits, ainsi, a 1'ombre de mon Histoire, gui n'est gu'un tableau, je ddsire d*entendre les rdprdhensions des uns et les plaintes des autres, faire mon profit de tout, sans renvoyer le cordonnier et sa pantoufle. Aux premiers je tiendrai compagnie; aux juges de mes defauts, les corrigerai avec eux, comme je les sen avec eux, sans autre excuse gue la difficult^ de mettre en ordre des choses tant ddeordonndes, le manguement et diversity des mdmoires, souvent arrivez apr&s les premi&res parties iraprimdes. Tout cela, en un mot, me condamne a la seconde main. . . . Et en tout ce gue j'apren d'autrui, il m'est peu advenir d'avoir dit mensonge, mais non pas d'avoir menti (H.U., IX, 476-477).

In addition, of course, there is the important gues-

tion of style and here, again, as we have seen, d'Aubignd's

Histoire Universelle is unigue. In his military concern

for concision, clarity and, often, brevity of description,

d'Aubignd is a participant, along with ex-soldiers, Monluc,

Montaigne and Brantdme among others, in a rejection of the

Ciceronian rhetoric of de Thou and other sixteenth century

.historians. It is indeed possible that the fact of their

common military background and orientation might well be

a partial explanation of such distinct stylistic opposi­

tion. There is also, as we suggested, a Huguenot or

Protestant guality to d'Aubignd's concise and uncompli­

cated pattern of description which provides a basis of

comparison with stylistic usage of other reform authors.

As Keith Cameron, Kathleen Hall and Francis Higman point 220 out in their introduction to Theodore de Bdze's Abraham

Sacrifiant, there existed at the end of the sixteenth century a new Protestant, or Calvinistic, aesthetic which stressed stylistic sobriety, uncomplicated description and simplicity, and d'Aubign£, based on the nature of descrip­ tion in his Histoire Universelle and on his own direct statements about concision and simplicity, can be seen as fitting well into the category of such a "rh6torique de la s i m p l i c i t y . C o n c e r n i n g this stylistic simplicity, in fact, we find an interesting explanatory statement by

Calvin himself in his Institution de la religion chrestienne which reminds us very much of d'Aubigny's previously mentioned comment on the Biblical simplicity of the Protestant "langage de Canaan":

. . . les plus hauts secrets du Royaume celeste nous ont esty, pour la plus grand*part, baillez sous parolles contemptibles, sans grande yioquence, de peur gue, s'ils eussent estd fondez et enrichis d*yioquence, les iniques eussent colomniy que la seule faconde eust regny en cest endroit.2

We have also seen d'Aubigny's stylistic predilection for short quotations followed by the example of action which function in the Histoire Universelle as mere narrative

^Thyodore de Beze, Abraham Sacrifiant, ed. Keith Cameron, Kathleen Hall and Francis Higman (Geneva: Librairie Droz, 1967), pp. 33-35.

2Jean Calvin, Institution de la religion chrestienne, ed. J. D. Benoit (Paris: Vrin, 1957-1^63), I, viii. I

221

devices, diadactic military examples for future battle

captains or indications of exemplary behavior from the pen

of the moral guide. Hence, d'Aubignfi can be seen as

being, again, in the spirit of a literary tradition which

continued to flourish in the sixteenth century and which

emphasized the use and importance of moralistic exempla in

historical or biographical texts.

Historical innovation, objectivity in the midst of

partisan concern, vivid story-tableaux, stylistic con­

formity and belief in supernatural manifestations are all

part of the fascinating appeal of a work, the Histoire

Unlverselle of Agrippa d ’Aubign£, which, as we mentioned

in the first chapter, has not gotten either the critical

attention or the praise it so obviously merits. It is

perhaps too easy to criticize the inaccuracies, repeti­

tions and subjectivity of a historical work from the

privileged point of view of modern awareness. It is not

easy, on the other hand, to place oneself in the mind of

the aged warrior-historian who is describing the tragedy

of his country, his religion and, of course, of his own

life with, considering the implication of such a tre­

mendously difficult task, remarkable detachment and

precision. It might be well to end this study with one of

d'AubignS's own final comments in his appendix to the third

tome, a beautiful and significant statement about this 222

essential problem of objectivity in the midst of personal

concern and involvement:

Me voici done a vous aequimanes lecteurs, avec la liberte d'unir mes jugements aux vostres, en descrivant pathgtiquement la douloureuse traggdie qui a pali mon ancre de mes larmes, donng des accents a mes lignes et cottg mes virgules de souspirs. Si mes desseins n'estoyent pointez qu'a la faveur des humains a leur plaire et les esmouvoir par louanges affettges, a payer d 1 honneurs et de bienfaits des mercenaires labeurs, je ne me fusse estendu jusques & la catastrophe, que 1 1 instruction des princes, l'exemple a tous prosperans, la vanitg des esperances humaines et surtout la gloire de Dieu exigent de mon devoir. . . . Mai8, ayant pour but principal d'eslever les coeurs plus haut que la terre et mener les esprits dans le Sainct des Saincts, appellg le sanctuaire du Fort, mon bust est de descouvrir au secret de ce temple a quel trgbuchet il faut peser les misgricordes et les justices de celui qui rSgne sur les rois (H.U., IX, 455-456).

i BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Texts

D'Aubignd, Agrippa. Oeuvres Completes. 5 vols. Ed. EugSne Rdaume and F. de Caussade. Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1873-1893.

D'Aubignd, Agrippa. Histoire Universelle. 9 vols. Ed. le baron de Rubied Paris:'Librairie Renouard, 1886-1909.

D 'Aubignd, Agrippa. Supplement & 1 'Histoire Universelle. Gen&ve: Socidtd d'Histoire et d'archfiologie, 1945.

D'Aubignd, Agrippa. Oeuvres. Ed. Henri Weber. Paris: Gallimard, 1969.

D'Aubignd, Agrippa. Les Tragiques. Ed. I.D. Me Parlane. London: The Athlone Press, 1970.

De Bdze, Th6odore. Abraham Sacrifiant. Ed. Keith Cameron, Kathleen Hall and Francis Higman. Geneva: Librairie Droz, 1967.

Brantdme, Pierre de Bourdelle, sieur de. Oeuvres Completes. 5 vols, Ed. Ludovic Lalanne. Paris: Chez Renouard, 1864-1869.

Calvin, Jean, institution de la religion chrestienne. 5 vols. Ed. J. b. feenofct. Paris: V r m , 1957-1963.

Du Haillan, Bernard. Histoire gdndrale des rois de France. Paris, 1576. ------

La Planche, Louis Regnier, sieur de. Histoire de l ’estat de France tant de la religion sous le reqne~3e Francois I l tChoix de chronlques et mfemolres sur 1'histoire de France, Ed. J. A. Buchon). Paris: A. Dexres, 1836.

La Popelinidre, H. Lancelot-Voisin, sieur de. L'Histoire de France enrichie des plus notables occurrences survenues es provinces del*Europe et pays voisins depuis l'an 1550 jusgues a ces temps. 3 vols. Ea Rochelle: Abraham H., 15b 1.

223 224 Le Reveille-Mat in deB Franca is et de leurs volsins. Edimbourg: Jacques James, 1574. Reprinted in Archives Curieuses (First series). Paris: Beauvais, 1035-36, VII, 167-209.

Matthieu, Pierre. Histoire des derniers troubles de France soubs Xes regnea des roys . . Henry Til . . . et Henry IV . . 1600.

De Thou, Jacques Auguste. Historio Universelle de J. A. de Thou, depuis 1543 jusqu'en 1^07. lfc vols. London, 1734.

II. Works on d 'Aublgnd

Bailbd, Jacques. "Rabelais et d'Aubignd." Bibliothdque d'Humanisme et de Renaissance, XXI (1959), 3b 0-4£9.

Bailbd, Jacques. "Lucain et d'AUbignd." Bibliothdque d'Humanisme et de Renaissance, XXII (1960), 320-337.

Bailbd, Jacques. Agrippa d'Aubignd. Podte des Tragiques. Caen: Association des Publication de la Facultd des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de 1 'University de Caen, 1968.

Bailbd, Jacques. "Quelques Aspects du Burlesque dans les Aventures du Baron de Faeneste de d'Aubignd." Melanges d 1Histoire Litteraire. Paris s Edition A.-G. Nizet, 1969.

Bensimon, Mare. "Essai sur d'Aubignd." Studi Francese, 21 (1963), 418-437. ------

Bost, Charles. "Notes sur d'Aubignd." Le Bulletin de la Socidtd de 1'Histoire du Protestantieme Frangais, Sept.-Oct. (1910), 437-467.

Buffurn, Imbrie. Agrippa d'Aubignd's Les Tragiques: A Study of the Baroque style in Poetry. New Haven: Vale university Press, 1951.

Ellerbroek, Guechien. Observations sur La Langue de l 1 Histoire Universelle de T. A. d ’Aubigne. Enchede: M. J. Van Der Loeff, 1925.

Garnier, Arraond. Agrippa d'Aubignd et le Parti Protestant. 3 vols. Paris: Librairie Fischbacher, 1928* 225 Gout, £. S. Agrippa d'Aubignd Thdologlen. Montauvan: Typographic Macabiau, 1853.

Griffin, Robert. "D'Aubignd and Sixteenth Century Occultism." Romanische Forschungen, 79 (1967), 114-131. ' ------3—

Jeanneret, Michel. "Les Styles d*Agrippa d'Aubignd." Studi Francese, 32 (1967), 246-57.

Kinser, S. "D'Aubignd and the Apostasy of Henry IV." Studies in the Renaissance, XI (1964).

Monod, Henri Charles. "Quelques pages de d'Aubignd." Bulletin de la Socidtd du protestantisme frangais, tlX (1910), 210-223. ---

Plattard, Jean. Une Figure de Premier Plan dans nos Lettres de la Renaissance. Paris: Boivin et Cie, TJ3T.------:------Prarond, Ernest. Les Podtes Historians, Ronsard et d'Aubignd Sous Henri iiTI Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 19 69.

Rdaume, Eugene. "Agrippa d'Aubignd, l'homme et l'historien." Bulletin de la Socidtd de 1'histoire du protestantisme francais, XXIX (lfeso), ldg-lVd.

Rogosin, Richard. "D'Aubignd et Les Tragiques: A Protes­ tant Apocalypse." P.M.L.A., ul (1966), 563-370.

Rocheblave, Samuel. Agrippa d'Aubignd. Paris: Hachette, 1910. — ------—

Rocheblave, Samuel. Agrippa d'Aubignd. Paris: Edition "Je Sers," 1930,

RouBselot, Jean. Agrippa d'Aubignd. Paris: Edition Pierre Seghers, 1966.

Sauerwein, Harry. Agrippa d 'Aubiqnd'a Les Tragiques. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1951.

Thierry, A. "Un Chapitre Inddit de 1 'Histoire Universelle de d'Aubignd," Bibliothdque d 'Humanisme et Renaissance, 32 (1970), 635-47.

Thierry, A. "Monluc et d'Aubignd." Bibliothdque d'Humanisme et Renaissance, 33 (19*71), 505-524. 226 0 Trenel, J . L 1Element biblique dans 1*oeuvre podtlque de d'Aubignd Paris: dert, I9q 4.

"Tricentaire d ‘Agrippa d'Aubignd." Bulletin de la Socidtd de 1'histoire du protestantisme francais( m i x ' a"93&)T 257-2667 “--- Weber, Henri. "Etat Present sur d'Aubignd." L'lnforma- tion Llttdraire, 18 (1966), 185-92.

Wynn, M. M. "Agrippa d'Aubignd: Huguenot Historian." Unpublished dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1958.

III. Works on Literary or Historical Background

Allen, J. W. A History of Political Thought in the Sixteenth century. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1960.

Asher, R. E. "Myth and History in Renaissance France." Studl Francese, 39 (1969), 409-19.

Atkinson, Geoffroy. Les Nouveaux Horizons de la Renaissance Francalse. Paris: Droz, 1935.

Baldwin, Charles Sears. Renaissance Literary Theory and Practice. New York:'Columbia University Press, 1939.

Barnes, Harry Elmer. A History of Historical Writing. Norman: University o£ Oklahoma Press, 1937.

Bates, Blanchard W. Literary Portraiture in the Historical Narrative of the French"Renaissance. New York: 6. E." Stechert & Co., 1945.

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