"Partant pour la Syrie" (; ) was the '' de facto''

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

, used between 1852 and 1870. The music was composed by

Hortense de Beauharnais Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte (; , ; 10 April 1783 – 5 October 1837) was Kingdom of Holland, Queen of Holland as the wife of King Louis Bonaparte. She was the stepdaughter of Emperor Napoléon I as the daughter of his first wife, Joséphi ...

, and the lyrics were written by

Alexandre de Laborde Comte Louis-Joseph-Alexandre de Laborde (; 17 September 1773 – 20 October 1842) was a French antiquary, liberal politician and writer, a member of the The Académie des Sciences morales et politiques is one of five learned societies that make u ...

, in or around 1807.

Background

The song was inspired by

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's campaign in Egypt and Syria. It represents a

chivalric Chivalry, or the chivalric language, is an informal and varying code of conduct that developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of various chival ...

composition of the aspirations of a

crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in a style typical of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

. Hortense (Napoleon I's stepdaughter and the mother of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

) indicated in her ''Memoires'' that she wrote the music when she lived at Malmaison. During its popularity in the 19th century, the song was arranged for numerous instruments by various composers. The poem by Laborde was originally titled ''Le beau Dunois'', telling the story of the handsome crusader Dunois. Prior to his departure to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, he prays to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

that he will love the most beautiful woman and that he himself may be the bravest, and his prayers are answered. On his return, the brave warrior wins the hand of Isabelle, the daughter of his

liege lord Homage (/ˈhɒmɪdʒ/ or ) (from Medieval Latin , lit. "pertaining to a man") in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title t ...

, and love and honor prevail.

Popularity

The song was popular during the remainder of the First Empire, with Hortense in her exile at

Arenenberg Arenenberg is an estate with a small chateau, Schloss Arenenberg, in the municipality of Salenstein at the shore of Lake Constance in Thurgau, Switzerland that is famous as the final domicile of Hortense de Beauharnais. Today it houses the ''N ...

, and with the

Bonapartist Bonapartism () is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used in the narrow sense to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In ...

s during the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

. "Partant pour la Syrie" was the unofficial national anthem during the Second Empire, an era when "

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Austria, and was originally titled "". The French Na ...

" was regarded with suspicion. After the collapse of the Second Empire, the song was played to the Emperor Napoleon III as he departed from

Schloss Wilhelmshöhe ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...

to his exile in England in 1871, but by the time of

Empress Eugénie The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

's funeral in 1920, the band did not know it and played "La Marseillaise" instead.Ian Ousby: ''The Road to Verdun'' (Doubleday 2002 ) footnote p167 t's not clear this was a French band, though: Eugénie died in Spain and was buried in England/ref> "Partant pour la Syrie" did, however, achieve a posthumous fame as one of the quoted tunes in "Fossils" from

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

's ''

Carnival of the Animals ''The Carnival of the Animals'' () is a humorous musical suite of 14 movements, including " The Swan", by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. About 25 minutes in duration, it was written for private performance by two pianos and chamber ...

'', written in 1886 but not published until 1922. It remains part of the repertoire of French military music.

Lyrics

References

External links

The melody

Score of the song at imslp
{{Authority control French patriotic songs Historical national anthems 1807 songs French anthems Second French Empire Songs about parting Songs about Asia

Background

Popularity

Lyrics

References

Further reading

External links