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Maitre Cornelius

by Honoré de Balzac

3.67 · rating details · 6 ratings · 1 review

Balzac's famous medieval love story, in which he turned King Louis XI of France into a detective.

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Published by Mondial (first published 2001)

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Oct 30, 2010

Lisa rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, balzac-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Balzac has set this story in the past, in the 15th century this time, when Henry VI was on the throne and the sophistication of Paris and political dramas of France were yet to come. He has used his story partly as a morality tale warning against mendacity and cruelty, but more significantly to show the absolute power of French kings. This monarch has the power of life and death; and he uses the lives of his subjects as playthings, to amuse himself in his old age when even the pleasures of th...moreBalzac has set this story in the past, in the 15th century this time, when Henry VI was on the throne and the sophistication of Paris and political dramas of France were yet to come. He has used his story partly as a morality tale warning against mendacity and cruelty, but more significantly to show the absolute power of French kings. This monarch has the power of life and death; and he uses the lives of his subjects as playthings, to amuse himself in his old age when even the pleasures of the table are denied him. If you read this short story, watch for the moment when he learns how his daughter has been treated: his outrage is not the response of a compassionate parent nor one who feels guilt about having married his child off to a monster. His anger is about the offence to him – the crime of lese-majesty.

The story begins on All Saints Day 1479, in the Cathedral of Tours. From the shadows cast by its great columns a young nobleman is able to approach the woman he loves, the Countess Marie, daughter of the king and married off to a cruel and jealous husband, the Comte de Saint-Villiers. It was at church, says Balzac, that all social life took place in those days before operas and balls; there was nowhere else to meet, and it is here that with the help of friends the young man is able to steal a little time with her. In private she reveals the violence of her husband and the young man resolves to rescue her, no matter the danger.

His plan is to reach her through an adjoining house, but to do so he must disguise himself as an apprentice to the Fleming Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst, the king's silversmith and a most dangerous man. He is very wealthy, and while the townsfolk are not convinced about the justice of it, the King's provost Tristan Hermite has found guilty each of a series of apprentices who apparently succumbed to theft, and each was executed after torture. Since no one then was willing to risk working for Cornelius, he lived alone with his equally miserly old sister, and his only friend and visitor was the King.

Into this house of horrors goes the as-yet un-named hero, and succeeds in his tryst though of course the lady's virtue remains unsullied. The religious beliefs of the time ensure that she will not run away with her young man; and she will not have her husband killed. But pretty kisses and words of love - and hope of further success - makes her lover careless, and his midnight escape from his locked room at the house of Cornelius is revealed, coinciding with the theft of yet more treasure. The young man is arrested, identified as Georges d'Estoutville,and taken away for 'questioning'.

The threat to her lover gives Marie the courage to tell her father about her husband's cruelties and he is banished to Venice. The king (in want of some amusement) sets out to solve the mystery of the missing treasure.

Balzac is too good a story-teller to wrap up the story neatly. The love affair does not end as one might expect, and the source of the disappearing treasure is discovered - but not the treasure. Its whereabouts remains a tantalising mystery which perhaps still intrigues the good people of Tours!(less)

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Shelves: 1-wishlist, 5-human-comedy, 2-historical, 2-literature, 2-philosophy, 2-world-lit, 3-19th-century, 4-france, 4-europe

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About Honoré de Balzac

Honoré de Balzac was a nineteenth-century French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of almost 100 novels and plays collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the fall of Napoléon Bonaparte in 1815.

Due to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of th...moreHonoré de Balzac was a nineteenth-century French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of almost 100 novels and plays collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the fall of Napoléon Bonaparte in 1815.

Due to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multi-faceted characters; even his lesser characters are complex, morally ambiguous and fully human. Inanimate objects are imbued with character as well; the city of Paris, a backdrop for much of his writing, takes on many human qualities. His writing influenced many famous authors, including the novelists Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Charles Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Henry James and Jack Kerouac, as well as important philosophers such as Friedrich Engels. Many of Balzac's works have been made into films, and they continue to inspire other writers.

An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac had trouble adapting himself to the teaching style of his grammar school. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life, and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. When he finished school, Balzac was apprenticed as a legal clerk, but he turned his back on law after wearying of its inhumanity and banal routine. Before and during his career as a writer, he attempted to be a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician. He failed in all of these efforts. La Comédie Humaine reflects his real-life difficulties, and includes scenes from his own experience.

Balzac suffered from health problems throughout his life, possibly due to his intense writing schedule. His relationship with his family was often strained by financial and personal drama, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, he married Ewelina Hańska, his longtime paramour; he died five months later.
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