Chartier, ALAIN

Chartier, ALAIN, who was born at Bayeux in 1386, and died before 1441—perhaps in 1435—lived at the court of Charles VI. and Charles VII. as secretary. According to a famous (but quite unhistorical) story, the Dauphine Margaret, daughter of James I. of Scotland, and herself a poetess, once kissed him as he lay asleep, in token of her admiration of his verses. His chief poetical piece is the Livre des Quatre Dames, which was written shortly after Agincourt, and in which four ladies alternately bewail the deaths of their lovers who fell in the battle. The sentiment of the poem is sincere, and the expression is often graceful and dignified. Chartier showed considerable skill in handling the ballade and other lyrical forms, but he is more interesting as a prose-writer than as a poet. In his own day he was known as the 'father of eloquence.' His chief prose works are Le Curial, an exposure of the vices of the court; L'Espérance, an attack on the corruption of the clergy; and the Quadriloge Invectif, a noble appeal to Frenchmen to unite for the deliverance of their land from the foreigner. Chartier was a sincere patriot, and his writing often rises into grave and moving eloquence. He bravely espoused the cause of the oppressed labouring class, and he did much to re-animate his countrymen in their struggle with England. 'It is the eternal glory of Alain Chartier,' says M. Géruez, 'to have announced the mission of Jeanne d'Arc.' His writings summoned his countrymen to the task which they performed under the Maid of Orleans. He has not received the attention which he deserves. There is no better edition of his works than Duchesne's (1617). See mono- graphs by Delaunay (1876) and Joret-Desclôsières (1877).