I remember in the summer between the fifth and sixth grades, I accidentally came across the first, second and fifth books of the series, the school literature curriculum for the next grade was read, and I took on them. I’ll say right away that these books were not for children, then I remember them as unimaginably bloody, with detailed description executions, the unbearable cruelty of fate towards the characters, especially the relationship between Guccio and Marie, it was harsher than Romeo and Juliet. And only ten years later I remembered this series and decided to re-read it, filling in the gaps with the third, fourth and sixth books.
What can I say now? They turned out to be not as bloody as I remembered, but in everything else - yes. And first of all, these books are remembered for their death scenes.
In general, Maurice Druon is a herald of death. He is the real embodiment of the “voice of those who are not.” He, in the role of the Great Leveler, over the course of six books, collects victims, and then takes their killers. We see the last moments of great people with their own eyes, and it’s scary to imagine how many times Druon himself “died” when he wrote all this. The shadow of death hangs over everyone and in this oppressive darkness they remember their whole life. All that they have achieved and what they could not do, they remember close friends or enemies who were even closer, their hopes for the future crumble and only a curse breaks from their burnt lips, and only regret flashes in their last glance.
“Look, here is the king of France, your supreme sovereign, the most unfortunate man in all his kingdom, for there is not one among you with whom I would not exchange my fate. Look, my children, at your sovereign and turn with all your heart to God, so that you understand that all mortals are just toys in his hands.”
But life goes on, and someone rejoices at the death of the deceased, not suspecting that he is next, and this is the “greatest irony” - actions that should glorify you lead to an inevitable ending, which you did not expect at all. And every turn of fate follows the path of damnation, and destroys the pillars erected by the Iron King, and destroys the dynasty, and ahead are only rivers of blood from the Hundred Years' War, which will give birth to its heroes.
Death has never been so majestic as in "Cursed Kings."
Rating: 10
It would seem dry on the pages of school textbooks, but under Druon’s pen history blossoms, fills with color, proving that reality can be much more interesting than any fiction. I think that if writers had covered other historical events in this way, people would know history much better, because it is impossible to stop reading this series, and what you read becomes firmly entrenched in your memory. The last book, written entirely in the form of a monologue by Cardinal Elie de Talleyrand, is worthy of my special admiration. I can imagine how difficult a task this was. However, Maurice Druon's style was magnificent throughout the entire series, and the last book looks like a cherry on the cake, in every sense: both in terms of the author's literary skill and in terms of drawing a logical line under the events of the cycle.
Separately, I would like to note the author’s caring attitude towards historical characters, and even empathy for them: having written about the death of his favorite hero, Robert Artois, Druon wanted to leave writing the cycle and the last book was published only seventeen years after that.
It is noteworthy that George Martin himself spoke of this series as “the original Game of Thrones,” saying that he is an ardent fan of Maurice Druon and “The Damned Kings,” which became one of his main sources of inspiration when creating the famous series of novels “A Song of Ice and Fire” "
Rating: 10
Let me say briefly that for me the “Cursed Kings” series by Maurice Druon is the standard of a historical novel. This, in my opinion, is facilitated by the well-chosen historical period, the excellent language of the books, and especially the author’s ability to describe events as if he himself had witnessed them.
In my opinion, the author chose the topic very well. We are talking about events that are generally known to any schoolchild (and also - thanks to Dan Brown, without “The Da Vinci Code” - well!), and on the other hand, undeservedly forgotten and not covered in detail in history textbooks. The first novel in the series begins with the massacre of the Templar Order, initiated by the French king Philip the Fair and the Pope. Allegedly, the Master of the Templars cursed his executioners to the 13th generation. But this is just a legend, a preface, and the story tells about the real hardships and misadventures of the rulers of France, mired in sin, intrigue, the struggle for power, rivalry and greed, talks about strong emotions and difficult characters, about the struggle for survival and the race for power .
A very atmospheric and multifaceted work. A magnificent series of historical novels!
Rating: 10
“Cursed Kings” is an example of a standard historical novel. Druon, while working on his work, studied the history of Europe in amazing depth and, possessing a subtle sense of words, presented it surprisingly intelligibly in the form of his books.
Druon, acting as a nameless narrator, abstracts himself as much as possible from his own emotions. Surprisingly accurately, he describes the events taking place from the perspective of historical figures who lived during the period of the collapse of French greatness. Perhaps the only characters whose attitude Druon could not hide were Philip the Long and Robert Artois. And if the reader sees dislike for the former only from the narrative, which describes the reign of this good king as briefly as possible, then the author declares his attitude towards Robert directly in the text. Artois is his favorite character. But, alas and ah, historical prose is merciless to the affections of writers. This is how the unusual death of Robert Artois became a point in the history of the damned. And who in the last books will remember the curse that Jacques de Molay threw from the fire against the monarchs of France? The series of books “Cursed Kings” demonstrates in the best possible way what a series of mediocrities on the throne leads to.
There is also an interesting conclusion to this cycle, a historical sketch that draws a line under the history of the disasters that befell France in the first half of the fourteenth century. And this conclusion is revealed in a whole novel, the narration of which is conducted on behalf of the Périgord Cardinal. However, here too the author showed himself to be a master of words. Despite the difference in narrative style and the plot, which stands apart from the series, the book fits perfectly into the series.
Rating: 10
Magnum Opus, the like of which not every author manages to create. Incredible depth and scale, careful study in everything - the author generously sprinkles with details: characters, life, events, places. there is nothing that flashes in his books simply in passing, he gives a place to everything, gives everyone the gift of proper disclosure. The painstaking nature of such work is simply amazing.
“Cursed Kings” describes an entire era, rather even a junction of eras, basing the work on the strongest and most influential power of that time, which rose in the newly born absolutism. The English are trying in vain to pacify the rebellious Scotland, Rus' is preparing to meet Batu's invasion, the Spanish king is hoisting his banner over Gibraltar, indicating that the Reconquista is already close to completion - and the absolute monarchy erected by Phillip the Handsome is collapsing, plunging the country into chaos due to the fact that it was built around the only of a powerful ruler, the whole structure collapses as soon as the ruler is replaced by a weak heir.
Druon's work is something without which the genres of not only the modern historical novel, but also modern fantasy are unthinkable, and tools and solutions can be found in many other, non-related genres.
Rating: 10
An excellent series, low regards to the author for the colossal work he had to do when writing it. It’s hard to imagine how many memories, biographies, reference books I had to sift through, and how many historians I had to consult. The entire cycle is inextricably linked between the volumes, I don’t see the possibility of reading single novels - there will be a lot of questions left, although Druon regularly recalls and retells some events from earlier volumes. For fans of action, constant events and intrigue, this is probably the best thing. I didn’t have enough descriptions of life, weapons, some nuances of morals and traditions. Another of the minuses and what I don’t like (for my taste) was this technique, when a character is given one bright distinctive feature for identification, which is always mentioned and used during the course of the action. If a character is presented as sentimental, he will cry every time, with or without reason. If he always has one eye closed, then at the climax of the dialogue it will certainly open, something “no one has ever seen,” but this happens regularly)). And he awarded this trait to most of his heroes.
Overall, very informative, fascinating, complete. I recommend.
Rating: 8
Maurice Druon
There lived in Soviet times a series of historical novels, for which people fought in lines almost as much as for Dumas. However, it was in vain that we switched to simple paste; the series lives happily to this day. True, they know much less about her. It’s a pity, Druon’s “Cursed Kings” deserve, if not eternal, then a very long memory.
Maurice Druon (1918-2009) is not just a famous French writer. There have been many like this in history. He is a famous French writer, who was also the Minister of Culture at one time. Druon's ancestors are of Russian origin. They emigrated even before the revolution. Maurice himself belonged to that generation of Frenchmen who experienced the most burning shame of defeat in 1940. He was then 22 years old - the golden age of a young military man. At the time of the German invasion, Maurice was a cadet at the officer school. The cadets were practically the only ones who took up a hopeless battle when the army had already fled. The story “The Last Brigade” is dedicated to these events, which we will talk about later.
Today we will talk about Druon’s most significant work - the series of historical novels “Cursed Kings”. A series of 6 books was written in 1955-60, with a seventh book added in 1977. The plot is based on the history of the decline of the Capetian dynasty, the rise of the Valois dynasty and the beginning of the Hundred Years' War, which, as is known, also had dynastic background. The author is trying to figure out how it could have happened that the powerful state of Philip IV rolled to the edge of the abyss. This cannot be explained by English intervention alone.
For lovers of the Middle Ages, it is very important to understand the events that preceded the Hundred Years' War. After all, almost every author of historical books about the war turns to them in one way or another.
King Philip the Fair The first novel, “The Iron King,” is plot-focused only on the year 1314, the same year when the Templar leaders were burned. Actually, it all begins with them. Popular legend says that the source of all the troubles in France was the curse of the Templars. Placed at the stake, Grand Master Jacques de Molay cursed those who had a hand in the death of the Order - Pope Clement V, Minister Guillaume de Nogaret and King Philip IV. And the king’s family up to the thirteenth generation. It wouldn't be a spoiler to say that the curse comes true. True, not so much by the hand of the Lord, but by the hands of people.
The author does not stop only at 1314. It must show the state in which Philip IV left France. This is the beginning of reforms, the transition from feudalism to centralization, the development of crafts, trade, and the timid beginnings of popular representation. Of course, the feudal lords are against it, but the people, despite the burden of taxes, stand for the king. In any case, at the beginning of the 14th century, France was the strongest state in Europe. And certainly not ordinary insular England can challenge it.
But what one king can create, others may well destroy. There are many such examples in history. Philip the Handsome, the “Iron King” is firm, sometimes cruel, but honest and even unfeignedly virtuous. Everything he does is done solely for the benefit of the state. And he is not concerned about the question of his death, but about who he will leave France to. The heir Louis is weak both in health and spirit. All hope is in the “old royal guard”, in the ministers embodied by Nogaret and Marigny. But Nogaret is cursed, and the curse will overtake him even earlier than Philip, and Marigny is in deep enmity with the large feudal lords, the leader of whose party is the king’s brother Charles of Valois.
Jacques de Molay The Templar Curse remains a curse, but central to the Iron King's life in the novel is the family drama that ultimately led to the demise of the dynasty. In principle, this is also not a spoiler, since everything is known from history. By the way, Druon does not take liberties with the characters and events. In this he is much more careful than such masters as Dumas. They were much more than willing to lie for the sake of a catchphrase. After reading them, you can only get confused in history; after reading Druon, you will understand and understand it.
So, family drama. The king had three sons and all three... no, not fools (although not smart), but cuckolds. Their wives deceived them. In that very sense, yes, yes. As a result of the trial, the princesses are sent to prison. But, what is very important, a divorce is not formalized. Well, it wasn’t as easy to get a divorce then as it is now. To do this you need to have a pocket Pope. And he, as you know, was also cursed and rested in Bose.
And what does this circumstance mean? Here's what: after the king there are three princes, but all three currently have no heirs. The fate of the dynasty hangs in the balance. Back then, however, they weren’t worried about it yet. Firstly, there are three of them, and secondly, they are still young men, somehow they will sort out their problems. But will they figure it out? We will learn about this from the next novels in the series.
Execution of the Templars Quote:
“The fire flared up with renewed vigor, and Geoffroy de Charnay, Prior of Normandy, engulfed in flames, already resembled a charred trunk, which crackled in the fire, became covered with bubbles, gradually turning into ashes, crumbling into ashes.
Many women lost consciousness. Others rushed headlong to the shore, bent over the channel and did not even fight the bouts of vomiting, although the king was sitting almost opposite. The crowd, hoarse from shouting, fell silent, and some already assured that a miracle would happen, for the wind was persistently blowing in the same direction and the flame had not yet touched the Grand Master. No, it’s not for nothing that the fire doesn’t take him so long, it’s not for nothing that the fire on his part doesn’t want to burn.
But suddenly the top logs settled, and the flame, having received new food, soared up to the feet of Jacques de Molay.
Suddenly the voice of the Grand Master broke through the curtain of flames, and his words were addressed to everyone and everyone and mercilessly struck everyone. And the power of this voice was so irresistible that it seemed that it no longer belonged to a person, but came from an otherworldly world. Jacques de Molay spoke again, as he had this morning, on the porch of Notre Dame Cathedral.
List of all books
- "Iron King" ( Le Roi de fer) (1955)
- "The Prisoner of Chateau-Gaillard" ( La Reine etranglee) (1955)
- "Poison and Corona" ( Les Poisons de la Couronne) (1956)
- “It is not good for lilies to spin” ( La loi des mâles) (1957)
- "French Wolf" ( La Louve de France) (1959)
- "Lily and the Lion" ( Le Lis et le Lion) (1960)
- "When the King Destroys France" ( Quand un roi perd la France) (1977)
Generalized plot
The novels are set during the reigns of the last five direct descendants of the kings of the Capetian dynasty and the first two kings of the Valois dynasty, from Philip IV to John II.
According to legend, the origins of all the troubles that befell France at that time are hidden in the curse to which the Grand Master of the Templar Order subjected King Philip IV the Fair, who condemned him to death.
- “The Iron King” (France, 1314. Having ascended to the stake, the Grand Master of the Templar Order Jacques de Molay cursed his executioners - Pope Clement V, King Philip the Fair, his minister Guillaume Nogaret and all their descendants to the thirteenth generation. The first blow of fate - “ case" about the adultery of the king's daughters-in-law, initiated by the English Queen Isabella at the instigation of the main intriguer of the novel - Robert of Artois, as a result of which Blanca and Margaret of Burgundy were imprisoned in Chateau-Gaillard, and Jeanne, the wife of Prince Philip, Count of Poitiers, was sent to a monastery, then the death of the pope , the death of Nogaret and the death of the Iron King - Philip the Fair.
- “The Prisoner of Chateau-Gaillard” (about the incompetent reign of Louis X the Grumpy, about the new king’s attempts to divorce his wife, courtship to Clementia of Hungary and the death of Margarita).
- “Poison and the Crown” (in this part of the novel the history of morals and the history of the royal house are even more closely intertwined: the journey of Princess Clementia of Hungary from Naples to Paris, the royal wedding, the unsuccessful campaign of King Louis in Flanders, the operations of the Tolomei banking house and the death of Louis himself at the hands of the countess Mago Artois, from whom he took away her county at the instigation of Robert Artois).
- “It is not fitting for lilies to spin” (about the merciless struggle waged to achieve regency by three relatives of the late King Louis - his brother Count de Poitiers, uncle Count de Valois and cousin Duke of Burgundy, not disdaining any means; the story of the election of the pope is also depicted Roman John XXII).
- “The French She-Wolf” (takes us to England, which is ruled by the mediocre King Edward II, and his wife, daughter of Philip the Fair, Isabella, lives in fear).
- "The Lily and the Lion" (takes the reader to the beginning of the Hundred Years' War)
- “When the King Destroys France” (in the final part of the novel, Druon consistently develops the idea of the fatal role of mediocrity, which, by chance, finds itself at the helm of power. The last part is written in the form of a monologue by Elie de Talleyrand, Cardinal of Périgord, who goes to a meeting with the emperor to achieve a conclusion peace between England and France).
Iron King
The book begins in 1314.
At the same time, the seven-year trial of the Knights Templar was completed in France. The Grand Master of the Order, Jacques de Molay, and the Prior of Normandy, Geoffroy de Charnay, were sentenced to be burned at the stake. During the execution, the Grand Master curses his destroyers - King Philip, Pope Clement V and the keeper of the royal seal Guillaume de Nogaret, as well as their entire family up to the thirteenth generation.
During her visit to France, Queen Isabella exposes her daughters-in-law to the king. The guilt of the wives of Louis and Charles, Margaret and Blanche of Burgundy, is obvious, and both are sentenced to life imprisonment in the fortress of Chateau-Gaillard, having previously been obliged to be present at the execution of their lovers, the d'Aunay brothers. The wife of Philip, the king's middle son, Jeanne of Burgundy, is sentenced to exile, since her guilt has not been proven, however, most likely, she knew about the sins of Margarita and Blanca and at the same time acted as a pimp.
Subsequent events involuntarily make one remember the curse of the Grand Master. First, Pope Clement dies, then Guillaume de Nogaret (he was poisoned by fumes from a poisoned candle, which was slipped to him by the former Templar knight Evrard). And then, while hunting at the age of forty-six, King Philip, bursting with health, dies.
It seems that the Grand Master's curse is beginning to come true...
Prisoner of Chateau-Gaillard
After the unexpected death of his father Philip IV, Louis X the Grumpy becomes king of France. Charles Valois, pursuing his political and dynastic goals, invites him to marry his relative, Clementia of Hungary. Interested in his uncle's proposal, King Louis X sends an embassy to Naples under the leadership of his father's former chamberlain, Count of Hugues Bouville; at the same time, the nephew of the captain of the Lombards of Paris, the banker Spinello Tolomei, Guccio Baglioni, works as an assistant, treasurer and translator for the count. In addition to matchmaking, the ambassadors are entrusted with the task of searching for and bribing cardinals who, thanks to the behind-the-scenes intrigues of the first minister of the kingdom, Enguerrand de Marigny, have not yet agreed on the election of a pope to the Avignon throne.
At this time, Margarita and Blanca of Burgundy are imprisoned in very difficult conditions. However, Margarita has the opportunity to move from prison to a monastery: Robert Artois invites her to write a confession that her daughter, Princess Jeanne, is illegitimate, then Louis could get a divorce and remarry, since according to the laws of that time adultery was not sufficient reason for divorce. However, she does not believe that she will really be released, and, after thinking, refuses.
At court there is an active struggle for power between two clans - Louis's uncle Charles of Valois and the most influential person in the state after the king - the first minister of the kingdom, Enguerrand de Marigny. When Queen Margarita agrees to confession and writes a letter to the king, but it gets to Marigny, and he destroys it. As a result, when the truth comes out, Margarita dies in Chateau-Gaillard at the hands of Lorme, Robert Artois’s servant. Marigny the Younger, Bishop of Beauvais Jean, blackmailed with the help of incriminating documents received from the Lombard bankers of Paris, in order to save himself, betrays his own brother, and he is sent to the gallows on charges of embezzlement, despite the fact that shortly before this, at the trial Enguerrand manages to refute all the accusations against him before the commission created by the king.
King Louis, now a widower, finally officially proposes to Clementia of Hungary and sends a wedding embassy to Naples for his bride, consisting of the same South Bouville and Guccio Baglioni.
Poison and crown
Six months pass after the death of King Philip the Fair. On her way to her fiancé, Clementia of Hungary encounters a storm, and later several more incidents occur, which she interprets as bad omens. Sent as part of Count Bouville's mission to Naples, Guccio Baglioni falls while trying to go ashore and ends up in a hospital for the poor.
Louis the Grumpy starts a campaign in Flanders, since the Count of Nevers boldly refused to fulfill his vassal duty to the king. The assembled royal army, however, never reaches the borders of Flanders and, due to weather conditions, gets stuck in the mud, and the king, having found a plausible excuse, returns back and marries Clementia.
Philippe Poitiers returns to Paris. During his stay at the castle of Fontainebleau, Charles of Valois and Charles de la Marche arrive there to detain Philip in the castle and nominate Charles of Valois as regent. The Count of Poitiers leaves Fontainebleau at night and, with his loyal people, occupies the castle of Cité without a fight. Louis d'Evreux nominates the Count of Poitiers for the post of regent. At the assembly, with the support of the last living descendant of Saint Louis, Robert of Clairmont, Philippe of Poitiers bypasses Charles of Valois and becomes regent. The ancient Salic law is also stated there.
Film adaptations
The epic was filmed twice - in 1972 and 2005. For the 2005 miniseries, see Cursed Kings (miniseries, 2005)
Notes
Links
- Official website for the miniseries based on the books (French)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
» ( La Reine etranglee) (1955)
Generalized plot
The novels are set during the reigns of the last five direct descendants of the kings of the Capetian dynasty and the first two kings of the Valois dynasty, from Philip IV to John II.
According to legend, the origins of all the troubles that befell France at that time are hidden in the curse to which the Grand Master of the Templar Order subjected King Philip IV the Fair, who condemned him to death.
- “The Iron King” (France, 1314. Having ascended to the stake, the Grand Master of the Templar Order Jacques de Molay cursed his executioners - Pope Clement V, King Philip the Fair, his minister Guillaume de Nogaret and all their descendants to the thirteenth generation. The first blow of fate - “case” of adultery of the king’s daughters-in-law, initiated by the English Queen Isabella at the instigation of the main intriguer of the novel, Robert of Artois, as a result of which Blanca and Margaret of Burgundy were imprisoned in Chateau-Gaillard, and Jeanne, the wife of Prince Philip, Count of Poitiers, was sent to a monastery, then death Pope, the death of Nogaret and the death of the Iron King - Philip the Fair).
- “The Prisoner of Chateau-Gaillard” (about the incompetent reign of Louis X the Grumpy, the new king’s attempts to divorce his wife, courtship to Clementia of Hungary and the death of Margarita).
- “Poison and the Crown” (in this part of the novel the history of morals and the history of the royal house are even more closely intertwined: the journey of Princess Clementia of Hungary from Naples to Paris, the royal wedding, the unsuccessful campaign of King Louis in Flanders, the operations of the Tolomei banking house and the death of Louis himself at the hands of the countess Mago Artois, from whom he took away her county at the instigation of Robert Artois).
- “It is not fitting for lilies to spin” (about the merciless struggle waged to achieve regency by three relatives of the late King Louis - his brother Count de Poitiers, uncle Count de Valois and cousin Duke of Burgundy, not disdaining any means; the story of the election of the pope is also depicted Roman John XXII).
- “The French She-Wolf” (takes us to England, which is ruled by the mediocre King Edward II, and his wife, daughter of Philip the Fair, Isabella, lives in fear).
- "The Lily and the Lion" (takes the reader to the beginning of the Hundred Years' War)
- “When the King Destroys France” (in the final part of the novel, Druon consistently develops the idea of the fatal role of mediocrity, which, by chance, finds itself at the helm of power. The last part is written in the form of a monologue by Elie de Talleyrand, Cardinal of Périgord, who goes to a meeting with the emperor to achieve a conclusion peace between England and France).
Iron King
The book begins in 1314.
At the same time, the seven-year trial of the Knights Templar was completed in France. The Grand Master of the Order, Jacques de Molay, and the Prior of Normandy, Geoffroy de Charnay, were sentenced to be burned at the stake. During the execution, the Grand Master curses his destroyers - King Philip, Pope Clement V and the keeper of the royal seal Guillaume de Nogaret, as well as their entire family up to the thirteenth generation.
During her visit to France, Queen Isabella exposes her daughters-in-law to the king. The guilt of the wives of Louis and Charles, Margaret and Blanche of Burgundy, is obvious, and both are sentenced to life imprisonment in the fortress of Chateau-Gaillard, having previously been obliged to be present at the execution of their lovers, the d'Aunay brothers. The wife of Philip, the king's middle son, Jeanne of Burgundy, is sentenced to exile, since her guilt has not been proven, however, most likely, she knew about the sins of Margarita and Blanca and at the same time acted as a pimp.
Subsequent events involuntarily make one remember the curse of the Grand Master. First, Pope Clement dies, then Guillaume de Nogaret (he was poisoned by fumes from a poisoned candle, which was slipped to him by the former Templar knight Evrard). And then, while hunting at the age of forty-six, King Philip, bursting with health, dies.
It seems that the Grand Master's curse is beginning to come true...
Prisoner of Chateau-Gaillard
After the unexpected death of his father Philip IV, Louis X the Grumpy becomes king of France. Charles Valois, pursuing his political and dynastic goals, invites him to marry his relative, Clementia of Hungary. Interested in his uncle's proposal, King Louis X sends an embassy to Naples under the leadership of his father's former chamberlain, Count Hugues of Bouville; at the same time, the nephew of the captain of the Lombards of Paris, the banker Spinello Tolomei, Guccio Baglioni, works as an assistant, treasurer and translator for the count. In addition to matchmaking, the ambassadors are entrusted with the task of finding and bribing cardinals who, thanks to the behind-the-scenes intrigues of the first minister of the kingdom, Enguerrand de Marigny, have not yet agreed on the election of a pope to the Avignon throne.
At this time, Margarita and Blanca of Burgundy are imprisoned in very difficult conditions. However, Margarita has the opportunity to move from prison to a monastery: Robert Artois invites her to write a confession that her daughter, Princess Jeanne, is illegitimate, then Louis could get a divorce and remarry, since according to the laws of that time adultery was not sufficient reason for divorce. However, she does not believe that she will really be released, and, after thinking, refuses.
At court there is an active struggle for power between two clans - Louis's uncle Charles of Valois and the most influential person in the state after the king - the first minister of the kingdom Enguerrand de Marigny. When Queen Margaret agrees to confess and writes a letter to the king, it ends up in Marigny's hands, and he destroys it. As a result, when the truth comes out, Margarita dies in Chateau-Gaillard at the hands of Lorme, Robert Artois’s servant. Marigny the Younger, Bishop of Beauvais Jean, blackmailed with the help of incriminating documents received from the Lombard bankers of Paris, in order to save himself, betrays his own brother, and he is sent to the gallows on charges of embezzlement, despite the fact that shortly before this, at the trial Enguerrand manages to refute all the accusations against him before the commission created by the king.
King Louis, now a widower, finally officially proposes to Clementia of Hungary and sends a wedding embassy to Naples for his bride, consisting of the same South Bouville and Guccio Baglioni.
Interestingly, the title of this book in French, La Reine étranglée, which translates as “The Strangled Queen,” was for some reason changed to “The Prisoner of Château-Gaillard.”
Poison and crown
Six months pass after the death of King Philip the Fair. On her way to her fiancé, Clementia of Hungary encounters a storm, and later several more incidents occur, which she interprets as bad omens. Sent as part of Count Bouville's mission to Naples, Guccio Baglioni falls while trying to go ashore and ends up in a hospital for the poor.
Louis the Grumpy starts a campaign in Flanders, since the Count of Nevers boldly refused to fulfill his vassal duty to the king. The assembled royal army, however, never reaches the borders of Flanders and, due to weather conditions, gets stuck in the mud, and the king, having found a plausible excuse, returns back and marries Clementia.
Philippe Poitiers returns to Paris. During his stay at the castle of Fontainebleau, Charles of Valois and Charles de la Marche arrive there to detain Philip in the castle and nominate Charles of Valois as regent. The Count of Poitiers leaves Fontainebleau at night and, with his loyal people, occupies the castle of Cité without a fight. Louis d'Evreux nominates the Count of Poitiers for the post of regent. At the assembly, with the support of Saint Louis's last living son, Robert of Clairmont, Philippe of Poitiers bypasses Charles of Valois and becomes regent. The ancient Salic law is also stated there.
Characters
Reviews
Write a review about the article "Cursed Kings"
Notes
Links
- (French)
Excerpt characterizing The Damned Kings
When fried lamb, scrambled eggs, a samovar, vodka and wine from the Russian cellar, which the French had brought with them, were brought, Rambal asked Pierre to take part in this dinner and immediately, greedily and quickly, like a healthy and hungry person, began to eat, quickly chewing with his strong teeth, constantly smacking his lips and saying excellent, exquis! [wonderful, excellent!] His face was flushed and covered with sweat. Pierre was hungry and gladly took part in the dinner. Morel, the orderly, brought a saucepan with warm water and put a bottle of red wine in it. In addition, he brought a bottle of kvass, which he took from the kitchen for testing. This drink was already known to the French and received its name. They called kvass limonade de cochon (pork lemonade), and Morel praised this limonade de cochon, which he found in the kitchen. But since the captain had wine obtained during the passage through Moscow, he provided kvass to Morel and took up a bottle of Bordeaux. He wrapped the bottle up to the neck in a napkin and poured himself and Pierre some wine. Satisfied hunger and wine revived the captain even more, and he talked incessantly during dinner.- Oui, mon cher monsieur Pierre, je vous dois une fiere chandelle de m"avoir sauve... de cet enrage... J"en ai assez, voyez vous, de balles dans le corps. En voila une (he pointed to his side) a Wagram et de deux a Smolensk,” he showed the scar that was on his cheek. - Et cette jambe, comme vous voyez, qui ne veut pas marcher. C"est a la grande bataille du 7 a la Moskowa que j"ai recu ca. Sacre dieu, c"etait beau. Il fallait voir ca, c"etait un deluge de feu. Vous nous avez taille une rude besogne; vous pouvez vous en vanter, nom d"un petit bonhomme. Et, ma parole, malgre l"atoux que j"y ai gagne, je serais pret a recommencer. Je plains ceux qui n"ont pas vu ca. [Yes, my dear Mr. Pierre, I am obliged to light a good candle for you because you saved me from this madman. You see, I've had enough of the bullets that are in my body. Here is one near Wagram, the other near Smolensk. And this leg, you see, doesn’t want to move. This was during the big battle of the 7th near Moscow. ABOUT! it was wonderful! You should have seen it was a flood of fire. You gave us a difficult job, you can boast about it. And by God, despite this trump card (he pointed to the cross), I would be ready to start all over again. I feel sorry for those who did not see this.]
“J"y ai ete, [I was there],” said Pierre.
- Bah, vraiment! “Eh bien, tant mieux,” said the Frenchman. – Vous etes de fiers ennemis, tout de meme. La grande redoute a ete tenace, nom d"une pipe. Et vous nous l"avez fait cranement payer. J"y suis alle trois fois, tel que vous me voyez. Trois fois nous etions sur les canons et trois fois on nous a culbute et comme des capucins de cartes. Oh!! c"etait beau, Monsieur Pierre. Vos grenadiers ont ete superbes, tonnerre de Dieu. Je les ai vu six fois de suite serrer les rangs, et marcher comme a une revue. Les beaux hommes! Notre roi de Naples, qui s"y connait a crie: bravo! Ah, ah! soldat comme nous autres! - he said, smiling, after a moment of silence. - Tant mieux, tant mieux, monsieur Pierre. Terribles en bataille... galants... - he winked with a smile, - avec les belles, voila les Francais, monsieur Pierre, n "est ce pas? [Bah, really? All the better. You are fierce enemies, I must admit. The big redoubt held up well, damn it. And you made us pay dearly. I've been there three times, as you can see me. Three times we were on the guns, three times we were knocked over like card soldiers. Your grenadiers were magnificent, by God. I saw how their ranks closed six times and how they marched out like a parade. Wonderful people! Our Neapolitan king, who ate the dog in these matters, shouted to them: bravo! - Ha, ha, so you are our brother soldier! - So much the better, so much the better, Mr. Pierre. Terrible in battle, kind to beauties, these are the French, Mr. Pierre. Is not it?]
The captain was so naively and good-naturedly cheerful, whole-hearted, and pleased with himself that Pierre almost winked himself, looking at him cheerfully. Probably the word “galant” made the captain think about the situation in Moscow.
- A propos, dites, donc, est ce vrai que toutes les femmes ont quitte Moscow? Une drole d"idee! Qu"avaient elles a craindre? [By the way, please tell me, is it true that all the women left Moscow? A strange thought, what were they afraid of?]
– Est ce que les dames francaises ne quitteraient pas Paris si les Russes y entraient? [Wouldn’t the French ladies leave Paris if the Russians entered it?] said Pierre.
“Ah, ah, ah!..” The Frenchman laughed cheerfully, sanguineally, patting Pierre on the shoulder. - Ah! “elle est forte celle la,” he said. – Paris? Mais Paris Paris... [Ha, ha, ha!.. But he said something. Paris?.. But Paris... Paris...]
“Paris la capitale du monde... [Paris is the capital of the world...],” said Pierre, finishing his speech.
The captain looked at Pierre. He had the habit of stopping in the middle of a conversation and looking intently with laughing, affectionate eyes.
- Eh bien, si vous ne m"aviez pas dit que vous etes Russe, j"aurai parie que vous etes Parisien. Vous avez ce je ne sais, quoi, ce... [Well, if you hadn’t told me that you were Russian, I would have bet that you were a Parisian. There is something about you, this...] - and, having said this compliment, he again looked silently.
“J"ai ete a Paris, j"y ai passe des annees, [I was in Paris, I spent whole years there," said Pierre.
– Oh ca se voit bien. Paris!.. Un homme qui ne connait pas Paris, est un sauvage. Un Parisien, ca se sent a deux lieux. Paris, s"est Talma, la Duschenois, Potier, la Sorbonne, les boulevards," and noticing that the conclusion was weaker than the previous one, he hastily added: “Il n"y a qu"un Paris au monde. Vous avez ete a Paris et vous etes reste Busse. Eh bien, je ne vous en estime pas moins. [Oh, it's obvious. Paris!.. A man who does not know Paris is a savage. You can recognize a Parisian two miles away. Paris is Talma, Duchesnois, Potier, The Sorbonne, the boulevards... There is only one Paris in the whole world. You were in Paris and remained Russian. Well, I respect you no less for that.]
Under the influence of the wine he drank and after days spent in solitude with his gloomy thoughts, Pierre experienced involuntary pleasure in conversation with this cheerful and good-natured man.
– Pour en revenir a vos dames, on les dit bien belles. Quelle fichue idee d"aller s"enterrer dans les steppes, quand l"armee francaise est a Moscou. Quelle chance elles ont manque celles la. Vos moujiks c"est autre chose, mais voua autres gens civilises vous devriez nous connaitre mieux que ca . Nous avons pris Vienne, Berlin, Madrid, Naples, Rome, Varsovie, toutes les capitales du monde... On nous craint, mais on nous aime. Nous sommes bons a connaitre. Et puis l "Empereur! [But let's return to your ladies: they say that they are very beautiful. What a stupid idea to go and bury yourself in the steppe when the French army is in Moscow! They missed a wonderful opportunity. Your men, I understand, but you are people educated - should have known us better than this. We took Vienna, Berlin, Madrid, Naples, Rome, Warsaw, all the capitals of the world. They fear us, but they love us. It doesn’t hurt to know us better. And then the emperor ...] - he began, but Pierre interrupted him.
“L"Empereur,” Pierre repeated, and his face suddenly acquired a sad and embarrassed expression. “Est ce que l"Empereur?.. [Emperor... What is the emperor?..]
- L"Empereur? C"est la generosite, la clemence, la justice, l"ordre, le genie, voila l"Empereur! C "est moi, Ram ball, qui vous le dit. Tel que vous me voyez, j" etais son ennemi il y a encore huit ans. Mon pere a ete comte emigre... Mais il m"a vaincu, cet homme. Il m"a empoigne. Je n"ai pas pu resister au spectacle de grandeur et de gloire dont il couvrait la France. Quand j"ai compris ce qu"il voulait, quand j"ai vu qu"il nous faisait une litiere de lauriers, voyez vous, je me suis dit: voila un souverain, et je me suis donne a lui. Eh voila! Oh, oui, mon cher, c"est le plus grand homme des siecles passes et a venir. [Emperor? This is generosity, mercy, justice, order, genius - this is what an emperor is! It is I, Rambal, telling you. The way you see me, I was his enemy eight years ago. My father was a count and an emigrant. But he defeated me, this man. He took possession of me. I could not resist the spectacle of grandeur and glory with which he covered France. When I understood what he wanted, when I saw that he was preparing a bed of laurels for us, I said to myself: here is the sovereign, and I surrendered myself to him. And so! Oh yes, my dear, this is the greatest man of past and future centuries.]
– Est il a Moscow? [What, is he in Moscow?] - Pierre said, hesitating and with a criminal face.
The Frenchman looked at Pierre's criminal face and grinned.
“Non, il fera son entree demain, [No, he will make his entry tomorrow,” he said and continued his stories.
Their conversation was interrupted by the cry of several voices at the gate and the arrival of Morel, who came to announce to the captain that the Wirtemberg hussars had arrived and wanted to place their horses in the same yard in which the captain’s horses stood. The difficulty arose mainly because the hussars did not understand what they were told.
The captain ordered the senior non-commissioned officer to be called to him and in a stern voice asked him which regiment he belonged to, who their commander was and on what basis he allowed himself to occupy an apartment that was already occupied. In response to the first two questions, the German, who did not understand French well, named his regiment and his commander; but to the last question, without understanding it, inserting broken French words into German speech, he answered that he was a quartermaster of the regiment and that he had been ordered by his superior to occupy all the houses in a row. Pierre, who knew German, translated to the captain what the German was saying, and The captain's answer was conveyed in German to the Wirtemberg hussar. Realizing what he was told, the German surrendered and took his men away. The captain came out onto the porch, giving some orders in a loud voice.
When he returned back to the room, Pierre was sitting in the same place where he had sat before, with his hands on his head. His face expressed suffering. He was really suffering at that moment. When the captain left and Pierre was left alone, he suddenly came to his senses and realized the position in which he was. It was not that Moscow was taken, and not that these happy victors ruled it and patronized him - no matter how hard Pierre felt this, this was not what tormented him at the moment. He was tormented by the consciousness of his weakness. A few glasses of wine and a conversation with this good-natured man destroyed the concentrated gloomy mood in which Pierre lived these last days and which was necessary for the fulfillment of his intentions. The pistol, the dagger, and the coat were ready; Napoleon was arriving tomorrow. Pierre also considered it useful and worthy to kill the villain; but he felt that now he would not do it. Why? - he didn’t know, but he seemed to have a presentiment that he would not fulfill his intention. He fought against the consciousness of his weakness, but vaguely felt that he could not overcome it, that the previous gloomy system of thoughts about revenge, murder and self-sacrifice had scattered like dust at the touch of the first person.
The captain, limping slightly and whistling something, entered the room.
The Frenchman's chatter, which had previously amused Pierre, now seemed disgusting to him. And the whistling song, and the gait, and the gesture of twirling his mustache - everything now seemed offensive to Pierre.
“I’ll leave now, I won’t say a word to him again,” thought Pierre. He thought this, and meanwhile he was still sitting in the same place. Some strange feeling of weakness chained him to his place: he wanted but could not get up and leave.
The captain, on the contrary, seemed very cheerful. He walked around the room twice. His eyes sparkled and his mustache twitched slightly, as if he was smiling to himself at some funny invention.
“Charmant,” he said suddenly, “le colonel de ces Wurtembourgeois!” C "est un Allemand; mais brave garcon, s"il en fut. Mais Allemand. [Lovely, colonel of these Württembergers! He is German; but a nice fellow, despite this. But German.]
He sat down opposite Pierre.
– A propos, vous savez donc l "allemand, vous? [By the way, do you know German?]
Pierre looked at him silently.
– Comment dites vous asile en allemand? [How do you say shelter in German?]
- Asile? - Pierre repeated. – Asile en allemand – Unterkunft. [Asylum? Refuge - in German - Unterkunft.]
– Comment dites vous? [How do you say?] - the captain asked incredulously and quickly.
“Unterkunft,” Pierre repeated.
“Onterkoff,” said the captain and looked at Pierre with laughing eyes for several seconds. – Les Allemands sont de fieres betes. “N"est ce pas, monsieur Pierre? [These Germans are such fools. Isn’t it so, Monsieur Pierre?],” he concluded.
- Eh bien, encore une bouteille de ce Bordeau Moscovite, n "est ce pas? Morel, va nous chauffer encore une pelilo bouteille. Morel! [Well, another bottle of this Moscow Bordeaux, isn’t it? Morel will warm us another bottle. Morel !] – the captain shouted cheerfully.
Morel served candles and a bottle of wine. The captain looked at Pierre in the light, and he was apparently struck by the upset face of his interlocutor. Rambal, with sincere grief and sympathy on his face, approached Pierre and bent over him.
“Eh bien, nous sommes tristes, [What is it, are we sad?],” he said, touching Pierre’s hand. – Vous aurai je fait de la peine? “Non, vrai, avez vous quelque chose contre moi,” he asked again. – Peut etre rapport a la situation? [Perhaps I have upset you? No, really, don’t you have something against me? Maybe regarding the position?]
Pierre did not answer, but looked affectionately into the Frenchman’s eyes. This expression of participation pleased him.
- Parole d"honneur, sans parler de ce que je vous dois, j"ai de l"amitie pour vous. Puis je faire quelque chose pour vous? Disposez de moi. C"est a la vie et a la mort. C"est la main sur le c?ur que je vous le dis, [Honestly, not to mention what I owe you, I feel friendship for you. Can I do something for you? Use me. This is for life and death. I tell you this with my hand on my heart,” he said, hitting his chest.
“Merci,” said Pierre. The captain looked intently at Pierre the same way he looked when he learned what the shelter was called in German, and his face suddenly lit up.
- Ah! dans ce cas je bois a notre amitie! [Ah, in that case, I drink to your friendship!] - he shouted cheerfully, pouring two glasses of wine. Pierre took the glass he had poured and drank it. Rambal drank his, shook Pierre's hand again and leaned his elbows on the table in a thoughtfully melancholy pose.
“Oui, mon cher ami, voila les caprices de la fortune,” he began. – Qui m"aurait dit que je serai soldat et capitaine de dragons au service de Bonaparte, comme nous l"appellions jadis. Et cependant me voila a Moscou avec lui. “Il faut vous dire, mon cher,” he continued in the sad, measured voice of a man who is about to tell a long story, “que notre nom est l"un des plus anciens de la France. [Yes, my friend, here is the wheel of fortune. Who said I wish I would be a soldier and captain of dragoons in the service of Bonaparte, as we used to call him. However, here I am in Moscow with him. I must tell you, my dear... that our name is one of the most ancient in France.]
And with the easy and naive frankness of a Frenchman, the captain told Pierre the history of his ancestors, his childhood, adolescence and manhood, all his family, property, and family relationships. “Ma pauvre mere [“My poor mother.”] played, of course, an important role in this story.
– Mais tout ca ce n"est que la mise en scene de la vie, le fond c"est l"amour? L"amour! “N"est ce pas, monsieur; Pierre?” he said, perking up. “Encore un verre.” [But all this is only an introduction to life, its essence is love. Love! Isn’t it so, Monsieur Pierre? Another glass. ]
Pierre drank again and poured himself a third.
- Oh! Les femmes, les femmes! [ABOUT! women, women!] - and the captain, looking at Pierre with oily eyes, began to talk about love and his love affairs. There were a lot of them, which was easy to believe, looking at the smug, handsome face of the officer and at the enthusiastic animation with which he spoke about women. Despite the fact that all of Rambal's love stories had that dirty character in which the French see the exceptional charm and poetry of love, the captain told his stories with such sincere conviction that he alone experienced and knew all the delights of love, and described women so temptingly that Pierre listened to him with curiosity.
It was obvious that l "amour, which the Frenchman loved so much, was neither that lower and simple kind of love that Pierre once felt for his wife, nor that romantic love, inflated by himself, that he felt for Natasha (both types of this love Rambal equally despised - one was l"amour des charretiers, the other l"amour des nigauds) [the love of cab drivers, the other - the love of fools.]; l"amour, which the Frenchman worshiped, consisted mainly in the unnaturalness of relationships with women and in the combination of ugliness that gave the main charm to the feeling.
So the captain told the touching story of his love for one charming thirty-five-year-old marquise and at the same time for a charming innocent seventeen-year-old child, the daughter of a charming marquise. The struggle of generosity between mother and daughter, which ended with the mother, sacrificing herself, offering her daughter as a wife to her lover, even now, although a long-past memory, worried the captain. Then he told one episode in which the husband played the role of a lover, and he (the lover) played the role of a husband, and several comic episodes from souvenirs d'Allemagne, where asile means Unterkunft, where les maris mangent de la choux croute and where les jeunes filles sont trop blondes [memories of Germany, where husbands eat cabbage soup and where young girls are too blond.]
Finally, the last episode in Poland, still fresh in the captain’s memory, which he recounted with quick gestures and a flushed face, was that he saved the life of one Pole (in general, in the captain’s stories, the episode of saving a life occurred incessantly) and this Pole entrusted him with his charming wife (Parisienne de c?ur [Parisian at heart]), while he himself entered the French service. The captain was happy, the charming Polish woman wanted to run away with him; but, moved by generosity, the captain returned his wife to the husband, saying to him: “Je vous ai sauve la vie et je sauve votre honneur!” [I saved your life and save your honor!] Having repeated these words, the captain rubbed his eyes and shook himself, as if driving away the weakness that had seized him at this touching memory.
“The Damned Kings” (“Les rois maudits”) is a series of historical novels by Maurice Druon, a French writer, publicist and public figure. The cycle consists of seven novels: “The Iron King” (1955), “The Prisoner of Chateau-Gaillard” (literally “Queen in Captivity”, 1955), “Poison and the Crown” (1956), “Unfit for Lilies” spin" (literally - "The Right of Men", 1957), "The French Wolf" (1959), "The Lily and the Lion" (1960); “When the King Loses France” (literally “When the King Loses France”, 1977). In 1965, the author reworked the first six novels, giving them compositional and stylistic unity and combining them into a coherent work, completed 12 years later.
Druon's work is inextricably linked with the events of modern French history. A true patriot, an active participant in the Resistance, the writer adhered to conservative views and deeply felt the loss of France's status as one of the leading colonial powers in the world, the loss of foreign policy independence and the destruction of centuries-old religious and moral foundations. Just as in the novel “The Powers That Be,” which was awarded the Prix Goncourt (1948), Druon sought, using the example of the decay and degeneration of a rich, noble family, to reveal the true, hidden processes that led the country to the catastrophe of 1940—here he addressed to the events of the first half of the 14th century. in order to find in the distant past an example of the transformation of rich and prosperous France into a devastated and ruined state, the very existence of which was endangered. "In our era<...>a person feels an increasingly urgent need to return to his roots, he willingly questions the past in order to find eternal human values there and receive at least partial answers to the anxieties of today,” wrote the author of the “Cursed Kings” series F.S. Narkirieru, explaining the reasons for his turn to the half-forgotten genre of the historical novel, which flourished in the mid-19th century, when the works of Walter Scott and A. Dumas the Father had a huge impact on their contemporaries. In 1930 - early 1950s. French writers used historical subjects either to promote socialist ideas (“Robespierre” by R. Rolland, “Bloody Days of Paris” by J. Cassou) or to create low-grade adventure books (“Sweet Caroline” by J. Laurent); rare authors set themselves the task of reproducing paintings from bygone eras to illuminate pressing issues of our time, like Marguerite Yourcenar in “Memoirs of Hadrian” (1951) and Maurice Druon.
Druon's "Damned Kings" is often compared to the novels of Dumas the Father; you can find some similarities in the style and literary manner of these writers: an intriguing, exciting plot, an abundance of dialogue, brevity of descriptions, etc. But, unlike the classic of the genre, Druon does not romanticize his characters, who are not characterized by noble, sublime feelings; characters usually driven by self-interest, lust for power or lust. Another fundamental difference between “The Damned Kings” is that Druon strove to get as close as possible to historical truth and never allowed himself to take liberties with the facts. The writer carefully studied medieval chronicles and worked closely with professional historians; among the characters there are almost no fictitious persons “introduced” by the author, and at the beginning of each novel (except the last) a short list of participants in upcoming events is given, indicating their titles and positions (in “Lily and Leo” - also biographies).
Chronologically, Druon's "Cursed Kings" cover the period from the early 1310s to the mid-1350s, and the origins of all the troubles that befell France at that time (the constant change of kings, the impoverishment of the people, the plague and the unsuccessful start of the Hundred Years' War with England), according to legend , are hidden in the curse to which Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, subjected the French king Philip IV the Fair. Druon paints before us an ambiguous, multicolored image of this ruler: having united the country and strengthened its power, the king managed to subjugate both the powerful barons and the Pope himself, forcing him to move to Avignon. But, driven by greed and overwhelmed by pride, Philip IV decided to seize the wealth of the Templars, forcing the pope to accuse the order of heresy. The unjust trial, which dragged on for seven years, ended in execution, and before he was completely consumed by the flames of the fire, the elderly head of the order shouted out terrible, menacing, prophetic words. Having told in the first novel about the subsequent death of the “iron” king, Druon in the next five books describes how the curse comes true and over the course of 14 years the children and grandchildren of Philip IV die out; mediocre and short-lived rulers are replaced on the throne (Louis X the Grumpy, Clementia of Hungary, Charles IV), the top of the nobility is obsessed with a thirst for power and is busy with intrigues (the figure of Count Robert d'Artois is especially colorful and sinister), and honest and decent people (Enguerrand de Marigny, Lombard bankers, etc.) cannot resist the excesses of monarchs and pretenders to the throne, and the country gradually declines. The final cycle of the novel is sharply different from the rest - the action moves from 1328 to the 1350s. and goes all the way to the capture of King John the Good at the Battle of Poitiers - one of the most shameful pages in the history of France; The events presented on behalf of the Perigord cardinal lose their dynamism and are accompanied by sad discussions about the fate of France and its people.
The prologue preceding each book reflects the author's views on history and politics. Of particular note is the philosophically general introduction to the last novel, in which the writer directly points to the mediocrity and mediocrity of the powers that be as the main reason for the ruin of the country; At the same time, Druon does not distinguish between the form of government, believing that democracy does not at all guarantee the people protection from the “curse of mediocrity”: “But do people more often win in the ballot box lottery than in the chromosome lottery?”
Based on Druon's "Damned Kings" series, a television film was made in France (1973); The audience remembered Jean Pia, who played the role of Robert d'Artois.