The
Ranums'
Panat Times
Volume 1, redone Dec. 2014
Jean-Luc Tulot's edition of the Bouillon-La Trémoille Correspondence
NOTE: Orest has written about Jean-Luc Tulot's transcriptions of letters by the La Tremouille and La Tour d'Auvergne families: a review about the Bouillon correspondance and a review of his edition of the La Moussaye letters
Now, in the late spring of 2007, Tulot is beginning to make his editions of these letters available on-line (in PDF) at: http://perso.orange.fr/jeanluc.tulot
NOTE: click here for Jean-Luc Tulot's editions of correspondence
Jean-Luc Tulot's mailing address is:
6 rue Palasne de Champeaux
F 22000 Saint-Brieuc
France
His e-mail address is: Jeanluc.tulot@orange.fr
Jean-Luc Tulot, editor of the La Moussaye-de la Trémoille correspondance —(see my review, on this same site, of Tulot on La Moussaye) — had the kindness to send me a privately printed edition of the letters exchanged by the Duke of Bouillon and the La Trémoilles: Correspondance de Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Duc de Bouillon, aux La Trémoille (Saint-Brieuc, 2000). These letters are filled with routine phrases — the keeping-in-touch type of phrases. But in addition they preserve exchanges of information between men and women of very high rank, regarding realm-wide policies (the revolt led by Condé in 1615) and Huguenot church politics.
Perhaps the most striking feature, for me, is the sense of religious foreboding conveyed by Bouillon's letters about the war in Bohemia. These phrases struck me, no doubt, as a result of my recent reading of O. Chaline's Bataille de la Montagne Blanche. (I recently reviewed this book on this site.) Bouillon is also aware of the fact that James I is letting down his daughter and his son-in-law. He seems impressed by Anhalt, but reality pierces through here and there, suggesting that he senses that the whole dream-project of Frederick has been a major mistake.
There are nuggets on all sorts of subjects here: e.g., Henri de la Tour writes Mme de la Trémoille about M. de Montpensier: "Il me contoit ... qu'il attribue aus trop longues estudes qu'on luy fet faire et dit que Le Plessis [that's Du Plessis-Mornay] luy disoit qu'il les luy falloit ainsy longues pour les luy retenir et que souvant après avoir estudiay trois heures, il n'avoit rien retenu. Cela me feroit croir que les longueurs luy lase l'esprit et la cantité d'estude luy surcharge la mémoire, chose dangereuse..." (letter 45).
The Duke's vocabulary is interesting. For example, his use of the words "state" and "dignity" is really no different from Richelieu's use of the same words. The state is the king's, but it is also separate from him, to be won, lost, enhanced, etc. — just as Mattingly found so long ago in his superb article on stato and state.
And of course, the Duke is a grand, even a prince étranger. He writes from Sedan in the 1620s: "On m'a chassé mes gents de Paris sans que je sasche pourquoy. Je ne suis aprosché de la Cour parace qu'on ne m'y a convié, ainsy je n'an suis party sans dire adieu, je ne suis dans le roïaume. ma protection n'a nulle observassions, le Roy ne m'a escrit pour me dire de quy il se plaint ou quy l'ofance. Je suis sans changement an ce lieu et sans nouvelle obligassion very quy que ce soit et néantmoins on me fet ce trestemant n'onobstant, lequel je me despl_rs du mal et mes afections au bien toutes antières pour servir le Roy et ma patrie ainsy que Dieu me le commande et garder ma sûreté ainsy que je le dois à ma famille et à ceux quy sont sous moy..." (letter 133).
Monsieur Tulot's mailing address is:
6 rue Palasne de Champeaux
F 22000 Saint-Brieuc
France
His e-mail address is: Jeanluc.tulot@orange.fr
And as of late spring, 2007, he is beginning to make his editions available on-line (in PDF) at: http://perso.orange.fr/jeanluc.tulot