12 Rue du Maréchal Joffre, Bordeaux, France: The real house of Montaigne?
When I was
in Bordeaux, France, recently, of course, I wanted to see the places where the
French philosopher Michel de Montaigne had lived and worked. It’s true that his
actual house was his castle, 70 km east of Bordeaux, and his main income came
from managing his lands. But before he inherited the estate, when his father
died, he had been a councillor in the Parliament (court) of Bordeaux. Later he was
mayor of the town for a few years. Also outside these periods he came there
often. Therefore, as so many lords in the region around Bordeaux, he had also a
house in the city. Happily I found a walk on the Internet along the mayor
places in Montaigne’s life in Bordeaux.
My walk starts
on the Quinconces Square. The square is from the 19th century, but on one side
there is a big statue of Montaigne as mayor with his ceremonial cloak. On the
opposite side of the square there is a statue of Montesquieu, another great
inhabitant of Bordeaux. Then I walk along the River Garonne, till I reach the
Cailhau Gate. I pass through it, as Montaigne must often have done in his days
as a councillor, and I reach the Palace Square. Once it was in the front of the
Ombrière Palace. This palace had been built in the tenth century. In the 16th
century it was used by the parliament, but in the 19th century it had been
demolished. Not any trace has been left of it. Montaigne worked there for about
ten years, till he had enough of it and retired to his castle. He met there his
friend Étienne de La Boétie, to whom he devoted his essay on friendship.
From the
square I walk to the Mirail Street and then to the Rousselle Street. Now it
becomes really interesting, for I wanted to see not only in what kind of environment
Montaigne had lived but exactly in which house he had done. And it is in 28
Mirail Street or otherwise in 23-25 Rousselle Street that many Montaigne
investigators think that he had his house. It’s true that he had several properties
in Bordeaux, but we know also that there was only one house in the town that was
his “real house”. But alas, though the Montaigne specialists still disagree,
most of them now think that 28 Mirail Street was owned by one of his brothers. However,
it is sure that our philosopher must have lived in the Rousselle Street. The premises
there were owned by his father. Where else would Montaigne have lived when he
went to school in Bordeaux? Also later as an adult he must have come there
often. But again, most Montaigne specialists agree that it was not his real
house.
I continue
my walk and pass the oldest house of Bordeaux. Nearby is a house once owned by
the in-laws of La Boétie. I pass the Big Bell Tower and to the right of it I
see the former town hall where Montaigne worked as mayor for four years. And in
front of me I see the lycée, the grammar school that he visited as a young
student. It was one of the best lycées in France and there he came into touch with
the classical authors, which had such a big influence on his thinking. But do I
really see the lycée? Yes, but only in my imagination, for nowadays the site is
occupied by a modern multi-storey car park. Then again I come at a place where
Montaigne certainly his lived for some time, next to the St Paul St. François-Xavier
church: the official residence of the mayor. Also very interesting, indeed, and
Montaigne must have stayed there often. However, it’s not his real house, for
the official residence of a mayor is only his house as long as he is in office.
My walk
ends in the Aquitaine Museum of history. I can advise you to visit it, for it
describes and shows the regional history till far back in the past, when
Neanderthals were still roaming around on the banks of the Garonne. But I am
not there for learning about the region’s past but for seeing Montaigne’s
cenotaph. After his death, Montaigne was interred in the Les Feuillants Convent and his wife had had made
a beautifully decorated stone coffin for him. The monastery was demolished in
1880 and now you find there the Aquitaine Museum with a special room for
Montaigne’s now empty tomb. It’s a worthy end of a walk devoted to Montaigne,
and I stay quite long in the room, thinking about the man and his work.
Nevertheless, I leave the museum with a little feeling of dissatisfaction,
for where was Montaigne’s residence? None of the houses on my walk where
Montaigne had lived apparently was his real house. So I take my smartphone and
google for “the real house of Montaigne”. Indeed, I find a website with this
name, and it tells me that if there is one house that deserves the title House
of Montaigne more than any other one, it is 12 Maréchal-Joffre Street. Why?
Because it agrees with some descriptions made about 1800 by some who consider it
as the “vraie maison de Montaigne”, as Montaigne’s real house. So I walk to the
Maréchal-Joffre Street and stop in front of number 12. The house is in bad
condition. Some parts of the original house have been demolished, like the gate
and a little tower. Vaguely I can see a few interesting details like a griffin
and a blazon. Was this the real house of Montaigne?
Sources:
Article on
the “real house of Montaigne”: https://www.sudouest.fr/2010/09/27/la-vraie-maison-de-montaigne-195634-2780.php
Montaigne’s cenotaph: https://sketchfab.com/models/1753b67dd1994771b18e4ac41771a7b4
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