Hilarion de Coste states, moreover, that “she composed a tragi-comic
translation of almost the whole of the New Testament, which she caused
to be played before the King, her husband, having assembled with this
object some of the best actors of Italy; and as these buffoons are only
born to give pleasure and make time pass away, in order to amuse the
company they invariably introduced _rondeaux_ and _virelais_ against the
ecclesiastics, especially the monks and village priests.” (1)
1 M. Le Roux de Lincy points out that this statement is
exaggerated, for Margaret, instead of turning the whole of
the New Testament into verse, merely wrote four Mysteries
which mainly dealt with the childhood of Christ.
These performances took place at the Château of Pau, which Margaret and
her husband seem to have preferred to that of Nérac, though political
reasons often compelled them to fix their abode at the latter. Pau,
however, possessed the advantage of a mild climate, necessary for
Margaret’s health, besides being delightfully situated on the Bearnese
Gave, the view from the château extending over a fertile valley limited
by the snow-capped Pyrenees. There had been a château at Pau as early
as the tenth century, but the oldest portions of the structure now
subsisting date from the time of Edward III., when Pau was the capital
of the celebrated Gaston-Phoebus. The château was considerably enlarged
and embellished in the fifteenth century, but it was not until after
Margaret’s marriage with Henry d’Albret that the more remarkable
decorative work was executed. Upon leaving Nérac to reside at Pau,
Margaret summoned a number of Italian artists and confided the
embellishment of the château to them.(1)
It was not, however, merely the château which Margaret beautified
at Pau. Already at Alençon she had laid out a charming park, which a
contemporary poet called a terrestrial paradise,(2) and upon coming
to reside at Pau she transformed the surrounding woods into delightful
gardens, pronounced to be the finest then existing in Europe.(3)
1 Some of the doors and windows of the château are
elaborately ornamented in the best style of the Renaissance,
whilst the grand staircase, although dating from Margaret’s
time, has vaulted arches, sometimes in the Romanesque and at
others in the Gothic style. Entwined on the friezes are the
initials H and M (Henry and Margaret), occasionally
accompanied by the letter R, implying _Rex_ or _Regina_. On
the first floor of the chateau is the bedroom occupied by
Margaret’s husband, remarkable for its Renaissance chimney-
piece, and also a grand reception hall, now adorned with
tapestry made for Francis I. in Flanders. It was in this
latter room that the Count of Montgomery--the same who had
thrust out the eye of Henry II. at a tournament, and thereby
caused that monarch’s death--acting at the instigation of
Margaret’s daughter Jane, assembled the Catholic noblemen of
Bearn on August 24, 1569, and, after entertaining them with a
banquet, had them treacherously massacred. Bascle de
Lagrèze’s _Château de Pau_, Paris, 1854.
2 _Le Recueil de l’Antique pré-excellence de Gaule, &c._, by
G. Le Roville, Paris, 1551 (fol. 74).
3 Hilarion de Coste’s _Vies et Éloges des Dames illustres,
&c._, vol. ii. p. 272.
Some idea of their appearance may be gained from a couple of the
miniatures adorning a curious manuscript catechism composed for Margaret
and now in the Arsenal Library at Paris.(1)
1 _Manuscrits théologiques français_, No. 60, _Initiatoire
Instruction en la Religion chrétienne, &c_. In one of these
miniatures the Saviour is represented carrying the cross,
followed by Henry of Navarre, his brother Charles d’Albret,
Margaret, and other personages, all of whom bear crosses,
whilst in the background are some pleasure-grounds with a
castle, a little waterfall, and a lake. Another miniature in
the same manuscript shows King Henry of Navarre with a
flower in his hand, which he seems to be offering to the
Queen, who stands in the background among a party of
courtiers. The King wears a surtout of cloth of gold, edged
with ermine, over a blue jerkin, and a red cap with a white
feather. Margaret is also arrayed in cloth of gold, but with
a black cap and wimple. She is standing in a garden enclosed
by a railing, and adorned with a fountain in the form of a
temple which rises among groves and arbours. Beyond a white
crenellated wall is a castle which has been identified with
that of Pau. On fol. 1 of the same MS. the artist has
depicted Queen Margaret’s escutcheon, by which we find that
she quartered the arms of France with those of Navarre,
Aragon, Castile, Leon, Bearn, Bigorre, Evreux, and Albret.
The Court which Margaret kept in turns at Alençon, Nérac, and Pau does
not appear to have been so sumptuous and gay as some of her biographers
assert. Brantôme mentions that the Queen’s two tables were always served
with frugality, and Sainte-Marthe states that “she talked at dinner and
supper now of medicine, of food wholesome or unwholesome for the human
body, and of objects of nature with Masters Schyron, Cormier, and
Esterpin, her expert and learned doctors, who carefully watched her eat
and drink, as is done with princes; now she would speak of history or of
the precepts of philosophy with other very erudite personages, with whom
her house was never unfurnished; at another time she would enter into
conversation on her faith and the Christian religion with Monsieur
Gerard, Bishop of Oloron. Altogether there was not a single moment
that was not employed by her in honest, pleasant, and useful
conversation.” (1)
The same panegyrist tells us of Margaret’s favourite occupations,
mentioning that when she was alone in her room she more often held a
book in her hand than a distaff, a pen than a spindle, and the ivory of
her tablets than a needle. He then adds: “And if she applied herself to
tapestry or other needlework, such as was to her a pleasant occupation,
she had beside her some one who read to her, either from a historian or
a poet, or some other notable and useful author; or else she dictated
some meditation which was written down.” (2)