René of Anjou, The Good King René
Duke René I of Anjou is a colourful and particularly endearing historical figure. He is a contemporary of Joan of Arc who held many titles and crowns, including those of Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem, without ever reigning. A bon vivant and a scholar, the last great mediaeval lord and a lover of the arts, René of Anjou embodied the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
The Good King René spent the last years of his life in Provence, in his good city of Aix. There he maintained a refined court, a meeting place for poets and artists. His kindness and good nature marked his Provençal subjects, and today he remains an idealised figure, who is featured on the plaques of many of our villages and towns.
But this attachment to King René of Anjou can perhaps be explained in another way. He was the last great independent lord to rule Provence, before it became part of the kingdom of France in 1482. There is certainly a certain nostalgia there, carried by a people proud of their culture and their rebellious spirit.
