A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi: the Ideal Guide to Sounding, Acting and Shrugging Like the French by Charles Timoney

Author:Charles Timoney
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141931456
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2009-07-07T00:00:00+00:00

CLOVIS ET LE VASE DE SOISSONS

This is one of the great French legends. In 486, King Clovis I of the Franks, generally known as just Clovis, had been fighting the Romans under Syagrius and had just taken the town of Soissons. Pillaging by troops, especially of churches, was rife at this time and after the battle, Clovis’s soldiers had stolen a particularly beautiful vase from a church. Learning of its theft, the bishop of Rheims sent a message to Clovis asking if the vase could be saved. When the king attended a sharing out of the booty he asked if he could have the vase to give back to the bishop. The assembled soldiers declared that all the booty belonged to their king and that Clovis could thus have whatever he wanted. However, before Clovis could take the vase, a soldier grabbed an axe and smashed it, crying that Clovis would only get what he deserved.

For some reason, Clovis did nothing at that time but, a year later, at a military parade, Clovis spotted the soldier again. He snatched the soldier’s weapon and flung it on the ground. When the soldier bent down to pick it up, Clovis produced an axe and split the soldier’s skull, crying, ‘Ainsi as-tu fait au vase de Soissons!’ – that is what you did to the Soissons vase!

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