Renée du bois d'Ambre
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Renée du bois d'Ambré is a unmarried woman of advanced years, of mixed ancestry, being of Franco-Scots, Alsatian 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 du bois of Porte de l'Eau.
While known formally by respectable people as Renée or Mlle du bois d'Ambré, she is also known as Baba Jaël (or Baba Renée) to her Kumpania Tsigane family.
Persona
(Nota Bene: this is a work in progress, the details of which are still being worked out.)
Family and Early Life
Renée was born in August 1524 at Crécy-en-Ponthieu, Picardy, France to Marie Josef du Bois and Robert MacBean d'Ambré. She has one sister, PatrikOttley, who in her five marriages has provided two nieces and one nephew to Renée. Renée has never married, nor born children, although she has held flirtatious behaviour with several, and due to her age, some think of her as a dowager, though again, she has never been married.
Renée's paternal great-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 early 14th Century, eventually settling in the Artois region of Burgundy. 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
- 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.
In her youth, she traveled with her maternal relatives for several seasons 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…
Despite this upbringing (to say nothing of the anti-Gypsy laws being enacted across Europe), Renée and her family managed to remain close to the French Court, and when Mary, Queen Dowager of France, returned to Scotland in August 1561, Renée went with her as a filles d'honneur in the Queen's retinue.
Life in Scotland
Return to France
Observing the distrust of Catholics in Scotland, following Mary's marriage to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and his subsequent murder, Renée returned to France, taking up residence in Artois with her maternal relatives, attempting to avoid the Wars of Religion and keep true to her Catholic upbringing.
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.
Current condition
- Age: 62
- What year is it: 1586
- Political and social affiliations:
- Romantic affiliations: None
- Children: None
- Religion: The Old Religion, silly, Catholic.
- Position in society / Job:
- How was this position obtained:
- Responsibilities:
- Current residence location:
- Type of residence:
- Primary Locomotion:
- Favored possessions:
- Animals:
- Sports:
- Games: Jeu de Tarot, chess, Backgammon
- Favorite foods:
- Favorite drinks: fond of Scots whiskey, loathes Champagne
- Motivations:
- Personal aspirations:
House Amberwood/La Maison du bois d'Ambré
Was founded by Aislynn of Amberwood, and Renée is a member of this Household. She has hopes that other members of the Household will become active again, especially Aislynn.
Offices and Positions
None within An Tir as yet.
Awards
None within An Tir as yet.
SCA Miscellany
When I first joined the Society in Anno Societatis VII, at the urging of a Bard of the West, the late Gwydion Pendderwen, in the West, there were but four Kingdoms, and An Tir had only recently become a Principality. I later lived in Atenveldt, Ansteorra and the then Principality of Drachenwald before returning to the United States, where most of my active time within the Society was spent within the Kingdom of Caid in the former Shire of Darkwell, where in another life (and persona) earned awards and arms, which are irrelevant to Renée.
In Anno Mundanis 1987, our family moved to Washington, and for many reasons, our participation within the Society ended not long after. My mundane career was spent in Civil Service, working variously for the Social Security Administration,the Kern County Department of Human Services (California), and lastly Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, from which I medically retired in 1997.
Over the years, I have stayed abreast of some changes within the Society, and have renewed membership multiple times, but pnly recently felt able to return to active participation, and renewed my practice of heraldry, primarily research and consulting.