#l'aigle

[yourdeargatsby]

idek what these are

take them

[real-odark]

ok im slowly but surely trying to learn les amis but. my study of them for today was done in an assignment for spanish class

(some stuff [as in info and my spanish grammar] may be inaccurate because the assignment was to rewrite a story we read with different names so i just copied that)

[orbitingapollo]

i think joly would call bossuet "my eagle" and bossuet would call joly "my wings"

[napolebonasacc]

The Imperial Yachts of Napoléon III

•La Reine Hortense, (Queen Hortense)

Originally named Comte d’Eu, the ship was renamed Patriote on February 20, 1848, following the French Revolution. In June 1853, Napoléon III made it the imperial yacht and renamed it once again, this time to La Reine Hortense, after his mother.

The vessel soon saw military service, acting as a troopship in 1855 during the Crimean War. In early 1859, it transported Prince Napoléon (nicknamed “Plon-Plon”) from Marseille to Genoa for his wedding to Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy. Later that same year, it also transported Napoléon III. In 1854, the ship briefly returned to service with the French Navy.

The Emperor On Board The Screw Steam-Yacht La Reine Hortense, Leaving The Harbour, 1854

In 1862, while sailing in the Baltic, La Reine Hortense aided a British vessel, towing it 80 miles to Stockholm. Aboard that ship was Lord Dufferin, whom the ship—and its notable passengers—would meet again.

On April 20, 1865, La Reine Hortense was once again recommissioned as the imperial yacht for a visit to Algeria.

____

Prince Napoléon's journey to the North in 1856

In 1856, La Reine Hortense carried Prince Napoléon on his notable four-ship Nordic expedition. A science enthusiast, the prince aimed to gather scientific knowledge and establish political connections to bring back insights about the Nordic countries to France.

Following the Crimean War, the prince led a five-month expedition from June 16 to October 2, 1856, traveling through northern Scotland, the Icelandic fjords, Greenland, and parts of Scandinavia. His goal was to explore extraordinary geological sites like those in Iceland (e.g., Reykjavik and the Geysir geysers), as well as locations known for significant mineralogical discoveries, such as Arendal and Ytterby.

Much of the expedition’s progress was chronicled by his friend and fellow traveler, Charles Edmond.

In Reykjavik, the expedition once again crossed paths with Lord Dufferin, who was then on his own voyage that would later inspire Letters From High Latitudes. When Dufferin’s schooner Foam broke down, Prince Napoléon offered to tow it north to Jan Mayen. The flotilla departed on July 7, but increasing ice forced them to abandon the journey 100 miles short of their destination. They returned to Reykjavik and released Foam on July 11 to continue under sail.

La Reine Hortense in the ice off Jan Mayen.

This delay proved fortuitous, as they later encountered the Saxon, a collier damaged by ice—an incident that would have caused a fuel shortage had they not been nearby.

______

Visit to Norway – August 1856

In August 1856, the expedition stopped in Kristiania (modern-day Oslo), where Prince Napoléon was received with grand ceremony. That summer, Kristiania hosted seven royals from three royal houses, an imperial house, and a princely house. Among them was Crown Prince Karl of Sweden-Norway (a grandson of Eugène de Beauharnais), his wife, and their daughter.

When locals asked who the visiting dignitary was, Karl simply replied, “Plon-Plon,” offering no further clarification.

Upon Prince Napoléon’s arrival aboard La Reine Hortense, a 21-gun salute welcomed him in the Oslofjord. When he came ashore, the French flag was hoisted, and he was greeted by Count Adam Johan Frederik Poulsen Trampe, chamberlain at the viceroy’s court.

Lunch was held at Bygdøy Royal Farm, followed by a guided tour of the city’s streets, the newly built castle, and the fortress. Notably, the prince wore civilian clothes and took time to speak with local citizens, as reported by newspapers of the day. That afternoon, he dined aboard his ship while it cruised the coast of Bygdøy, offering scenic views.

Later, Napoléon was invited to a small, exclusive ball, where he and Prince Karl engaged in a long discussion about Iceland. Karl, though never having visited the island, was keenly interested. Napoléon shared that Iceland was “spectacular” and expressed his wish to return. He also mentioned his desire to visit Jan Mayen, which had been thwarted by poor weather and lack of maps.

Soon after Napoléon’s arrival, two more royal guests—Prince Albrecht of Prussia and Prince Kraft of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen—arrived. Prince Albrecht, brother and son of Prussian kings, was Crown Princess Louise’s uncle. Despite these ties, Karl treated him coldly, openly favoring Prince Napoléon. This “undiplomatic” behavior displeased the Germans.

Nonetheless, Albrecht and Napoléon developed a warm rapport, holding many conversations. This newfound friendship led to a large Prussian delegation’s visit to Paris in December, hosted by Napoléon, with Albrecht in attendance.

Prince Kraft, though not closely related to the others, was a respected commander from a notable German noble family.

So, why did Karl favor Napoléon over his German relative? The answer lies in geopolitics. During the Crimean War, Karl had unsuccessfully attempted to bring Sweden-Norway into the conflict and sought an alliance with France to help reclaim Finland. Though the alliance never materialized, Karl still saw France as a key future ally—unlike Prussia, which he viewed with suspicion.

⸻

Final Leg of the Journey

In their first days together, Karl and Napoléon spent time with university students, where Napoléon particularly enjoyed engaging with young Norwegians. A mini-parade in his honor was held by four companies of chasseurs at Akershus Fortress.

Napoléon remained in the capital for a week before departing south, with Karl accompanying him and again leaving his family behind. They stopped briefly in Kongsberg to visit the silver mines, then continued on to Gothenburg and Copenhagen, where they met King Frederick VII of Denmark.

After a short visit, Napoléon returned to Stockholm via the Göta Canal to meet King Oscar I, while Karl returned to Norway.

Charles-Edmond Chojecki documented the journey in his 1857 travelogue, published in French. Upon Karl’s return to Norway, only three royals remained—himself, his wife, and their daughter—as Prince Albrecht, Prince Kraft, and his father-in-law had departed.

In late September, a letter bearing the French imperial seal arrived in Christiania. It was from Emperor Napoléon III, expressing gratitude for the warm reception extended to his cousin.

At a subsequent ball, Napoléon received the Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.

With the expedition effectively concluded, La Reine Hortense was decommissioned in October.

____

The Fate of La Reine Hortense

On February 14, 1867, she was renamed Cassard and assigned to Algiers. Her design influenced a generation of lightly armed, sail-and-steam commerce raiding cruisers—effective for “gunboat diplomacy” but rendered obsolete after the Franco-Prussian War.

As Cassard, she served until 1881, later becoming a coastal defense ship. Renamed Faune in 1893, she was used as a hulk in Port-Vendres and was finally broken up in 1920.

•L'AIGLE. (The Eagle)

The Aigle was built for Emperor Napoléon III in Cherbourg from 1857 to replace the Reine Hortense as the imperial yacht. Designed by Henri Dupuy de Lôme, she was launched in May 1859 and ready for service by December.

The Aigle featured two main masts and a smaller mizzen mast, primarily powered by a Mazeline and Comp steam engine driving two paddle wheels, allowing her to reach speeds of 15 knots.

Emperor Napoléon II and the Empress Eugénie on the yacht the Aigle

After trials in Cherbourg in June 1859, she sailed to Toulon in June 1860. Napoléon III used her for trips to Algiers, arriving there on September 17, 1860, and again on May 3, 1865.

The Aigle at Port Said for the inauguration of the Suez Canal in November 1869.

The Aigle undertook several voyages in the Mediterranean, most notably transporting Empress Eugenie to Egypt in October 1869 for the inauguration of the Suez Canal. On November 17, the Aigle, with the Empress and Ferdinand de Lesseps aboard, led the convoy into the canal, Officially The Aigle being the first ship to navigate through the canal, followed by the British ocean liner Delta. The Aigle then reached Ismailia, then the Bitter Lakes, and finally Suez on November 20. Lesseps famously telegraphed Paris: "The Aigle has anchored in the Red Sea!"

The yacht L' Aigle with on board the empress Eugenia in Suez canal, november 17, 1869

In 1870, she was converted into a gunboat. On May 31, 1873, she was reclassified as a corvette and renamed Le Rapide. The vessel was placed in reserve and disarmed between 1885 and 1888. She was struck from the naval list on January 29, 1891, and sold for demolition in Cherbourg on October 6 for 103,210 francs.

[characterswithanimalnamesfight]

Prelim 19/27

Pick your favorite. The one with the less votes will be eliminated

Fox McCloud (Star Fox)

Lesgle | L'aigle de Meaux (Les Misérables)

Pardofelis (Honkai Impact 3rd)

Lyon (Fire Emblem)

Albatross (Wings of Fire)

Show results

Voting ended onNov 9, 2024

From the submitters :

Aigle is French for eagle

Pardofelis is the genus (in Latin) of the marbled cat. Felis means cat.

Lyon is Middle English and Middle French for lion

[sejrart]

“Courfeyrac! Courfeyrac! Hohée!”

Courfeyrac heard the shout, caught sight of Bossuet, and advanced a few paces into the Rue de la Chanvrerie, shouting: “What do you want?” which crossed a “Where are you going?”

“To make a barricade,” replied Courfeyrac.

“Well, here! This is a good place! Make it here!”

“That’s true, Aigle,” said Courfeyrac.

And at a signal from Courfeyrac, the mob flung themselves into the Rue de la Chanvrerie.

[breath-of-fresh-grantaire]

funny screenshots from the les mis discord that make me lose my shit part 4

[foeofcolor]

my fav les amis name hc is that all the amis are named after the king.

Combeferre, Feuilly, Bossuet, Bahorel are named Phillpe.

Courfeyrac, Joly, Grantaire are named Louis.

And Enjolras? He’s named Louis-Phillipe.

(That’s why the amis go by last names only, Enjolras is too embarrassed by his first name before he changed it anyway )