#sealed letter

[lotro-tooltips-daily]

[ancientstuff]

Renaissance-era letter sealed for centuries just virtually unfolded and read for the first time

X-ray scans and digital reconstructions unlocked long-sealed documents.

This letter writer really wanted to make sure no-one read his letter by peaking through the folds. Amazing technology. And all those letters!

[mychambernews]

Me: I don’t know how to flirt. Also me: *Sends her a letter with a kiss inside, sealed with my initial*

[my-only-daydream]

Inktober 2019 Day 30 : Letter

[sugared-cherries]

So I accidentally deleted the ask but someone asked what blogs were my fav aesthetic/overall ones so here's some I love.

1. @lesbiandaydream Isaac is adorable and sweet and their blog is way better then mine. Send them love and follows ❣️

2. @campfireandcrickets Fight me, yes I will list my own stim blog. It's nice 🍁

3. @chestnut-pastel very nice soft pastel posts. Definitely recommend following. 🌼

(If either of you two I @ wants the @ removed let me know 💃)

[krissly]

Getting a Wax Seal kit for Dungeons and Dragons was s u c h a good idea, I can't wait for my next secession!!!

[lcatala]

A "lettre de cachet" (literally: sealed letter) from king Louis XV of France to Charles le Fournier de Bernaville, governor of la Bastille prison, ordering him to imprison a young François-Marie Arouet (later known under his pen name of Voltaire), over his having written satirical poetry mocking the Duke of Orléans and his pregnant wife.

Close transcription:

Mons.Ꝛ de Barnauille, je Vous escris cette lettre de l'auis de mon Oncle le Duc d'Orleans Regent, pour vous dire que mon intention est que Vous receuiez, dans mon Chasteau de la Bastille le s.Ꝛ Harroüet fils, et que vous l'y deteniez jusqu'a nouuel ordre, sur ce je prie Dieu qu'il vous ayt Mons.Ꝛ de Barnauille en sa s.te garde. Escrit à Paris le 17.ę May 1717. Louis

Modernized transcription:

Monsieur de Bernaville, je vous écris cette lettre de l'avis de mon oncle le duc d'Orléans régent, pour vous dire que mon intention est que vous receviez, dans mon château de la Bastille le sieur Arouet fils, et que vous l'y déteniez jusqu'à nouvel ordre, sur ce je prie Dieu qu'il vous ait Monsieur de Bernaville en sa sainte garde. Écrit à Paris le 17 mai 1717. Louis

Translation:

To sir Bernaville, I am writing this letter to you following the opinion of my uncle the reigning Duke of Orléans, to tell you that it is my will that you receive, in my castle of la Bastille, sir Arouet the son, and that you keep him there until further notice, on which I pray God that He keep you sir Bernaville under His holy protection. Written in Paris on the 17th of May 1717. Louis

Historical notes:

Under the French system of absolute monarchy, the king could issue direct orders to imprison almost anyone for any reason, with no trial or due process, altho the family of the imprisoned person (usually part of the nobility) could then try to appeal to the goodwill of the king for a quick release.

La Bastille was mostly used as a state prison for important prisoners. It had only 42 cells and prisoners were exceptionally well treated for the era according to their nobility status, being mostly free of their movements within the jail, allowed visitations and letters, eating the same food as the jail's governor, and even allowed to bring a servant with them (provided the servant accepted to share their master's sentencing).

Following the above letter, the then 22 years old not-yet-called-Voltaire spent 11 months in jail before being freed after an appeal from his father. The experience made him conclude that satirical poetry was a waste of time and that he should dedicate his life to more ambitious literary projects.

Linguistic notes:

The French is extremely close to contemporary once adjusted for a few graphical differences. The v/u distinction is not yet fully established (v is used word initially and u otherwise regardless of which sound they represent), and capitalization is more expensive than in modern French, but also somewhat inconsistent (the king gives the grace of capitalizing "Vous" you when addressing his recipient a couple of times, but quickly stops bothering). Very few diacritics are used, even in places where they would be useful. A few y's are used where modern French has i's. Both mentioned names are spelled differently than in the modern usage. A number of scribal abbreviations are used.

Pronunciation-wise this is almost identical to modern French, except that the r's would be rolled like in Spanish. All the internal s's are already silent at this point.

"Le sieur" is now disused third person form of address, where modern French would just say "monsieur" again. The date uses an ordinal form (the seventeenth of May) instead of a cardinal form (the seventeen of May) as in modern French.

[anartpromptaday]

Prompt: Sealed Letter