Let Them Light CireTrudon Candles: Marie Antoinette and La Fête Nationale + Bastille Day Draw

 

 

Painting by Jean Pierre Houel of siege and fall of the Bastille.

 In Fr ance the 14th of July is the National Holiday of the Republic, called le 14 Juillet or La Fête Nationale (the name “Bastille Day” is used only in English). On the 14th of July 1789 a Parisian mob took up arms and stormed the Bastille – a prison in Paris. This was more a symbolic gesture of rebelliousness than the actual freeing of prisoners (which were only a total of seven common criminals). This act of defiance against the Monarchy, led to the execution of King Louis XVI and  Queen Marie Antoinette, the last King and Queen of France before it became a Republic.

Vigee LeBrun painted over 30 portraits of Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette was the most infamous French Queen in history and like most infamous women she was also known for her love of fragrance.  In the book, Secret of Scent, Luca Turin claims that it was Marie Antoinette’s perfume, a scent that belonged only to her, that gave her away as she fled the palace in disguise (the House of Lubin takes credit for that perfume) only to be captured and later beheaded in 1793 (Editor's Note: Elisabeth de Feydeau uncovers a unique perspective on the French monarchy by tracing the story of Jean-Louis Fargeon the Queen's perfumer in A Scented Palace: The Secret History of Marie Antoinette’s Perfumer).

 "Let them Eat Cake /Qu'ils mangent de la brioche," is commonly misattributed to Marie Antoinette, supposedly when she was told that the peasants of France had no bread to eat. But in the spirit of this quote, if there was no light for the lower classes  she would then have proclaimed  "Let them light Cire Trudon Candles."

Cire Trudon is the oldest candlemaker in France, established in 1643

 By the 18th Century candles became a luxury product for the rich rather than just a source of light. Whereas for everyday people, they were used for religious ceremonies and important occasions. Affluent families and  the noble class used increasingly larger quantities of candles and those produced by the Trudon Company became well known for their very high quality wax. The manufacturing process took the best wax collected from the beehives in the Kingdom using the best treatments: washing in water filtered through gypsum to guarantee its purity, importation of the finest cotton for producing the wicks so as to allow clean and regular burning. Perfect and really white, Trudon candles could burn for a long time, without flickering or producing smoke. They were already the height of luxury. Marie-Antoinette advocated the qualities of Cire Trudon Madeleine candles so much that she even gave them the nickname « La Trudonne »

The Trudon Company would supply the Palace of Versailles until the very end of the Monarchy. The Trudon Company also illuminated the last sad hours of the royal family. During their captivity, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette continued to use the candles from the royal wax producer. The Trudon blazon and the motto would be hidden to avoid the furies of the Revolution.

The Company weathered the chaos of the French Revolution surviving the tragic events and is considered one of the premier candlemakers centuries later.

 

Painting:Marie Antoinette in the Trianon Park by Antoine Vestier

The Cire Trudon candle most associated with Marie Antoinette is Trianon, named for her beloved  pastoral gardens that were created when she renovated Petit Trianon on the grounds of Versailles. Here she would escape the formalities of the court during her reign.  This scent is the epitome of elegance  that  mixes hyacint h with white flowers  and roses in a  classical bouquet that evokes summer.

TOP: Galbanum / Cyclamen
HEART: Hyacinth / Tea Rose
BASE: Damask Rose

–Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

Thanks to the Cire Trudon Store 36 Chiltern Street in London we have one Trianon candle for our draw. To be eligible please leave a comment with what you found interesting about this article and a candle term you learned from reading  all about candles on  the Cire Trudon site. Draw closes July 16, 2012

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

 We announce draw winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfumeWe announce draw winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfumeWe announce draw winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume

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31 comments

  • Joaquim says:

    I found interesting (well, surprising) that notes that usually are basenotes (Galbanum for example) can be at the top, and notes like Rose can be at a base.
    M. Antoniette was a very weird person, did you know about her watch? Poor Breguet!
    I learned all the terms that are on their site, I didn’t know anything about that.

    Thank you for the draw!

  • Julie says:

    I loved reading about how the Queen was betrayed by her fragrance! I learned that Abeilles are insects that produce wax and honey. (Bees!) Actually I read all of the glossary, etc. I learned sooo much!
    Thanks for the draw! :::crossing fingers:::

  • Scent trail says:

    I love cire trudon candles ;they are the best
    I never knew that Bastille Day wasn’t a French name for the holiday
    Mouchette are the scissors that cut the wick

  • Karen says:

    I love these candles! I’ve learned that if I’m trying to escape a lynch mob, I’ll wear some sort of Britney Spears perfume! 😉

  • Scottie says:

    I was interested that Marie Antoinette was (possibly) captured due to her telling trail of perfume. Almost all of the French perfume glossary was new to me, including “Eteignoir” meaning a “Little metal cone used for putting out candles”.
    And I do appreciate the perversity of offering the royal candle maker’s homage to Marie Antoinette in celebration of Bastille Day…

  • Devon H says:

    I love reading about Marie Antoinette, and I loved learning that apparently Cire Trudon candles held a kind of equivalent “royal warrant” as the British monarchy has for their favorite purveyors of fine goods. It’s the kind of thing that feeds the Euro History geek in me. 🙂 These candles sound exquisite – thanks for the draw!

  • Barry says:

    I was fascinated that the translation of let them eat cake comes out to let them eat Brioche. Not really cake, but buttery eggy bread. From the Trudon site I learned about Languette, the piece of copper which is welded into the shell of the mould where it forms a hook to support the wicks in the axis. You can see that candle-making has it’s own complicated technology and jargon. Fascinating.

  • yash says:

    Cire trudon makes the most amazing candles ranging from the classic to the weird.. It was fun to learn that Marie Antoinette was nicknamed “la Trudonne” because of her zealous love for the Trudon Candles..
    Calombe and camoufle being slang for candle amazes me as the whole candle vocabulary is unknown to me and this glossary will help me get familiar with Trudon’screations.

  • Noxa says:

    I love reading about Marie Antoinette and found it so curious that she was betrayed by her fragrance! And from the site, I learned about Aïons – places where candle makers hang their candles in their stores.

  • Lindaloo says:

    Born and bred New World, I’m always fascinated to learn just how old some European manufacturers and retailers are — 1643 for Cire Trudon. I was interested to read how the beeswax was washed in water filtered through gypsum resulting in really white candles.

    It was fun to read through the terms on the Cire Trudon website. My favourite was “Eteignoir ” the little metal cone for putting out candles — so much more elegant than “snuffer”. And not to be confused with “Rognoir” the torch for cleaning and flattening the bottom of the candle.

    Fun to see also on the Cire site that they have three fairy tale sets for children with scented candle and spray to give atmosphere to the tale.

    Thanks for the draw opportunity. And for the reading recommendation about Elisabeth de Feydeau’s book.

  • Cynthia says:

    I have read a few biographies of Marie Antoinette, but I had never read that her scent gave her away as she fled the palace. I love reading about this period and will seek out the book you mentioned by de Feydeau. I learned that abeillles produce wax and honey. I would love to win this draw as I’ve always lusted after one of these candles but they are not sold anywhere that I know of in my neck of the woods. On another note, I’m excited to see the new Marie Antoinette movie coming out this weekend, Farewell My Queen.

  • d3m0lici0n says:

    I really enjoyed reading about the Cire Trudon Co. and found really interesting that they are as old as they claimed to be and that Marie Antoinette actually used their candles, I smell their candles and they are pretty amazing! My favorites were Ernesto and Nazareth.
    A really cool term that I learned from the Cire Trudon site is Aïons (Places where candle makers hang their candles in their stores)

  • Cristina says:

    I have a couple of Cire Troudon candles. I wasn’t actually aware of their history.
    Becheveter
    (term used in many arts) Putting candles, bundles of wood, bales of straw, etc. half in one
    direction and half in the other, so that, in a pack of twelve, six candle wicks are facing the
    opposite way to the other six.

  • breathesgelatin says:

    I didn’t know that Cire Trudon was that old an house. Interesting to read what made them stand out in the 18th century. I am very interested in the consumer items of the early modern period, and I love old world things… although, Vive La Revolution!

  • Mas says:

    “Eteignoir” soooo much more elegant than “snuffer” for the small metal cones used for putting out candles”. Now if only I could pronounce it without sounding like a fool.

    I had always thought Diptyque was considered the platinum standard in candles, so it was interesting to learn that Cire Trudon even exists and apparently has occupied that vaunted position for a very long time.

  • Michelyn Camen says:

    Hi Mas
    eteignoir
    Eh tay nwah is the closest phonetically
    but the G is there in “teig” in an oh so French way that must be heard more like gnwah but nearly audible

  • rosiegreen says:

    It was interesting to read that the storming of the Bastille only resulted in the release of 7 common criminals, novels and stories
    make it sound way more romantic. On the making candles site I learned that Aiguille is the name of a metal hook that puts the wick straight in the candle mold. Is there any association with the SL, La Fille en Aiguilles ?

  • eric says:

    It is amazing that Cire Trudon well known for the quality and minutious details they ensure in their candle production is the same now as it was during the French Revolution.
    I learnt about the’ demieller’ where traces of honey have ro be removed from the wax before candle making..
    Thanks for the draw

  • Sujaan says:

    I have admired Cire Trudon candles since the first time I smelled them in Aedes de Venustas in New York. I did not know that Cire Trudon is the oldest candlemaker in France, established in 1643!! Amazing. And I learned the proper name for the little metal cone shaped instrument I own to put out candles: eteignoir.

  • missp says:

    Betrayed by fragrance, is pretty interesting. I also leave a trail, at least around the house where I’m sure no one minds. I trust I’ll meet a happier end. I thought it was neat that honey has to be removed before candles are made. Thanks for the draw!

  • Hernando says:

    I have to admit I was clueless re: Cire Trudon. No more, thanx Ms. M. You are such a wealth of information and enlightenment!

    MA has held my interest fore as long as I can remember.
    I was aware of her being exposed due to her perfume and the back story of Bastille Day but not the history of Cire. Absolutely fascinating.

    The original meaning of votif has certainly been high jacked by today’s marketing hucksters!

    FYI – For those desiring to explore MA further, please pick-up Susan Nagel’s excellent bio ‘Marie Therese,’ Child of Terror. It is the story of Marie Antoinette’s daughter. Highly recommend.

  • Collins says:

    I also found it interesting that they found her by her trail of scent! From that website I loved the term ‘votif’ and the beautiful correlation between ‘votive’ and ‘vow’.

  • MariaA says:

    Her perfume betrayed Marie Antoinette when she fled to escape!! That was a piece of info I did’t know! Loved the article so much I learned about candles!
    Lampion: I love this word! we use it also in Greek
    Venetian lantern; cylinder or ball of folded paper;
    candle which burns inside a lantern

  • sherapop says:

    Ignorantly, I did not know the context of the remark “Let them eat cake!” Interesting. Similar to a modern-day CEO’s cluelessness about the peons at the lower echelons of his corporation who toil away for a few dollars so that he can fly around the world in a private jet and earn a multimillion dollar annual salary.

    The vocabulary of candles was nearly all new to me. So here are two new words:

    Remis = Name for the third dip

    Retournure = Name for the second dip

  • Borko Boris says:

    I have never heard about Cire Trudon until now. It seems that they have a long history behind them since they were, in a way, involved in the revolution.

    Plonger – To dip the wicks or candles into the molten wax. Plongûre or plingûre: the first dip

    I know the verb “plonger” for I have studied french in school, but never thought of it as being a term for the candles industry. You learn something new everyday!

    Thanks!

  • Scal says:

    What I found interesting is that I never realised that (good) scented candles have top, heart and base notes as well. I love the term Photophore for the decorative glass holding the candle.

  • Anna says:

    I think the whole story was interesting! A history with Marie Antoinette and her scent betrayd her.

    I learned that Eteignor is a little metal cone which is udes to put the candles off.

  • mim says:

    I found all the French history interesting, and the fact that the company is so well-established quite impressive.
    The part about the intersection of scent and French history, specifically Marie Antoinette, really grabbed me:
    In the book, Secret of Scent, Luca Turin claims that it was Marie Antoinette’s perfume, a scent that belonged only to her, that gave her away as she fled the palace in disguise (the House of Lubin takes credit for that perfume) only to be captured and later beheaded in 1793 (Editor’s Note: Elisabeth de Feydeau uncovers a unique perspective on the French monarchy by tracing the story of Jean-Louis Fargeon the Queen’s perfumer in A Scented Palace: The Secret History of Marie Antoinette’s Perfumer).

    Those sound like great books to check out, thanks for the recs!

    I recognized one of the words, from a french perfume name:
    Aiguille
    (for the wick). Metal wire with a hook at one end. It is used to
    thread the wick into the candle mould.

    googled and yes, it is the same as Fille en Aiguilles. Perfume is educational!

    also thought it was cool that there is a word for ‘take off the burnt part of a wick’ and for each successive dip.

  • Kate H. says:

    I found it interesting that Cire Trudon was established in 1643. I learned that Glacer means: The greaves: melting the wax to take out the good tallow which,
    solidifies as it comes to the surface. Thank you for the draw!

  • Connor says:

    I enjoyed the bit about Matie Antionette being caught escaping due to her signature scent.

    also, I never knew that a chandelier is also someone who sells candles on the street. Interesante.

    Thanks for the draw. Fingers crossed.