ACT I
PAGE 3, LINES 1-20. fond ... premier plan... deuxième plan. The French scène or stage is divided by imaginary lines running parallel to the footlights into a varying number of plans or zones of equal width. Sardou uses three of these plans, premier plan, nearest the audience, deuxième plan, half way back, and troisième plan, toward the fond or back of the stage.
As the stage slopes gently toward the audience the term remonter is used when an actor goes toward the back of the stage, and descendre as he comes forward. Similarly au-dessus, and au-dessous are used to describe an actor’s position back of or in front of objects on the stage.
3, 1. Marché de la Vieille-Boucherie, one of the old medieval markets of Brussels. :
3, 3. soldats espagnols. The Duke of Alva with his army of about ten thousand picked Spanish veterans arrived in Brussels in August, 1567.
3, 12. ribaudes. Contemporary writers like Brantôme mention expressly the body of courtesans accompanying the Spanish forces.
3, 22. piquiers. In the sixteenth century the pike was the common weapon of the foot-soldier unprovided with fire-arms.
3, 22. lansquenets, German mercenary footsoldiers. The name is a corruption of the German Landsknecht, or ‘ soldier of the plain,” as opposed to the Swiss, or ‘‘ soldier of the mountain.”
4, 5. Jacobins, monastery of the Dominican order. In France the Dominicans were called Jacobins, from the fact that their monastery at Paris was situated in the rue Saint-Jacques (Lat. Jacobus).
4, 7. hôtel d’'Egmont, palace of the Count of Egmont, one of the many magnificent residences of the Flemish nobility in sixteenth century Brussels. The site is now occupied by the Hôtel d’Arenberg.
4, 10. seigneur Rincon. Seigneur corresponds to the Spanish señor, equivalent to the French monsieur.
4, 25. arquebusades. The arquebus was the common firearm of the sixteenth century, the immediate predecessor of the musket,
which began to displace it toward the end of the century.
5,5. à geler, “freezing.” The infinitive with à is used after être (and some other verbs) in the sense of a present participle, answering the question, ‘ doing what? ”
5, 14. Leurs Seigneuries, French equivalent of the Spanish Vuestras Mercedes, the older form of Ustedes (= vous).
6, 1. Pacheco, a name undoubtedly suggested to Sardou by Motley’s mention of Pacheco or Paciotti, the distinguished Italian engineer, lent to Alva by the Duke of Savoy. He designed for Alva the celebrated citadel of Antwerp, “la nonpareille forteresse du monde.” (Brantôme.)
6, 19. l'ami. The definite article is occasionally used before . common nouns in familiar direct address. Here it indicates contempt.
7,3 Marquis de la Trémoïlle. The Trémoiïlle family was one of the most illustrious of the French nobility. It elaimed to possess the oldest duchy in France. The family was distinguished for its soldiers. The Trémoille of the play is probably Claude, due (not marquis) de la Trémoïlle (1566-1604) who turned Protestant, and became one of the staunch supporters of Henry of Navarre. The fact that he married later a daughter of William of Orange would naturally justify his being introduced as fighting for the Protestants of the Netherlands. Historically, of course, he would be too young to take any part in the events of the play.
7, 4 Charles, roi de France, Charles IX (1560-1574). His
reign was marked by a series of religious wars, culminating in the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew (August 23, 1572).
7, 23. le comte de Rysoor. Charles van der Noot, seigneur de |
Risoir, was one of the Belgian nobles who took an active part in the
struggle against the Spanish domination. He was one of the signers * |
of the famous Requête (1566) addressed to the Regent, Margaret of Parma. Summoned before the Conseil des Troubles, he took refuge in German territory. In 1568, he formed a plot to seize Alva as he was going to the priory of Groenendael to celebrate Easter. (See Historical Note, pp. 149-150) Risoir barely escaped capture when his conspiracy was discovered. He joined the army forming in Jülich under de Villers for the invasion of the Netherlands. Later he commanded a part of the army recruited by William of Orange in Germany. On the defeat of this army by Alva, Risoir was once more forced to leave his country. According to A. Wanters (Mémoires de Viglius, Brussels, 1858), Risoir was killed at the battle of Dalhen (1568), where he commanded the Walloons. The Belgian Diction- Site e Biographie Nationale, however, states that he died probably
in 1573. |
8, 2. Napolitains, Suisses, Portugais. The Spanish armies were, as Rysoor states, composed largely of adventurers, drawn chiefly from states under Spanish control, like Italy and Portugal, or from Switzerland and Germany, the great sources of mercenary soldiers.
8, 25. calviniste. The Huguenots, or French Protestants, accepted the form of Protestantism developed by Jean Calvin (1509- 1564), of Geneva, rather than that of Martin Luther. From France Calvinism, on account of its democratic tendency, spread rapidly in the liberty-loving Netherlands.
8, 27. la religion. For the Calvinists, fanatical Protestants, their special form of Protestantism was the only true religion.
9, 5. Sa Majesté . . . jeu de paume. Charles IX was passionately devoted to violent physical exercises, his favorite sports being hunting and le jeu de paume, the ancestor of modern tennis, To be a good joueur de paume was for a young noble of the time an open sesame to the royal favor.
9, 9. JIlfait ici trop chaud pour toi. La Trémoïlle was in danger of death because of his religion. It must be recalled that the action of Patrie! takes place in the period immediately preceding the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew (1572).
9, 13. Louis de Nassau (1538-1574), younger brother of William of Orange, and one of his ablest lieutenants. He finally gave his life for the cause of his country’s freedom at the defeat of Mookerheide (1574).
9, 15. Louvre, palace of the French Kings at Paris, now transformed into the national museum and art gallery.
9, 15. Guillaume son frère, William of Orange (1533-1584), the Silent (cf. 28, 29), the outstanding hero of the struggle of the Netherlands for independence. It was mainly through his indomitable courage in the face of apparently insurmountable difficulties that the Dutch Netherlands were able finally to emerge victorious from their long contest with Spain.
The reference in this passage is to William’s sojourn in Paris in 1559, when he was one of the Spanish hostages for the observance of the terms of the treaty of Câteau-Cambrésis. On this occasion one of his colleagues, curiously enough, was his future enemy, the Duke of Alva.
9, 24. Êtes-vous des nôtres, ‘“ Don’t you want to join us? ”
9, 28. le roi Philippe, Philip II (1527-1598), King of Spain. A religious fanatic, regarding himself as the champion of Catholic orthodoxy, he found himself engaged in a life and death struggle
with two of the great Protestant states, England and the Netherlands, a struggle which was to result very disastrously for Spain. It was Philip who was directly responsible for the repressive policy of Alva in the Netherlands.
9, 30. C’est un mélancolique. A sinister melancholy is, rightly or wrongly, the characteristic traditionally attributed to Philip II. (Cf. Victor Hugo’s description of Philip in his Rose de l’Infante.)
10, 2. Jemmingen, scene of the disastrous defeat (July 21, 1568) of Louis of Nassau by the Duke of Alva. Sardou advances the date of the battle since Act I of the play is supposed to take place on Mardi gras, that is, early in this same year, 1568.
10, 4 me vend cent pistoles. This passage illustrates one of the customs of the warfare of the time, that of holding for ransom prisoners of noble birth. Such prisoners were far too valuable to be slaughtered like common soldiers.
10, 16. clochers, ‘“parishes.’ The vast estates of à French feudal noble could easily include forty parishes.
10, 16. Quand j'y laisserais la demi-douzaine, ‘“ suppose I should lose half a dozen.”
10, 24. Ventre-Mahom, ‘ good heavens! ”” an oath formed on the basis of ventre-bleu (ventre de Dieu) or ventre-saint-gris, the favorite oath of Henri IV.
11, 1. C’est aujourd’hui mardi gras. Sardou probably chose Mardi gras as the date for the opening act of his play from a suggestion in Motley (II, 144). ‘The evening of Shrovetide, a favorite holiday in the Netherlands, afforded an occasion for arresting and carrying off à vast number of doomed individuals at a single swoop.”?
11, 3 le cardinal Granvelle (1517-1586), administrator of the Netherlands for the Regent, Margaret of Parma, from 1559 to 1564. His attempt to rule absolutely and especially to impose the Inquisition laid the foundations for the revolt of the Netherlands.
11, 3 Madame la Gouvernante, Margaret of Parma, half sister of Philip II, Regent of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567, when she was superseded by the Duke of Alva.
11,3 ïilya trois ans. The history of the years from 1565 to 1568 shows little of the carefree attitude here described. What gaiety there was must have been merely on the surface. As Motley says: “ the fires of civil war were already kindling.”’
11, 7. le prince d'Orange tenait table ouverte. William of
Orange was famous in his early years for his hospitality, which, “Jike his fortune, was almost regal.” (Motley.)
11, 8 M. d’Egmont. Lamoral, Count of Egmont, stadtholder of Flanders (1522-1568) was, after William of Orange, the best known of the nobles of the Netherlands. With far less ability than Orange, he enjoyed a very great popularity on account of the military exploits of his early years, notably the victories of Saint-Quentin and Gravelines. Later he fell into disgrace with Philip II for siding with the patriotie party against the Spanish attempt to introduce the Inquisition into the Netherlands, and was executed at Brussels in June, 1568, along with his friend, Admiral Horn. Goethe has rather idealized the character of Egmont in his tragedy, Egmont.
11, 9. sa veuve va . . . enfants. Egmont’s vast wealth was confiscated after his execution, and his wife, left practically penniless, was forced to take refuge in a convent.
11, 12. réduit à vendre sa vaisselle. In order to help raise an army to fight for the cause of liberty, ‘the Prince himself sold all his jewels, plate, tapestry, and other furniture, which were of almost regal magnificence.” (Motley.)
11, 28. Pour la campagne. . . . This description of the frightful results of Alva’s policy of merciless repression may be paralleled in many passages of Motley.
12, 5. chargées à se rompre, “ loaded down to the breakingpoint.”
12, 18. des Flandres. Flanders included at the time of the play, not only most of what is now Belgium,but also what is now northeastern France, notably the province of Artois.
12, 20. le duc de Brabant. According to the feudal fiction, the duchy of Brabant, with Brussels as capital, was not an integral part of Spain, but still preserved more or less independence. Philip IT could claim allegiance only as Duke of Brabant.
12, 21. L’abominable Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition was created in 1480 by Ferdinand and Isabella for the extermination of heresy. It was the attempt on the part of Philip II to transplant the Inquisition in the free soil of the Netherlands that precipitated the uprising of the Dutch and Flemings against Spanish rule, which led ultimately to the formation of an independent Holland.
12, 24 ce roi faussaire et parjure. Philip II, on succeeding his father, Charles V, in 1555 as ruler of the Netherlands, had sworn to uphold the ancient liberties of the people, a promise shamelessly broken almost immediately.
13, 12. le duc d’Albe. In 1567 Philip entrusted to Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva (1508-1583), the task of restoring order and crushing out heresy in the Netherlands. Alva was the
most famous general of the age, a masterly exponent of the latest developments in the science of war. From 1567 to 1573 he Was governor of the Netherlands with practically unlimited powers. His policy of ruthless repression and terrorism failed to break the heroic resistance of the patriots, headed by William of Orange, and in 1573 he resigned his post. For a number of years he was in disgrace, but in 1581, as commander-in-chief in Portugal, he won new military laurels. He died in 1583.
Alva’s administration in the Netherlands is one of the most infamous in all history, an example of the lengths to which religious bigotry can go. On his departure he is said to have boasted that besides the thousands he had killed in battle and massacred in the sacks of captured cities, he had caused the execution of some 18,000 persons. According to Blok (History of the Dutch People) this estimate is far too high. Alva’s successor, Requesens, put the figure at 6,000. In any case the record is an appalling one. The only thing to be said in favor of Alva is that he was loyally striving to carry out the orders of his master, Philip II.
13, 23. Conseil des Troubles. This infamous court, known officially as the Council of Troubles, popularly as the Blood Couneil, was instituted by Alva in 1567, soon after his arrival in the Netherlands, to try all cases connected withthepoliticalandreligious troubles of the period. Its power was absolute. Only Alva himself could reverse its decisions. It was intended not to judge persons brought before it but to convict them, partly to strike terror into the hearts of the rebels, partly to confiscate as much property as possible. As death was the uniform penalty, the council came to be known as the Blood Council.
13, 25. ce placard jaune et noir. On February 16, 1568, a decree of the Inquisition was published, condemning all the inhabitants of the Netherlands, with, however, some special exceptions, to death as hereties. ‘This is probably,” says Motley, ‘the most concise death warrant that was ever framed.”
14, 14. son homme, ‘ just the man he needs.”
14, 15. A ce despote . . . visage, an excellent characterization of Philip II and his henchman, Alva.
14. 17. Il est père. Alva’s invalid daughter, Rafaële, is probably an invention of Sardou, to add one more dramatic effect to his play, the conflict in Alva between his father love and his stern unbending sense of duty. Historically Alva did have a daughter, Beatrix, married to Don Alvaro Perez de Osorio.
15, 2. les provinces hautes. The upper provinces of the Netherlands comprised, roughly speaking, what is now the territory
of Holland. These provinces, strongly Protestant, were the centre of the opposition to Spanish despotism.
15, 3. Guillaume de la Marck, admiral of the naval forces of William of Orange, known as the ‘“ Sea Beggars.”” De la Marck was a worthy leader of the Beggars, in reality little more than privateers. Motley describes him as “a hirsute and savage corsair,”” thirsting for vengeance upon Alva for the death of his relative, Egmont. His cruelty toward conquered foes almost equalled that practised by the Spaniards themselves.
15, 4 la Brielle, ‘ Brill.” This fortified port, at the mouth of the Meuse, was captured in April, 1572, by the fleet of de la Marck, head of the ‘“ Sea Beggars,” four years after the events of the play. The capture of Brill was the first important success in the operations of William of Orange against Alva, and so is generally regarded as the foundation stone of Dutch liberty.
15, 4 La province d’Utrecht refuse l’impôt. This refusal took place not in 1568 but the following year. To punish Utrecht, Alva first quartered one of his regiments upon the citizens, and this failing, he had the city and province convicted of high treason by the Blood Council, which paved the way for wholesale confiscation of property.
15, 6. dépouillé par les pirates anglais. It was not until much later than 1568 that the English privateers began to prey upon Spanish commerce. In 1568, and for some years to come, the relations between England and Spain were on the whole rather friendly.
15, 8 impôt du dixième denier. The policy of confiscation failing to bring in the “ golden stream ”” he had promised Philip II, Alva proceeded in 1569 to levy certain arbitrary taxes on the Netherlands. The one here mentioned, the ‘“tenth penny,’” was a sales tax of ten per cent levied on every sale of merchandise or personal property. Such a tax meant, of course, the death of all commerce, and the economic ruin of the nation. Alva never succeeded in completely enforcing it.
15, 22. Noircarmes, bailli or governor of the province of Hainault. Motley calls him ‘the infamous Noircarmes, whose name was to be covered with eternal execration, for aping toward his own compatriots and kindred as much of Alva’s atrocities and avarice as he was permitted to exercise.” His title of ‘ Butcher ?” was earned especially by the part he played in the terrible massacres of Valenciennes (1567) and of Mons (1572), which he made no efforts to stop, eager as he was to profit by the resulting confiscations.
15, 24. Delrio . . . Vargas, the two ‘Spanish bloodhounds ” of Alva, the only members of the Blood Council who had the right
to vote, their decisions, however, being subject to review by Alva. Motley calls Delrio “a man without character or talent, a mere tool in the hands of his superiors.” Vargas is presented as a much more sinister personage. “ His figure rises upon us through the mist of three centuries with terrible distinctness. . . . He executed Alva’s bloody work with an industry that was almost superhuman and with a merriment that would have shamed a demon.”
17, 12. Karloo van der Noot, Gaspard Van der Noot, seigneur de Carloo, brother of Charles Van der Noot, seigneur de Risoir, coleader in the conspiracy against Alva in 1568. It was he who, disguised as a monk, discovered the plans of Alva to visit the priory of Groenendael during Holy Week. After the failure of the plot, Carloo fled with his brother to Germany. According to the Mémoires de Viglius et d’ Hopperus. (ed. A. Wanters, Brussels, 1858), Carloo was killed at the siege of Haarlem (1573).
Sardou evidently took Carloo to be a Christian name, whereas in reality, it was a territorial title.
17, 22. Gravelines, a small town between Calais and Dunkirk, where in 1558 a force of Spanish cavalry under Count Egmont conpletely defeated the French army of de Thermes. This victory enabled Philip IT to dictate the terms of peace to his enemy, Henri II.
18, 15. Oh! demain! a hint of the approaching coup of the conspirators.
18, 16. Vous avez tremblé pour lui plus que pour vous. Ry-
soor’s deep love for his friend makes Karloo’s treachery all the more culpable.
18, 23. Combien de prisonniers ici? This trial scene is introduced as a picture of the mode of operation of the Blood Council. The trials were mere farces, the victims being condemned in advance. Hence, it was considered a waste of time to have anything approaching an individual trial, and those marked for destruction were tried and executed in batches.
, 19, 7. Balthazar Cuyp. Sardou presents a series of typical victims of the Blood Council, accused of crimes of varying degrees of heinousness, but all punished by the same penalty, death.
19, 29. Noerden, probably Naarden, a small town near Amsterdam, captured by the Spanish in 1572.
21758: . Jonas. The bell-ringer gives a slight touch of comedy to a plot which, for the most part, is grimly serious. Later in the play this humorous character will die a hero’s death.
21,9. inquiet. Rysoor is anxious about Jonas’ arrest because
the bell-ringer, as will presently appear, has an essential rôle in the carrying out of the plot.
22, 4 Pour abreuvé, ‘ speaking of being soaked.”
.22, 11. Saint-Quentin, city in eastern France, scene of a brilliant victory gained by the Spanish troops under Count Egmont over the French army of the Constable Montmorency (1557). In honor of this victory Philip IT erected the palace of the Escurial.
22, 20. des sonneries à lui, ‘‘ his own special airs.”
23, 5. le dernier. Mot is understood.
23, 6. si je pouvais, “ if only I could.”
24, 14. Tenez-vous-le pour dit, ‘‘ consider that as settled.”’
24, 17. l’ami (Cf. 6, 19).
24, 21. le désordre et l’anarchie. The representative of Spanish despotism cannot understand the apparent lack of discipline which so often distinguishes the government of a free people.
25, 28. vous me demandez pourquoi? This speech draws probably a rather faithful picture of the behavior of soldiers of the period, with the connivance of their officers, not only among the Spanish troops, but in all the continental armies. These armies were largely made up of mercenaries, ready to mutiny at any moment if they were not granted a very large liberty to prey upon the unfortunate inhabitants of the region where they happened to be.
26, 29. Angélus. Notice the curious combination in the Spanish soldiers of external piety and horrible cruelty.
27, 14. En finirons-nous? “Shall we ever get through this terrible business? ?”
27, 27. chefs quarteniers, heads of the different quartiers or districts, of à city.
27, 29. Madame la Régente, Margaret of Parma, referred to earlier in the play as madame la Gouvernante. à
28, 1. banquet de l’hôtel de Culembourg . . . Gueux . . . la besace et l’écuelle. On April 3, 1566, a delegation of Flemish nobles, some two hundred in number, under the leadership of Count Brederode, presented to the Regent a ‘“ Request ”” that the edicts establishing the Inquisition in the Netherlands should be withdrawn.
As the delegation retired, one of the Regent’s counsellors, Berlaymont, to calm her irritation, uttered the gibe which was destined to give a popular name to the opponents of Spanish rule. “ What, Madam,”” he exclaimed, “is it possible that your Highness can enter- . tain fears of these beggars (Gueux)? ”
Some days later a great banquet was held by the confederates at the Culembourg mansion. At this banquet, on Culembourg’s suggestion, they adopted for their party the name of ‘les Gueux,” and
for the first time the great liberal rallying ery was heard, “ Vivent les Gueux.” A special costume was also decided upon, doublet, hose and cloak of coarse grey cloth such as was worn by mendicants, common felt hat, and, at the side, a beggar’s wallet and bowl (la besace et l’écuelle).
28, 9. M. de Bréderode. Count Brederode, descendant of the old Counts of Holland, had ambitions to be a leader in the struggle against Spanish tyranny. His only qualifications, however, were his undoubted courage and audacity; he was utterly lacking in the good sense and prudence which are essential for real leadership. Brederode led the delegation which presented the ‘“ Request ” to the Regent, and at the famous banquet which followed, it was he who suggested the adoption by the patriots of the nickname of Beggars (Gueux). He became known as the ‘“ Great Beggar.”?
28, 9. d’accord en cela avec M. le prince d'Orange. William of Orange was not present at the Culembourg banquet, except for a few minutes toward the end. He heartily disapproved of such ridiculous manifestations of patriotism, realizing that they only made it more difficult to arrive at a peaceful solution of the great questions at issue,
28. 21. Passe pour son ami, ‘“Lets grant that you are his friend.”
28, 29. le Taciturne. William of Orange is supposed to have earned his title of the Silent by the silence he maintained when Henri IT of France, during a hunting-party, thoughtlessly revealed to him the plot between the Kings of France and Spain to eradicate heresy in their dominions by a general massacre of the adherents of the new religion. It was the knowledge thus acquired which made Orange distrustful of Philip II, and saved him from sharing the fate of his friends, Egmont and Horn, victims of their excessive loyalty to the Spanish King.
31, 11. dimanche de la Purification, Sunday of the week of February 2, the date of this feast in honor of the Virgin.
31, 12. l’autre semaine, ‘ last week.”
. 31, 13. ces quatre derniers jours. Note how the French expression differs from the corresponding English one.
32, 8 Le diable veut que . . . , “as Luck would have it.” 33, 19. l’homme (cf. 6, 19).
33, 30. que voilà bien, “ that's just.”
33, 33. Je vous dis que non. Note the idiomatic que before oui and non.
34, 3. M. le Duc d’Albe sait trop bien compter. “ He (Alva) had been a thrifty financier all his life, never having been without a handsome sum of money at interest.” (Motley.)
34, 15. Je crie . . . le mois prochain. Alva was always in desperate straits for money to pay his mercenary soldiers, whose wages had to be found at any cost, as they held constantly over his head the threat of mutiny, which on several occasions was actually carried into effect.
34, 31. les la Trémoïlle passent après le Roi. The la Trémoïlle family regarded itself as inferior in rank only to the King.
35, 4. Faites écarter vos gens. Note the omission of the reflexive pronoun after faire (écarter = s’écarter).
37, 1. cette marque! Rysoor is suddenly struck by the importance of this clue for discovering the identity of his wife’s lover.
