Chapter Four - Dance and the French Reformation

Summary

N’y a il peché que dancer?

Examinez vostre penser

Qui trop plus que le dancer nuict.

Marguerite de Navarre, Mont de Marsan [1548]

While the French people, and their royal court in particular, were ruled by François I, a prince occupied with “riding, dancing, or promenading in an unending pageant [emphasis added],” the religious turmoil affecting all of Europe roiled on. By the time Arbeau was 16, Protestantism was gaining ground throughout France. By the time he became a Catholic clergyman of 35, an estimated 100,000 French Protestants practiced their religion in an atmosphere of relative tolerance, despite Jean Calvin having wisely fled France in 1534, after François I tired of Protestant demonstrations.

It was not inconsistent that Marquerite de Navarre could support both the reformers and activities, like dance, that reformers like Calvin opposed. The strong humanistic bent of her independently conceived faith saw earthly love and happiness as siblings of their heavenly counterparts, with contentment possible anywhere because of faith. She wrote of placing her entire trust in God:

Je parle, je ris et je chante

Sans avoir souci ni tourment,

Amis et ennemis je hante

Trouvant partout contentement.

Marguerite authored what the Spanish called farsas sacramentales: theatrical productions with religious themes written in the vernacular. Theatrical works will be discussed in more detail in Chapter Six, but it is appropriate to say at this point that these farces commonly set Marguerite's newly composed texts to popular tunes. Her farces, Mont de Marsan and Trèspas du roy both featured the basse dance tune “Jouyssance,” the most frequently set vocal music from Orchesographie.

In this same era, Clément Marot, whose poem titles are found among the dance tune titles of Orchesographie, translated and supervised the translation of several psalms. One of these, “Juge moy, mon Dieu, mon Sauveur; Discerne ma cause et mon pleur” (Psalms 43:1), attributed to the unidentified “C.D.,” is known to have been sung to “Jouyssance.” Several texts for and against the reform movement were set to this same tune. Among them, Malingre's “Il t’appartient loz et honneur (Praise and honor belong to you)” served the Protestant cause, while “Delivrance te donneray (I will give you deliverance),” a clever reworking of the original text “Jouissance vous donneray” rallied the other side.