Notre-Dame de Paris — Page 5
le Cardinal de Bourbon, who, for the sake of pleasing the king, had been obliged to assume an amiable mien towards this whole rustic rabble of Flemish burgomasters, and to regale them at his Hôtel de Bourbon, with a very "pretty morality, allegorical satire, and farce," while a driving rain drenched the magnificent tapestries at his door.
le cardinal de Bourbon, qui, pour complaire au roi, avait été obligé de faire bonne mine à toute cette rustique cohue de bourgmestres flamands, et de les régaler en son hôtel de Bourbon d'une « fort belle moralité, sotie et farce », tandis qu'une pluie battante inondait à sa porte ses magnifiques tapisseries.
What put the "whole population of Paris in commotion," as Jehan de Troyes expresses it, on the sixth of January, was the double solemnity, united from time immemorial, of the Epiphany and the Feast of Fools.
Ce qui mettait « tout le peuple de Paris en commotion », selon l'expression de Jehan de Troyes, le sixième de janvier, c'était la double solennité, unie de temps immémorial, de l'Épiphanie et de la Fête des Fous.
On that day, there was to be a bonfire on the Place de Grève, a maypole at the Chapelle de Braque, and a mystery at the Palais de Justice.
Ce jour-là, il devait y avoir un feu de joie sur la place de Grève, un plant de mai à la chapelle de Braque, et un mystère au Palais de Justice.
It had been cried, to the sound of the trumpet, the preceding evening at all the cross roads, by the provost's men, clad in handsome, short, sleeveless coats of violet camelot, with large white crosses upon their breasts.
La chose avait été criée, au son de la trompe, la veille au soir à tous les carrefours, par les gens du prévôt, vêtus de beaux hoquetons de camelot violet, avec de grandes croix blanches sur la poitrine.
So the crowd of citizens, male and female, having closed their houses and shops, thronged from every direction, at early morn, towards some one of the three spots designated.
Ainsi la foule des bourgeois et des bourgeoises, ayant fermé maisons et boutiques, se pressait de toutes parts, dès le matin, vers l'un des trois endroits désignés.
Each had made his choice; one, the bonfire; another, the maypole; another, the mystery play.
Chacun avait fait son choix : l'un, le feu de joie ; l'autre, le plant de mai ; l'autre, le mystère.
Vocabulary
- cardinal
- High-ranking Catholic church official below the pope
- complaire
- To please or to humor someone willingly
- roi
- The king; male monarch of a kingdom
- obligé
- Forced or compelled to do something
- mine
- Facial expression or outward appearance of someone
- rustique
- Rural, rustic, or lacking urban refinement
- cohue
- A noisy, disorderly crowd or mob
- bourgmestres
- Mayors or chief magistrates of Flemish towns
- flamands
- Relating to Flanders or Flemish-speaking people
- régaler
- To treat or entertain someone lavishly with food
- hôtel
- Grand residence or mansion of a nobleman
- fort
- Adverb meaning 'very' or 'strongly'
- moralité
- Medieval morality play teaching ethical lessons
- sotie
- Medieval comic satirical theatrical performance
- farce
- A comic theatrical play full of humor
- tandis
- Conjunction used in 'tandis que' meaning 'while'
- pluie
- Rain; water falling from the sky
- battante
- Beating or lashing, describing heavy rainfall
- inondait
- Was flooding or inundating a place with water
- porte
- A door or gate of a building
- magnifiques
- Magnificent, splendid, or impressively beautiful things
- tapisseries
- Decorative woven wall hangings depicting scenes
- peuple
- The people or common population of a place
- commotion
- A state of noisy confusion or agitation
- selon
- Preposition meaning 'according to' someone or something
- expression
- A phrase or manner of expressing an idea
- sixième
- Ordinal number meaning 'sixth'
- janvier
- The first month of the year; January
- double
- Double; consisting of two combined elements
- solennité
- A solemn ceremony or formal festive occasion
- unie
- United or joined together since a long time
- temps
- Time or weather; a measure of duration
- immémorial
- Dating back beyond memory; ancient and immemorial
- Épiphanie
- Christian feast of Epiphany celebrated January sixth
- Fête
- A festival, celebration, or feast day
- Fous
- Fools; jesters or madmen in medieval tradition
- jour-là
- That particular day being referred to
- devait
- Was supposed to or had to do something
- feu
- Fire; flames produced by combustion
- joie
- Joy or happiness; a feeling of delight
- place
- A public square or open area in a town
- Grève
- Historic Paris square; also means 'strike'
- plant
- A young plant or sapling; a planted tree
- mai
- May; the fifth month of the year
- chapelle
- A small chapel or place of worship
- mystère
- A medieval religious dramatic play or mystery
- Palais
- A palace or large official building
- Justice
- Justice; the legal system or court of law
- chose
- A thing or matter; something unspecified
- criée
- Announced by shouting; publicly proclaimed aloud
- trompe
- A trumpet or horn used for announcements
- veille
- The eve or day before an event
- soir
- Evening; the time after afternoon and before night
- carrefours
- Crossroads or intersections in streets or roads
- gens
- People or persons in general
- prévôt
- A medieval provost or chief law enforcement officer
- vêtus
- Dressed or clothed in particular attire
- beaux
- Beautiful or handsome; masculine plural of 'beau'
- hoquetons
- Medieval short tunics or tabards worn by officials
- camelot
- A coarse wool fabric used for medieval garments
- violet
- The color purple or violet
- croix
- A cross; Christian symbol or decorative emblem
- blanches
- White; feminine plural form of 'blanc'
- poitrine
- The chest or breast area of the body
- Ainsi
- Thus or so; in this manner or way
- foule
- A crowd or large group of people
- bourgeois
- Middle-class citizens of a town or city
- bourgeoises
- Feminine plural of bourgeois; middle-class women
- ayant
- Present participle of 'avoir'; having done something
- fermé
- Closed or shut; past participle of 'fermer'
- maisons
- Houses or homes; residential buildings
- boutiques
- Small shops or stores selling goods
- pressait
- Was pressing or crowding together urgently
- parts
- Parts or directions; 'de toutes parts' means everywhere
- dès
- From or since; starting from a point in time
- matin
- Morning; the early part of the day
- vers
- Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'around'
- endroits
- Places or locations; specific spots somewhere
- désignés
- Designated or specified for a particular purpose
- Chacun
- Each one; every individual person separately
- choix
- A choice or selection between available options
- autre
- Other or another; a different one
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →