Kleptoparasitism, trial by combat, mountain queens, measuring the Black Death, how to choose a proper codename, ancient scrolls, the computational origins of life, and more.
I now know what I’ll be reading this weekend. Many rabbit holes to burrow into. Thank you for the roundup - all of it sounds interesting, and those photos, wow!
The "coup de Jarnac" is my favourite trial by combat tale, betweem Guy Chabot, Baron de Jarnac, and François de Vivonne, Seigneur de La Châtaigneraie, during the reign of King Henry II of France.
The "Coup de Jarnac" refers to a famous duel in French history that took place on July 10, 1547, during the reign of King Henry II. The duel was between Guy Chabot, the Baron of Jarnac, and François de Vivonne, the Lord of La Châtaigneraie. The conflict arose when La Châtaigneraie spread rumors questioning Jarnac's honor, insinuating an inappropriate relationship between Jarnac and his stepmother.
Feeling his reputation tarnished, Jarnac demanded a duel to defend his honor. Despite dueling being officially banned, King Henry II granted permission, partly due to court intrigues and possibly to see La Châtaigneraie, a favored courtier and renowned swordsman, humiliate Jarnac.
On the day of the duel, La Châtaigneraie was confident and expected an easy victory. However, Jarnac had secretly trained with an Italian fencing master and learned an unconventional move. During the fight, Jarnac executed a surprise attack—a swift slash to the back of La Châtaigneraie's knee (the hamstring). This unexpected move incapacitated La Châtaigneraie. Despite his injury, he refused to surrender and continued fighting until he collapsed from blood loss, eventually leading to his death.
The term "Coup de Jarnac" thus entered the French language as an expression meaning a surprising or cunning move, especially one that turns the tables in an unexpected way. The duel also led to increased efforts to ban dueling in France due to its deadly consequences.
That is awesome. What a great story - and thanks for sharing it. I’ll feel very smug when I use Coup de Jarnac as a reference in a pub conversation when referencing a surprising, cunning move and nobody has a clue what I’m talking about.
There are lots of YouTube videos of people trying to re-create it from the historical accounts. Some of the descriptions of the event are almost comical.
Somewhere I read that when the Normans invaded England, they were starting to embrace the laws of chivalry. One of the laws of chivalry was that it was considered not the done thing to attack a knight's horse. The Saxons fought on foot and had probably never hear of chivalry. At the first chance they got, they ran around behind the Norman horse and hacked at their unarmoured hamstrings with their long axes. Most unsporting.
Thank you for seeding my "long read" list for the fall!
Yellow brick roads and rabbit holes are the stuff of life.
I now know what I’ll be reading this weekend. Many rabbit holes to burrow into. Thank you for the roundup - all of it sounds interesting, and those photos, wow!
Thanks for the recommendations. I’m finishing up “Inheritance” by Whitehouse that you recommended last time. Excellent!
The "coup de Jarnac" is my favourite trial by combat tale, betweem Guy Chabot, Baron de Jarnac, and François de Vivonne, Seigneur de La Châtaigneraie, during the reign of King Henry II of France.
Do say more!
The "Coup de Jarnac" refers to a famous duel in French history that took place on July 10, 1547, during the reign of King Henry II. The duel was between Guy Chabot, the Baron of Jarnac, and François de Vivonne, the Lord of La Châtaigneraie. The conflict arose when La Châtaigneraie spread rumors questioning Jarnac's honor, insinuating an inappropriate relationship between Jarnac and his stepmother.
Feeling his reputation tarnished, Jarnac demanded a duel to defend his honor. Despite dueling being officially banned, King Henry II granted permission, partly due to court intrigues and possibly to see La Châtaigneraie, a favored courtier and renowned swordsman, humiliate Jarnac.
On the day of the duel, La Châtaigneraie was confident and expected an easy victory. However, Jarnac had secretly trained with an Italian fencing master and learned an unconventional move. During the fight, Jarnac executed a surprise attack—a swift slash to the back of La Châtaigneraie's knee (the hamstring). This unexpected move incapacitated La Châtaigneraie. Despite his injury, he refused to surrender and continued fighting until he collapsed from blood loss, eventually leading to his death.
The term "Coup de Jarnac" thus entered the French language as an expression meaning a surprising or cunning move, especially one that turns the tables in an unexpected way. The duel also led to increased efforts to ban dueling in France due to its deadly consequences.
That is awesome. What a great story - and thanks for sharing it. I’ll feel very smug when I use Coup de Jarnac as a reference in a pub conversation when referencing a surprising, cunning move and nobody has a clue what I’m talking about.
There are lots of YouTube videos of people trying to re-create it from the historical accounts. Some of the descriptions of the event are almost comical.
great story!
And it just so that leads to:
hamstrung: cripple (a person or animal) by cutting their hamstrings.
gotta ask: does the term originate from this notorious duel?
Somewhere I read that when the Normans invaded England, they were starting to embrace the laws of chivalry. One of the laws of chivalry was that it was considered not the done thing to attack a knight's horse. The Saxons fought on foot and had probably never hear of chivalry. At the first chance they got, they ran around behind the Norman horse and hacked at their unarmoured hamstrings with their long axes. Most unsporting.
There was a variant on trial by combat where it was a man vs a woman. The man had to stand in a hole to make it fair! But it was no laughing matter, as this link shows: https://www.aemma.org/onlineResources/trial_by_combat/combat_man_and_woman.htm