Bohemia and its inhabitants in the eyes of four French
Medieval authors (Guillaume de Machaut, Eustache Deschamps, Jean Froissart, Jean d’Arras)
French Medieval poets Guillaume de Machaut and
Eustache Deschamps visited Bohemia and its capital in the 14th
century. Impressions of their journey, coloured by imagination, can be found in
their works. Guillaume belonged to the closest circle of the king John of
Luxembourg whom he followed on his journeys through Europe. He often used an
idealized image of the Bohemian king as a source of inspiration. He depicted
the king as a prototype of a perfect ruler, a knight and an expert on courtly
love. He helped the king to remain an ideal aristocratic paradigm for a long
time, however much the ideal was rooted in the past.
Eustache visited Prague and the Bohemian countryside
as a diplomat in 1397. He made a detailed description of everyday life in
Bohemia. The description reflects the difficulties he encountered in a foreign
country, epecially his experience with food, hygiene and accomodation, and has
a negative overtone. He took his visit as a opportunity for an affectionate
praise of the “sweet France”.
Jean Froissart never saw the Kingdom of Bohemia but
left a number of interesting passages about the Luxemberg dynasty and their
lands. He wrote his Arthurian novel Méliador for the duke Václav of Luxembourg, connecting the lyric verses of his
mercenary with an eulogy of his powerful predecessors. He spoke about the
character and habits of the Bohemians in a way that reflected an overall
tendency of his Chronicles to emphasize the contrast between the culturally and
morally superior centre (esp.
Jean d’Arras’
genealogical novel written for the three grandchildren of John of Luxembourg is
an exceptional document of the political and cultural relations between the