1431-146-?.
Poet and vagabond, he led a most irregular life, twice narrowly
escaped hanging, and composed many of his poems in prison. He was a
poet of great originality, for he broke away from the conventional
subjects and the allegorizing habit of the Middle Ages and gave to the
lyric a personal note and a depth and poignancy of feeling that made
it almost a new creation, though he still adhered mainly to the
traditional forms and showed a special preference for the ballade.
Most of his ballades are introduced into his main works, the _Petit
Testament_ and the _Grand Testament_, which are entirely personal in
contents.
His works were first published in 1489; Marot prepared an edition in
the following century, Paris, 1533; they were not reprinted in the
seventeenth century; convenient recent editions are those of P.
L. Jacob (Paul Lacroix), 1854; P. Jannet (_Nouvelle collection
Jannet-Picard_) and A. Longnon, 1892.
For reference: A. Longnon, _Étude biographique sur François Villon_,
1877; Sainte-Beuve, _Causeries du lundi_, vol. xiv; Th. Gautier, _les
Grotesques_; J. Lemaître, _Impressions de théâtre_, troisième série,
1889 ; Robert Louis Stevenson, _Familiar Studies of Men and Books_,
London, 1882.
4. BALLADE DES DAMES DU TEMPS JADIS. Dante Gabriel Rossetti has
translated this ballade, which is perhaps the most famous one in the
language. 6. DICTES, _dites_, n'en = _ni en _; in Old French _ne_
could be used for the simple alternative 'or.' 7. FLORA; a late
tradition made of the Roman goddess of flowers and spring a wealthy
and beautiful woman. 8. ARCHIPIDIA, perhaps Hipparchia is meant;
THAIS, an Athenian beauty of the fourth century B.C. 10. ECHO, the
nymph of classical mythology. MAINE, _mène_. 11. ESTAN, _étang_. 13.
ANTAN, _last year_ (from Latin _ante annum_); Rossetti translates
"yesteryear". 14. HELOÏS, Heloise, or Eloise. 16. ESBAILLART, Abelard
(1079-1142), a French scholar and philosopher, whose love for the
beautiful and accomplished Heloise, one of his pupils, has passed
into legend, which has quite transformed the fact. SAINCT-DENYS,
Saint-Denis, only four and one half miles from Paris, celebrated for
the cathedral of Saint-Denis in which are the tombs of the kings of
France. Abelard resided for a time in the abbey of Saint-Denis. 17.
ESSOYNE = _peine_. 18. ROYNE, _reine_; Marguerite de Bourgogne, wife
of Louis le Hutin, is meant, the heroine of the legend of the Tour
de Nesle, according to which she had her numerous lovers killed and
thrown into the Seine. Buridan was more fortunate and escaped; he was
afterwards a learned professor of the University of Paris. She herself
was strangled in prison in 1314. 21. LA ROYNE BLANCHE, Blanche de
Castille, mother of Saint Louis. 22. SEREINE, _sirène_. 23. BERTHE AU
GRAND PIED, celebrated in the _chansons de geste_, was the mother of
Charlemagne. BIETRIS, Beatrix de Provence, married in 1245 to Charles,
son of Louis VIII. ALLYS, Alix de Champagne, married in 1160 to Louis
le Jeune. 24. HAREMBOURGES, Eremburge, daughter of Elie de la Flèche,
count of Maine, who died in 1110. 25. JEHANNE, Joan of Arc, who was
burned at the stake at Rouen in 1431.
5.
1. N'ENQUEREZ, _do not seek to know_. SEPMAINE,_semaine_. 3. QUE ...
NE, _lest_. REMAINE = _reste_. LAY ou PLUSTOST RONDEAU. 8. SE, _si_.
12. DEVIE = _meure_. 13. VOIRE = _vraiment_. JE CONNAIS TOUT FORS
QUE MOI-MEME. 15. LAICT. _lait_. 21. BESONGNE = _travaille_. CHOMME,
_chôme_. 24. GONNE, _gown_, a monk's garment.
6. 3. PIPEUR, one who whistles in imitation of birds ; _je congnois
pipeur qui jargonne, I know the tricks of the bird-catcher_. 4. FOLZ
NOURRIZ DE CRESME, refers perhaps to the pampered court jesters. 7.
MULLET, _mulet_. 10. GECT, a counter for counting and adding (_qui
nombre et somme_). 12. BOESMES, _Bohemians_; _la faults des Boesmes_
is the heresy of the followers of John Huss (1369- 1415) and Jerome
of Prague (1375-1416). 16. COULEREZ ET BLESMES = _teints colorés et
blêmes_»