Renée du bois d'Ambre

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Resides: Porte de l'Eau Date Started: A.S. VII Status: Active Awards: Visit the Order of Precedence to access a list of this person's awards. Offices: {{{offices}}}
Heraldry
{{{device}}} Sable semy of hares salient contourny, a decrescent moon argent. (in submission)

Renée du bois d'Ambré is a widowed woman of advanced years, of mixed ancestry, being of Franco-Scots and Sinti descent. She has now lived in An Tir for half of her life, something she finds odd to believe, being a mere slip of a girl of 21. She currently resides in the Canton of Porte de l'Eau.

Persona

Renée du bois d'Ambré has lived a long and colourful life, and in many regards, it is surprising that she has survived as long as she has.

While known formally by respectable people as Renée or Madame du bois d'Ambré, she is also known as Baba Jaël (or Mémé Renée) to her Kumpania Tsigane family, and during her marriage as Madame des Banes.

Family and Early Life

Renée was born in August 1524 at Crécy-en-Ponthieu, Picardy, France to Marie Josef du Bois and Robert MacBean (Bain) d'Ambré. She has one sister, Patrik Ottley, who in her five marriages has provided two nieces and one nephew to Renée. Renée was married, briefly, to a cousin, Jean-Henri des Banes (who was said to be an illegitimate son (or grandson) of one of the Guise family), but had no children of her own, her spouse dying in war. She uses the name Renée du bois d'Ambré, as she now lives near Senlis, in the woods of the Forêt d'Halatte, near her Sinti relatives in Picardy.

Renée's paternal grandfather Donal MacBheathain (of Clan MacBean, and no relation to the infamous cannibal clan of Sawney Bean of East Lothian) came from the Cairngorm Mountains by the river Spey in Scotland to the continent as part of what is in modern parlance called the Auld Alliance between the crown of Scotland and France against the English, served in the Garde Écossaise, the loyal bodyguard of the French monarchy. (Many Scottish mercenaries chose to settle in France. Some were granted lands and titles in France. In the 15th and 16th centuries, they became naturalised French subjects.)

Renée's maternal great grandparents came from Alsace with other Sinti and Roma into France during the middle 14th Century, eventually settling in the Picardy region, where Renée's parent met and married, despite cultural differences, and had two children who lived, and many who were stillborn between them. More information on these families may be forthcoming if possible - those Manouche are not known for telling their histories to outsiders, though.

Timeline of the Roma in Europe During Renée's Lifetime

• 1525. Charles V issues an edict in Holland ordering all those that call themselves Egyptians to leave the country within two days.
• 1526. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Holland and Portugal.
• 1530. The first law expelling Gypsies from England is introduced. Henry VIII forbids the transportation of Gypsies into England. The fine is forty pounds for ship's owner or captain. The Gypsy passengers are punished by hanging.
• 1531. The Augsburg Reichstag forbids the issuing of passports to Roma.
• 1536. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Denmark.
• 1538. Deportation of Roma in Portugal to colonies begins.
• 1539. Roma are prohibited by Frances I from residence in France. The punishment is banishment. A second offence results in corporal punishment.
• 1540. Gypsies are allowed to live under their own laws in Scotland.
• 1541. Roma are blamed for outbreak of fires in Prague. This sets the stage for future anti-Gypsy legislation.
• The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Scotland.
• 1547. Edward VI of England institutes law requiring that Gypsies be seized and "branded with a 'V' on their breast, and then enslaved for two years." If escapees are caught they will be branded with an "S" and made slaves for life.
• Andrew Boorde authors an encyclopedia in England entitled The Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge. It has a chapter on Romani, which includes some of the earliest specimens of the language.
• 1549. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Bohemia.
• 1554. In the reign of Philip and Mary, an Act is passed which decrees that that the death penalty shall be imposed for being a Gypsy, or anyone who "shall become of the fellowship or company of Egyptians."
• 1557. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Lithuania.
• In the reign of Sigismund Augustus, the first law ordering Roma to be expelled is passed by the Warsaw Seym (parliament).
• 1559. Roma are recorded on the Finnish island of Åland.
• 1560. The Archbishop of the Swedish Lutheran Church forbids priests to have any dealings with Roma. Their children are not to be christened and their dead not to be buried.
• 1560 and others. Spanish legislation forbids Gitanos of travelling in groups of more than two. Gitano "dress and clothing" is banned. Punishment for wearing Gitano clothing and travelling in groups of more than two is up to eighteen years in the galleys for those over fourteen years of age. This legislation is later altered to change the punishment to death for all nomads, and the galleys reserved for settled Gitanos.
• 1561. Roma are prohibited by Charles IX of France from residence. The punishment is banishment. A second offence results in the galleys and corporal punishment. Men, women and children have their heads shaved.
• 1562. An Act is passed in England "for further punishment of Vagabonds, calling themselves Egyptians." Any Gypsy born in England and Wales is not compelled to leave the country if they quit their idle and ungodly life and company. All others should suffer death and loss of lands and goods.
• 1563. The Council of Trent in Rome affirms that Roma cannot be priests.
• 1568. Pope Pius V orders the expulsion of all Roma from the domain of the Roman Catholic Church.
• 1573. Gypsies in Scotland are ordered to leave the country or settle down.
• 1578. At the General Warsaw Seym, King Stephen Báthory pronounces an edict threatening sanctions against anyone who harbours Roma on their lands. They are punished as accomplices of outlaws.
• 1579. Augustus, elector of Saxony, orders the confiscation of Romani passports and banishes them from Saxony.
• Gypsies are recorded in Wales.
• Wearing of Romani dress is banned in Portugal.
• 1580. Roma are recorded on the Finnish mainland.
• 1586. Nomadic Roma are ordered expelled from Belarus.

Ran away with the 'Gyptians

In her youth (about ages 4-12), she traveled with her maternal (Sinti) relatives for several seasons throughout Váltši and Spánia before reaching an age where prospects of marriage became more likely. During this time, she was called Jaël, or in English spelling Jaelle, which a Romani form of the biblical Hebrew name Yael, meaning "chamois," "ibex," or "mountain goat." It wasn't due to her grace … Recounting the tale in later years, I recall it began with an argument between myself and my elder sister, Patrik, and that I would resolve the matter by "running away with the gypsies", and so I did. Which, of course, mother allowed me to do, knowing that her family would take good care of me. It also allowed for her to plan Patrik's wedding to the Baron Layne duFrost without me underfoot.

While living amongst the Manouche, I learned many of their customs, which became my customs as well. I also learned to read the cards, and the palms, and in my youth, I could dance as well as any other unmarried girl. Age, alas, has robbed me of that talent, though the others are still with me, even if I do not ply them as a trade these days, except to a very select few.

Married and Widowed

When I came of marriageable age, father tried to rein me in, bringing me back home, which probably saved me from the rapidly coming oppression of the Roma peoples. I was taught numbers and letters and can read and write in Picard, French, Latin and with difficulty, Gaelic, Italian and English, although the last two came somewhat later in my education.

In September 1538 I was wed to a cousin, Jean-Henri des Banes (who was also said to be an illegitimate son (or grandson) of one of the Guise family), shortly before Francois I ordered the Roma peoples from residing in France. Jean-Henri was a military man, some 20 years older than me, but kind and gentle; he was assigned to travel with Captain Paulin during the Italian Wars in the Peidmont.

When Francois I of France ordered the punishment of the Waldensians of the city of Mérindol for dissident religious activities, Paulin was on his way to fight against the English in the area of Boulogne after returning from an embassy to Constantinople, where he was French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. While in Marseilles in 1545, he was requested to assist Jean Maynier d'Oppède in the repression.

The Massacre of Mérindol took place in 1545, where Provençal and Papal soldiers killed hundreds or even thousands of Waldensian villagers. My husband was among the military casualties, and I have never remarried, resumed the use of my unmarried name, and took a place within the family businesses.

Despite this upbringing (to say nothing of the anti-Gypsy laws being enacted across Europe) - or perhaps because of it, my family has managed to remain close to the French Court (possibly due to the rumoured kinship with the House of Guise), and when Mary Stuart, Queen-Consort-Dowager of France, returned to Scotland in August 1561, I went with her as a Dame d'honneur in the Queen's retinue.

Life in Scotland

Having made several visits to Scotland on family business, following Francois II's death, I journeyed with the Queen's party, arriving in Leith on 19 August 1561. Having lived in France since the age of five, Marie had little direct experience of the dangerous and complex political situation in Scotland. As a devout Catholic, she was regarded with suspicion by many of her subjects, as well as by Elizabeth, her father's cousin.

Scotland was torn between Catholic and Protestant factions, and Marie's illegitimate half-brother, the Earl of Moray, was a leader of the Protestants. The Protestant reformer John Knox preached against Marie, condemning her for hearing Mass, dancing, and dressing too elaborately. She summoned him to her presence to remonstrate with him unsuccessfully, and later charged him with treason, but he was acquitted and released. Into this environment Renée was now expected to live -- and survive.

Renée remained part of Marie's entourage for several years, until Marie's new husband, Lord Darnley was murdered in 1567. Following this, she made her way to where she had relatives near Loch Leven and from there made her way back to France in 1570, which was where she always considered home.

Return to France

Observing the distrust of Catholics in Scotland, following Marie's marriage to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and his subsequent murder and the open revolt against their rightful Queen by Marie's half-brother, the Earl of Moray, along with other Protestant lords, Renée made her way to relatives in Scotland, and from there, returned to France, taking up residence near Senlis, in the woods of the Forêt d'Halatte, with her maternal relatives, attempting to avoid the Wars of Religion and keep true to her Catholic upbringing, although she is still not used to Pope Pius V's 1570 revision to the Mass, even after fifteen years. She has, however, embraced the Rosary, which in 1571 Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the "for victory at the Battle of Lepanto". The Christian victory at Lepanto was at first celebrated as the feast of "Our Lady of Victory" on October 7, but was later renamed the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Guillaume IV Rose is now our Bishop at the Diocese of Senlis, which has been beautifully rebuilt; Cardinal Montalto has recently been elected Pope, taking the name Sixtus V. He is the ninth Pope of my lifetime, from Pope Clement VII to Pope Sixtus V.

I am displeased that ten days have been robbed of my life by this new calendar.

I pray Our Lady intercede on behalf of my Marie for her safety.

Current condition

• Age: 62

• What year is it: 1586

• Who is on the Throne: Henri III, for whom I have admiration as he is a a politique, arguing that a strong and religiously tolerant monarchy would save France from collapse. He gives me some hope that my Sinti kinfolk will remain safe in their skins and that the wars of religion can end without more of the bloodshed that claimed my Jean-Henri.

• Political and social affiliations: of the gentry, she is viewed with some suspicion due to her association and friendship with Marie as well as her mixed parentage, but she has avoided arrest, imprisonment or banishment.

• Romantic affiliations: None, married from 1538 - 1545 when widowed

• Children: None

• Religion: The Old Religion, silly, Catholic. I attempt to attend mass at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Senlis whenever I am able. Over my lifetime, I have watched the Cathedral be rebuilt from the fires that nearly destroyed it two decades before my birth. Fire started by lightning in 1504 set ablaze the wooden roof structure, the belfry and high parts of the cathedral. Central nave vaults collapsed, spire threatened. Lead flowed in the streets, the fire burning for two days. Guillaume IV Rose is now our Bishop at the Diocese of Senlis, which has been beautifully rebuilt; Cardinal Montalto has recently been elected Pope, taking the name Sixtus V. He is the ninth Pope of my lifetime, from Pope Clement VII to Pope Sixtus V. I am displeased that ten days have been robbed of my life by this new calendar.

• Position in society / Job: "retired lady in waiting", raises lapins for fur and meat

• How was this position obtained: Survived the Courts of Cathérine de Médicis (regardless of who was King) and Marie Stuart

• Responsibilities: Enjoy what life is left to her before going to her Heavenly reward

• Current residence location: bois d'Ambre (Amberwood) in the Forêt d'Halatte, Picardy

• Type of residence: Woodland cottage in the Forêt d'Halatte, Picardy

• Primary Locomotion: Walking or cart, I am a competent, though far from expert, horsewoman.

• Favored possessions: A set of recorders hat had belonged to my grand-père, and a Visconti-Sforza tarot deck gifted me by my late husband, who possibly obtained it as a gift from Maximilian Sforza with whom he became friends during the former's imprisonment by Francois I.

• Animals: Deux chats me permettent de les appelle des le mien.

• Sports: Assurément, vous raillez!

• Games: Jeu de Tarot, chess, Noddy, Toutes Tables (Backgammon)

• Favorite foods: There are few things for which I give thanks to Queen Cathérine de Médicis, however, she insisted on refining table manners and introduced the use of elegant glassware from Venice, glazed earthenware from Faenza and that little tool, perfected in Florence, called the FORK. Even so, my favorite foods are soups and broths, simply prepared with vegetables and perhaps some pork, chicken or other fowl or fish; and fruit, such as peaches when it can be obtained. She has been complimented on her quiche aux champignons.

In keeping with my Sinti upbringing, I have fondness for Baxtale xajmata or “auspicious foods” that is, food that is “pungent or strongly flavored like garlic, lemon, pickles, peppers, sour cream, and so on.”

• Favorite drinks: fond of Scots uisge beatha, extremely fond of the new beverage thé especially when flavored with spices such as cannelle as well as many other tisanes.

• Motivations: Sleep and then awaken. Prefereably at night and then the day.

• Personal aspirations: Survive the wars of religion.

House Amberwood/La Maison du bois d'Ambré

Was founded by Aislynn of Amberwood in July of A.S. XIX (via Caid) with the following badge associated: Per pale Or and gules, two fir trees eradicated counterchanged.

Renée is a member of this Household. She has hopes that other members of the Household will become active again, especially Aislynn. Other members of the household have included Aislynn of Amberwood, Alaric Wulfgar of Amberwood, Maire of Amberwood, Elspeth of Amberwood, Gana of Amberwood and Maeve Moorland.

Offices and Positions

Boar Pursuivant Herald - September 2016 -