This is the sixth part of Balladeer's Blog's look at the swashbuckling legends that surround Francois Villon (1431-1463?), remembered as one of France's greatest poets and a notorious outlaw.
FRANCOIS VILLON PART SIX - We pick up at the point in 1457 when the fugitive outlaw Villon found a warm and unexpected welcome in the court of Rene, Duke of Anjou. This figure was also known as "Good King Rene" because technically the crown of the Kingdom of Sicily was part of his royal inheritance.
Rene was renowned for his interest in science and literature and, despite Francois Villon's criminal notoriety, the Duke was far more interested in the poetry Villon had churned out over the years. Some of that poetry had scandalized France, but intrigued Rene to the point where his court became a sanctuary of sorts for our man.
The Duke's castle stood on a promontory above the confluence of the Sarth, Loir (with no e) and Mayenne Rivers, near where they poured into the Loire (with an e). The path along the cliff outside the castle walls was known as the Promenade of the End of the World.
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