Quicksilver

by HRH Michael of Kent

Genres: Biographical

Synopsis

From HRH Princess Michael of Kent, bestselling author of The Queen of Four Kingdoms, comes the eagerly-anticipated third volume in the Anjou trilogy. The final volume of the Anjou trilogy focuses on merchant Jacques Coeur, a man of humble beginnings but fiercely ambitious, who became one of the richest and most powerful men in fifteenth century France. HRH Princess Michael of Kent vividly re-enacts the life of Jacques Coeur as he becomes trusted confidante and champion of the Anjou royal family, particularly of his beloved patroness Yolande, Queen of the Four Kingdoms, and, of course, the beautiful and captivating Agnes Sorel who Jacques comes to know and understand as a friend. As Jacques's star shines brighter and brighter, his story runs parallel to that of Yolande and Agnes Sorel until the three interlink in devastating fashion and Jacques's ambition and generosity become his downfall. Meticulously researched and powerfully evoked, HRH Princess Michael of Kent unveils a seldom told story, enriched by her own insider's perspective of royal life.

Release date: October 29, 2015

Publisher: Constable

Print pages: 320

Sample

France, early fifteenth century

‘Papa! Wait for me! These skins are so heavy, I can’t keep up,’ pants young Jacques as he struggles to stay with his father, but his legs are short and the load he carries is heavier than usual.

‘You’re doing well,’ says Pierre Coeur, stopping to let the boy catch up and patting his head. ‘We’re almost there.’

Pierre is a furrier to royalty among other illustrious patrons, and young Jacques is accustomed to following his father carrying pelts. But today is special – it is his first visit to the Duke of Berry, his father’s most important customer in their town of Bourges, capital of the duke’s sovereign state. The uncle of King Charles VI of France, the duke is one of the greatest connoisseurs of the era. Pierre Coeur’s commission is to supply his royal patron with the delicate stomach skins of martens with which to line his clothes – the elderly duke suffers greatly from the cold and damp.

‘Welcome, welcome, my good friend,’ calls the duke as Pierre and young Jacques enter the castle’s high-vaulted central hall, the boy almost tripping over the long-tailed skins he carries as his eyes travel upwards. ‘Aha! I see you have brought me not only furs, but a live young marten itself!’

Jacques blushes; he is indeed swaddled in the soft furs, some over his shoulders, others cradled in his arms and hanging to the floor.

‘Shall we skin him too?’ jokes the venerable man as he greets Pierre Coeur warmly.

The boy notices the easy familiarity between this august royal personage and his father and is amazed. While the two men discuss the season and trading, and the furs are unravelled from him, Jacques begins, a little tentatively, to turn on the spot where he stands and gape in awe at his surroundings. As his father makes his presentation, the good duke sees the boy’s inquisitive glances and urges him to wander about his great chamber.

‘Go, lad, and look around; feast your eyes on all the things exotic and beautiful I have spent my life collecting,’ he says with a wave of his hand.

Before they arrived, Pierre asked his son: ‘How much do you know about the Duke of Berry, our royal overlord?’

‘From the teachers at school I heard he was the third son of King Jean II, who gave him the sovereign province of Berry.’

‘Yes, good. And who was King Jean?’ Jacques thought his father was beginning to sound like a schoolmaster, but he supposed it was all part of learning to become a tradesman.

‘King Jean was succeeded by his eldest son, King Charles V.’

‘Good,’ said his father again. ‘And what did he have to do with our duke?’

‘When our last king captured Poitou, he gave the territory to his brother, our Duke Jean, so that he could join it to his provinces of Berry, Auvergne and Touraine.’

‘Yes,’ sighed Pierre, ‘you have learnt well. Further, you should know that added together, Duke Jean’s provinces represent a large part of central France.’

‘Does that mean he is very rich?’ asked the boy, wide-eyed, and his father noded:

‘The richest man in France.’

They walked on in silence for a while, and then Pierre added:

‘Our good duke owns many palaces, châteaux and mansions, and spends his time commissioning the great artists of the day to fill them with glorious creations. Many of his palaces are depicted in his famous illuminated manuscript, Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. I am telling you this because today you will have your first view of one of the most remarkable collections of our time.’

 

A curious and observant lad, Jacques now stands absorbing the perfection of all he sees. With a clasping of hands, his father’s business is done, and the duke turns to the boy, his arms folded.

‘So, my young friend, what do you like best in this great chamber?’

Somewhat to the duke’s surprise, Jacques replies at once, pointing. ‘Why, Monseigneur, I am very curious about that shield there, high on the wall.’

‘Pierre, my friend, this boy of yours delights me,’ says the duke with a hand on the father’s back. Then, turning to Jacques, ‘I bought it from a trader, who told me it came from a great battle the ancient Greeks lost long, long ago to the Persians, at a place called Thermopylae. Have you heard of it? No, I am not surprised. Still too young for Greek lessons. What are you? Six? Seven?

‘Thermopylae is famous in history as one of the most heroic stands made by a small force against an enormous army. Although the Greeks – soldiers who came from Sparta, in the south – knew they could never defeat such overwhelming numbers, still they fought with all their might to the last man. It is said that even their enemy was impressed, and wrote poems and songs praising them. I find that having one of their shields on my wall gives me courage when I need it,’ he says with a smile at Pierre who can see that the duke takes such pleasure in his possessions, he even enjoys sharing his knowledge with a young and unimportant child.

Walking home, Jacques asks his father more about Duke Jean.

‘Well, my boy, you have now met one of the most generous and learned patrons of the arts in our country. Duke Jean is also known as a host who entertains lavishly and often, not only his peers, but also the artists he admires and considers his friends. Yes, I know that is rare in any patron, let alone such an illustrious one,’ and Pierre adds proudly: ‘You did well today my boy, the duke was clearly taken with you. From now on you can come with me whenever he summons me.’ They walk on in silence for a while. ‘You see, our duke is a compulsive collector. He is celebrated throughout our country and beyond for the exquisite quality of his many residences and their contents. In particular, his libraries are filled with wonderful books and illuminated manuscripts.’

‘Like the one you told me about? Les Très Riches Heures?’ asks Jacques.

‘Oh yes, that’s the most famous, but he commissions one after another, their bindings in silk, velvet or red leather, with small gold or silver fastenings studded with pearls and precious stones, and sometimes covered in the most delicate enamel work. Our duke is a man of great knowledge and discrimination, and has the forethought to place orders with the most famous contemporary artists, as well as collecting the works of the great masters.’ Jacques can tell his father is deeply impressed by his royal patron.

Pierre looks down at his young son and wonders how much he has taken in. He knows that Jacques is intelligent, and seeing his interest, he decides that in future he will nurture the boy’s appreciation and knowledge with visits to his important clients, so that he can observe and learn from his surroundings.

‘Papa, is it true what they say in the town? That our duke’s palaces are as grand and glorious as those of the Duke of Burgundy, his younger brother?’

‘Yes, my boy, I believe that is true, although I have never personally been to the famous court of Burgundy. But Duke Jean’s insatiable interest in all that is of the highest quality does not stop with his patronage of the arts, you know.’

‘What else does he collect?’ asks the inquisitive boy.

‘I was told by his secretary that the duke’s library contains forty-one histories, thirty-eight romantic works of chivalry and many religious works and bibles. There are extraordinary volumes depicting flora and fauna, astrological treatises and three mappemondes. Among his manuscripts are Marco Polo’s Book of Travels and Nicolas Oresme’s Fleur de la terre d’Orient. Most especially treasured by the duke is a beautiful psalter filled with paintings of the Apostles and the prophets.’

Pierre can see that the list is not of real interest to his son. ‘Oh, and he also collects rare animals – ostriches, dromedaries, chamois and bears – which at times he takes with him on his journeys to his various palaces. Perhaps if you are good …’

And it happens. One day, when his father’s business is concluded, the duke takes young Jacques to his private zoo, telling him the history of the strange creatures in the large enclosures, and of the distant lands whence they came.

‘You may have noticed that the emblems on my coat of arms are bears and swans,’ he says, and the boy nods. ‘And you have seen their likenesses on many of my possessions.’ Again the boy nods. Then he shows Jacques the two large black bears he keeps in the deep dry moat around his castle in Bourges, which roar as he tosses food down to them from the ramparts. Seeing the boy shake, he takes his hand and leads him to the lake, where he can see a number of swans and their cygnets. ‘So you see, my young friend, my family is both strong like the bear and beautiful like the swan. But do not imagine the swan is gentle. He is a vicious bird and could break your arm with a single blow from his wing.’

These visits to the Duke of Berry are Jacques Coeur’s first sight of true luxury and of craftsmanship in works of art, and they plant in the boy the seed of a lifelong desire to search for the exceptional and the beautiful.

Over time, he is permitted to wander throughout the duke’s many palaces and mansions, accompanying his father to wherever his patron is residing. He marvels as they walk past tapestries emblazoned with great coats of arms, scenes of battles or stories from the Bible; embroideries from England and Florence, gold brocade from Lucca; enamels, porcelains, silver and gold dinner services, and much more.

One day the duke asks him, ‘Jacques, my boy, from among all the wonders you see in my palaces, what do you think is my most prized possession? You have no idea? Then I will surprise you. It is my collection of precious stones.’ This does indeed come as a surprise to the boy. ‘Italian and Jewish dealers in particular know my taste and present me with the rarest and the best. My collection of rubies is considered exceptional, one alone weighing two hundred and forty carats!’ With a flourish he produces the large stone from deep inside a pocket of his wide robe. He shows it to Jacques and then allows him to hold it up to the light. The boy is transfixed by the glowing red facets within it and holds his breath in wonder, until his awestruck appreciation induces the duke to clap his hands! ‘Oh my boy, you will be a connoisseur like me one day, I predict it. Your reaction equals mine when I first gazed into this stone’s blood-red prisms. Next time you come, I will show you more of my treasures.’

With each visit to Jean de Berry’s exquisite salons, Jacques notes and absorbs not only the glamour, but also the workmanship of the hangings, paintings, carpets and beautiful objects of every kind. Sometimes, when the duke sees him admiring something, he tells him all about its background.

‘This silken carpet I saw you caressing on the table just now was brought to me by a trader who swore it came from Egypt. He said it had been wrapped around the young Queen Cleopatra when she was brought secretly to Caesar and then unrolled at his feet! I didn’t believe a word of it, but he was so charming and the carpet so fine, I could not resist. You know the story, don’t you?’ Jacques – open-mouthed and wide of eye as usual whenever the great man speaks to him – does not, and the duke takes great pleasure in the telling of Cleopatra’s tale, all the way to her placing an asp on her breast and dying from the snake’s poisonous bite …

There are many opportunities for Jacques to go along with his father to the other great houses Pierre visits with his quality pelts; but of equal importance to his future is what he learns at the stalls of the moneylenders and changers of Bourges. The city is situated in the centre of France, with the river Yèvre and several canals running through it for ease of transport, and the streets are busy with people going about their business with a certain sense of urgency, yet gaiety too. Merry exchanges pass among the tradesmen; women ask each other about their various young ones or the illnesses of the older generations; hawkers call out their wares. The leather tanners’ pits, with their distinctive odours, are full of jolly workmen; the narrow lanes throng with the sellers of ribbons and bolts of cloth – some fine for ladies’ dresses, others wool dyed in darker colours.

It is a friendly society and open, visitors are marked out by their different clothing, and many people greet Jacques. Already he has quite an eye for the girls, always accompanied by their mothers or nurses. Although the streets are dusty and often muddy, the citizens look well dressed and tidy, as do those riding mules or in donkey carriages, transporting goods to warehouses. And there are plenty of those. Bourges is a commercial city containing such a mix of cultures and nationalities that coinage is brought in by traders and visitors from all corners of the known world.

On arrival in Bourges, travellers and merchants go to the eastern part of the city, where there are some twenty or thirty little booths for changing the currency they carry. As Jacques follows them from stall to stall, he notices how the rates vary depending on demand; who comes to which stall; the coins that are true in silver or gold content; which promissory notes are trustworthy and which dealers have the best reputation. With his gift for rapid mental calculation, soon he is able to advise his father on how to benefit from the varying rates and take advantage of sudden alterations in exchange.

Pierre Coeur is renowned in Bourges for his knowledge of the fur trade. He pays his creditors promptly, so is always welcomed by the assorted moneylenders, and Jacques watches them watching him. They know that he only buys the best and sells well.

One evening after their meal, Pierre keeps Jacques at the table once it has been cleared and his young brother sent to bed. ‘Come, my boy, I want to teach you what being a successful merchant is all about. Quality and demand,’ he tells him, ‘are the two factors necessary to make a profit in any trade.’

Jacques sits quietly on his chair and listens, the fire still glowing in the hearth and the great clock ticking.

‘You see, my son, there is no point in having something wonderful if no one can afford it or wants to buy it, so demand is essential, though this can also be created with clever promotion. Then a good trader must consider quality. Sell only the best to connoisseurs, or they will not return. You can sell inferior goods, but solely to those who cannot pay or are ignorant of quality.’

Young Jacques says little, but he learns these and indeed all his lessons well. Although he has an older half-brother, his mother’s son from her first marriage, Jacques is the brightest of the three boys, all educated by the good monks of the Sainte-Chapelle in Bourges. From an early age he wears the tonsure, the small round patch of hair shaved from the centre on the back of his head. It is hoped by his parents that at least one of the boys will enter the priesthood.

It is normal practice for the eldest son of a merchant family like the Coeur’s to follow in his father’s profession, becoming apprenticed to him when he reaches the age of fourteen. But Jacques’ ambitions are greater than just trading furs. Sitting regularly with the money-changers, he meets traders from all over the Mediterranean, men who salve their loneliness with stories of their home cities. He hears about Florence, Siena, Milan, Venice and Genoa; he learns the names of the great families of these cities, merchants, bankers and military leaders: the Médici, the Albrizzi, the Bardi among others. In this way, he acquires the language of the traders, and the sure knowledge that trade is the key to earning great riches and living like the merchants about whom he has heard tell, their lives equal to those of great princes.

And yet France is not a country at peace. There are continual invasions by the English from their land of Normandy in the north, and frequent aggressive skirmishes between the two warring factions of the court of King Charles VI – the Orléanists, led by the king’s devoted brother Prince Louis; and the Burgundians, who follow their duke. The Duke of Burgundy leans towards the English on account of their commercial contacts in Flanders which he needs. The attacks on one another’s followers often result in serious disruption to trading.

Nevertheless, during the first quarter of the fifteenth century there is a great artistic flowering in France – in painting, architecture and literature. This is due to the patronage and guidance of a number of grand seigneurs like Duke Jean of Berry and the fabled court of Burgundy. Living in Bourges, Jacques becomes aware of the artistic developments around him, and through the kindness of Duke Jean he is able to seek out the best among the local craftsmen to teach him how to judge their creations.

‘Ah, young Jacques – yes we have heard of your visits to our great duke. So you want to know how his glassware is made? Come.’ And he is taken into the dark barn with the hot cauldrons, and the glassmakers show him how it is done, twisting and turning the bubble of molten glass at the end of a tube, blowing down the pipe to enlarge it, shaping here, twisting and cutting there, until he witnesses the perfection of the finished work. ‘Now go and see how cloth is woven,’ they say with a laugh and send him on his way.

Jacques learns how brass is beaten, and how carpets are made. Best of all, he watches the potters turning their wheels, making shapes out of clay with their hands, then standing the finished cups and vases to dry in rows on shelves – and they let him try it too. His visits become regular, and he is greeted with a merry ‘Hey, Jacques, come back to know more? Touch the quality of this then,’ – or of something else. Born with an eye and a feel for excellence, he learns quickly, knowing that all this will be useful one day when he achieves his ambition – to become a great merchant.

By 1416, Jacques Coeur, a strapping lad as old as the year, is employed in a very junior post at the Royal Mint in Bourges. While taking his son with him to the various courts, it has become clear to his father that finance and figures are the boy’s talents, added to his quick intelligence and calm and persuasive manner in dealing with people. Pierre notices how Jacques has a natural gift for finding the essence of a person – whether he would be a client or not – and soon his own dealings with a number of his father’s important clients seems to qualify him for this first position. Somehow, although he says little, he manages to say the right thing at the appropriate time – to entice, or console, or just be friendly. Best of all is his talent for rapid mental calculation. This, added to his experience of observing and helping Pierre to profit from the money-lenders without anyone feeling badly done by, gave him the opportunity to be taken on at the Mint of Bourges.

 

*

The youngest of the team at the Mint, but possibly the strongest, Jacques allows himself to be teased by his colleagues about his energetic bodybuilding: ‘And how many times did you run around the square this morning, young Coeur, and carrying a full pail of water in each hand, no doubt? Was it fifty? More?’

Jacques smiles – it’s a daily joke. ‘Oh, at least fifty, maybe more,’ he replies. ‘Healthy body, healthy mind’ is his mantra, and although they laugh, his colleagues do rather admire him. Having had to carry great loads of hides and skins at his father’s warehouse since he was a young boy, Jacques has grown strong, and he does not want to lose that.

Although he is always good-natured and polite, Jacques is a silent type, far more so than the others at the Mint, who freely exchange details about their private lives. He listens, smiles, but never offers information. It is something he learnt from accompanying his father to the houses of his wealthy patrons – pay attention and absorb, then offer what they want or need. It is one of the reasons, he realizes, why his father is trusted and well liked, although Jacques could see quite early on that Pierre’s trading could be more effective. Yet together, father and son added to the family income by being alert and astute at the money-changers’ booths, and soon after Jacques’ twelfth birthday the family was able to move into a larger house in a better district, by which time Pierre Coeur had become known as the leading furrier in the city.

Jacques’ half-brother is three years his senior, and they are firm friends, as he is with his younger brother Nicholas. At the dinner table, current events are always discussed, and in this way he is able to piece together the political situation in France and in particular at the French court, the seat of government. Pierre, like the heads of most local families, likes to expound to the attentive boys.

‘Our good King Charles tries hard, when sane,’ he says with a sorrowful face, ‘to keep the peace between the two fractious sides of his family: his own supporters, the Orléanists, and those of his cousin the Duke of Burgundy, whom the people call “Jean-sans-Peur” – Jean the Fearless.’

‘Why is he called that – I hear he is a monster!’ blurts out young Nicholas.

‘That he may be, and not ours to judge,’ replies his father, ‘but the people of Paris are behind him and against our king’s brother, Duke Louis d’Orléans, who I have had the honour of meeting with our own duke here in Bourges, when I found him to be a very fine and admirable gentleman indeed. The Parisians even turned against our dear Duke of Berry for loyally siding with the king his nephew. They ransacked his beautiful mansion, the Hôtel de Nesle in Paris where I once had the honour of calling on him and plundered and burnt his château just outside Paris. You young ones won’t remember, but just four years ago, the Burgundians besieged our city of Bourges!’

‘Oh yes,’ says Jacques, ‘I remember it well. You told us then, Papa, that it was because our good duke had not joined either faction and that he had to seek refuge in the cloister of Nôtre Dame. It’s true, isn’t it, that it was only due to his skill at negotiating that our city, his city, was spared from destruction?’

Pierre looks at his son with a mixture of amazement and admiration. ‘Yes, it is true, and the citizens of Bourges will never forget their duke’s intervention, which saved both their lives and their property.’

 

One year later, during another evening spent at home by the fire, Pierre tells his wife Marie how frail and sad he found their duke when he called on him that day, and how he brought up the topic of the Battle of Agincourt, fought and lost two years ago in 141. . .