Produced by David Widger
THE TALES OF
THE HEPTAMERON
OF
Margaret, Queen of Navarre
_Newly Translated into English from the Authentic Text_
OF M. LE ROUX DE LINCY WITH
AN ESSAY UPON THE HEPTAMERON
BY
GEORGE SAINTSBURY, M.A.
Also the Original Seventy-three Full Page Engravings
Designed by S. FREUDENBERG
And One Hundred and Fifty Head and Tail Pieces
By DUNKER
_IN FIVE VOLUMES_
VOLUME THE FIRST
LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY OF ENGLISH BIBLIOPHILISTS
MDCCCXCIV
Frontispiece]
[Margaret, Queen of Navarre, from a crayon drawing by Clouet, preservedat the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris]
Titlepage]
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
Preface
Memoir of Margaret of Angouleme
Essay on the Heptameron
Dedications and Preface to the Original Editions
of the Heptameron
The Prologue
FIRST DAY.
Tale I. The pitiful history of a Proctor of Alencon, named St. Aignan,and of his wife, who caused her husband to assassinate her lover, theson of the Lieutenant-General
II. The fate of the wife of a muleteer of Amboise, who suffered herselfto be killed by her servant rather than sacrifice her chastity
III. The revenge taken by the Queen of Naples, wife to King Alfonso, forher husband's infidelity with a gentleman's wife
IV. The ill success of a Flemish gentleman who was unable to obtain,either by persuasion or force, the love of a great Princess
V. How a boatwoman of Coulon, near Nyort, contrived to escape from thevicious designs of two Grey Friars
Tale VI. How the wife of an old valet of the Duke of Alencon's succeededin saving her lover from her husband, who was blind of one eye
VII. The craft of a Parisian merchant, who saved the reputation of thedaughter by offering violence to the mother
Appendix to the First Day
ENGRAVINGS
To face page Queen Margaret of Navarre. Frontispiece.
Prologue: The Story-tellers in the Meadow near The Gave. By S.Freudenberg
FIRST DAY.
Tale I. Du Mesnil learns his Mistress's Infidelity from her Maid. By S.Freudenberg
II. The Muleteer's Servant attacking his Mistress. By S. Freudenberg
III. The King Joking upon the Stag's Head being A fitting Decoration. ByS. Freudenberg
IV. The Princess's Lady of Honour hurrying to her Mistress's Assistance.By S. Freudenberg
V. The Boatwoman of Coulon outwitting the Friars. By S. Freudenberg
VI. The Wife's Ruse to secure the Escape of her Lover. By S. Freudenberg
VII. The Merchant transferring his Caresses from the Daughter to theMother. By S. Freudenberg
PREFACE.
The first printed version of the famous Tales of Margaret of Navarre,issued in Paris in the year 1558, under the title of "Histoires desAmans Fortunez," was extremely faulty and imperfect. It comprised butsixty-seven of the seventy-two tales written by the royal author, andthe editor, Pierre Boaistuau, not merely changed the order of thosenarratives which he did print, but suppressed numerous passages in them,besides modifying much of Margaret's phraseology. A somewhat similarcourse was adopted by Claude Gruget, who, a year later, produced whatclaimed to be a complete version of the stories, to which he gave thegeneral title of the _Heptameron_, a name they have ever since retained.Although he reinstated the majority of the tales in their propersequence, he still suppressed several of them, and inserted others intheir place, and also modified the Queen's language after the fashionset by Boaistuau. Despite its imperfections, however, Gruget's versionwas frequently reprinted down to the beginning of the eighteenthcentury, when it served as the basis of the numerous editions of the_Heptameron_ in _beau langage_, as the French phrased it, which thenbegan to make their appearance. It served, moreover, in the one or theother form, for the English and other translations of the work, and downto our own times was accepted as the standard version of the Queenof Navarre's celebrated tales. Although it was known that variouscontemporary MSS. were preserved at the French National Library inParis, no attempt was made to compare Gruget's faulty version with theoriginals until the Societe des Bibliophiles Francais entrusted thisdelicate task to M. Le Roux de Lincy, whose labours led to some mostvaluable discoveries, enabling him to produce a really authentic versionof Margaret's admired masterpiece, with the suppressed tales restored,the omitted passages reinstated, and the Queen's real language given forthe first time in all its simple gracefulness.
It is from the authentic text furnished by M. Le Roux de Lincy that thepresent translation has been made, without the slightest suppression orabridgment. The work moreover contains all the more valuable notes tobe found in the best French editions of the _Heptameron_, as well asnumerous others from original sources, and includes a _resume_ of thevarious suggestions made by MM. Felix Frank, Le Roux de Lincy, PaulLacroix, and A. de Montaiglon, towards the identification of thenarrators of the stories, and the principal actors in them, withwell-known personages of the time. An Essay on the _Heptameron_ from thepen of Mr. George Saintsbury, M.A., and a Life of Queen Margaret,are also given, as well as the quaint Prefaces of the earlier Frenchversions; and a complete bibliographical summary of the various editionswhich have issued from the press.
It may be supposed that numerous illustrated editions have beenpublished of a work so celebrated as the _Heptameron_, which,besides furnishing scholars with a favourite subject for research andspeculation, has, owing to its perennial freshness, delighted so manygenerations of readers. Such, however, is not the case. Only two fullyillustrated editions claim the attention of connoisseurs. The firstof these was published at Amsterdam in 1698, with designs by the Dutchartist, Roman de Hooge, whose talent has been much overrated. To-daythis edition is only valuable on account of its comparative rarity. Verydifferent was the famous edition illustrated by Freudenberg, a Swissartist--the friend of Boucher and of Greuze--which was published inparts at Berne in 1778-81, and which among amateurs has long commandedan almost prohibitive price.
The Full-page Illustrations to the present translation are printed fromthe actual copperplates engraved for the Berne edition by Longeuil,Halbou, and other eminent French artists of the eighteenth century,after the designs of S. Freudenberg. There are also the one hundred andfifty elaborate head and tail pieces executed for the Berne edition byDunker, well known to connoisseurs as one of the principal engravers ofthe _Cabinet_ of the Duke de Choiseul.
The Portrait of Queen Margaret placed as frontispiece to the presentvolume is from a crayon drawing by Clouet, preserved at the BibliothequeNationale, Paris.
Ernest A. Vizetelly.
London,
1893.
_Explanation of the Initials appended to the Notes_.
B.J...Bibliophile Jacob, i.e. Paul Lacroix.
D.....F. Dillaye.
F.....Felix Frank.
L.....Le Roux de Lincy.
M.....Anatole de Montaiglon.
Ed....E. A. Vizetelly.
_MARGARET OF ANGOULEME, QUEEN OF NAVARRE._