A Medieval Story for Valentine's Day, Bonne & Charles

Written by Barbara Nell


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I was able to find a description by A.E.B. Coldiron, who says it’s an appeal to Cupid with Charles as a servant of Cupid (Lust imagery, I think.) but no one is named and there is no heading. Charles says he admires this person (Bonne?) and despairs of seeing her again. He is frustrated (which is what all noble men were required to express in Chivalric code), but Coldiron doesn’t say what he’s frustrated about. He promises to be faithful and praises her beauty, virtue, and honor. He may describe intimate moments they’ve shared, a custom in Valentines, but I suspect not. She was simply too young to have been expected to cohabit with her groom and when she was old enough to cohabit, he was away fighting battles, then captured.

A non-academic source has publishedrepparttar following verse on a website, http://www.homespunpeddler.com and has attributed this verse to Charles in a collection called “Romantic Valentines.” It doesn’t read anything like Coldiron’s description, so I doubt if it’srepparttar 125321 one he wrote to Bonne. I offer it to you, so you know what a translated from Medieval French into modern English 15th century Valentine would read like. "Wilt thou be mine? dear Love, reply -- Sweetly consent or else deny. Whisper softly, none shall know, Wilt thou be mine, Love? -- aye or no? Spite of Fortune, we may be Happy by one word from thee. Life flies swiftly -- ere it go Wilt thou be mine, Love? -- aye or no?"

Frankly,repparttar 125322 above verse is not that terrific, is it? I would call it doggerel. Maybe something is lost inrepparttar 125323 translation. If not, I think he could have done better. He had a lot of time on his hands.

I’d like to believe that Charles and Bonne did love each other, but don’t know for certain. (The glimmer of hope I entertain that Charles loved Bonne is an anecdote about him reading a love poem he composed to her at their wedding ceremony. Some scholars believe he was showing off his poem prowess, but some scholars are without a scrap of romance in their souls.) Things were different six hundred years ago: love and marriage didn’t intersect amongst nobility and aristocrats. Children were pawns and shuffled around to do smart things for their families. Duty to family superceded love and children dutifully married other children. Romance was inrepparttar 125324 chivalrous code, hence, unrequited. Sexual congress was for procreation, a duty, and family lineage promulgation was its purpose. Lust was with wrenches, when they could be found. If Bonne and Charles loved each other, it’s a sad story of 2 children from good families. If they didn’t love each other, it’s a jailhouse reverie of a young man who burns. I don’t want to leave you on either note. So, I’ll go for this: go get some vellum (stretched goat skin), pen a personal message of your feelings to your love, make it pretty and fancy all over, and hand it to your love. Maybe your message will be memorialized until 2605, when someone like me comes around to figure what happened then.



Publisher of The Perspicacious Woman OnLine, a bi-monthly fashion ezine, in its 9th year of publication, Barbara has been a 'bug' on history for years. Her history articles appear occassionaly in the fashion ezine where they are well received by the subscribers. She can be reached at editor@daisyshop.com. The fashion ezine can be read at http://daisyshop.com/newsletter.asp.


Traditional Anniversary Gem Stone List

Written by Marguerite Bonneville


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Year 1 Gold Year 2 Garnet Year 3 Pearl Year 4 Blue Topaz Year 5 Sapphire Year 6 Amethyst Year 7 Onyx Year 8 Tourmaline Year 9 Lapis Year 10 Diamond Year 11 Turquoise Year 12 Jade Year 13 Citrine Year 14 Opal Year 15 Ruby Year 16 Peridot Year 17 Amethyst Year 18 Cat's Eye Year 19 Aquamarine Year 20 Emerald Year 21 Iolite Year 22 Spinel Year 23 Imperial Topaz Year 24 Tanzanite Year 25 Silver Year 30 Pearl Year 35 Emerald Year 40 Ruby Year 45 Sapphire Year 50 Gold Year 55 Alexandrite Year 60 Diamond Year 65 Blue Spinel Year 75 Diamond

Marguerite Bonneville is a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) whose passion is publishing information online. She is a contributing writer for http://www.romantic-gift-ideas-online.com, a resource site dedicated to helping visitors find the perfect romantic gift.


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