The Snows of Yesteryear Trivia Quiz

Answer: Spring

French poet Francois Villon's 15th Century poem "Ballade des dames du temps jadis" is a study of the fleeting nature of fame and the certainty of death. Villon asks the reader to recall women renowned for their beauty and importance in mythology and legend; and lament on their relegation to distant memory. Despite the fact that Villon was a common thief who died poor at an early age, this poem (and almost everything Villon wrote) was extremely popular in its original French. The work achieved even greater notoriety when English poet and artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, translated the work into English in 1870. Rossetti translated the title as the now more familiar "The Ballade of the Dead Ladies" and the popular refrain of the poem as "where are the snows of yesteryear."

The poem begins with this question "tell me now in what hidden way is Lady Flora the lovely Roman"? Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and in particular those flowers that bear fruit. The word "floris" in Latin meant flower and plants in general and "flora" continues to be used in English with the same meaning. Spring, the time of renewal for the flower is Flora's season.

As a love goddess, Flora was linked to sex and fertility. Flora's main temple in Rome was historically said to have been dedicated on April 29th in 248 B.C., as that date became the day of a festival in Flora's honor, the "Floralia". During the early Imperial rule a second "Floralia" was added to the religious calendar at August 13th so as to coincide with the late summer grain harvesting.

Flora's Greek counterpart was the flower-nymph Chloris, who was not a goddess. Flora was "married" to Favonius a major wind aspect that had domain over the farmer-friendly gentle western winds and can be compared to the Greek Zephyrus.

Flora's beauty, like that nearly all Roman goddesses, was a given. Flora herself was also the patron of prostitutes and in one story was said to have spent time in the world as a prostitute amassing a great fortune that was used to build Rome. The Floralia as a festival is comparable to the northern European Summer's Eve (or to the New Orleans Mardi Gras) in its connection to birth and fertility. The festival consisted of games and theatrical performances. It was traditional to have animals associated with fertility such as goats and rabbits roaming free. The theatrical performances were known to be "lewd" and "bawdy" and it was not at all unusual for women of all stations to remove their clothing.

Answer: Cynicism

Hipparchia of Maroneia was a Cynic philosopher in the 4th Century BC. She is often referred to as the "first liberated woman" because of her unconventional lifestyle and willingness to eschew the conventional role of women in Greek society. Little remains about the life or writings of Hipparchia, as is the case with all of the Cynics, except that her biography included in Book 6 of Diogenes Laeritii's "Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers". Indeed, Hipparchia is the only woman of the 82 ancient philosophers chronicled in the ten books.

What is known is that Hipparchia was born to a wealthy prominent family in Maroneia, Northern Greece about 346 BC. Her family moved to Athens and she was educated together with her younger brother Metrocles. Metrocles apparently studied philosophy in Aristotle's school, the Lyceum, and was taught directly by Aristotle's disciple Theophrastus. Metrocles and Hipparchia rejected Theophrastus teachings and became students of the Cynical philosopher Crates of Thebes.

The Cynics believed they and not the Plato/Aristotle line of philosophers were the true heirs of Socrates. The most famous of the Cynics was Diogenes who is immortalized by his antics that included carrying a lamp in the daytime through the streets of Athens looking for an honest man (or according to Neil Young a "heart of gold"). Cynics rejected material wealth and disdained conventional morality. Outrageousness was a hallmark of the philosophy and Hipparchia was no exception. Though "married" to Crates and the mother of two children, Hipparchia was said to have engaged in sexual acts in public and refused to retreat behind walls and play the role of a traditional Athenian woman. Crates and other Cynics treated Hipparchia as an equal and her oratory skills were considered superior.

The inclusion of Hipparchia as a forgotten "snow" is likely a interpretation or incorrect translation by Rossetti. In the original French, Villon calls the second dead lady "Archipiades". The name is not attached to any other known person that Villon could have meant. Some scholars believe that Villon meant to cite "Alcibiades" who was a famed politician, general and orator in Athens during the Peloponnesian War period. Alcibiades was often characterized as classically attractive and fair of face. Villon, so the theory goes, might have mistaken Alcibiades for a woman. Other scholars (and I would have to agree) including Rossetti believe that Villon referred to Hipparchia but can point to no reason for the odd spelling difference.

Answer: Alexander the Great

Thaïs was a famed Greek beauty of the fourth century BC. Thaïs was reputed to be the companion of Ptolemy Lagides, one of Alexander the Great's generals, eventually King of Egypt and founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Alexander took an interest in Thaïs and depending on sources either greatly enjoyed her company or travelled with her as a concubine. In any event, Thaïs was with Alexander's army when he invaded and conquered the Persian Empire. Allegedly, after taking the capital city of Persepolis, Thaïs during a drunken party, persuaded Alexander to burn the Persian Palace. Classical Greek historians Plutarch and Diodorus Siculus disagree whether Thaïs moved Alexander to the act out caprice (Plutarch) or out of a desire to avenge the Persian destruction of the first Temple of Athena on the Acropolis in 480 BC (Diodorus Siculus). Ultimately Thaïs returned to her relationship with Ptolemy and bore him three children out of the line of succession.

Thaïs remained an important part of Greek literature after her death. In many Greek plays Thaïs was the name of the courtesan character and often associated with great beauty and sexual prowess. Dante included a Thaïs in the 14th century "Divine Comedy". Here Thaïs does not fare so well, being consigned to the level of Hell that is a large vat of excrement. The concept of Thaïs as Alexander's lover is also central to John Dryden's 1697 poem "The Power of Music" where "the lovely Thais" sits besides Alexander urging him to burn Persepolis and is compared to Helen of Troy." The Dryden poem was in turn the basis for Handel's 1736 operetta entitled "Alexander's Feast"(libretto by Newburgh Hamilton).

Answer: Echo

Echo was a wood nymph in ancient Greek mythology renowned for her beauty and her sweet sounding voice. As he was wont to do, Zeus would often seek dalliances with the nymphs of the forest and he desired to avoid unpleasant confrontations with his wife (sister) Hera. As a diversion, when Zeus was occupied with her fellow nymphs, Echo would distract Hera by incessantly talking to her. Hera eventually found out the deception and she punished Echo by making her all but speechless. The only sounds the nymph could say were to repeat the last words said to her by another.

Sad and broken, Echo fled and later while wandering the forest lonely, she saw a beautiful young boy. Echo fell madly in love with the youth named Narcissus. Narcissus did not return Echo's feelings. Echo was heartbroken and pined away in grief. Echo retreated from the world and all but disappeared leaving only the remnant of her once sweet voice forever repeating the last words of those she hears.

Echo's story in modern times is both a cautionary tale of angering a spurned spouse and the origin of the "echo" sound phenomenon. Narcissus had is own troubles ultimately losing his life for being unable to stop looking at his own reflection in a pool of water. Calypso and Daphne are other well known nymphs. Calypso was a daughter of Atlas and best known for holding Odysseus captive for five years out of her obsession with him and a desire to make him immortal. Some sources suggest Odysseus was not altogether an unwilling victim and had a son named Latinos with her. Daphne was also a beautiful wood nymph said to be the daughter of Gaea and the river god Peneus and beloved by Apollo.

Answer: Heloise

The next "snow" in Villon's poem is a tribute to the tragic true love story of Heloise d'Argenteuil and Pierre Abelard. Villon asks "Where is that brilliant lady Heloise, for whose sake Peter Abelard was castrated and became a monk at Saint-Denis?". Unfortunately for Abelard, Villon's reference to castration is also accurate. The story of these lovers has endured for over nine hundred years. Abelard was a famed scholar and teacher in 12th century Paris. In 1115 Abelard became a teacher of theology at the cathedral school of Notre Dame, then considered one of a leading schools of theology in Europe. Abelard was adored and his fees made him wealthy. By all accounts, Heloise was a young student of his, intelligent and with classical linguistic skills. In the oft repeated tale of teacher-student romances Abelard either seduced or was seduced by Heloise. Either way the young girl became pregnant and the affair was discovered.

History again differs as to what happened next. Most accounts agree that Abelard and Heloise were hastily married. Some accounts say that Abelard attempted to renounce the marriage and Heloise; while others state that the despite the marriage, the "despoiing" of Heloise caused her family a loss of face and they demanded stronger action. What is agreed is that Abelard lost his position at Notre Dame, was forced to take monastic vows and was castrated. Heloise gave birth to their child (naming him Astrolabe after the device) and also joined a nunnery. Over the ensuing 25 years Heloise and Abelard continued to write letters to each other filled with unrequited passion and longing. Both Abelard and Heloise rose to prominent positions in the French church but remained separated.

Over the centuries the tale of love (and Abelard's genitals) separated has fascinated writers and romanticists alike. In addition to Villon's poem the two lovers appear in well known works by such diverse authors as Mark Twain ("The Innocents Abroad") to Rousseau and Alexander Pope. Pope's 1717 poem "Eloisa to Abelard" was one of the most popular stories of the early 18th Century and is perhaps the best known telling of the lovers story.

Josephine Bonaparte, herself considered one of the tragic heroines of history, was so moved by the story of Heloise that she allegedly ordered that the remains of Abelard and Heloise be entombed together at Pére Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Monuments to the lovers can be found in the cemetery though scholars debate whether the remains of either person are interred within.

Answer: Blanche of Castille

As a Frenchman of the 15th century Villon would have been familiar with the heroes and heroines of French and English history. One revered Queen of France was the next "snow" referred to in the poem: "White Queen Blanche, like a queen of lilies, with a voice like any mermaiden." Blanche is old French for "white" or "pure" and so Villon's reference would have been instantly seen as a play on the Queen's name.

But Queen Blanche would be more than a rhythmic name to a Frenchman. By 1200 the children of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II had dwindled. John, their third son sat on the English throne, while Eleanor of Castile, their daughter, was married to the King of Navarre, Alphonso VIII. At Eleanor of Aquitaine's urging, John and the French King Philip Augustus, signed a treaty which gave a daughter of John's sister as bride to Philip's heir, Louis. Grandmother Eleanor, traveled to Castile to choose which of her two granddaughters (an older sister, Berengaria, was already married to the King of Leon), should be betrothed to the French heir. Eleanor decided that the younger sister, 12 year old Blanche, was more suited for a marriage into the volatile French court than her older sister Urraca. Part of the reason for the choice might have been Urraca's unfortunate name. Urraca apparently means "magpie" in Castilian. Despite the handicap, Urraca eventually married Alphonso II of Portugal and ruled as Queen of that country.

Eleanor of Aquitaine returned with Blanche, who was immediately married to the 13-year-old Louis. The royal couple lived and studied together as chaste cousins for four years until reaching almost reaching majority and being permitted to consummate their marriage. Once free to engage in such activities by all accounts the pair were well suited, deeply in love, and had twelve children. Louis was crowned Louis VIII in 1223.

Blanche is a key figure in the early Plantagenet-Capetian interconnectivity that led to the Hundred Years' War. Her direct connection to Eleanor and Henry II made her and her future children strong contenders to the English throne. Indeed during the English Baronial Revolt of 1215 several overtures were made offering Blanche's husband the crown of England in support for removal of John. John died in 1216 and the English barons rallied behind his son the future Henry III.

Unfortunately, Louis VIII died three years later from disease contracted during a purge of Cathar heretics. Louis left Blanche as regent to their young son Louis IX. As de facto ruler of France , Blanche was a strong leader settling several baronial revolts and uprisings with both martial success and key diplomacy. Blanche and the Prince Louis turned back Henry III at Bordeaux in 1230 starting a series of defeats in France that forced the English to accept French suzerainty over Plantagenet holdings.

When Louis IX married in 1234 Blanche "retired" to her estates but continued to be active in French politics. Louis IX, his wife Marguerite and two of Blanche's other children left France for the disastrous Seventh Crusade in 1248 and were captured (for ransom) by Muslim forces in the Holy Land. Blanche was again forced to serve as regent. Now in her sixties the toll of being monarch caught up with Blanche who fell victim to a heart attack and died in November 1252. Louis IX returned to France and ruled as a beloved monarch before being canonized at his death. In addition to Saint Louis, Blanche was also the mother of Saint Isabelle and Charles I, King of Sicily.

Answer: Charlemagne

Villon's "snows" included a reference to Bertha Broadfoot or "Bertha of the Big Feet". You would think that this was a slight or nasty reference for a woman even during the Middle Ages. On the contrary, to have long feet in this time was considered to be a sign of breeding and elegance. Such was the case with Bertrada of Laon, the mother of Charlemagne and wife of the first Frankish King Pepin the Short.

Bertrada (Anglicized to Bertha) was reported to be both beautiful and wise. Pepin, the son of Charles Martel, was then Mayor of the Palace, a title bestowed on the Frankish general who ruled behind the Merovingian King. Pepin used his popular marriage to Bertha and his families reputation to displace the last Merovingian King, Childrick III, and declare himself King of the Franks. Bertha bore Pepin two sons, Charles and Carloman, who were close in age. When Pepin died in 768 he divided his Kingdom between his two sons. However, the brothers were never close. Both were ambitious and equally unhappy with the arrangement.

Carloman died in 771, conveniently some scholars claim, his wife and two young sons leaving the public eye, and Charles became sole ruler of the Franks. Charles went on to be one of the greatest European rulers of any century and became the first to be crowned Holy Roman Empire, later referred to as Charlemagne (Charles the Great). Bertha, mother of both Pepin's sons, was historically said to have openly supported Charlemagne; but these claims come after the fact and are suspect as victors' revisionism. Bertha remained a fixture in Charlemagne's court until her death in 783. Charlemagne named a daughter Bertha after his mother and this Bertha was said to be the most beautiful of Frankish woman of her time. There is no record of the size of Charlemagne's daughter's feet.

Thus Charlemagne was the union of the short (Pepin) and the big-footed (Bertha). The Carolingian period produced other interesting names. Charlemagne's son became known as Louis the Pious or Louis I. Charlemagne's great-grandson ruled the Franks as Charles the Bald and his son was the unfortunately named Charles the Fat.

Answer: Beatrice

In Villon's poem Beatrice gets merely a mention, lumped together with "Big-footed Bertha" and "Alice", but the name would have meant much to Villon according to his translator Rossetti and other scholars. Beatrice di Folco Portinari was a young Florentine woman born in 1266, a daughter to a banker and later married to a banker in that city. During this same time Dante Alighieri was born in Florence. Dante apparently met the young Beatrice when each was eight or nine and fell in love with the girl at first sight.

Dante married Gemma Donati but still claimed his heart was filled by images of Beatrice. In 1295 Dante wrote the "La Vita Nuova" ("The New Life" in English). This series of poems professes Dante's love (within the confines of chivalry and courtly love) to Beatrice. Dante was still not satisfied and vowed to honor the beauty and virtue of Beatrice in a greater work. This new homage took some time, as Dante spent the next 27 years before completing his greatest work "La Commedia" ("The Divine Comedy") in 1331. "The Divine Comedy" is a layered story filled with political, social and religious allegory. The three parts are also highly interactive and at least partially autobiographical. Dante's inclusion of a Beatrice character is central to the story and supports the theory that the author was obsessed with the Florentine woman.

Dante meets Beatrice near the end of Parts 2 ("Purgatory"). She serves as his guide into Paradise and also as a manifestation of the qualities one expects to find in Paradise. Honoring his lost love as the epitome of beauty and goodness, Dante is shown the wonders of Paradise as a carrot for him to earn his salvation.

Beatrice both as a literary character and as the focus of Dante's affection fascinated artists in the middle ages and beyond. Rossetti, who in addition to translating Villon to English, translated Dante's "La Vita Nuova" became fascinated by Beatrice. His 1870 "Beata Beatrix" painting mixes an image of Rossetti's recently deceased wife upon the Beatrice subject.

Answer: Jean Buridan

Villon references Jeanne de Navarre indirectly as a forgotten "snow" when he writes of Buridan "And where, I pray you, is the Queen, who willed that Buridan should steer, sew'd in a sack's mouth down the Seine?" By the 15th century, the legend of Queen Jeanne tossing Buridan into the Seine, as she had apparently other lovers, only to have Buridan survive by falling gently on to a barge filed with hay, was well established. Unfortunately, like many good legends, it is not possible. Buridan was born in 1300, while Queen Jeanne de Navarre died in childbirth in 1305. Medieval decadence aside and with no slight to whatever seductive powers Jean Buridan might have possessed, he was not involved with Jeanne de Navarre.

Both Buridan and the Queen were important figures in 13th-14th century France. Queen Jeanne was the daughter of Henry I of Navarre and brought the crown of Navarre and titles in Champagne and Brie as a dower to Philip IV of France upon their marriage in 1284. Queen Jeanne was known as a beautiful and witty women who shared her husband's political savvy and Catholic conservatism. Her sons each became King of France. When the youngest child Charles IV died without issue the nearest male relative Edward III of England (a nephew on his mother's side) was passed over for Philip de Valois (Philip VI), a more distant cousin. The ensuing fight over inheritance rights precipitated the Hundred Years' War and lasted 116 years.

Jean Buridan was a professor and secular cleric at the University of Paris where he was a student and later colleague of William of Ockham. Buridan was a rationalist thinker who's best known contribution to science was his concept of "impetus". Impetus theory according to Buridan was where an object put into motion would continue to move until met by greater resistance. Impetus as a scientific development resembles the modern concept of momentum and is seen as a stage of thought that presaged Copernican inertia and Newtonian physics. Because the scientific concept ascribed action without divine intervention Buridan's theories brought him into conflict with the Catholic Church. In logic Buridan's theories associated with the inaction paradox. Now known as "Buridan's Ass" the paradox tries to explain the movement to a rationale thought without divine intervention. Essentially, the paradox is if a donkey is both hungry and thirsty and you place food on one side and water equidistant on the other, the donkey will die being paralyzed into inaction by the need to go in both directions. While the paradox is alluded to in Buridan's work and "impetus" satisfies an answer, the question is not mentioned directly.

Buridan was reportedly a very popular and charismatic figure. Buridan attracted numerous students and wealthy patrons. Legend also names Buridan as a successful seducer of women and tales of his amorous encounters grew. By the time Villon wrote the "Ballade of the Dead Ladies" rumor seemed to have overcome fact.

Answer: Orleans

A discussion of the "snows of yesteryear" must include the last "dead lady" that Villon references. Villon asks "And that good Joan whom Englishmen at Rouen doomed and burned her there, Mother of God, where are they then?" Joan of Arc would have been known to Villon, as to any Frenchman today, a towering figure of national pride. Joan's story is well known. Born in 1412, she died by burning at the stake in 1431 at age 19. What is most remarkable is how a teen aged French peasant girl could ever have been in a position to lead armies during the Hundred Years' War.

Joan claimed to have had divine visions from saints instructing her to lead the "true" French heir (Charles VII) to Reims for a coronation and defeat of the English. Joan came to the attention of the French command after she correctly foretold of a surprising defeat of the French forces near Orleans. Brought before the French heir, Joan convinced Charles to allow her to travel to Orleans in support of lifting an English siege in the garb of a knight. At Orleans Joan led a successful breakout and ended the siege inside of nine days. Her youth, and piety earned her the name "Maid of Orleans" in celebration of the victory.

Over the next few months Joan led the French forces to several other successful recapture of French cities culminating in Charles VII coronation in Reims on July 17, 1429. Joan continued to lead French armies until she was captured in May 1430 by the Burgundians in the Battle of Compiegne in the Picardy region of Northern France and sold to the English.
An important consideration in the legend of Joan of Arc is the role that propaganda played in her life, death and history. In 15th century Europe religious standing was the political currency. Joan had to initially be vetted by Charles as a Catholic and found to be a "good Christian" and chaste before being allowed to represent the French crown. You could turn over tactical and strategic decision making to a 17 year old peasant girl, but only if she was a church approved virgin. The English tried and executed Joan not for treason or war crimes but for heresy, claiming that her visions and actions (including dressing as a knight) had to be the work of the Devil. Her trial was both a sham and a political statement to denounce a popular French figure, a move that ultimately backfired on the English. While Joan was burned in 1431 Charles VII kept the momentum created by Joan to rally French forces to finally rid all of France of English control in 1453.

Joan's conviction for heresy was eventually overturned, but not until after French success at the end of the Hundred Years' War. When the Pope announced the dismissal of the conviction in 1456 the news was met with great celebration in France. Villon wrote the "Ballade des dames du temps jadis" in 1461 while the cleansing of the Joan legend was still fresh in the minds of Frenchman. As a final note: despite her connection to the Catholic faith Joan of Arc was not canonized until 1920.