Evidence of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Tortuous Efforts to Discover English are to be Auctioned in France.
Sabtu, 04 Juni 2011 by Android Blackberry
Run, runned, running: The Tortuous efforts of Napoleon to learn English detailed in notebooks set to go under the hammer
Evidence of Napoleon Bonaparte’s tortuous efforts to discover English are to be auctioned in France.
Extraordinary notebooks containing the ‘Little Emperor’s’ lessons in the language of Shakespeare will come under the hammer in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, on Sunday.
Following defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon was exiled to the Atlantic island of St Helena, and it is there that he began studying to overcome his boredom.
Despite his forces having been crushed by an allied army led by the Duke of Wellington’s British forces, English was apparently his favourite subject.
‘It's extraordinary to believe that following fighting the English his entire life, Napoleon only decided to find out English at the end,’ said Jean-Pierre Osenat, of the Paris-based auction house Osenat.
‘You’d believe he could possibly have thought about it before.’
The yellowing notebooks, that are expected to raise as much as £10,000, are some of around 350 Napoleonic lots being auctioned.
Covered in doodles - primarily of castles along with other military fortifications - they suggest that Napoleon was a poor English student, and would rather have been back on the battlefield.
‘Even learning English, he couldn't shake off the soldier - the army man inside him,’ stated Mr Osenat.
Napoleon typically spoke of his shame at not being able to speak English in his later years, and relied on the Count of Las Instances, his companion in exile, to attempt and teach him.
But the notebook shows that arguably the most renowned Frenchman of all time did not adapt very easily to the intricacies of English grammar.
On 1 sheet of paper he incorrectly writes: ‘Run, runned, running’, though on another he mis-translates the French 'Qu'est-ce qui etait arrive?' as 'What was it arrived', instead of 'What has happened?'
Also on sale on Sunday will be the handwritten record of King Louis XVI’s death sentence by the revolutionary National Convention in 1793.
The document consists of the signatures of famed revolutionaries Maximilien Robespierre and Jean-Paul Marat, who suggest that the King must be guillotined.
Despite suggestions that Louis should be exiled, Convention member Bertrand Barere writes: ‘Only the dead by no means come back, I vote that he die.’
The document, which directly led to the rise of Napoleon, is amended in 1818 to show the fate of the revolutionaries who signed it.
Numerous, such as Robespierre, were guillotined themselves during the so-called Terror which followed the 1789 Revolution.
The ideal Movies About Napoleon Bonaparte91
Napoleon in movies and film
I'd like to give my thoughts on a handful of Napoleon movies, but I believe a few words about the popular perception of Napoleon are in order 1st. The adage that 'history is always written by the victors' is probably exemplified within the case of Napoleon Bonaparte better than most other prominent figures. The Napoleonic Wars, though they involved numerous nations and spanned two decades, had been basically a struggle between England and France writ substantial. Needless to say we all know that Napoleon's France was not the victor immediately after the Battle of Waterloo and that England was. Thus we have the skewed historical version put forth by the English that has been perpetuated and handed down through the generations. Napoleon is not the only figure that has suffered under this kind of faulty historicity, but he is certainly an exceptional example.
Napoleon's Detractors
The much-maligned figure of Napoleon Bonaparte has suffered countless assaults over the past two centuries from disinterested historians who, when mentioning his name, fall back on the normal description of the man as a diminutive ogre who was bent on the destruction of Europe. Such a myopic view of Napoleon was naturally promulgated by his principal enemies in the course of and immediately after the Napoleonic Wars - The English. So, it isn't surprising that most Americans, Englishmen, Canadians, Australians, and everyone else who speaks English consider this summation of Bonaparte to be true. A much far more balanced view of the man lies within the histories written in other languages, most notably French. To be sure, over the years Napoleon has also basked in the adulation of hero worshipers who are just as polarized. But in general it can be negative tips that lurk in most people's minds when Napoleon is mentioned. I blame this on sloppy historians and writers who have perpetuated fallacies with their intellectual laziness. Oh…how the silliness abounds!
My Favorite Napoleon Movies
OK, now that my scathing diatribe against all detractors of Napoleon is complete I'll move on to my list of the very best movies about Napoleon. It is possible to start streaming these movies immediately from Netflix - try out their no cost 30 day trial. If you are in the UK or Europe give LoveFilm's free of charge trial a go.
1. Waterloo (1970) - This gem of a movie features Rod Steiger within the role of Napoleon and Christopher Plummer as Wellington. The film's two hour treatment of the Battle of Waterloo is generally excellent, although I would have liked it much more had the introductory battles of Qautre Bras and Ligny been included. The battle scenes are fairly spectacular contemplating the truth that none of it can be computer generated, all of those uniforms marching around are seriously there! I feel that Steiger's portion as Napoleon is nicely accomplished if 1 recognizes that he was portraying the man on that day of battle, a day which most scholars think he was not his usual self. If one takes Steiger's role as an accurate portrayal of Napoleon in general I believe that could be a disservice to the emperor and also the actor. Furthermore, according to what I know of the Duke of Wellington, Plummer's portrayal of the man is dead on
Battle of Waterloo: French Cavalry Charge Videos :
2. The Emperor's New Clothes (2001) - I'd need to agree with an Amazon review about this film - 'Alternative history and whimsical imagination make comfy bedfellows'. It really is a extremely original Bonaparte movie with good sets and good acting. This was Ian Holm's second time being cast in the role of Bonaparte and his looks assist him pull it off. I don't know if the irascible and impatient elements that Holm displays in his character are on account of his interpretation of Napoleon or because that is what the director wanted him to portray. But, it isn't definitely a fair picture of the man and it does get a bit annoying at times for the reason that it helps to perpetuate the inaccurate perception that Napoleon was basically a petulant, ranting, and importunate megalomaniac.
three. Napoleon Television series (2002) - This was a really very good portrayal of Napoleon Bonaparte. Christian Clavier has clearly studied Napoleon thoroughly; his playing of the man does not suffer at all from the typical banality, but is instead a highly mature rendering of his subject. The film is historically accurate and gives the viewer a extra total picture of the man than most films do. We see, not only his genius as a military commander, but also his abilities as a legislator and emperor, as a lover of the arts and culture, and as a father and husband. As a historian I wish some more emphasis was put on other parts of the Napoleonic story, but I understand that running time limits the director and writer. It has an all star supporting cast to boot - Isabella Rossellini, John Malkovich, and Gerard Depardieu.
Napoleon Tv series
Evidence of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Tortuous Efforts to Discover English are to be Auctioned in France.
Evidence of Napoleon Bonaparte’s tortuous efforts to discover English are to be auctioned in France.
Extraordinary notebooks containing the ‘Little Emperor’s’ lessons in the language of Shakespeare will come under the hammer in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, on Sunday.
Following defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon was exiled to the Atlantic island of St Helena, and it is there that he began studying to overcome his boredom.
 |
| Napoleon's efforts to learn English, detailed in a series of notebooks, are to go under the hammer at an auction in Paris |
Despite his forces having been crushed by an allied army led by the Duke of Wellington’s British forces, English was apparently his favourite subject.
‘It's extraordinary to believe that following fighting the English his entire life, Napoleon only decided to find out English at the end,’ said Jean-Pierre Osenat, of the Paris-based auction house Osenat.
‘You’d believe he could possibly have thought about it before.’
The yellowing notebooks, that are expected to raise as much as £10,000, are some of around 350 Napoleonic lots being auctioned.
 |
| The notebooks follow an auction in 2007 that saw rare love letters written by Napoleon to Josephine, Viscomtesse de Beauharnais, his future wife, sell for five times their estimate |
Covered in doodles - primarily of castles along with other military fortifications - they suggest that Napoleon was a poor English student, and would rather have been back on the battlefield.
‘Even learning English, he couldn't shake off the soldier - the army man inside him,’ stated Mr Osenat.
Napoleon typically spoke of his shame at not being able to speak English in his later years, and relied on the Count of Las Instances, his companion in exile, to attempt and teach him.
But the notebook shows that arguably the most renowned Frenchman of all time did not adapt very easily to the intricacies of English grammar.
On 1 sheet of paper he incorrectly writes: ‘Run, runned, running’, though on another he mis-translates the French 'Qu'est-ce qui etait arrive?' as 'What was it arrived', instead of 'What has happened?'
Also on sale on Sunday will be the handwritten record of King Louis XVI’s death sentence by the revolutionary National Convention in 1793.
The document consists of the signatures of famed revolutionaries Maximilien Robespierre and Jean-Paul Marat, who suggest that the King must be guillotined.
Despite suggestions that Louis should be exiled, Convention member Bertrand Barere writes: ‘Only the dead by no means come back, I vote that he die.’
The document, which directly led to the rise of Napoleon, is amended in 1818 to show the fate of the revolutionaries who signed it.
Numerous, such as Robespierre, were guillotined themselves during the so-called Terror which followed the 1789 Revolution.
The ideal Movies About Napoleon Bonaparte91
Napoleon in movies and film
I'd like to give my thoughts on a handful of Napoleon movies, but I believe a few words about the popular perception of Napoleon are in order 1st. The adage that 'history is always written by the victors' is probably exemplified within the case of Napoleon Bonaparte better than most other prominent figures. The Napoleonic Wars, though they involved numerous nations and spanned two decades, had been basically a struggle between England and France writ substantial. Needless to say we all know that Napoleon's France was not the victor immediately after the Battle of Waterloo and that England was. Thus we have the skewed historical version put forth by the English that has been perpetuated and handed down through the generations. Napoleon is not the only figure that has suffered under this kind of faulty historicity, but he is certainly an exceptional example.
Napoleon's Detractors
The much-maligned figure of Napoleon Bonaparte has suffered countless assaults over the past two centuries from disinterested historians who, when mentioning his name, fall back on the normal description of the man as a diminutive ogre who was bent on the destruction of Europe. Such a myopic view of Napoleon was naturally promulgated by his principal enemies in the course of and immediately after the Napoleonic Wars - The English. So, it isn't surprising that most Americans, Englishmen, Canadians, Australians, and everyone else who speaks English consider this summation of Bonaparte to be true. A much far more balanced view of the man lies within the histories written in other languages, most notably French. To be sure, over the years Napoleon has also basked in the adulation of hero worshipers who are just as polarized. But in general it can be negative tips that lurk in most people's minds when Napoleon is mentioned. I blame this on sloppy historians and writers who have perpetuated fallacies with their intellectual laziness. Oh…how the silliness abounds!
My Favorite Napoleon Movies
OK, now that my scathing diatribe against all detractors of Napoleon is complete I'll move on to my list of the very best movies about Napoleon. It is possible to start streaming these movies immediately from Netflix - try out their no cost 30 day trial. If you are in the UK or Europe give LoveFilm's free of charge trial a go.
1. Waterloo (1970) - This gem of a movie features Rod Steiger within the role of Napoleon and Christopher Plummer as Wellington. The film's two hour treatment of the Battle of Waterloo is generally excellent, although I would have liked it much more had the introductory battles of Qautre Bras and Ligny been included. The battle scenes are fairly spectacular contemplating the truth that none of it can be computer generated, all of those uniforms marching around are seriously there! I feel that Steiger's portion as Napoleon is nicely accomplished if 1 recognizes that he was portraying the man on that day of battle, a day which most scholars think he was not his usual self. If one takes Steiger's role as an accurate portrayal of Napoleon in general I believe that could be a disservice to the emperor and also the actor. Furthermore, according to what I know of the Duke of Wellington, Plummer's portrayal of the man is dead on
Battle of Waterloo: French Cavalry Charge Videos :
2. The Emperor's New Clothes (2001) - I'd need to agree with an Amazon review about this film - 'Alternative history and whimsical imagination make comfy bedfellows'. It really is a extremely original Bonaparte movie with good sets and good acting. This was Ian Holm's second time being cast in the role of Bonaparte and his looks assist him pull it off. I don't know if the irascible and impatient elements that Holm displays in his character are on account of his interpretation of Napoleon or because that is what the director wanted him to portray. But, it isn't definitely a fair picture of the man and it does get a bit annoying at times for the reason that it helps to perpetuate the inaccurate perception that Napoleon was basically a petulant, ranting, and importunate megalomaniac.
three. Napoleon Television series (2002) - This was a really very good portrayal of Napoleon Bonaparte. Christian Clavier has clearly studied Napoleon thoroughly; his playing of the man does not suffer at all from the typical banality, but is instead a highly mature rendering of his subject. The film is historically accurate and gives the viewer a extra total picture of the man than most films do. We see, not only his genius as a military commander, but also his abilities as a legislator and emperor, as a lover of the arts and culture, and as a father and husband. As a historian I wish some more emphasis was put on other parts of the Napoleonic story, but I understand that running time limits the director and writer. It has an all star supporting cast to boot - Isabella Rossellini, John Malkovich, and Gerard Depardieu.
Napoleon Tv series
Evidence of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Tortuous Efforts to Discover English are to be Auctioned in France.
