Georges Chatelain
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Georges Chastellain (c. 1405 or c. 1415 – 20 March 1475), Burgundian chronicler and poet, was a native of Aalst in
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
. Chastellain's historical works are valuable for the accurate information they contain. As a poet he was famous among his contemporaries. He was the great master of the school of ''
grands rhétoriqueurs The grands rhétoriqueurs or simply the "rhétoriqueurs" is the name given to a group of poets from 1460 to 1520 (or from the generation of François Villon (no ''rhétoriqueur'' himself) to Clément Marot) working in Northern France, Flanders, and ...
'', whose principal characteristics were fondness for the most artificial forms and a profusion of Latinisms and graecisms.


Biography


Early life

Georges Chastellain derived his surname from the fact that his ancestors were
burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especia ...
s or
châtelain Châtelain (from la, castellanus, derived from ''castellum''; pertaining to a castle, fortress. Middle English: '' castellan'' from Anglo-Norman: ''castellain'' and Old French: ''castelain'') was originally the French title for the keeper of a c ...
s of the town; his parents, who belonged to illustrious Flemish families, were probably the Jean Chastellain and his wife Marie de Masmines mentioned in the town records in 1425 and 1432. A copy of an epitaph originally at
Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
states that he died on 20 March 1474-5 aged seventy. But since he states that he was so young a child in 1430 that he could not recollect the details of events in that year, and since he was an ''ecolier'' at
Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...
in 1430, his birth may probably be placed nearer 1415 than 1405. He saw active service in the Anglo-French wars and probably elsewhere, winning the surname of L'adventureux. In 1434 he received a gift from
Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...
, duke of Burgundy, for his military services, but on the conclusion of the peace of Arras in the next year he abandoned soldiering for diplomacy. The next ten years were spent in France, where he was connected with
Georges de la Trémoille Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses *Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 1977 ...
, and afterwards entered the household of
Pierre de Brézé Pierre de Brézé (or de Brezé) ( 1410 – 16 July 1465) was a French soldier and courtier in the service of kings Charles VII and Louis XI. Early life Pierre de Brézé was born circa 1410. Career De Brézé rose to prominence during the Hu ...
, at that time
seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...
of
Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
, by whom he was employed on missions to the duke of Burgundy, in an attempt to establish better relations between Charles VII and the duke. During these years Chastellain had ample opportunity of obtaining an intimate knowledge of French affairs, but on the further breach between the two princes, Chastellain left the French service to enter Philip's household. He was at first pantler, then carver, titles which are misleading as to the actual nature of his services, which were those of a diplomatist; and in 1457 he became a member of the ducal council. He was continually employed on diplomatic errands until 1455, when, owing apparently to ill-health, he received apartments in the palace of the counts of Hainaut at Salle-le-Comte, Valenciennes, with a considerable pension, on condition that the recipient should put in writing ''choses nouvelles et morales'', and a chronicle of notable events. That is to say, he was appointed Burgundian historiographer with a recommendation to write also on other subjects not strictly within the scope of a chronicler.


Mid-life

From this time he worked hard at his ''Chronique'', with occasional interruptions in his retreat to fulfil missions in France or to visit the Burgundian court. He was assisted, from about 1463 onwards, by his disciple and
continuator A continuator, in literature, is a writer who creates a new work based on someone else's prior text, such as a novel or novel fragment. The new work may complete the older work (as with the numerous continuations of Jane Austen's unfinished novel ...
,
Jean Molinet Jean Molinet (1435 – 23 August 1507) was a French poet, chronicler, and composer. He is best remembered for his prose translation of ''Roman de la rose''. Born in Desvres, which is now part of France, he studied in Paris. He entered the s ...
, whose rhetorical and redundant style may be fairly traced in some passages of the ''Chronique''.
Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...
maintained the traditions of his house as a patron of literature, and showed special favor to Chastellain, who, after being constituted ''indiciaire'' or chronicler of the
Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...
, was himself made a
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
of the order on 2 May 1473. He died at Valenciennes in 1475, on 13 February (according to the treasury accounts), or on 20 March (according to his epitaph). He left an illegitimate son, to whom was paid in 1524 one hundred and twenty
livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...
for a copy of the ''Chronique'' intended for
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...
's sister Mary, queen of Hungary. Only about one third of the whole work, which extended from 1419 to 1474, is known to be in existence, but manuscripts carried by the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
s to
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
or
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
may possibly yet be discovered. Among his contemporaries Chastellain acquired a great reputation by his poems and occasional pieces now little considered. The unfinished state of his ''Chronique'' at the time of his death, coupled with political considerations, may possibly account for the fact that it remained unprinted during the century that followed his death, and his historical work was only disinterred from the libraries of Arras, Paris and Brussels by the painstaking researches of Jean Alexandre Buchon in 1825. Chastellain was constantly engaged during the earlier part of his career in negotiations between the French and Burgundian courts, and thus had personal knowledge of the persons and events dealt with in his history. A partisan element in writing of French affairs was inevitable in a Burgundian chronicle. This feature appears most strongly in his treatment of
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
; and the attack on
Agnès Sorel Agnès Sorel (; 1422 – 9 February 1450), known by the sobriquet ''Dame de beauté'' (Lady of Beauty), was a favourite and chief mistress of King Charles VII of France, by whom she bore four daughters. She is considered the first officially r ...
seems to have been dictated by the dauphin (afterwards
Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...
), then a refugee in Burgundy, of whom he was afterwards to become a severe critic.


Legacy

Among his most sympathetic portraits are those of his friend Pierre de Brézé and of
Jacques Coeur Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
. His French style, based partly on his
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
reading, has, together with its undeniable vigour and picturesqueness, the characteristic redundance and rhetorical quality of the Burgundian school. Chastellain was no mere annalist, but proposed to fuse and shape his vast material to his own conclusions, in accordance with his political experience. The most interesting feature of his work is the skill with which he pictures the leading figures of his time. His characters are the fruit of acute and experienced observation, and abound in satirical traits, although the 42nd chapter of his second book, devoted expressly to portraiture, is headed ''Comment Georges escrit et mentionne les louanges vertueuses des princes de son temps''. The known extant fragments of Chastellain's ''Chroniques'' with his other works were edited by Joseph Kervyn de Lettenhove for the Brussels Academy (8 vols., Brussels, 1863–1866) as ''L'Oeuvre de Georges Chastellain''. This edition includes all that had been already published by Buchon in his ''Collection de chroniques'' and'' Choix de chroniques'' (material subsequently incorporated in the ''Panthéon littéraire''), and portions printed by Renard in his ''Trésor national'', vol. i. and by Quicherat in the ''Procès de la Pucelle'' vol. iv. Kervyn de Lettenhove's text includes the portions of the chronicle covering the periods September 1419 to October 1422, January 1430 to December 1431, 1451–1452, July 1454 to October 1458, July 1461 to July 1463, and, with omissions, June 1467 to September 1470; and three volumes of minor pieces of considerable interest, especially ''Le Temple de Boccace'', dedicated to
Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou (french: link=no, Marguerite; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England and nominally Queen of France by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Born in the Duchy of Lorrain ...
, and the ''Déprécation'' for Pierre de Brézé when imprisoned by Louis XI. In the case of these minor works the attribution to Chastellain is in some cases erroneous, notably in the case of the ''Livre des faits de
Jacques de Lalaing Jacques de Lalaing (1421–1453), perhaps the most renowned knight of Burgundy in the 15th century, was reportedly one of the best medieval tournament fighters of all time. A Walloon knight, he began his military career in the service of Adolp ...
'', which is the work of Lefebvre de Saint-Remi, Herald of the Golden Fleece. In the allegorical ''Oultr d'amour'' it has been thought a real romance between Pierre de Brézé and a lady of the royal house is concealed.


Works

*''Chronique des choses de mon temps,'' a history of the years 1417–74, of which only fragments remain, continued after Chastellain's death, by his disciple,
Jean Molinet Jean Molinet (1435 – 23 August 1507) was a French poet, chronicler, and composer. He is best remembered for his prose translation of ''Roman de la rose''. Born in Desvres, which is now part of France, he studied in Paris. He entered the s ...
. It was first edited by Buchon in ''Les chroniques nationales'' (1827) and re-edited by Kervyn de Lettenhove (8 vols., Brussels, 1863–67). * "Louange à la tresglorieuse Vierge" (c. 1455). Ed. by Cynthia J. Brown as part of: "Variance and Late Medieval ''Mouvance'': Reading an Edition of Georges Chastellain's 'Louange à la tresglorieuse Vierge,' in: ''Translation, Transformation, and Transubstantiation'', ed. Carol Poster and Richard Utz (Evanston: IL: Northwestern University Press, 1998), pp. 123–75 (original text and English translation on pp. 136–75) *''Récollections des merveilles advenues en mon temps'' (Antwerp, 1505). *''Chronique de Messire Jean de Lalaing,'' a delightful biography.


References

* * *Graeme Small, ''George Chastelain and the Shaping of Valois Burgundy: Political and Historical Culture at Court in the Fifteenth Century'' Royal Historical Society, 1997 (Studies in History); reprinted in paperback by
Boydell and Brewer Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, edition ...
, 2011.


External links

* *
MS 443/21 L'outré d'amour pour amour morte at OPenn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chastellain, Georges 15th-century French historians French poets 1475 deaths People from Aalst, Belgium 15th-century births