The Tales Of The Heptameron, Vol. I. (of V.)

by King of Navarre consort of Henry II Queen Margueri

  _TALE III._

  _The Queen of Naples, being wronged by King Alfonso, her husband, revenged herself with a gentleman whose wife was the King's mistress; and this intercourse lasted all their lives without the King at any time having suspicion of it_.(1)

  I have often desired, ladies, to be a sharer in the good fortune of theman whose story I am about to relate to you. You must know that in thetime of King Alfonso,(2) whose lust was the sceptre of his kingdom,(3)there lived in the town of Naples a gentleman, so honourable, comely,and pleasant that his perfections induced an old gentleman to give himhis daughter in marriage.

  1 This story is historical. The events occurred at Naples cir. 1450.--L.

  2 The King spoken of in this story must be Alfonso V., King of Aragon, who was born in 1385, and succeeded his father, Ferdinand the Just, in 1416. He had already made various expeditions to Sardinia and Corsica, when, in 1421, Jane II. of Naples begged of him to assist her in her contest against Louis of Anjou. Alfonso set sail for Italy as requested, but speedily quarrelled with Jane, on account of the manner in which he treated her lover, the Grand Seneschal Caraccioli. Jane, at her death in 1438, bequeathed her crown to Rene, brother of Louis of Anjou, whose claims Alfonso immediately opposed. Whilst blockading Gaeta he was defeated and captured, but ultimately set at liberty, whereupon he resumed the war. In 1442 he at last secured possession of Naples, and compelled Rene to withdraw from Italy. From that time Alfonso never returned to Spain, but settling himself in his Italian dominions, assumed the title of King of the Two Sicilies. He obtained the surname of the Magnanimous, from his generous conduct towards some conspirators, a list of whose names he tore to pieces unread, saying, "I will show these noblemen that I have more concern for their lives than they have themselves." The surname of the Learned was afterwards given to him from the circumstance that, like his rival Rene of Anjou, he personally cultivated letters, and also protected many of the leading learned men of Italy. Alfonso was fond of strolling about the streets of Naples unattended, and one day, when he was cautioned respecting this habit, he replied, "A father who walks abroad in the midst of his children has no cause for fear." Whilst possessed of many remarkable qualities, Alfonso, as Muratori and other writers have shown, was of an extremely licentious disposition. That he had no belief in conjugal fidelity is evidenced by his saying that "to ensure domestic happiness the husband should be deaf and the wife blind." He himself had several mistresses, and lived at variance with his wife, respecting whom some particulars are given in a note on page 69. He died in 1458, at the age of seventy-four, bequeathing his Italian possessions to Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria, his natural son by a Spanish beauty named Margaret de Hijar. It may be added that Brantome makes a passing allusion to this tale of the _Heptameron_ in his _Vies des Dames Galantes_ (Disc, i.), styling it "a very fine one."--L. and Ed.

  3 Meaning that he employed his sovereign authority for the accomplishment of his amorous desires.--M.

  She vied with her husband in grace and comeliness, and there was greatlove between them, until a certain day in Carnival time, when the Kingwent masked from house to house. All strove to give him the bestwelcome they could, but when he came to this gentleman's house hewas entertained better than anywhere else, what with sweetmeats,and singers, and music, and, further, the fairest woman that, to histhinking, he had ever seen. At the end of the feast she sang a song withher husband in so graceful a fashion that she seemed more beautiful thanever.

  The King, perceiving so many perfections united in one person, was notover pleased at the gentle harmony between the husband and wife, anddeliberated how he might destroy it. The chief difficulty he met withwas in the great affection which he observed existed between them, andon this account he hid his passion in his heart as deeply as he could.To relieve it in some measure, he gave many entertainments to the lordsand ladies of Naples, and at these the gentleman and his wife were notforgotten. Now, inasmuch as men willingly believe what they desire, itseemed to the King that the glances of this lady gave him fair promiseof future happiness, if only she were not restrained by her husband'spresence. Accordingly, that he might learn whether his surmise wastrue, the King intrusted a commission to the husband, and sent him on ajourney to Rome for a fortnight or three weeks.

  As soon as the gentleman was gone, his wife, who had never before beenseparated from him, was in great distress; but the King comforted her asoften as he was able, with gentle persuasions and presents, so thatat last she was not only consoled, but well pleased with her husband'sabsence. Before the three weeks were over at the end of which he was tobe home again, she had come to be so deeply in love with the King thather husband's return was no less displeasing to her than his departurehad been. Not wishing to be deprived of the King's society, she agreedwith him that whenever her husband went to his country-house she wouldgive him notice of it. He might then visit her in safety, and with suchsecrecy that her honour, which she regarded more than her conscience,would not suffer.(4)

  4 The edition of 1558 is here followed, the MSS. being rather obscure.--M.

  Having this hope, the lady continued of very cheerful mind, and when herhusband arrived she welcomed him so heartily that, even had he beentold that the King had sought her in his absence, he would have had nosuspicion. In course of time, however, the flame, that is so difficultof concealment, began to show itself, and the husband, having a stronginkling of the truth, kept good watch, by which means he was well-nighconvinced. Nevertheless, as he feared that the man who wronged himwould treat him still worse if he appeared to notice it, he resolved todissemble, holding it better to live in trouble than to risk his lifefor a woman who had ceased to love him.

  In his vexation of spirit, however, he resolved, if he could, to retortupon the King, and knowing that women, especially such as are of loftyand honourable minds, are more moved by resentment than by love, he madebold one day while speaking with the Queen (5) to tell her that it movedhis pity to see her so little loved by the King.

  5 This was Mary (daughter of Henry III. of Castile), who was married to King Alfonso at Valencia on June 29, 1415. Juan de Mariana, the Spanish historian, records that the ceremony was celebrated with signal pomp by the schismatical Pope Benedict XIII. The bride brought her husband a dowry of 200,000 ducats, and also various territorial possessions. The marriage, however, was not a happy one, on account of Alfonso's licentious disposition, and the Queen is said to have strangled one of his mistresses, Margaret de Hijar, in a fit of jealousy. Alfonso, to escape from his wife's interference, turned his attention to foreign expeditions. According to the authors of _L'Art de Verifier les Dates_, Queen Mary never once set foot in Italy, and this statement is borne out by Mariana, who shows that whilst Alfonso was reigning in Naples his wife governed the kingdom of Aragon, making war and signing truces and treaties of peace with Castile. In the _Heptameron_, therefore, Margaret departs from historical accuracy when she represents the Queen as residing at Naples with her husband. Moreover, judging by the date of Mary's marriage, she could no longer have been young when Alfonso secured the Neapolitan throne. It is to be presumed that the Queen of Navarre designedly changed the date of her story, and that the incidents referred to really occurred in Spain prior to Alfonso's departure for Italy. There is no mention of Mary in her husband's will, a remarkable document which is still extant. A letter written to her by Pope Calixtus II. shows that late in life the King was desirous of repudiating her to marry an Italian mistress named Lucretia Alania. The latter repaired to Rome to negotiate the affair, but the Pope refused to treat with her, and wrote to Mary saying that she must be prudent, but that he would not dissolve the marriage, lest God should punish him for part
icipating in so great a crime. Mary died a few months after her husband in 1458, and was buried in a convent at Valencia.--L. and Ed.

  The Queen, who had heard of the affection that existed between the Kingand the gentleman's wife, replied--

  "I cannot have both honour and pleasure together. I well know that Ihave the honour whilst another has the pleasure; and in the same way shewho has the pleasure has not the honour that is mine."

  Thereupon the gentleman, who understood full well at whom these wordswere aimed, replied--

  "Madam, honour is inborn with you, for your lineage is such that notitle, whether of queen or empress, could be an increase of nobility;yet your beauty, grace, and virtue are well deserving of pleasure, andshe who robs you of what is yours does a greater wrong to herself thanto you, seeing that for a glory which is turned to her shame, she losesas much pleasure as you or any lady in the realm could enjoy. I cantruly tell you, madam, that were the King to lay aside his crown, hewould not possess any advantage over me in satisfying a lady; nay, Iam sure that to content one so worthy as yourself he would indeed bepleased to change his temperament for mine."

  The Queen laughed and replied--

  "The King may be of a less vigorous temperament than you, yet the lovehe bears me contents me well, and I prefer it to any other."

  "Madam," said the gentleman, "if that were so, I should have no pity foryou. I feel sure that you would be well pleased if the like of your ownvirtuous love were found in the King's heart; but God has withheld thisfrom you in order that, not finding what you desire in your husband, youmay not make him your god on earth."

  "I confess to you," said the Queen, "that the love I bear him is sogreat that the like could not be found in any other heart but mine."

  "Pardon me, madam," said the gentleman; "you have not fathomed the loveof every heart. I will be so bold as to tell you that you are loved byone whose love is so great and measureless that your own is as nothingbeside it. The more he perceives that the King's love fails you, themore does his own wax and increase, in such wise that, were it yourpleasure, you might be recompensed for all you have lost."

  The Queen began to perceive, both from these words and from thegentleman's countenance, that what he said came from the depth of hisheart. She remembered also that for a long time he had so zealouslysought to do her service that he had fallen into sadness. She hadhitherto deemed this to be on account of his wife, but now she wasfirmly of belief that it was for love of herself. Moreover, the veryquality of love, which compels itself to be recognised when it isunfeigned, made her feel certain of what had been hidden from every one.As she looked at the gentleman, who was far more worthy of being lovedthan her husband, she reflected that he was forsaken by his wife, asshe herself was by the King; and then, beset by vexation and jealousyagainst her husband, as well as moved by the love of the gentleman, shebegan with sighs and tearful eyes to say--

  "Ah me! shall revenge prevail with me where love has been of no avail?"

  The gentleman, who understood what these words meant, replied--

  "Vengeance, madam, is sweet when in place of slaying an enemy it giveslife to a true lover.(6) Methinks it is time that truth should cause youto abandon the foolish love you bear to one who loves you not, and thata just and reasonable love should banish fear, which cannot dwell in anoble and virtuous heart. Come, madam, let us set aside the greatnessof your station and consider that, of all men and women in the world, weare the most deceived, betrayed, and bemocked by those whom we have mosttruly loved. Let us avenge ourselves, madam, not so much to requite themin the way they deserve as to satisfy that love which, for my own part,I cannot continue to endure and live. And I think that, unless yourheart be harder than flint or diamond, you cannot but feel some sparkfrom the fires which only increase the more I seek to conceal them. Ifpity for me, who am dying of love for you, does not move you to loveme, at least pity for yourself should do so. You are so perfect that youdeserve to win the heart of every honourable man in the world, yet youare contemned and forsaken by him for whose sake you have scorned allothers."

  6 The above sentence being omitted in the MS. followed in this edition, it has been supplied from MS. No. 1520 in the Bibliotheque Nationale.--L.

  On hearing these words the Queen was so greatly moved that, for fearof showing in her countenance the trouble of her mind, she took thegentleman's arm and went forth into a garden that was close to herapartment. There she walked to and fro for a long time without beingable to say a word to him. The gentleman saw that she was half won, andwhen they were at the end of the path, where none could see them, hemade a very full declaration of the love which he had so long hiddenfrom her. They found that they were of one mind in the matter, andenacted (7) the vengeance which they were no longer able to forego.Moreover, they there agreed that whenever the husband went into thecountry, and the King left the castle to visit the wife in the town, thegentleman should always return and come to the castle to see the Queen.Thus, the deceivers being themselves deceived, all four would share inthe pleasures that two of them had thought to keep to themselves.

  7 This expression has allusion to the mysteries or religious plays so frequently performed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Mystery of Vengeance, which depicted the misfortunes which fell upon those who had taken part in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, such as Pontius Pilate, &c, and ended by the capture and destruction of Jerusalem, properly came after the Mysteries of the Passion and the Resurrection.--L.

  When the agreement had been made, the Queen returned to her apartmentand the gentleman to his house, both being so well pleased that they hadforgotten all their former troubles. The jealousy they had previouslyfelt at the King's visits to the lady was now changed to desire, so thatthe gentleman went oftener than usual to his house in the country, whichwas only half a league distant. As soon as the King was advised of hisdeparture, he never failed to go and see the lady; and the gentleman,when night was come, betook himself to the castle to the Queen, wherehe did duty as the King's lieutenant, and so secretly that none everdiscovered it.

  This manner of life lasted for a long time; but as the King was a personof public condition, he could not conceal his love sufficiently well toprevent it from coming at length to the knowledge of every one; andall honourable people felt great pity for the gentleman, though diversmalicious youths were wont to deride him by making horns at him behindhis back. But he knew of their derision, and it gave him great pleasure,so that he came to think as highly of his horns as of the King's crown.

  One day, however, the King and the gentleman's wife, noticing a stag'shead that was set up in the gentleman's house, could not refrain in hispresence from laughing and saying that the head was suited to the house.Soon afterwards the gentleman, who was no less spirited than the King,caused the following words to be written over the stag's head:--

  "Io porto le corna, ciascun lo vede, Ma tal le porta che no lo crede." (8)

  8 "All men may see the horns I've got, But one wears horns and knows it not."

  When the King came again to the house, he observed these lines newlywritten, and inquired their meaning of the gentleman, who said--

  "If the King's secret be hidden from the subject, it is not fitting thatthe subject's secret should be revealed to the King. Be content withknowing that those who wear horns do not always have their caps raisedfrom their heads. Some horns are so soft that they never uncap one, andespecially are they light to him who thinks he has them not."

  The King perceived by these words that the gentleman knew something ofhis own behaviour, but he never had any suspicion of the love betweenhim and the Queen; for the more pleased the latter was with the life ledby her husband, the more did she feign to be distressed by it. And so oneither side they lived in this love, until at last old age took them inhand.

  "Here, ladies, is a story by which you may be guided, for, as Iwillingly confess, it shows you that when
your husbands give you bucks'horns you can give them stags' horns in return."

  "I am quite sure, Saffredent," began Ennasuite laughing, "that if youstill love as ardently as you were formerly wont to do, you wouldsubmit to horns as big as oak-trees if only you might repay them asyou pleased. However, now that your hair is growing grey, it is time toleave your desires in peace."

  "Fair lady," said Saffredent, "though I be robbed of hope by the woman Ilove, and of ardour by old age, yet it lies not in my power to weakenmy inclination. Since you have rebuked me for so honourable a desire,I give you my vote for the telling of the fourth tale, that we may seewhether you can bring forward some example to refute me."

  During this converse one of the ladies fell to laughing heartily,knowing that she who took Saffredent's words to herself was not so lovedby him that he would have suffered horns, shame, or wrong for her sake.When Saffredent perceived that the lady who laughed understood him, hewas well satisfied and became silent, so that Ennasuite might begin;which she did as follows--

  "In order, ladies, that Saffredent and the rest of the company may knowthat all ladies are not like the Queen he has spoken of, and that allfoolhardy and venturesome men do not compass their ends, I will tellyou a story in which I will acquaint you with the opinion of a lady whodeemed the vexation of failure in love to be harder of endurance thandeath itself. However, I shall give no names, because the events are sofresh in people's minds that I should fear to offend some who are nearof kin."

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  [The Princess's Lady of Honour hurrying to her Mistress's Assistance]

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