Le Testament is a collection of poetry composed in 1461 by François Villon . Le Testament , comprising over twenty essentially independent poems in octosyllabic verse , consists of a series of fixed-form poems, namely 16 ballades and three rondeaux , and is recognized as a gem of medieval literature.
14-460: The 2,023 lines of the Testament are marked by the immediate prospect of death by hanging and frequently describe other forms of misery and death. It mixes reflections on the passing of time, bitter derision, invective, and religious fervor. This mixed tone of tragic sincerity stands in contrast to the other poets of the time. In one of these poems, Ballade des dames du temps jadis ("Ballad of
28-585: A derivation from Proto-Italic *flōs ('flower'; cf. Latin flōs , flōris 'blossom, flower'). It is cognate with the Oscan goddess of flowers Fluusa , demonstrating that the cult was known more widely among Italic peoples . The name ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃ōs ('blossoming'). Flora's festival, the Floralia , was held between April 28 and May 3 and was celebrated with drinking, flowers, and entertainments ( ludi ). The festival
42-1435: A song (using the original Middle French text) by French songwriter Georges Brassens , and by the Czech composer Petr Eben , in the cycle Šestero piesní milostných (1951). The text is from Clement Marot's Œuvres complètes de François Villon of 1533, in the Le Grand Testament pages 34 to 35 . Dictes moy où, n'en quel pays, Est Flora, la belle Romaine ; Archipiada, ne Thaïs, Qui fut sa cousine germaine; Echo, parlant quand bruyt on maine Dessus rivière ou sus estan, Qui beauté eut trop plus qu'humaine? Mais où sont les neiges d'antan! Où est la très sage Heloïs, Pour qui fut chastré et puis moyne Pierre Esbaillart à Sainct-Denys? Pour son amour eut cest essoyne. Semblablement, où est la royne Qui commanda que Buridan Fust jetté en ung sac en Seine? Mais où sont les neiges d'antan! La royne Blanche comme ung lys, Qui chantoit à voix de sereine; Berthe au grand pied, Bietris, Allys; Harembourges qui tint le Mayne, Et Jehanne, la bonne Lorraine, Qu'Anglois bruslerent à Rouen; Où sont-ilz, Vierge souveraine ? Mais où sont les neiges d'antan! Prince, n'enquerez de sepmaine Où elles sont, ne de cest an, Qu'à ce refrain ne vous remaine: Mais où sont les neiges d'antan! Tell me where, in which country Is Flora ,
56-679: Is the Queen Who ordered that Buridan Be thrown in a sack into the Seine ? Oh, where are the snows of yesteryear! The queen white as a lily Who sang with a Siren's voice; Bertha Broadfoot , Beatrice , Aélis ; Eremburga who ruled over the Maine , And Joan , the good woman from Lorraine Whom the English burned in Rouen ; Where are they, oh sovereign Virgin ? Oh, where are
70-536: Is followed by the Ballade des seigneurs du temps jadis . The section is simply labelled Ballade by Villon; the title des dames du temps jadis was added by Clément Marot in his 1533 edition of Villon's poems. Particularly famous is its interrogative refrain, Mais où sont les neiges d'antan? , an example of the ubi sunt motif, which was common in medieval poetry and particularly in Villon's ballads. This
84-564: The Ladies of Times Past"), each stanza and the concluding envoi asks after the fate of various celebrated women, including Héloise and Joan of Arc , and ends with the same semi-ironic question: Dictes moy ou n'en quel pays Est Flora le belle Romaine Archipiades, ne Thaïs, Qui fut sa cousine germaine, Echo parlant quant bruyt on maine Dessus riviere ou sus estan, Qui beaulté ot trop plus qu'humaine. Mais ou sont les neiges d'antan? Tell me where, in which country Is Flora ,
98-404: The beautiful Roman; Archipiada ( Alcibiades ?), and Thaïs Who was her cousin; Echo, speaking when one makes noise Over river or on pond, Who had a beauty too much more than human? Oh, where are the snows of yesteryear! This same " Ballade des dames du temps jadis " was famously translated into English in 1870 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti as "Ballade of Dead Ladies". Rossetti translated
112-467: The beautiful Roman; Archipiada, or Thaïs Who was her first cousin; Echo , speaking when one makes noise Over river or on pond, Who had a beauty too much more than human? Oh, where are the snows of yesteryear! Where is the very wise Héloïse , For whom was castrated, and then made a monk, Peter Abelard in Saint-Denis ? For his love he suffered this sentence. Similarly, where
126-553: The refrain as "But where are the snows of yester-year ?" Poems included in Le Testament are: Ballade des dames du temps jadis The " Ballade des dames du temps jadis " (" Ballade of Ladies of Time Gone By") is a Middle French poem by François Villon that celebrates famous women in history and mythology, and a prominent example of the ubi sunt ? genre. It is written in the fixed-form ballade format, and forms part of his collection Le Testament in which it
140-456: The snows of yesteryear! Prince, do not ask me in the whole week Where they are - neither in this whole year, Lest I bring you back to this refrain: Oh, where are the snows of yesteryear! The refrain Mais où sont les neiges d'antan? has been quoted or alluded to in numerous works. Flora (mythology) Flora ( Latin : Flōra ) is a Roman goddess of flowers and spring . She
154-483: Was first instituted in 240 BCE, and on the advice of the Sibylline books , she was also given a temple in 238 BCE. At the festival, with the men decked in flowers, and the women wearing normally forbidden gay costumes, five days of farces and mimes were enacted – ithyphallic , and including nudity when called for – followed by a sixth day of the hunting of goats and hares. On May 23 another flower festival
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#1732772335465168-456: Was held, the Rosalia . Flora's Greek equivalent is the nymph Chloris , whose myths were assimilated to Flora in mythological narratives ( interpretatio graeca ). The Hellenized Flora was married to Favonius , the wind god also known as Zephyr, and her companion was Hercules . According to the legend, Flora ran away from Favonius, but he caught her, married her and gave her dominion over
182-593: Was one of the twelve deities of traditional Roman religion who had their own flamen , the Floralis , one of the flamines minores . Her association with spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime, as did her role as goddess of youth. She is one of several fertility goddesses and a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology . Her Greek counterpart is Chloris . The name Flōra descends from Proto-Italic *flōsā ('goddess of flowers'), itself
196-459: Was translated into English by Dante Gabriel Rossetti as "Where are the snows of yesteryear?", for which he popularized the word " yesteryear " to translate Villon's antan . The French word was used in its original sense of "last year", although both antan and the English yesteryear have now taken on a wider meaning of "years gone by". The phrase has also been translated as "But where are last year's snows?". The ballade has been made into
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