[Bonnivet and the Lady of Milan]
TALE XIV.
The Lord of Bonnivet, desiring to revenge himself upon a
Milanese lady for her cruelty, made the acquaintance of an
Italian gentleman whom she loved, but to whom she had never
granted anything save fair words and assurances of
affection. To accomplish his purpose he gave this gentleman
such good advice that the lady granted him what he had so
long sought, and this the gentleman made known to Bonnivet,
who, having cut both hair and beard, and dressed himself in
clothes like those of the other, went at midnight and put
his vengeance into execution. Then the lady, having learnt
from him the plan that he had devised to win her, promised
to desist from loving those of her own nation, and to hold
fast to him.
At the time when the Grand-Master of Chaumont was Governor of the Duchy of Milan, (1) there lived there a gentleman called the Lord of Bonnivet, who by reason of his merits was afterwards made Admiral of France. Being greatly liked by the Grand-Master and every one else on account of the qualities he possessed, he was a welcome guest at the banquets where the ladies of Milan assembled, and was regarded by them with more favour than ever fell to a Frenchman’s lot, either before or since; and this as much on account of his handsome countenance, grace of manner, and pleasant converse, as by reason of the renown which he had gained among all as being one of the most skilful and valorous soldiers of his time. (2)
1 M. de Lincy is of opinion that the incidents recorded in
this story took place between 1501 and 1503; but according
to M. Lacroix, the Grand-Master of Chaumont did not become
Governor of the Milanese till 1506. This personage, to whom
Queen Margaret frequently alludes in her tales, was Charles
d’Amboise, nephew of the famous Cardinal d’Amboise, minister
to Louis XII. In turn admiral and marshal, Governor of
Paris, and Grand-Master, in France, of the Order of St. John
of Jerusalem, he figured prominently in the Italian wars of
the time, and notably at the battle of Aignadel. In 1510 he
commanded the troops which fought on behalf of the Duke of
Ferrara against the Emperor and Pope Julius II., and the
latter having excommunicated him for bearing arms against
the Holy See, his mind is said to have become unhinged. He
died at Correggio in February 1511, when only thirty-eight
years of age, some biographers asserting that he was
poisoned, whilst others contend that he fell from a bridge
during a military expedition. Whilst on his death-bed, he
sent messengers to the Pope, begging that the decree of
excommunication against him might be annulled, but before
the Papal absolution arrived he had expired. The name of
Chaumont, by which he is generally known, is that of an
estate he possessed, between Blois and Amboise, on the
Loire. The reputation he enjoyed of being one of the
handsomest men of his time was well deserved, if one may
judge by a painting at the Louvre which is said to be his
portrait. This picture, long ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci,
and supposed to represent Charles VIII. of France, has been
identified as the work of Andreas Solario, who executed
numerous paintings for Cardinal d’Amboise at the famous
château of Gaillon.—L. M. and Eu.
2 Some particulars concerning William Gouffier, Lord of
Bonnivet, have been given in vol. i. (Tale IV. n. 3). It
may here be mentioned that the domain whence he derived the
name by which he is generally known was in the neighbourhood
of Poitiers, around the village of Vendeuvre, where he built
himself a vast château, destroyed at the close of the
eighteenth century. Some fragments of the sculptured work
adorning it, remarkable for their elegance of design and
delicacy of workmanship, are in the Poitiers Museum. It is
not unlikely that the incidents related in Tale IV. occurred
at this château; or else at that of Oiron, another domain of
the Gouffiers, between Loudun and Bressuire. In the chapel
of Oiron were buried Bonnivet, his mother, his brother
Artus, and his nephew Claud. Their tombs, large marble
mausoleums of Italian workmanship, surmounted by recumbent
statues, were opened and mutilated by the Huguenots in 1568,
when the bones they contained were scattered to the winds.
Bon-nivet’s statue is probably the most damaged of the four.
The château of Oiron, with its marble staircases, quaint
frescoes, sculptured medallions, &c, testifies to the great
wealth possessed by the Gouffier family, and justifies the
cynical motto assumed by Bonnivet’s nephew: “Others have
beaten the bushes, but we have the birds.”—Ed.