Thursday, January 04, 2007

Les belles Figures et Drolleries de la Ligue

Coloured picture of Penitents


Sacram Virginem Lavretanam


Assassination of the Duc de Guise


Henri de Valois with the devil


Penitents


Portrait de la Ligue Infernalle


Funeral of Henry III


Medusa Emblemata


Duchess de Nemours with Henri de Guise's body


L'Hermitage Prepare pour Henry de Valois


Martyrdom of Henri de Guise


Conseil diabolique and beheaded catholic brothers


Allegorical illustration of La Ligue


Devil Priest


Baptisme Dauphin


Cock Fight sketch

[click to enlarge the images - almost all are spliced from Zoomify screencaps]

During the civil and religious wars of the late 16th century in France, a Parisian lawyer - Pierre de L'Estoile - collected the popular pamphlets, poems, handbills, woodcut illustrations and articles in circulation and saved them in a scrapbook.

This is a very complex historical period and one I'm not comfortable attempting to summarise..at all. The full title of the work, which was ostensibly compiled to show the deception, folly and wickedness of the Catholic League, is:

'Les belles Figures et Drolleries de la Ligue, avec les peintures, placcars et affiches injurieuses et diffamatoires contre la memoire et honneur du feu Roy que les Oisons de la Ligue apeloient Henri de Valois, imprimées, criées, preschées et vendues publiquement à Paris par tous les endroits et quarrefours de la Ville l'an 1589. Desquelles la garde (qui autrement n'est bonne que pour le feu) tesmoingnera à la postérité la meschanceté, vanité, folie, et imposture de ceste ligue infernale, et de combien nous sommes obligés à nostre bon Roi qui nous a délivrés de la serviture et tirannie de ce monstre.'


It is regarded as one of the Treasures of the BNF
.

1 comment :

misteraitch said...

The last of these images is slightly reminiscent of the Songes Drolatiques de Pantagruel, don't you think? I wonder if this kind of imagery was sectarian in some way, given that the Songes’ publisher Richard Breton was on the Protestant side too...

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