GRUYERE WITHOUT ITS COUNTS
Nearly four hundred years have passed since the fall of its counts, but
the merciless march of democracy, although changing the government of
Gruyere has left the people strangely unaltered. In spite of the
injunctions of the Lutheran Bernois, they still danced and sang, and
until the dawn of the present century still spoke their musical patois.
The chateau, long used as the residence of a prefet of Fribourg, was
offered for sale when in the middle of the 19th century the prefecture
was transferred to Bulle. For a long time left to decay, it was finally
doomed to demolition, when for the same sum offered by a housebreaker of
Vevey, it was happily purchased by M. Bovy of Geneva. His brother, a
painter and pupil of Ingres, devoted the remaining strength left to him
after a disabling paralysis, to the restoration of the chateau, and in
this enthusiastic service exhausted the family fortune. His friends and
companions in Paris gathered about him, and to the beautiful frescoes
with which he adorned the walls of the Hall of the Chevaliers were added
the landscape vignettes of the salon. Thus several Corot canvases are
strangely found in this out of the way corner in the Swiss mountains, a
lovely tribute of the great modern master to the long past glories of
Gruyere. In the jousting court flowers bloom bravely through the passing
seasons, the old well with its moss covered roof jewels the terrace with
its emerald green; through the chapel windows the painted light streams
over walls where in silver on scarlet still flies the Grue. On the clock
tower, still circling, the hands mark the passing of time and the bells
in the church still ring out their summons to prayer. At Easter the
"Benichons" bring the people together for their old dances and songs,
and in the long "Veillees" the lads and the maids through the summer
nights or in winter beside their bright fires, watch the dawning of
love. The maidens, like Juliet, lean from low vine-covered windows, and
with beckoning candles invite their lovers to climb. The spring pastures
still blossom with marjolaine and narcissus, with cowslips and rue, the
orchards still redden in autumn with ripe fruit which falls with the
breeze, with tressed wheat, goats, and cows black and white; the green
fertile country abounds, and as in Provence a Mireille is the poet's
dream of its maids, so is "_Marie la Tresseuse_" in poems and tales the
wheat weaving girl of Gruyere. The "Armaillis" still drive their herds
to the mountains, still singing "_Le ranz des vaches_," the song which
among all others best reveals the soul of their race. "Lioba," "Lioba,"
one should hear the refrain as it echoes from the valleys and hills, the
same cry, musical, lingering, melancholy, which through century after
century has been sung by generations of Gruyere herdsmen.
"Le Ranz des Vaches."
The herdsmen of the Colombettes,
To milk the cows arose.
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
Come! Come! Large and small,
The black, the white, the short, the tall,
Starry forehead, red and gold,
All the young and all the old.
Under the oak tree come!
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
Bells came first,
Jet black came last,
But at the stream they stopped aghast.
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
Alas, poor Pierre! what will you do?
Trouble enough you have, 'tis true.
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
At the Cure's door
You now must tap,
He'll tell you how to cross the gap.
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
And what should I to the Cure say?
A mass shall I beg, or will he pray
To help my cows go over?
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
The Cure he, of a cheese was fain,
"A creamy cheese, or your cows remain
On the other side, 'tis very plain."
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
"Send us your pretty maid," said Pierre,
"To carry the cheese,
I speak you fair."
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
"Too pretty by far is my rosy maid,
She might not return," the Cure said.
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
"What belongs to the Church
We may not take,
Confession humble we then should make."
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
"Go to friend Pierre,
The mass shall be said,
Good luck be yours, rich cheese and bread."
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
Gayly Pierre went to his waiting herd,
And freely they passed at the Cure's word.
Ha! Ha! Lioba.
The soft terminations of the romanized French are never more musical
than in this famous song which, during their foreign campaigns, reduced
the Swiss soldiers to such weeping longing for home that it was
forbidden by their generals. Melancholy as is the repeated refrain, the
couplets reveal a ravishing picture of the customs and the observing
satirical spirit of the Gruyerien. Is not the quip of the Cure worthy of
any son of the Emerald Isle?
[Illustration: JOUSTING COURT]
In truth this "_verte Gruyere_" shut away from the world by its
mountains as Ireland is by the sea, is like a lost island, fabled,
remote, its speech Provencal, its soul purely Celt. Laughter loving,
warlike and brave in the idyllic years of their prime, the Gruyeriens of
to-day are still gay, caustic of wit as they are kindly at heart; and,
in a changed world, as tenacious of their new republican rights as they
were erstwhile valiant vassals to their pastoral kings. The source of
innumerable songs and legends in the rich and melodious Gruyere speech,
still pastoral, this country has been celebrated in its exquisite,
unchanging beauty by many poets; its romances and its national song have
been the themes of dramatic and musical inspirations. Not yet has the
cruel light of modern day chased the fairies, the may-maidens, the
"servans" and the evil spirits from the forests and the caves. The place
where the devil, joining in a coraule, drew the dancing people over a
precipice is still shunned by young and old; with pride also will they
point out the slope of the Gruyere hill where when the men were fighting
at the _Pre de Chenes_ the women drove their goats, each bearing a
lighted candle, through the darkness upon an invading horde of Bernois,
who, thinking they were devils, fled in affright. For the refreshment of
the good spirits who guard the herds, basins of fresh milk are still set
in every mountain chalet. The origin of the Gruyere customs, like the
coraules and the still observed habit of hanging wreaths on their door
posts or in the oak groves, have a derivation of the most distant
antiquity, in the Chaldean cradle of the race, in the myths of India and
the Orient. The personified forces of Nature, the cloud wraiths of the
mountains, the lisping voices of the streams, for many centuries
haunting the imaginations of the people, still live in their legends, as
they do in Celtic Ireland. The idyllic loveliness of the country is
deliciously completed by the vines which are trained over the houses, by
the flowers which grow in their windows, so that from spring to
November Gruyere is a garden, ringed by blue mountains under a sky of
pure blue. In the Romand country are many exquisite towns such as Romont
and Rue, Estavayer, Oron and Morat--happily preserved in their unaltered
mediaeval perfection. But the heart of this country is Gruyere,
impregnated with the romance of the departed days of chivalry, its
people affectionately faithful to the memory of their noble and beloved
rulers.
As for the Celtic wit, ever present in their sayings and legends, it is
characteristically shown in the following little story of the "Fountain
of Lessoc."
THE FOUNTAIN OF LESSOC
It happened one day that good father Colin went to the fair at chateau
d'Oex, where he successfully transacted his business, particularly at
the tavern. On his return journey he stopped at the inn at Montbovon,
not so much for the pleasure of drinking as to chat with his old
cronies, with the result that it was midnight before he was on his way
to Lessoc. A cold welcome awaited him at home. "Thou art a selfish and a
drunken wight, and the donkey is dying of thirst," said Fanchon with
many reproaches for his evil conduct. Greatly ashamed was Colin, and to
quickly repair his error untied la Cocotte and led her to the fountain.
The night was superb, and in the water was reflected the shining disk
of the moon. Precisely in this silver spot, the poor Cocotte began to
ease her thirst when, "Behold," said her master, "she is drinking the
moon." Then suddenly the moon went under a cloud, and at the same moment
Cocotte, quite satisfied, lifted her head, "Heavens!" cried Colin, "the
moon has gone and my donkey has drunk her."
Not a word did he say to his wife, but all night watched over Cocotte in
the stable. In the morning, up and down the village street, he drove her
to help her digestion. "It matters little to me," he said to himself,
"what becomes of the moon, for there is a new one each month, but I
intend to take care of my good donkey." And soon all Lessoc marveled to
see Colin and Cocotte, Cocotte and Colin, passing and repassing
continually over the same road, one apparently frightened, the other
sadly bored by the exercise. "Is your donkey ill?" asked the good mayor
at last. "Woe is me, she is ruined," replied Colin, "for she has
swallowed the moon and will not give her up." Whereupon the mayor, after
grave reflection remarked, "If la Cocotte has not yet gotten rid of the
moon, poor Colin already is rid of his senses."
At the communal council, the mayor presented at length the strange case.
"If a new moon appears," he declared, "we may be reassured, but to avoid
the possibility of further accident, we will place a spacious roof over
the fountain." This wise decision was adopted to the general
satisfaction, and such was the authentic origin of the elegant fountain
of Lessoc.
In ancient chronicles and modern publications many similar stories are
repeated, while a multitude of ballads, of legends taken from the lips
of the old peasants, constitute a precious and abounding document of the
ancient Gruyere customs.
But uniquely characteristic as are these Gruyere people, the history of
their country is still more extraordinary. Almost negligible in wealth
or population, the little mountain province, lying midway between
France, Austria, and Savoy, held in the days of its prosperity an almost
unexplainably important position beside the great monarchies of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Midway also between the Berne and
Fribourg republics, the Gruyere counts held something very nearly
approaching a balance of power between Savoy and the Confederates.
Feudal by race and by the independence of their little principality,
they were so trusted by the Confederates and so powerful with Savoy,
that they repeatedly acted as arbitrators in their mutual quarrels, and
by this high influence were sharers and at times framers of the treaties
with the neighboring kingdoms, and admitted to the diplomatic councils
of Europe. They were not only valorous in the defence of their country
but by the Latin charm of their race were adored by their subjects, and
held in great favor by the dukes of Savoy, themselves allied by many
inter-marriages with all the crowns of Europe. So important was the
little Gruyere to the French kings and the emperors of Germany that, as
has been related, they occupied themselves with its internal affairs,
attempting to intervene in such matters as runaway marriages and the
rival claims for succession. But the attitude of its rulers towards
royal and imperial mandates was so independent, their maintenance of
their feudal sovereignty was so tenacious that they preserved the high
and happy ideals of their house, and were the last of the Swiss nobles
to yield to the march of democracy.
Their long rule, extending through six centuries of internal wars,
during times when oppression was the prerogative of their order, was
stained by no single act of cruelty. In the peculiar charm of their
race, in the unique influence of their position in Europe, as in the
unbroken length of their rule, the counts of Gruyere were the most
important of all the noble Swiss families. Titles and aristocratic
privileges have long since vanished from republican Switzerland, where
liberty triumphant, the age-wrought jewel of a thousand years, shines
clearly among the tumults of the warring nations. But remote among its
mountains, a cherished place of pilgrimage and refreshment, the little
feudal city still crowns its green hill, and in the Gruyere people the
Celtic soul, undying fresh and free, still sings in their love songs and
war songs, still speaks in their legends and tales of its birth in the
morning of time.
APPENDIX
The traditions of Romand Helvetia have preserved the memory of the
establishment of Vandal or Burgundian hordes in that part of Gaul.
Thus has arisen the belief that the once wild region traversed by the
river Sarine came into the possession of some chief of these tribes who
there settled with his followers. The unavowed author (Bonsetten) of a
history of the Counts of Gruyere is of the opinion that it is possible
that, in accordance with the customs of the Germanic tribes, that
Gruerius, the hero of the popular legend, or his warriors, might have
carried a Grue (crane) as a symbol of a migratory race on their helmets
or shields, and that the leader himself might have adopted the name
Gruerius from the emblem.
The theory, however, disagrees entirely with the tradition that the
Burgundians were so fond of liberty that they bore the figure of a cat
upon their banners. It is well known that the arms of Gruyere are a Grue
on a scarlet field, and this circumstance alone has evidently given rise
to the anonymous author's conjecture. His opinion not only has no
positive proof to support it, but has no color of probability in its
favor.
J. J. Hisely, author of "Le Comte de Gruyere."
BIBLIOGRAPHY
_Histoire du Comte de Gruyere._ J.-J. Hisely. 1851, Lausanne.
_Monuments de l'Histoire du Comte de Gruyere._ Abbe Gremaud.
_Memoires et Documents_ publies par la Societe d'Histoire de la Suisse
Romande. Vol I a VII, IX, X, XI. 1838 a ce jour.
_Die Graefin von Gruyere_, de Rodt. (Der Schweizerische Geschicht
Forster. Berne, 1847.)
_Die Schweiz in Ihren Ritterbuergen._ Berne, 1828.
_Tableaux Historiques de la Suisse._ Vol. I, abbe Girard. Premier
tableau, Gruyere. Carouge (Leman), 1802.
_Le Conservateur Suisse._ Lausanne, 1857.
_Courses dans la Gruyere._ Hubert Charles. Paris, 1826.
_Souvenirs de la Gruyere._ Auguste Majeux, Fribourg.
_Notice Historique sur Gruyere._ J.-H. Thorin, Fribourg, 1882.
_La Contree d'Oron._ Ch. Pache. Lausanne, 1895.
_Histoire de Charlemagne_, suivie de l'Histoire de Bourgogne. Gaillard.
_La Gruyere illustree._ Fribourg, 1890, 1er fasc.; 1891, 2e fasc.;
1892, 3e fasc.; 1894, 4e et 5e fasc.; 1898, 6e fasc.; 1903, 7e
fasc; 1913, 8e fasc.
_Les Alpes Fribourgeoises._ La Gruyere. Lausanne.
_Legendes des Alpes Vaudoises._ Ceresole, Lausanne.
_Etrennes Fribourgeoises._ Fribourg, 1846-1900.
_Cites et Pays Suisses._ G. de Reynold, Lausanne.
_Contes et Legendes de la Suisse historique_. G. de Reynold, Lausanne.
_Histoire litteraire de la Suisse au XVIIIe siecle._ G. de Reynold. (Le
Doyen Bridel). Lausanne.
_La Suisse Inconnue._ V. Tissot. Paris, 1888.
_Scenes de la Vie Gruyerienne._ Scioberet, Fribourg, 1854.
_Legendes Fribourgeoises._ J. Genoud, Fribourg, 1892.
_Chronique du Chev. Louis de Diessbach._ Geneve, 1901.
_Histoire de la Confederation Suisse._ J. Dierauer, Lausanne.
_Histoire de la Suisse racontee au peuple._ Gobat, Neuchatel.
_Histoire de la Confederation Suisse._ Vuillemin, Lausanne, 1875.
_Histoire des Suisses._ Jean de Muller.
_Dictionnaire biographique des Genevois et Vaudois._ A. de Montet,
Lausanne, 1877.
_Dictionnaire du Canton de Fribourg._ Kuenlin, Fribourg, 1872.
_Histoire du Canton de Fribourg._ Berchtold, Fribourg, 1841-1852.
_Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire._ Gibbon.
_Histoire des Gaulois._ Picot, Geneve, 1804.
_Oeuvres._ Ammien-Marcelin, Lyon, 1778.
_Histoire des Gaulois._ Thierry, Paris, 1860.
_Voyage dans l'ancienne Helvetie._ Mieville, Lausanne, 1806.
_Memoire historique de la Republique Sequanienne._ Gollut, Dole, 1592.
_Tacitus._ Historical Works. London.
_L'origine des Bourguignons._ St-Julien, Paris, 1581.
_Histoire de France._ Martin, Paris, 1878.
_Francois Ier._ Coignet, Paris, 1886.
_Histoire des Ducs de Bourgogne._ Barante, Paris, 1825.
_Journal d'un voyage en Italie et en Allemagne._ Montaigne, Rome.
_Chronique de Savoie._ Paradin, Lyon, 1552.
_Histoire genealogique de la Royale Maison de Savoie._ Guicheron, Turin,
1780.
_Histoire de Savoie._ Perrin, Chambery, 1903.
_Collection universelle des memoires particuliers relatifs a l'Histoire
de France du XIIIe au XVIe siecle._ (Philippe de Commines, Martin du
Bellay, le Chevalier Bayard, etc.). Paris, 1785-1790.
_Portraits des Rois de France._ Mercier, Paris, 1845.
_Histoire de la ville d'Orbe et de son chateau dans le moyen age._ F. de
Gingins, Lausanne, 1855.
_Chillon, etude historique._ Vuillemin, Lausanne, 1851.
_Histoire des Croisades._ Michaud, Paris, 1818.
_Jerusalem delivree._ Tasso, Paris, 1774.
_Abrege de l'Histoire Universelle._ Voltaire, La Haye, 1753.
_History of England._ Hume, London.
_Chronique de Froissart._ London, 1860 (environ).
_Le Leman on Voyage pittoresque._ Bailly de la Londe, Paris, 1842.
_Voyage dans la Suisse Francaise._ de Bougy, Paris, 1860.
_Flaneries Historiques au Pays Romand; Sites Historiques au Pays Romand;
Peregrinations Historiques au Pays Romand._ Jamin, Geneve.
_En Pays Romand. Anthologie des poetes de la Suisse Romande._ Paris.
_Recueil de morceaux patois._ A. Bogivue.
_Dernieres Poesies. Les Gruyeriennes._ E. Rambert.
_Etudes sur l'Histoire litteraire de la Suisse Francaise._ Gauthier.
_Chroniques._ Diebold Schilling, Berne.
_Histoires de la Gruyere_ (ms). F.-J. Castella.
_Les Chateaux du Lac Bleu. Poirson_, Paris et Geneve.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Counts of Gruyere, by Mrs. Reginald de Koven