Par Laurent REBOURS
Published on 3 Sep 23 at 15:26 See my news Follow Actu Chartres Beginning of the lament. Departmental archives of Eure-et-Loir, 1 J 1542. (©DR)
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To die of loving, the lovers of Marboué
“Loving each other with a sincere friendship”
“Come near, fathers and mothers,
Come hear the lesson
Of a girl and a boy
Loving each other with a sincere friendship;
The harshness of their parents
Give them a thousand torments [1]. »
Thus begins the lament of the lovers of Marboué. It was composed after the drama which took place on May 13, 1836 in this village, located five kilometers from Chateaudun.
Aged 26 and 24, Constant Guillon and Rosalie Bernard “loved each other tenderly”. But they needed parental consent.
But from a different social background
In a rural environment marked by between oneselfit was necessary, to “rope”be from the same social background [2]. Still a “boy-driver”, Constant nevertheless came from a family of plowman “. His sister had married in January 1826 to the son of the private guard of a wealthy owner of Saint-Denis-les-Ponts [3]. Witnesses and married had signed the register of well-formed letters.
Much more modest was Rosalie’s family. His illiterate father had been declared daily when he died in 1827.
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His mother had followed him to the grave on December 21, 1831. For her part, the young girl experienced the harsh condition of “servant”. Constant’s mother lives in the planned union the danger of a misalliance.
Desperate and “misled by passion [4] Rosalie left the house where she served. In this orphan deprived of resources, her family found, as they say, a “party”. According to Marcel-Robillard, the banns had been published and the ceremony fixed for May 17, 1836 [5].
What the lovers of Marboué are preparing, Thursday, May 12, 1836
Two lovers under the gaze of the other. Seduction takes place in an environment of interacquaintance. Painted glass decorating a café “chibernique” (circa 1850). Illustration book for volume XI of Folklore de la Beauce by Marcel-Robillard, Ed. Maisonneuve and Larose, 1976. (©DR)
Despite everything, the two lovers continued to maintain links and, on Thursday, May 12, they would have tried to bend mother Guillon one last time. His answer without appeal is reported by the lament.
“The mother on seeing this daughter
Immediately responds to his child
I don’t consent to it
To dishonor the family
The boy responds by crying
Tomorrow the dishonor will be greater
So, in the evening, the two young people go to Châteaudun. Constant buys a wedding ring there – which he puts on the finger of his “good friend” – as well as ink and paper. Once the letters were written, “they sat down to supper”. Then on the morning of Friday, May 13, they head towards the Loir.
“To end the life that overwhelms them”, Friday, May 13, 1836
Presentation of the complaint. Departmental archives of Eure-et-Loir, 1 J 1542. (©DR)
“These two miserable lovers
Desperate for these reasons,
By the river they go away
End the life that overwhelms them;
Together they bonded well,
Into the water they threw themselves”
The story of the lament – subject to caution – is this time confirmed by the newspaper articles The Gleaner of May 26, 1836 :
Last Friday, May 13, workers going early to their work saw on the banks of the Loire a cap and a woman’s bonnet. After approaching it, they noticed a letter and the idea of a suicide led them to read it.
The GleanerEdition of May 26, 1836
The last words of the lovers “I die for her, she dies for me”
Two men discover the bodies of Constant and Rosalie in the Loir. Illustration book for volume XI of Folklore de la Beauce by Marcel-Robillard, Ed. Maisonneuve and Larose, 1976. (©DR)
In this letter, continue The Gleaner, “a young man from the neighborhood and a maid from a neighboring country house announced that, not being able to marry each other, they intended to kill each other and prescribed some special ceremonies for their convoy, begging that they be collected in the same coffin. »
If we follow the story of one of the two laments [6]the letter ended with his words: “Good hearts, pray for us. I die for her; she dies for me. »
All that remained was to find the bodies. The search proved unsuccessful when, on Monday, May 16, their bodies were found in the river, bound together by a silk handkerchief [7].
The lovers of Marboué deprived of religious funerals?
A country priest. Source: The Messenger of Beauce and Perche 1883. (© DR)
In the letter left on the banks of the Loir, Constant and Rosalie quoted the names of the four friends whom they “invited to come and accompany them to the tomb”.
However, if in the 19th century suicide was no longer condemned by civil law, it was considered by Catholicism as a mortal sin [8]. The two suicides of Marboué – who did not have the excuse of insanity – had contravened the three theological virtues : faith in God, hope and charity (towards oneself).
Of religious funerals, there could be no question [9].
Mgr Clausels de Montal, bishop of Chartres from 1824 to 1853. He was greatly feared by his clergy. (©DR)
Transgressing canon law was unthinkable for the humble parish priest of Marboué. Especially since the Church multiplied the condemnations against suicides whose number, according to it, increased because of its decriminalization, especially in Beauce, reputed land of suicide [10].
Moreover, the priest had to the day of the burial – coincidence – to welcome the bishop of Chartres for confirmation…
However, the priest’s decision had irritated the inhabitants of Marboué. “From there, great rumor in the country”, writes The Gleaner. The priest suffered “threats” and was entitled to “unseemly expressions”. He gave in. But, the newspaper consoled itself, “the kind of violence he experienced” will surely have him absolved by the bishop.”
An exceptional double suicide of love
Marboué, locality of Croc-Marbot. This is where the two bodies were found. (©DR)
The double suicide of love was exceptional.
Apart from Constant and Rosalie, there were 1834 that of two lovers whose tied bodies were discovered in the Seine, at the level of the Sèvres bridge. A piece of paper was found, wrapped in a piece of parchment, on which was written: “Know that we loved each other with the most ardent love and that by killing each other we desired to be united eternally. [11] ».
Also, the scope of the last verses of the lament of the lovers of Marboué is universal…
“And you other fathers and mothers
to whom God gives children,
Make them always happy
Don’t be so harsh.
Always remember well
That friendship is the most beautiful bond. »
Notes
[1] Charles Marcel-Robillard: Beauce folklore – Volume 11 – From the cradle to the grave, traditions and customs – Éditions GP Maisonneuve & Larose, 1976, pages 81-82.
[2] Jean-Claude Farcy The peasants of Beaucevolume 2 SAEL 1989, pp. 1096-1120
[3] Margueritte Guillon and Jacques Gresteau marriage certificate, January 18, 1826, Departmental Archives of Eure-et-Loir, 3 E 233/008, view 364.
[4] Departmental archives of Eure-et-Loir, 1 J 1542. Story preceding a second lament.
[5] These banns are also mentioned in the second lament, undated.
[6] Departmental archives of Eure-et-Loir, 1 J 1542.
[7] The GleanerMay 26, 1836.
[8] Which presupposes the matter (a serious fault), the awareness of the fault and the will to commit it. Three criteria responding to the suicide of the lovers of Marboué.
[9] Inspired by the thought of Thomas Aquinas, the Code of Canon Law of 1917 deprived of religious burial those who had taken their own life.
[10] Jean-Claude Farcy Suicide in Beauce, Societies and representations1988/1 n° 6. P. 232, note 7.
[11] Paris DiaryAugust 25, 1834.
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