A Moon Princess (or a goddess) and a Sun King

"View of Grand Canal" by Nicholas Perelle,

engraving of 1680,

from wikipedia:

The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles at each end of the mirrored hallway

did have a salle (a room “Salon”) for peace and a salle (a room “Salon”) for wars

almost similarly as

Louis XIV's reign was of peace and war. At one time there was an

extended peace of nearly twenty years which considering the state of nations at the time

and the occurrence of wars this was no mean feat.

The Peace

of Versailles was signed at the end of World War I on 11 November

1918, Armistice Day. An auspicious occasion and also a memorable

one.

Also, that today as I write this post it is 71 years since the Battle of

Britain in which the free world was saved.

In the Book of Micah is mention that one day nations would not go to

war and instead would turn their swords to plough shares and their

spears to pruning hooks and would sit under their fig trees and vines.

Perhaps a symbol of a peaceful time.

Poem

A Moon Princess (or a goddess) and a Sun King

We danced and skipped

across the roof tops of time

You and I

across the sky;

Of purple dawns and hazy dew

These were things I always knew:-

I once did rise in an afternoon sky

so clear and blue,

And you were there, gleaming true,

Dispirited to see you leave so soon

But this was long past the noon-

In open skies

and morning dew

I saw these marvellous things of you-

Apollo's chariot riding high

and all the Moons could give a sigh:-

I glimpsed you once at old Versailles

There you were in your grand style

Where sun-swept shadows crossed the mile;

For was it not at the courts of dukes and kings

and miraculous things

that the emblem of the Sun rode high?

And who would emulate a-while

as a Pharaoh of the Nile

Challenge the Sun King's style?

Surely, no-one in his guile!

Moonlight glided gracefully

over the land,

through distant valleys and mountain tops

watched over vineyards, countryside, cities

and lakes;

Glimpsed dolphins frolick in the deep

Lit by moonlight,

the fields of sheep:

and found its way to the King's Domain:

The moonlight was a beckoning show

It found its way in an all-time glow;

Swaying tree-tops in the breeze

Gilded splendour gleamed the leaves

Where shadows dancing inter-weave;

A splendid scene

A coloured beam

Reflecting to the fountain stream;

And all the colours would unite

A glorious play into the night:

I thought those days would never end

And the Sun gleamed golden:-

it seemed a trend.

From a platform out on top

Could see the fruit and ready crop:

Seeming almost as a play

where the workers toiled away:

La Quintinie,­

With a wonderful “Bon Chretien” pear:

And for the needy

he would care;

With glass walls and a bell jar

He captured sun-light from afar;

Visitors viewed the “potager” display

Would eat the fruit along the way;

And weren't these your happiest days

When you set your trails a-blaze?

La Valliere, sincerity,

La Montespan, vivacity

did impress;

though I must confess

would cause distress

that you married your governess:

when had been

your royal queen

a previous princess;

With enchantments and

a School of St Cyr

Madame de Montespan had much to fear!

You were never the same

Not quite so tame

La Mancini could not take your name

A cause for suffering-

perhaps also of wandering;

“Louis, Louis”

You knew the score

Could hold forth at the Temple Door

Knew the stories of old folk-lore

Louis the Tenth and Four:

You knew of realms long before

And Atlantis on the ocean floor:

The power of words which were never said,

Of the people long since dead,

Of Akhenaten and the sphinx-like dread;

Mysteries and wisdom inscribed

of temple walls and mirrored halls

These were things which you ascribed;

And where to

Marly,

from before:

Design so fine

Palace divine

A flowing picture-

pavilions, terrace-

Palissades and shades

of beech and elm

evoked tranquillity, peace and calm

imagining a fairy glade

of crystal rock pools made of jade;

Allees and bosquets cleverly made

To designs geometrically laid;

Your garden was equal to none

You, Louis, were the One

With your symbol of the Sun.

You lived your life as a glittering flame-

And danced on the steps of audacity and fame;

Oh, and how moonlight becomes you,

suited your plane;

the softening glow of an amber show

And the moon would wane:

Silent patterns at your window pane

As though seeking answers as they came;

Of heady scents,

Perfumed flowers

in the magic Versailles hours

This truly was your game:

Ah, to sit with you a-day

And all the things which we could say:

And revolution's flame-

Who was to blame?

Wasn't that a mighty shame?

You who brought down city walls

Made Versailles free for all:

I look and I look;

And what do I see?

A Thousand Years of Monarchy:

And Romans, Visigoths and Teutonic Knights-

You always had put up your fights;

You who would prune your Chestnuts by hand

Sit under fig trees of the land;

Share your bounty of the earth

Great imaginings of worth!

Beauty and sprituality

flow together indelibly

And you gave Le Notre a wide berth:

With topiary and broderie

A spark of ingenuity

As shimmerings of emboidery

In the Versailles nursery:

Diamond patterns all on show

As in a glass-house after-glow;

Gleaming lanterns with lights down low;

Three Notes:

1.

La Valliere,

became a Duchess but

left Versailles and entered

a convent.

2.

La Montespan

was dismissed from her apartment

at Versailles by her son.

3.

There was an expectation that Louis XIV would marry a princess in seventeenth century France.

Marie Mancini was the Cardinal's niece.