Mon Carnet de Voyage

(This statue, in the courtyard of the Hotel de Carnavalet, is the only remaining bronze statue of Louis XVI not melted down in the revolution. Dashing chap, eh?)

Have you ever wondered what exactly has happened before, in the very place in which you are standing right now? Not last week, or last year…but centuries ago?

In Australia, you might in recent history, imagine the first settlers laying the foundation stone of a house, or tens of centuries before, an indigenous population undisturbed. In some places, you might even feel an essence that remains - a landscape trauma that exists, and still speaks to the modern observer - it might even give you a chill.

On Wednesday, I stood on ancient stones placed to cover the swamp that was once dried out to make vegetable beds…the true city square of Paris - Le Marais. In ancient times, Le Marais was an old bed of the river Seine, and with the building of convents and monasteries, the first streets appeared here in the 12th century.

In the middle of the 12th century when fortifications began in the area, the Jewish community had been ostracized to live just outside the old city wall, and so this is a very old Jewish area, with a thriving Jewish community today. Today, apart from its famous gay community, it is the home quarter for writer and artisans, and every laneway appears before you like the classic Parisian postcard.

Anne-Sophie, guide extraordinaire, and colleague at the BNF, took me on a walking tour of the Marais. With her wisdom, she was able to uncover for me, the many palaces (now homes, shops and government departments), the pathways along which Louis XIV paraded in 1660 (being watched from above by Madame de Beauvais on the balcony – the one-eyed hunchbacked mistress who had been chosen to take his virginity at age 12), and the rooms in which Mozart once played.

The many layers of Parisian history that are interweaved through epochs of nobility and monarchy, all unraveled before me, as Anne-Sophie explained to me the differences in architecture and the nuances and meaning of the two types of brick colours.

After our leisurely walk and lunch in the courtyard of a very cool café (see Anne-Sophie in the picture above), we visited the National Archives where I found myself face to face with Paris’ patrimony.

The archives hold letters written by Marie Antoinette, 78 snippets of the silk and velvet fabric of her dresses, a letter written by Jeanne d’Arc, the only illustration made of Jeanne d’Arc during her life (Lili – I have a postcard for you!) declarations of kings and their many seals attached (not wax seals like we once had for letters, but large, gold, wax, and iron medallions that hang from the manuscript, which are still in use today in French government).

Housed there in the archives in the iron vault armoury, is the Constitution of 1791 (which followed two years after the revolution), the pillar of national heritage, giving all French people, ‘le bonheur’ - happiness for all.
(The above photo is the National Archives of France).

Les Cartes de Louis Freycinet

Now, if all of the above were not enough history to devour in one week, I was treated to a very special experience, in the map room of the Richelieu BNF site yesterday. A personal viewing of the published altas of the maps of Freycinet, based on his two voyages – in the Naturaliste with Commander Baudin (1800 – 1804), and as Commander of his own vessel, L’Uranie (1817 – 1820).

As I am writing a novel on the second of Freycinet’s voyages (in the Uranie), this was wonderful treat indeed. After a great two hour chat with the map librarian about the finer points of French exploration of Australia (D’Entrecasteaux being her voyage of interest), I spent 45 minutes slowing turning the pages of this atlas, published in 1826.
(The atlas is the third book along on the left table).

I also benefitted from the knowledge gained from looking at primary sources, than you can’t find in a book written about the subject. Looking closely at the maps, I was able to trace the exact path of the Uranie around the world and the exact place where it shipwrecked.

So, for a total history nerd like me, this was a morning well spent…

For more information on French exploration of Australia, click here: French exploration of the Australian coastline.