* Grande-Chaumière
Famous art school in Rue de la Grande-Chaumière‚ off Boulevard Montparnasse‚ that still offers the opportunity for life drawing of nude models.
Chapter VIII
* Patriotic School
During WWII the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building‚ originally an orphanage for daughters of servicemen killed in the Crimean war‚ located in Wandsworth‚ south London‚ became the so-called London Reception Centre‚ and often referred to as the Patriotic School‚ where foreign refugees were screened by British security officials from MI6 under the direction of Colonel Pinto. The reference to Duke Street‚ however‚ suggests that Yonnet is alluding to the Free French Intelligence headquarters (see note p.275 on BCRA‚ ch.X p.174).
* Berlemont
Victor Berlemont‚ who in 1916 took over the York Minster at 49 Dean Street in Soho‚ which he ran as a pub and restaurant and which became known as the French Pub. In 1947 his son Gaston took over the management of it‚ eventually retiring on Bastille Day‚ 1989.
* West Norwood‚ Harold Road and Convent Hill
In Croydon‚ South London.
* Huysmans
French writer of Dutch descent (1848–1907)‚ author of A Rebours‚ whose central character Des Esseintes embodies the fin-de- siècle spirit of decadence with its horror of banality and glorification of life as art‚ and Là-Bas‚ an investigation into the 15th-century sadist and child murderer Gilles de Rais‚ which leads the narrator into satanic circles in contemporary Paris. Huysmans‚ who became a devout Roman Catholic‚ was particularly fond of the church of St Séverin‚ of which he gives a fascinating historical account in La Bièvre et St-Séverin‚ 1898.
* Henry V
Following a period of bitter civil strife between the factions of Burgundy and Orleans‚ by the Treaty of Troyes signed in 1420 Henry V of England took Catherine‚ daughter of Charles VI of France‚ for his wife‚ and was himself named heir to the French throne in preference to the King’s son Charles‚ the young Dauphin. Charles VI and Henry V entered Paris together to celebrate this agreement. However‚ Henry died in August1422‚ leaving a nine-month-old child as his heir‚ and Charles VI followed him two months later. Inspired by Joan of Arc‚ the Dauphin pressed his claim‚ and the English were eventually driven out of France.
Chapter IX
* I.G. Farben
German company that originally specialized in producing paints and dyes and expanded into a huge chemicals conglomerate that closely collaborated with the Nazi regime‚ for which its directors stood trial at Nuremburg. The company had to pay compensation for its use of forced labour and was eventually liquidated.
* Sainte-Chapelle
Built on the Ile St-Louis in 1246–8 by St Louis in order to house the Crown of Thorns‚ which he acquired from Venetian merchants who had received it in exchange for a loan to the Emperor Baldwin of Constantinople‚ the Sainte-Chapelle was described by Ruskin as ‘the most precious piece of Gothic in Northern Europe’.
* Pont-au-Double
Built in 1634. So called because the toll was a double denier. All tolls on bridges were abolished in 1848.
* Rifodés and Malingreux
Cant names – along with Hubains‚ Coquillards‚ Francs-Mitous‚ Piètres – dating from the Middle Ages‚ for various types of vagabonds and scoudrels who made their living by deception and importunity‚ some of whom might be found cured of their piteous physical ailments within the precincts of the courts of miracles‚ so-called precisely because of these ‘miraculous cures’.
Rifodés: accompanied by their womanfolk and children‚ they bore a certificate attesting that their homes had been destroyed by the hand of God.
Malingreux: malingers who faked either dropsy or skin ulcers.
Hubains: bearers of a certificate testifying to them having been cured of rabies by the intercession of St Hubert‚ the patron saint of hunters and trappers in the Ardenne.
Coquillards: identified by the shells they wore (the shell being the symbol of St James of Compostella)‚ brigands posing as pilgrims who infested the highways after the Hundred Years War. Villon was associated with them and his Ballads en Jargon are written in the still impentrable cant of the Coquillards.
Francs-mitous: fraudsters so good at faking being taken ill in the street‚ even doctors were fooled by them.
Piètres: imposters who pretended to be cripples‚ and went about on crutches.
* Hector Malot’s ‘San Famille’
A classic children’s story‚ first published in 1878‚ about a little boy called Rémi‚ who discovers at the age of eight that he is a foundling. His impecunious and embittered foster father sells him to a kindly old man named Vitalis‚ who with his troupe of performing animals makes a living as a street entertainer. This picaresque novel recounts Rémi’s long and eventful life on the road until he finally discovers his real identity and finds his true home. Hector Malot (1830–1907)‚ is the author of some seventy novels‚ of which Sans Famille is by far the most enduring.
* April 1814
Napoleon’s catastrophic campaign in Russia during the winter of 1812 marked the beginning of the end of his rule‚ with declarations of war by Prussia and Austria in 1813 leading to defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in October‚ the capitulation of Paris on 30 March 1814 to the invading armies of the Czar and the Prussians‚ who were actually welcomed as liberators by the anti-Napoleonists (see following note)‚ the abdication of Napoleon on 6 April‚ and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty.
* ‘a certain lack of dignity’
Author’s Notes:
De Bordier: ‘… the conquerors blushed at such contemptible behaviour … countesses threw laurels on the Kalmuks and rode pillion behind the Cossaks …’
De Vaulabelle: ‘The saturnalia in the streets and public squares belonged that day to rich and titled ladies.’
* Truie Qui File
Literally‚ ‘the Running Sow’‚ a café near Montmartre.
* Rue aux Oües
The original medieval name of a street now called Rue aux Ours (Bear Street)‚ which runs between Rue St-Martin and Boulevard de Sebastopol‚ Oües being the old French version of Oies‚ meaning ‘geese’: the name changed as the number of roast-houses gave way in the 12th century to an influx of furriers. In 1789 a decree was passed putting an end to a centuries’ old tradition of burning a wicker man here on 3 July every year‚ supposedly the effigy of a Swiss soldier said to have desecrated a statue of the Virgin on the corner of the street.
* Panier Fleuri
There was a brothel by this name on Boulevard de la Chapelle‚ near the Gare du Nord. Legislation closing brothels was passed on 13 April 1946 which came into effect six months later.
Chapter X
* Luc Berimont
Pen name of André Leclercq (1915–83)‚ poet‚ novelist‚ writer and broadcaster. Active in the Resistance‚ he was awarded the Croix de Guerre‚ and made a Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite and Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres. Domaine de la Nuit was published in 1940‚ in roneotype format‚ with a preface by Sergeant Maurice Fombeure.
* Liberation of Paris
After the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944 and the successful advance of the Allies through Normandy‚ the liberation of Paris was anticipated by an insurrection of the local population in which the police played a prominent role. Fearful of German retaliation against an ill-equipped popular uprising‚ and also of losing the initiative to the Communists‚ the Allies authorized General Leclerc‚ commanding the 2nd French Armoured Division to march on Paris. The German military governor of Paris‚ General von Choltitz‚ surrendered to General Leclerc on 25 August. General De Gaulle reached Paris the following day and with his provisional government was able to claim uncontested control of the country.
* Les Eparges
Ridge some 30km from Verdun which was the scene of very heavy fighting and great loss of life during WWI.
* Propaganda
-Staffel
The occupying forces’ Propaganda Department under the control of the German military commander of Paris (and therefore not directly under the control of the German propaganda minister‚ Dr Goebbels). Also called the Propaganda Abteilung.
* Aujourd’hui
Parisian daily newspaper published during the Occupation.
* The battle was gigantic
A scurrilous popular song describing an internecine conflict between crab lice.
* BCRA
Bureau Central de Renseignements et Actions‚ the Free French intelligence agency‚ under the direction of André Dewavrin (1911– 1998)‚ codenamed Colonel Passy‚ based at 10 Duke Street in Central London.
* Thiais
Cemetery south of Paris.
* Ste-Anne
Psychiatric hospital on Rue Cabanis in the 14th arrondissement.
Chapter XI
* Heine
German poet and man of letters (1797–1856)‚ who moved to Paris in 1831‚ and died there‚ at his home in Rue d’Amsterdam. He wrote a great deal about France and French culture and his own ironic style of lyric verse had some influence on French writers. He used to say that a traveller could tell how close he was to Paris by noting the increasing intelligence of the people‚ and that even the bayonets of the soldiers there were more intelligent than those elsewhere.
* Mondor and Tabarin
In the 17th century Mondor‚ a vendor of quack medicines‚ teamed up with a street entertainer by the name of Tabarin‚ whose quick wit and comic satire drew appreciative crowds and buyers and won the admiration of Molière and La Fontaine.
* Gabriele D’Annunzio
Italian poet‚ novelist‚ dramatist‚ journalist‚ patriot and war hero (1863–1937). His home for the last seventeen years of his life‚ Villa Cargnacco at Gardone on Lake Garda‚ together with the monumental complex that he built up around it‚ he conceived of as a celebration of his ‘glorious failures’ and his legacy to the people of Italy: called the Vittoriale degli Italiani‚ it is a remarkable phenomenon.
* Guillot de Saix
Poet and playwright (1885–1964)‚ one of whose poems was set to music by Reynaldo Hahn. Among the items he left to the Bibliothèque Nationale’s Performing Arts’ Department is a collection of twenty-two 18th-century Venetian puppets.
* Cevennes
The maquis‚ which became synonymous with the French Resistance‚ is Mediterranean scrubland‚ and the expression ‘take to the maquis’ originated in Corsica‚ where bandits would go into the wild to escape the police. French resistance fighters in the south of France sought similar refuge in the mountainous landscape of the Cevennes region.
* Vincennes
Vincennes lies to the east of the 12th and 20th arrondissements‚ the Château and the Fort standing some 3km’s distance from Nation outside the Porte de Vincennes on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes‚ one of the two great wooded parks of Paris.
* Salon d’Automne
Founded in October 1903 by Franz Jourdain and Yvanhoë Rambosson‚ an annual art exhibition held (after the initial success of the first show) at the Grand Palais‚ which established itself as a showcase for all kinds of new artists. Charles De Gaulle met Yvonne Vendroux‚ who was to become his wife‚ at the 1920 Salon D’Automne. The 1945 show featured a celebration of Matisse‚ and introduced work by Nicolas de Stael and Bernard Buffet.
Chapter XII
* Bouteille d’Or
Restaurant on the Left Bank at 9 Quai de Montebello.
* Tour d’Argent
Dating back to 1582‚ the Tour d’Argent‚ on the Left Bank at 15 Quai de la Tournelle‚ has a distinguished history. In 1947 Claude Terrail took over the management of this establishment from his father‚ André‚ who bought it in 1911. When Claude died in 2006‚ his own son‚ André‚ succeeded him. During WWII Claude Terrail walled up the cellar to keep the wine reserves from falling into the hands of the Germans. The Tour is famous for its ‘canard au sang’‚ a dish first served in 1890‚ every duck being numbered‚ and a register kept of diners to whom it was served. The Prince of Wales (later Edward VII‚ see note for p.203) in 1890 consumed duck number 328‚ the Duke of Windsor‚ in 1938‚ number 147‚844.
* Vel’ d’Hiv
The Velodrome d’Hiver‚ an enclosed stadium on Rue Nélaton near the Quai de Grenelle in the 15th arrondissement‚ built in 1910 for track cycle racing. An annual six-day non-stop cycling event‚ in which pairs of riders competed (one cycling while the other rested)‚ attracted huge numbers of spectators. The Vel’ d’Hiv has become notorious for the round-up‚ carried out by French police on the 16th and 17th of July 1942‚ of thousands of Jews who were held in the stadium before being deported. Most died at Auschwitz. The stadium was demolished in 1959. In July 1994‚ a national commemoration day was instituted‚ and in 1995 President Jacques Chirac spoke officially of the nation’s collective responsibility for the deportation of French Jews.
* Mosul
City in Iraq that at one time fell within the ancient Persian empire‚ but has never been part of Persia‚ or Iran‚ proper.
* La Goulue
The French cancan dancer Louise Weber (1870–1929)‚ who performed at the Moulin Rouge 1890–95‚ until she became too overweight‚ owes her nickname (meaning ‘the Glutton’) to her enormous appetite. The subject of a number of works by Toulouse- Lautrec‚ she ended up alone and destitute‚ and died at Lariboisière Hospital.
* Moulin Rouge
Charles Zidler opened this celebrated nightclub at 90 Boulevard de Clichy in 1889.
* Valentin the Contortionist
The stage name of Etienne Renaudin (1843–1907)‚ who was La Goulue’s dance partner at the Moulin Rouge‚ and featured in works by Toulouse-Lautrec.
* Edward VII
Eldest son (1841–1910) of Queen Victoria‚ he succeeded to the throne in 1901. As Prince of Wales‚ he was known for his racy lifestyle and numerous mistresses. In God’s Fifth Column: a biography of the age: 1890–1940‚ William Gerhardie writes of ‘the frigid silence which greeted [Edward VII] as he drove through Paris on his arrival. “They don’t seem to like us‚” said his companion. “Why should they?” said the King. But he liked French ways and French cooking. And when on the fifth day of his stay he drove to the station through Paris‚ the crowds‚ this time‚ cheered him.’ As Gerhardie puts it‚ Edward VII ‘liked to swing a loose leg in Paris’.
* Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
Severely crippled by a congenital bone disease‚ Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) found models for his paintings among the dancers‚ actresses‚ and artistes in the world of Parisian entertainment to which he was drawn. He had his own table at the Moulin Rouge and at various times lived in a brothel. When La Goulue left the Moulin Rouge‚ he decorated the fairground stall she had at the Trône Fair on what is now Place de la Nation. He was a friend and advocate of Van Gogh‚ an admirer of Oscar Wilde and James Whistler‚ whom he met in London‚ and was greatly influenced by Japanese prints.
* Rocher de Cancale
A restaurant at 78 Rue Montorgueil‚ the successor to an earlier and very successful restaurant by the same name at no.59 that features in several of Balzac’s novels. (The actual Rocher de Cancale is a rock formation that stands in the sea off the Britanny port of Cancale‚ famous for its oysters‚ for which the original restaurant too was celebrated.)
* Gavarni
Lithographer and painter (1804–1866)‚ who specialized in genre scenes.
* Karel Kapek
Czech writer (1890–1938)‚ anti-Nazi and anti-communist‚ credited with inventing the word ‘robot’ and author of the anti- technology play RUR‚ he explored many themes taken up by later science-fiction writers and wrote pieces for Czech puppeteers‚ who were persecuted by the Nazis for their underground opposition.
* three knocks
A theatrical tradition dating back to Roman times‚ whereby it is signalled to the audience with three knocks on t
he boards that the performance is about to begin.
* Frères humains qui après nous vivez
This is the first line of Villon’s ‘Epitaph’‚ or ‘Ballad of the Gallows-Birds’.
* Val-de-Grâce
A military hospital‚ formerly a Benedictine convent founded in the 17th century by Anne of Austria‚ at 1 Place Alphonse-Laveran on Rue St-Jacques in the 5th arrondissement.
* Pre-war Jewish films
Yiddle with his Fiddle‚ Poland‚ 1936‚ a musical written and directed by Joseph Green‚ starring Molly Picon; The Yiddish King Lear‚ USA‚ 1935‚ adapted from a play by Jacob Gordin‚ directed by Harry Thomashefsky; The Dybbuk‚ Poland‚ 1937‚ based on the play by Sholem Ansky‚ directed by Michael Waszynski.
Chapter XIII
* Etienne Boilève
Etienne Boilève (also Boislève‚ or Boileau) was appointed Provost of Paris by Louis IX in 1254. He won a reputation for zeal and integrity‚ as Joinville recorded in his Life of St Louis. Boilève was responsible for Le Livre des Métiers (Book of Trades)‚ a compilation of the rules and regulations governing all the merchant guilds authorized to trade in the city of Paris.
* Dagobert’s Tower
At 18 Rue Chanoinesse‚ a fifteenth-century structure that served the old port of St Landry‚ named after Dagobert I‚ a Merovingian king who ruled 623–639.
* Pope Clement VI in Avignon
After the election of a Frenchman as Pope Clement V in 1305‚ the papacy settled at Avignon. This was the beginning of what is referred to as the Babylonian Exile. Clement VI was Pope 1342–52.
In 1376‚ Gregory XI returned to Rome‚ where he died. The election of an Italian successor‚ Urban VI‚ led to a schism in the church‚ with Robert of Geneva elected contemporaneously as Pope Clement VII residing in Avignon‚ which had been made over to Clement VI by the Angevin Queen Giovanna I of Naples in 1348.
* Hubains‚ Coquillards‚ Francs-Mitous‚ Piètres
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