The Duel That Shocked France
<p>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’.</p><br><p>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?</p><br><p>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…&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘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></p><p>• ‘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></p><p>• ‘The King's darlings - The Mignons’ (Whitehall Moll History Clips):</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBfrDLUkmEY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBfrDLUkmEY</a></p><br><p>#France #1500s #Royals #Strange #LGB</p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> 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.</p>
Today In History with The Retrospectors
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Show Notes
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…
Further Reading:
• ‘King Henri III and His Mignons’ (The Gay & Lesbian Review, 2020): https://glreview.org/article/king-henri-iii-and-his-mignons/
• ‘On this day in history: Duel of the Mignons, 1578’ (The Modern Historian, 2012): http://modernhistorian.blogspot.com/2012/04/on-this-day-in-history-duel-of-mignons.html
• ‘The King's darlings - The Mignons’ (Whitehall Moll History Clips):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBfrDLUkmEY
#France #1500s #Royals #Strange #LGB
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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