Episode 523

The Duel That Shocked France

Rerun. King Henri III of France had a favourite group of young courtiers – his ‘mignons’ (or ‘cuties’, ‘sweeties’, or ‘‘darlings’) – known for dressing in an effeminate and eye-catching style. On 27th April, 1578, they&nbsp;engaged in a bloody duel with a rival gang in a battle that came to be known as ‘The Duel of the Mignons’. Was it a ‘beautiful’ battle, a classical allusion to Roman combat, as some scribes argued? Or, as the King himself concluded, a pointless – and rather farcical – loss of life? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore Henri’s ‘mummy’s boy’ reputation; reveal how many Frenchmen slaughtered each other in this fashion during the five bloody decades from 1575; and explain why, when turning up at a sunrise duel, it’s always best to remember your dagger… Further Reading: • ‘King Henri III and His Mignons’ (The Gay & Lesbian Review, 2020): <a href="https://glreview.org/article/king-henri-iii-and-his-mignons/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://glreview.org/article/king-henri-iii-and-his-mignons/</a> • ‘On this day in history: Duel of the Mignons, 1578’ (The Modern Historian, 2012):<a href=" http://modernhistorian.blogspot.com/2012/04/on-this-day-in-history-duel-of-mignons.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> http://modernhistorian.blogspot.com/2012/04/on-this-day-in-history-duel-of-mignons.html</a> • ‘The King’s darlings – The Mignons’ (Whitehall Moll History Clips): <a href="https://youtu.be/EBfrDLUkmEY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/EBfrDLUkmEY</a> ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join&nbsp;🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Today In History with The Retrospectors

April 27, 202312m 0s

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Show Notes

Rerun.

King Henri III of France had a favourite group of young courtiers – his ‘mignons’ (or ‘cuties’, ‘sweeties’, or ‘‘darlings’) – known for dressing in an effeminate and eye-catching style. On 27th April, 1578, they engaged in a bloody duel with a rival gang in a battle that came to be known as ‘The Duel of the Mignons’.

Was it a ‘beautiful’ battle, a classical allusion to Roman combat, as some scribes argued? Or, as the King himself concluded, a pointless – and rather farcical – loss of life?

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore Henri’s ‘mummy’s boy’ reputation; reveal how many Frenchmen slaughtered each other in this fashion during the five bloody decades from 1575; and explain why, when turning up at a sunrise duel, it’s always best to remember your dagger…