エプタメロン — マルグリット・ド・ナヴァル
1 (of 5) This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org . If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title : The Tales of the Heptameron, Vol. 1 (of 5) Author : King of Navarre consort of Henry II Queen Marguerite Contributor : Le Roux de Lincy Illustrator : Balthasar Anton Dunker Sigmund Freudenberger Translator : George Saintsbury Release date : February 7, 2006 [eBook #17701] Most recently updated: September 22, 2025 Language : English Original publication : London: The Society of English Bibliophilists, 1894 Other information and formats : www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17701 Credits : Produced by David Widger *** START OF 1 (OF 5) *** THE TALES OF THE HEPTAMERON OF Margaret, Queen of Navarre Newly Translated into English from the Authentic Text OF M. LE ROUX DE LINCY WITH AN ESSAY UPON THE HEPTAMERON BY GEORGE SAINTSBURY, M.A. Also the Original Seventy-three Full Page Engravings Designed by S. FREUDENBERG And One Hundred and Fifty Head and Tail Pieces By DUNKER IN FIVE VOLUMES VOLUME THE FIRST LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY OF ENGLISH BIBLIOPHILISTS MDCCCXCIV Volume II. Volume III. Volume IV. Volume V. [Margaret, Queen of Navarre, from a crayon drawing by Clouet, preserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris] CONTENTS PREFACE. Explanation of the Initials appended to the Notes . MARGARET OF ANGOULÊME, QUEEN OF NAVARRE . I. II. III. IV. ON THE HEPTAMERON DEDICATIONS AND PREFACE , Peter Boaistuau, surnamed Launay, To the Reader THE HEPTAMERON PROLOGUE. FIRST DAY. TALE I . TALE II. TALE III. TALE IV . TALE V. TALE VI . TALE VII . APPENDIX. A. (Prologue, Page 31.) B. (Tale I., Page 50.) C. (Tale IV., Page 85.) List of Illustrations Frontispiece Titlepage 013a.jpg 039a.jpg Du Mesnil Learns his Mistress’s Infidelity from Her Maid 039.jpg Page Image 056.jpg Tailpiece 057a.jpg the Muleteer’s Servant Attacking his Mistress 057.jpg Page Image 064.jpg Tailpiece 065a.jpg the Stags Head 065.jpg Page Image 078.jpg Tailpiece 079a.jpg Hurrying to Her Mistress’s Assistance 079.jpg Page Image 094.jpg Tailpiece 095a.jpg the Boatwoman of Coulon Outwitting The Friars 095.jpg Page Image 102.jpg Tailpiece 103a.jpg the Wife’s Ruse to Secure The Escape of Her Lover 103.jpg Page Image 108.jpg Tailpiece 109.jpg the Merchant Transferring his Caresses from The Daughter to the Mother 110.jpg Page Image 113.jpg Tailpiece TALE CONTENTS FIRST DAY. Tale I. The pitiful history of a Proctor of Alençon, named St. Aignan, and of his wife, who caused her husband to assassinate her lover, the son of the Lieutenant-General Tale II. The fate of the wife of a muleteer of Amboise, who suffered herself to be killed by her servant rather than sacrifice her chastity Tale III. The revenge taken by the Queen of Naples, wife to King Alfonso, for her husband’s infidelity with a gentleman’s wife Tale IV. The ill success of a Flemish gentleman who was unable to obtain, either by persuasion or force, the love of a great Princess Tale V. How a boatwoman of Coulon, near Nyort, contrived to escape from the vicious designs of two Grey Friars Tale VI. How the wife of an old valet of the Duke of Alençon’s succeeded in saving her lover from her husband, who was blind of one eye Tale VII. The craft of a Parisian merchant, who saved the reputation of the daughter by offering violence to the mother PREFACE. The first printed version of the famous Tales of Margaret of Navarre, issued in Paris in the year 1558, under the title of “Histoires des Amans Fortunez,” was extremely faulty and imperfect. It comprised but sixty-seven of the seventy-two tales written by the royal author, and the editor, Pierre Boaistuau, not merely changed the order of those narratives which he did print, but suppressed numerous passages in them, besides modifying much of Margaret’s phraseology. A somewhat similar course was adopted by Claude Gruget, who, a year later, produced what claimed to be a complete version of the stories, to which he gave the general title of the Heptameron , a name they have ever since retained. Although he reinstated the majority of the tales in their proper sequence, he still suppressed several of them, and inserted others in their place, and also modified the Queen’s language after the fashion set by Boaistuau. Despite its imperfections, however, Gruget’s version was frequently reprinted down to the beginning of the eighteenth century, when it served as the basis of the numerous editions of the Heptameron in beau langage , as the French phrased it, which then began to make their appearance. It served, moreover, in the one or the other form, for the English and other translations of the work, and down to our own times was accepted as the standard version of the Queen of Navarre’s celebrated tales. Although it was known that various contemporary MSS. were preserved at the French National Library in Paris, no attempt was made to compare Gruget’s faulty version with the originals until the Société des Bibliophiles Français entrusted this delicate task to M. Le Roux de Lincy, whose labours led to some most valuable discoveries, enabling him to produce a really authentic version of Margaret’s admired masterpiece, with the suppressed tales restored, the omitted passages reinstated, and the Queen’s real language given for the first time in all its simple gracefulness. It is from the authentic text furnished by M. Le Roux de Lincy that the present translation has been made, without the slightest suppression or abridgment. The work moreover contains all the more valuable notes to be found in the best French editions of the Heptameron , as well as numerous others from original sources, and includes a résumé of the