Georgette de Montenay (P TS ES 00201) (cropped)

Georgette de Montenay (1540–1581) was the French author of ''Emblemes ou devises chrestiennes'', published in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

between 1567 and 1571. Montenay has always been regarded as a lady-in-waiting to

Jeanne d'Albret Jeanne d'Albret (Basque: ''Joana Albretekoa''; Occitan: ''Joana de Labrit''; 16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572), also known as Jeanne III, was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. Jeanne was the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and Margaret ...

, the Protestant Queen of Navarre, partly because she dedicated her work to the Queen. An intriguing aspect of Montenay's Calvinist life is that she was married in 1562 to Guyon de Gout, a devout Catholic. Montenay was born in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. She came from an affluent military family, but was orphaned when young and was taken into the court by the Queen of Navarre, whom she served first as ''

fille d'honneur A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen r ...

'' and later as ''

dame d'honneur Dame d'honneur or Dame d’honneur was a common title for two categories of French ladies-in-waiting, who are often confused because of the similarity. Dame d'honneur can be: * Short for Première dame d'honneur, which were commonly shortened to ...

''. Her position enabled her to acquire a thorough grounding in the classics and exposed her to

Evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

. She died at Sainte-Germier, near Toulouse.

''Emblemes ou Devises Chrestiennes''

Montenay's book is an important milestone in the history of

emblem book An emblem book is a book collecting emblems (allegorical illustrations) with accompanying explanatory text, typically morals or poems. This category of books was popular in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Emblem books are collections ...

s, inasmuch as it was written by a female member of the

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

(

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

) faith. Montenay claims in her foreword that the book represents the first collection of Christian

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

s. However, there are earlier emblematic works such as Claude Paradin's ''"Devises heroiques"'' (Lyons:, 1551; 1557). Montenay's ''Emblemes'' signals the beginning of a systematic exploitation of these emblems in religious propaganda. It was illustrated using

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

engravings by Pierre Woeiriot rather than the more traditional

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

s. It is unusual in calling for participation by the reader in recognising biblical allusions, both verbal and visual, and serves to both educate and entertain. Montenay's work was thought to have first appeared in 1571, but a copy in the Royal Library in Copenhagen shows that it first appeared in 1567 and had been languishing in the hands of her publishers, Jean Marcorelle and Philippe de Castellas, since 1561. The delay may be explained by the religious turmoil of the time making early publication unwise. The

Peace of Saint-Germain The Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed on 8 August 1570 by Charles IX of France, Gaspard II de Coligny and Jeanne d'Albret, and ended the 1568 to 1570 Third Civil War, part of the French Wars of Religion. The Peace went much further tha ...

in 1570 raised hopes which were soon dashed by the 1572

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (french: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French War ...

. In 1584 a Latin version was published, followed in 1619 by the

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

polyglot edition in Spanish, Italian, German, English and Dutch. The same illustrations are used in all three editions, so that the plates needed moving between

s, Zurich and

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. The motto or title included in each engraving is in Latin, and is invariably a quotation from the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

version of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, a book with which the common people shared an easy familiarity. The reader was expected to be able to place the quotations in context. The Scottish calligrapher

Esther Inglis Esther Inglis ( or ) (1571–1624) was a skilled member of the artisan class, as well as a miniaturist, who possessed several skills in areas such as calligraphy, writing, and embroidering. She was born in 1571 in either LondonFrye, Susan. 201 ...

revised an emblem by Montenay to honour her patron,

Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar (1576-1644) was a Scottish courtier. She was the daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, a favourite of James VI of Scotland, and Catherine de Balsac. After her marriage, as was customary in Scotland, she did ...

. The illustration of the "wise woman who builds her house" from

Proverbs A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...

14:1, originally identified the wise woman as Jeanne d'Albret.Michael Bath, ''Emblems in Scotland: Motifs and Meanings'' (Brill: Leiden, 2018), pp. 37-43.

Bibliography

*Alison Adams, Stephen Rawles, Alison Saunders, ''A Bibliography of French Emblem Books'', 2 vols (Geneva: Droz, 1999-2002) *Montenay, Georgette de, ''Emblemes ou devises chrestiennes'' (1571), ed. Christopher N. Smith (Menston: Scolar Press, 1973). Facsimile reprint. *Adams, Alison, ''‘Les emblemes ou devises chrestiennes de Georgette de Montenay: édition de 1567’'' (2000) *Adams, Alison, ''‘Georgette de Montenay’s Emblemes ou devises chrestiennes, 1567: New Dating, New Context’'' (2001) *Adams, Alison, ''Webs of Allusion: French Protestant Emblem Books of the Sixteenth Century'' (Geneva: Droz, 2003) *Reynolds-Cornell, Regine, ''Witnessing an Era: Georgette de Montenay and the Emblemes ou Devises Chrestiennes'' (Birmingham, AL: Summa Publications, 1987). *Paulette Choné, ''Emblèmes et pensées symboliques en Lorraine (1525-1633)'' (Paris: Klincksieck, 1991) * Labrousse, Elisabeth & Jean-Philippe, ''‘Georgette de Montenay et Guyon du Gout son époux’'', Bulletin de la Société archéologique, historique, littéraire et scientifique du Gers (1990)

References

External links

''Georgette de Montenay'' - Sara F. Matthews Grieco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montenay, Georgette De 1540 births 1581 deaths Writers from Toulouse Calvinist and Reformed writers French ladies-in-waiting 16th-century French women writers