Phrases & Expressions - Then Let Them Eat Cake!

You’ve probably heard the story about how Marie-Antoinette, when told that her subjects were starving for lack of bread, replied, “Then let them eat cake.” Right?

Don’t believe it. It’s a mis-attribution, if it was ever uttered at all.

Some historians attribute this phrase to Maria Teresa, the Spanish Infanta who married Louis XIV more than 100 years before. Others say it was never spoken, but written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in book six of his 12-volume autobiographical work, Confessions. He writes:

At length I recollected the thoughtless saying of a great princess, who, on being informed that the country people had no bread, replied, ‘Then let them eat pastry!’

Of course, Rousseau may have been thinking of Maria Teresa, he didn't say. But since Marie-Antoinette arrived at the Palace of Versailles in 1770, three years after Rousseau had published the above passage, whoever the "great princess" was that he recollected, it was certainly not Marie-Antoinette.

History has always seen its share of spin-doctoring. Either this phrase was falsely attributed to Marie-Antoinette during the French Revolution expressly to make her look bad. Or it made her look bad after-the-fact in its English translation. Let me explain:

The French phrase was: "qu'ils mangent de la brioche”, and could just as well have meant, “Then let them buy brioche for the same price as bread.” This would have allowed the poor to enjoy what would otherwise have been unaffordable. A sensible solution during a bread shortage, Non?

Sources:
Fraser, Antonia. Marie Antoinette: The Journey. London: Phoenix Paperbacks, 2001.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/

Image:
Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun (16 April 1755 - 30 March 1842) is recognized as the most famous woman painter of the 18th century. She was a personal favorite of Marie-Antoinette and painted many images of the Queen.

Festivals & Celebrations - La Chandeleur

Today is crêpe day in France. Oddly, it's known as la Chandeleur - the candle festival. Here's the story:

First, it was the Roman celebration of Pan (or Faunus), the Greek god of shepherds and flocks, (the one often pictured playing a flute whose hindquarters, legs, and horns resemble those of a goat). The Romans recognized Pan as the protector of fields, groves, and wooded, mountain glens and connected him to the coming of spring and a healthy harvest. Romans danced throughout the night in his honor, careful to keep their torches alight to welcome Pan back from the slumber of winter.

As Christianity swept through Europe, religious leaders renamed and repurposed the pagan holidays. In 472, Pope Gelase I renamed the festival Candlemas, proclaiming it the day of the presentation of the baby Jesus, forty days after birth. (It was customary in ancient times for new mothers and their babies to remain sequestered for 40 days.)

As the festival to Pan gave way to Candlemas, so too did torches give way to candles. Tall, tapered candles, les chandelles in French, took on the symbolism of Jesus as the bringer of light. Candlelit processions were organized from churches at sunset on February 2nd. Each person carried home his or her own candle, keeping it lit along the way. The family would then feast on crêpes, their round shape evoking the return of the sun after the dark of winter, another co-opted pagan symbol. The peasants believed that if they did not eat crêpes on la Chandeleur, their harvests would not be plentiful in the coming year.

Over the years, money entered the symbolism: some wrapped a gold coin in the first crêpe and left it on the top of an armoire until the following Candlemas when they gave the coin to the poor. Today, many people make their crêpes one-handed, flipping the crêpe pan while holding a coin in the other hand. If the cook manages to catch the crêpe, the family is assured prosperity throughout the year.

But most of us just see la Chandeleur as a nice opportunity to eat a lot of crêpes with family and friends. We start with crêpes stuffed with meat and grilled vegetables or cheese, and finish with crêpes made with nutella and banana, or sugar and lemon, or fruit confiture (jam), all topped with lots and lots of chantilly (whipped cream). The more you eat, they say, the more prosperous your year will be!

There are many French proverbs associated with la Chandeleur. This one is reminiscent of Groundhog Day in the US and Canada (could there be a connection?):

A la Chandeleur, l’hiver cesse ou reprend vigueur,
A la Chandeleur, le jour croit de deux heures.
Chandeleur couverte, quarante jours de perte,
Rosée a la Chandeleur, hiver a sa dernière heure.

On Candlemas, winter ends or strengthens,
On Candlemas, the day grows by two hours.
Candlemas covered in snow, forty days lost,
Dew on Candlemas, winter is at its final hour.

Sources:
http://www.momes.net/

Image:
Le Petit Journal, cover page, February 1911. Le Petit Journal was a Parisian daily published from 1863 to 1944.

Origin of a Word - Bonbon

In 1660, King Louis XIV secured a lasting peace with Spain through his marriage to Maria Teresa, the Spanish Infanta. She brought with her to Paris a curious little bean. Once fermented, dried, roasted, and ground into a fine powder, this bean produced the most delicious hot drink when combined with sugar and spices – such as vanilla and cinnamon – and even a bit of milk.

The bean, called cacao, had been used by the Mayan and Aztec people of the Americas for centuries. With it, they made xocoatl (cho-co-at-l), meaning bitter (xoco) water (atl): a sacred drink used for ritual and ceremonial purposes. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived on the South American continent in the 1500’s, they quickly became addicted to xocoatl. It was said to provide them with a heightened sense of energy. They brought the cacao bean to Europe in the holds of their Galleons, alongside their treasures of silver and gold – that’s how highly they valued their discovery. In Spain, the drink was transformed into a sweeter confection, more suitable to European tastes. Its name was transformed as well into “chocolate”.

The 22-year old Spanish princess loved her daily hot chocolate so much that she also brought to Paris a servant to prepare it. La Molina, or the whisk, was renowned for her ability to whip hot chocolate into a light froth. Soon, the drink became all the rage with the ladies of the French Court. La Molina was tasked with instructing others in its preparation.

One day, a clever young apprentice thought to serve the whipped chocolate cooled and molded into pretty bite-sized morsels. These were so delicious that the Court ladies dubbed them not merely bon, meaning ‘good’, but bonbon, meaning ‘doubly good’. This is the origin of the moniker “bonbon” to refer to a sweet treat.

Thus, a new artisanal profession was born at the Court of Louis XIV: the Chocolatier. In no time the Ladies of the Louvre Palace were enjoying their chocolate bonbons served and stored in decorative boxes. They offered their bonbons to others as a sign of courtesy and a gesture of distinction and good taste. One knew if they had fallen out of favor with the King, however, if they were not treated to bonbon by a Lady.

Source:
Museu de la Xocolata, Barcelona

Image:
The Chocolate Girl, Jean-Étienne Liotard, Swiss-French painter (1702 – 1789).