For people who donât know who the Chevalier St George was:
- he was the son of a french aristocrat and an enslaved Senegalese woman called Nanon
- he actually had a relationship with his mother, which was pretty usual for children in his situation. I havenât been able to establish whether she was later freed or not, but I think she was because she left a will, suggesting she owned property
- his father legally wasnât allowed to make him his heir because of racist laws at the time, but he acknoledged him as his son and gave him a rich personâs education and opportunities
- he was one of, if not the, greatest violinists of his generation, played first violin for the Paris opera and was violin teacher to the queen before the revolution
- he was in line to be composer and director of the opera but a famous dancer who was pissed off he didnât want a relationship with her started a petition to get his appointment blocked
- he knew Haydn and commissioned the Paris Symphonies from him
- Mozartâs father tried to make him go and see St George perform because he thought it would be good for his musical education but Mozart was (it is speculated) jealous of there being another young music prodigy, and refused to go
- he was ridiculously handsome . Look at this, my guy is pulling off a powdered wig, do you know how hard it is to look good in a powdered wig?!
- he was considered one of the greatest duelists and swordsmen in france
- he fought a duel with the Chevalier D'eon, who at the time was living as a woman (we have no idea if D'eon was afab or amab but they made their reputation as a man and then later switched to presenting as a woman)
- he wrote incredible concertos and unbelievably terrible operas. The longest any of his operaâs ever ran before being shut down was a couple of weeks. Some one lasted 1 night. He kept writing them.
- he joined the revolutionaries to otherthrow the king because they (falsely) promised to abolish slavery and emancipate all enslaved people
- he was a fantastically successful soldier and lead the first all black regiment in europe, which came to be known as the regiment st George in his honour
Heâs legitimately one of the most interesting figures in french history, and certainly one of the most romantic, and Iâm so glad he might finally be getting the recognition he deserves!
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