[ See Pathé News Gazette Interview with Alfred Byrne, Lord Mayor of Dublin - here or as attached.]

James Joyce - Letter to his son Giorgio from Hotel de l’Abbaye (Beaugency) - August 1936 - Provisional translation [BS]

Dear Giorgio: We are here for six days - the food is excellent [cibo ottimo] and the weather is breezy [aria viva] - the river is half a kilometre wide [fiume è largo 1/2 chilmetro] - a paradise for fishermen [paradiso dei percatori]- the people [at the hotel] are all old  - few cars and nothing but lots of bicycles - going on to Orléans and Blois - [Paul] Leon and [Alex] Ponisovsky and a mad friend were here for the weekend [e amiche loco erano qua per il week-end] ... [See image - as attached.]

Stephen Joyce (Intro. to Le chat et le diable, Gallimard 1978):

‘Nonno was a famous writer. What he wrote was then and is today considered by many to be too complex and difficult. Yet he found time to sit down and tell me this wonderful story in very simple, straightforward language, the language a four-year-old boy (or girl) could easily understand.’ (Q.p., rep. in The Cat and the Devil, London: Moonlight 1980, [as Afterword,] n.p.)

Note: Amanda Sigler, op. cit., 2008 p.12 (p.551) cites Stephen James Joyce, ‘Dear Reader,’ The Cat and the Devil (London: Moonlight Publishing 1990), n.p. [...] The epistolary notice, though published in 1990, is dated “February 1989.”

‘As Stevie grew older I loved to watch him crawling onto his grandfather’s knee and asking him grave little questions. His serious childish face was charming to see as he listened to the slow and painstaking answers that [his grandfather] gave him in his slow careful Dublin drawl. [Joyce] was infinitely patient with him and was always willing to stop and talk to him or to answer as he grew older his incessant “whys.” The answers needless to say were always wonderful ones.’

Further: ‘I do not think that Stephen will ever forget his famous grandfather and their relationship was a deep and lovely one.’

—Unpublished memoir in Tulsa Univ. Library; quoted in D. T. Max, ‘The Injustice Collector: Is James Joyce’s grandson suppressing scholarship?’, in The New Yorker (19 June 19 2006) - available online or see copy as attached.

My dear Stevie: I sent you a little cat filled with sweets a few days ago but perhaps you do not know the story about the cat of Beaugency.
 Beaugency is a tiny old town on a bank of the Loire, French’s longest river. It is also a very wide river, for France, at least. At Beaugency it is so wide that if you wanted to cross it from one bank to the other you would have to take at least one thousand steps.
 Long ago the people of Beaugency, when they wanted to cross it, they had to go in a boat for there was no bridge. And they could not make one for themselves or pay anybody else to make one. So what were they to do?
 The Devil, who is always reading the newspapers, heard about this sad state of theirs so he dressed himself and came to call on the Lord Mayor of Beaugency, who was named Monsieur Alfred Byrne. This Lord Mayor was very fond of dressing himself too. He wore a scarlet robe and always had a great golden chain round his neck even when he was fast asleep in bed with his knees in his mouth.
 The devil told the Lord Mayor what he had read in the newspaper and said he could make a bridge for the people of Beaugency so that they [382] could cross the river as often as they wished. He said he could make as good a bridge as was ever made, and make it in one single night. The Lord Mayor asked him how much money he wanted for making such a bridge. No money at all, said the devil, all I ask is that the first person who crosses the bridge shall belong to me. Good, said the Lord Mayor.
 The night came down, all the people in Beaugency went to bed and slept. The morning came. And when they put their heads out of their windows they cried: O Loire, what a fine bridge! For they saw a fine strong stone bridge thrown across the wide river.
 All the people ran down to the head of the bridge and looked across it. There was the devil, standing at the other side of the bridge, waiting for the first person who should cross it. But nobody dared to cross it for fear of the devil.
 Then there was a sound of bugles - that was a sign for the people to be silent - and the Lord Mayor M. Alfred Byrne appeared in his great scarlet robe and wearing his heavy golden chain round his neck. He had a bucket of water in one hand and under his arm - the other arm - he carried a cat.
The devil stopped dancing when he saw him from the other side of the bridge and put up his long spyglass. All the people whispered to one another and the cat looked up at the Lord Mayor because in the town of Beaugency it was allowed that a cat should look at a Lord Mayor. When he was tired of looking at the lord mayor (because even a cat grows tired of looking at a Lord Mayor) he began to play with the Lord Mayor’s golden chain.
 When the Lord Mayor came to the head of the bridge every man held his breath and every woman held her tongue. The Lord Mayor put the cat down on the bridge and, quick as a thought, splash! He emptied the whole bucket of water over it. The cat who was now between the devil and the bucket of water made up his mind quite as quickly and ran with his ears back across the bridge and into the devil’s arms.
 The devil was as angry as the devil himself.
Viens ici, mon petit chat! Tu as peur, mon petit chou-chat! Viens ici, le diable t’ emporte! On va se chauffer tous les deux.  Vous n’êtes que des chats! And he said to the cat: Viens ici, mon petit chat! Tu as peur, mon pau petit chou-chat? Viens ici, le diable t’emporte! On va se chauffeur tous les deux.
 And off he went with the cat.
 And since that time the people of that town are called ‘les chats de Beaugency’. [383]
But the bridge is there still and there are boys walking and riding and playing upon it.
 I hope you will like this story.

PS: The devil mostly speaks a language of his own called Bellsybabble which he makes up himself as he goes along but when he is very angry he can speak quite bad French very well though some who have heard him say that he has a strong Dublin accent.

Source: A letter to Stephen Joyce of 10 August 1936, in Letters of James Joyce, ed. Stuart Gilbert (Viking Press 1957), pp.386-87 [rep. Viking Press, as Vol. 1 of 3, 1966], and Selected Letters of James Joyce, ed. Richard Ellmann (London: Faber & Faber 1975), p.382f.; & Do (Viking Press 1975), pp.383-84.

Notes: The paragraphs of the original letter appear to have been observed. Unlike book-form versions, italics are not used in the transcription given in Selected Letters [as here]. Likewise, Joyce uses a capital for the devil only at the first of many mentions and not at all for the ‘lord mayor’. Finally, book-form versions usually omit the abbreviation pau for pauvre (Fr.)

[ Bibl.: The text of the letter to Stephen containing the story of the Cat of Beaugency was reproduced by Richard Ellmann in James Joyce (Oxford University Press 1959), pp.703-05 - citing Letters, ed. Stuart Gilbert [Vol. 1] (NY: Viking Press 1957), pp.386-87.

My dear Stevie: I sent you a little cat filled with sweets a few days ago but perhaps you do not know the story about the cat of Beaugency.
 Beaugency is a tiny old town on a bank of the Loire, French’s longest river. It is also a very wide river, for France, at least. At Beaugency it is so wide that if you wanted to cross it from one bank to the other you would have to take at least one thousand steps.
 Long ago the people of Beaugency, when they wanted to cross it, they had to go in a boat for there was no bridge. And they could not make one for themselves or pay anybody else to make one. So what were they to do?
 The devil, who is always reading the newspapers, heard about this sad state of theirs so he dressed himself and came to call on the Lord Mayor of Beaugency, who was named Monsieur Alfred Byrne.
 This Lord Mayor was very fond of dressing himself too. He wore a scarlet robe and always had a great golden chain round his neck even when he was fast asleep in bed with his knees in his mouth.
 The devil told the Lord Mayor what he had read in the newspaper and said he could make a bridge for the people of Beaugency so that they could cross the river as often as they wished. He said he could make as good a bridge as was ever made, and make it in one single night.
 The Lord Mayor asked him how much money he wanted for making such a bridge.
 No money at all, said the devil, all I ask is that the first person who crosses the bridge shall belong to me.
 Good, said the Lord Mayor.
 The night came down, all the people in Beaugency went to bed and slept.
 The morning came. And when they put their heads out of their windows they cried: O Loire, what a fine bridge! For they saw a fine strong stone bridge thrown across the wide river.
 All the people ran down to the head of the bridge and looked across it. There was the devil, standing at the other side of the bridge, waiting for the first person who should cross it. But nobody dared to cross it for fear of the devil.
 Then there was a sound of bugles - that was a sign for the people to be silent - and the Lord Mayor M. Alfred Byrne appeared in his great scarlet robe and wearing his heavy golden chain round his neck. He had a bucket of water in one hand and under his arm - the other arm - he carried a cat.
 The devil stopped dancing when he saw him from the other side of the bridge and put up his long spyglass. All the people whispered to one another and the cat looked up at the Lord Mayor because in the town of Beaugency it was allowed that a cat should look at a Lord Mayor. When he was tired of looking at the Lord Mayor (because even a cat grows tired of looking at a Lord Mayor) he began to play with the Lord Mayor’s golden chain.
 When the Lord Mayor came to the head of the bridge every man held his breath and every woman held her tongue. The Lord Mayor put the cat down on the bridge and, quick as a thought, splash! He emptied the whole bucket of water over it.
 The cat who was now between the devil and the bucket of water made up his mind quite as quickly and ran with his ears back across the bridge and into the devil’s arms.
 The devil was as angry as the devil himself. Messieurs les Balgentiens, he shouted across the bridge, vous n’êtes pas de belles gens du tout! Vous n’êtes que des chats! And he said to the cat: Viens ici, mon petit chat! Tu as peur, mon [pau]* petit chou-chat? Viens ici, le diable t’emporte! On va se chauffeur tous les deux.
 And off he went with the cat.
 And since that time the people of that town are called ‘les chats de Beaugency’. But the bridge is there still and there are boys walking and riding and playing upon it.
 I hope you will like this story.

Nonno.

PS: The devil mostly speaks a language of his own called Bellsybabble which he makes up himself as he goes along but when he is very angry he can speak quite bad French very well though some who have heard him say that he has a strong Dublin accent.

À Stephen Joyce
Villiers Sur Mer
10 aout 1936

Mon cher Stevie, Je t’ai envoyé il y a quelques jours un petit chat rempli de bonbons, mais peut-être ne connais-tu pas l’histoire du chat de Beaugency.
 Beaugency est une très petite, vieille ville sur une rive de la Loire, le plus long fleuve de France. C’est aussi un fleuve très large pour la France du moins. A Beaugency, il est si large que, si tu voulais le traverser d’une rive à l’autre, il te faudrait faire au moins mille pas.
 Il y a très longtemps, les gens de Beaugency, quand ils voulaient franchir la Loire, devaient prendre un bateau, car il n’y avait pas de pont. Et ils n’avaient ni les moyens d’en bâtir un eux-mêmes ni de payer quelqu’un d’autre pour le faire. Alors comment s’en tirer ?
  Le diable, qui lit toujours les journaux, entendit parler de cette triste affaire ; aussi, il s’habilla et vint rendre visite au maire de Beaugency, qui s’appelait monsieur Alfred Byrne.
 Ce maire, lui aussi, aimait bien s’habiller. Il portait une robe écarlate et il avait toujours une grande chaine d’or autour du cou même quand il dormait d’un profond sommeil dans son lit, les genoux dans sa bouche.
 Le diable dit au maire ce qu’il avait lu dans le journal et lui déclara que lui, il était capable de bâtir un pont pour les gens de Beaugency et, comme ça, ils pourraient passer le fleuve aussi souvent qu’il leur plairait.
 Il dit que ce serait le meilleur pont qui ait jamais été construit et qu’il lui suffirait d’une seule nuit pour le faire. Le maire lui demanda combien il voulait pour bâtir un tel pont. - «Pas un sou, dit le diable, «tout ce que je demande, c’est que la première personne qui traversera le pont m’appartienne.» - «D’accord, dit le maire.»
 La nuit vint, tous les gens de Beaugency allèrent se coucher et dormirent. Le matin vint. Et, quand ils mirent la tête à la fenêtre, ils s’écrièrent: «Ô Loire, quel beau pont!»
 En effet, ils avaient sous les yeux un beau, un solide pont de pierre qui enjambait le large fleuve.
 Tous les habitants se précipitèrent vers le pont et regardèrent de l’autre côté. Et là, à l’autre bout du pont, se tenait le diable, il attendait la première personne qui traverserait. Mais personne n’osait traverser, par peur du diable.
 Alors il y eu une sonnerie de trompettes - ce qui était le signal pour inviter les gens au silence. Et le maire, monsieur Alfred Byrne, apparut dans sa grande robe écarlate avec autour du cou sa lourde chaine d’or. Il avait un seau d’eau à la main et, sous le bras - l’autre bras - il portait un chat.
 Quand il le vit, de l’autre bout du pont, le diable s’arrêta de danser et ajusta sa longue vue. Tous les gens se parlèrent à l’oreille et le chat leva les yeux vers le maire car, dans la ville de Beaugency, il était permis à un chat de regarder un maire. Quand il en eut assez de regarder le maire (car même un chat se lasse de regarder un maire), il commença à jouer avec la lourde chaîne d’or.
 Quand le maire arriva à la tête du pont, tous les hommes retinrent leur souffle et toutes les femmes, leur langue. Le maire posa le chat sur le pont et, le temps de dire ouf , plouf ! il lui vida tout le seau d’eau dessus. Le chat qui était maintenant entre le diable et le seau d’eau prit son parti non moins promptement et traversa le pont à toutes pattes, les oreilles rabattues, et vint se jeter dans les bras du diable.
 Le diable piqua une vraie colère de diable. - «Messieurs les Balgenciens, hurla-t-il de l’autre bout du pont, vous n’êtes pas de belles gens du tout! Vous n’êtes que des chats!» Et il dit au chat:- «Viens ici, mon petit chat! Tu as peur, mon chou-chat? Tu as froid, mon petit chou-chat? Viens ici, le diable t’emporte ! On va se chauffer tous les deux. » Et hop, le voilà parti avec le chat. Et, depuis ce temps, on appelle les habitants de cette ville «les chats de Beaugency». Mais le pont est toujours là et des enfants s’y promènent, à pied, à bicyclette et jouent dessus. J’espère que cette histoire te plaira.

Nonno

PS Le diable parle la plupart du temps une langue à lui, appelée le diababélien, qu’il invente au fur et à mesure, mais, quand il est très très en colère, il peut très bien parler un assez mauvais français, quoique ceux qui l’ont entendu assurent qu’il a un fort accent de Dublin.

Jacques Borel [trans.], James Joyce, Le chat et le diable, Introduction de Stephen J. Joyce; illustrations de Roger Blachon [Collection l’heure des histoires, no. 44; Gallimard Jeunesse] (Paris: Gallimard 2010), 32pp. [sous couverture illustrée; + 11 fiches) [30]pp.: Un pont? Bien sûr que les habitants de Beaugency en voulaient un, mais que leur en coûterait-il? «Pas un sou, dit le diable, tout ce que je demande, c’est que la première personne qui passera le pont m’appartienne.» [Gallimard - online.]

Cf. later blurbs: Un pont? Bien sûr que les habitants de Beaugency en voulaient un, mais que leur en coûterait-il ? «Pas un sou, dit le diable, tout ce que je demande, c'est que la première personne qui passera le pont m'appartienne.» Une légende drôle et malicieuse à raconter aux petits, et que les plus grands liront avec plaisir. (Gallimard 2010) - available at Goodreads online; also Amazon Books online; accessed 21.10.2017. [Cf.

Gallimard notice: Le Chat et le Diable a été publié pour la première fois chez Gallimard en 1966, vingt-cinq ans après la mort de son auteur. En 1978, Gallimard jeunesse propose une nouvelle édition illustrée cette fois par Roger Blachon, constamment rééditée depuis. / Le rapport texte-image de ce livre est riche et peut être exploité en tant que tel. Par sa rigueur, sa minutie et son ouverture, l’illustration occupe une grande importance tout en laissant une liberté de lecture et d’interprétation qui correspond bien aux ellipses narratives. Le choix d’un point de vue unique sur la ville permet au jeune lecteur de ne pas se perdre, d’identifier les différents temps de l’histoire (personnages vacant à leurs occupations, nuit, personnages stupéfaits aux fenêtres...) et confère au décor de la ville de Beaugency le statut d’un personnage à part entière. (See Gallimard, fiche pedagogiques - online.)

Available online at http://www.gallimard.fr/catalog/Fich-pedago/21905056738.PDF.

Note: There is an Italian edition as Le Chat de Beaugency: Una storia di Stephen (Brescia: Edizione L’Obliquo 1996), which appears to give notice of an earlier imprint issued by Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt.

El gato, que ahora estaba entre la espada y la pared - entre el diable y el cubo de agua - se decidió como alma que lleva el diablo y corrió, con las orejas gachas, a trevés del puente hasta parar en los brazos del diablo

El diablo estaba tan enfadado como un diablo.

Messieurs les Balgentiens, gritó del otro lado del puente, vous n’êtes que des chats! (que quiere decir: Senores Balgatiens, ustedes no son ni siquiera personas! No son más que gatos!) Y le dijo al gato: Viens ice, mon petit chat! Tu as peur mon petit chou-chat? Tu as froid mon pau petit chou-chat? Viens ice, le diable t’emporte! On va se chaffer tous les deux (que quiere decir: Ven aquí, gatito mío! Tienes miedo, mi mimino monino? Tienes frío, mi minino monino? Ven aquí, el diablo te lleva! Nos vamos a quemar muy juntos los dos). Y se marchó con el gato. Y desde aquella época a los habitantes de ese pueblo les llaman «Los gatos de Beaugency»!

PS El diablo habla en general un lenguaje prioprio llamado cascababelcebululú que inventa mientras prosique su marcha, per cuando está que echa chispas puede hablar muy bien un francês endiablado, aunque los que lo han oído dicen que tiene un fuerte acento de Dublin.

O GATO E O DIABO
James Joyce
Villers-sur-Mer,
10 de agosto de 1936

Querido Stevie,

Dias atrás mandei para você um gatinho de brinquedo recheado de bombons, mas talvez você não tenha ouvido falar do gato de Beaugency. Beaugency é uma cidade antiga, deste tamanhinho, que fica às margens do Loire, o rio mais longo da França. O Loire é, também, muito largo, pelo menos comparado com os outros rios de lá. Quando  passa por Beaugency o rio é tão largo que, se você quiser atravessar de uma margem à outra, teria que dar, no mínimo, mil passos.  No passado, quando os habitantes de Beaugency queriam atravessar o rio, eles eram obrigados a ir de barco, por que... ponte? Nem pensar! Eles não tinham dinheiro para construir ponte alguma e, muito menos, pagar gente que construísse uma para eles. Então, fazer o quê? O Diabo, que está sempre lendo tudo que é jornal, ficou sabendo deste triste fato. Então, se vestiu muito bem vestido e foi fazer uma visitinha ao Senhor Prefeito de Beaugency, que se chamava Monsieur Alfred Byrne. O Senhor Prefeito, que também adorava se vestir bem, recebeu o Diabo usando um magnífico manto vermelho e uma impressionante corrente de ouro, que trazia sempre pendurada no pescoço. Não se separava da corrente nem enquanto dormia, encolhido, com os joelhos quase na boca. O Diabo contou para o Senhor Prefeito o que tinha lido nos jornais e disse que estava disposto a construir uma ponte em Beaugency para que o povo todo pudesse atravessar o rio quantas vezes quisesse. Disse que podia construir uma ponte tão boa quanto a melhor que existia no mundo, e mais: podia construí-la numa única noite! O Prefeito perguntou ao Diabo quanto é que custaria aquela maravilha.
 “Dinheiro nenhum”, respondeu o Diabo.”
 Faço de graça. Só quero uma coisa: o primeiro que atravessar a ponto vai me pertencer.”
 “Combinado”, disse o Prefeito. A noite chegou e todo o povo de Beaugency foi dormir. Quando amanheceu, cada um que abria a janela dava com uma bela ponte de pedra, muito bem construída, atravessando o rio todinho.
 E todos gritavam, fascinados: “Ah, Loire, que ponte linda que a gente ganhou!”. Todo mundo correu pra cabeceira da ponte para apreciar melhor a grande obra. Enquanto o Diabo, de pé, na margem oposta do rio, ensaiava um passo de dança, esperando o primeiro a atravessar.  Mas ninguém se atrevia a dar um passo, por medo do Diabo.
 De repente, ouviu-se o som das trombetas  - sinal para que o povo silenciasse  -, e o Prefeito, Monsieur Alfred Byrne, surgiu envolto no seu magnífico manto vermelho, ostentando a pesada corrente de ouro em volta do pescoço. Carregava um balde cheio d’água e, com a outra mão, amparava um gato espremido debaixo do braço. O Diabo parou de dançar quando viu o Prefeito aparecer na outra margem do rio. Pegou a luneta  para enxergar melhor. O povo todo começou a cochichar. O gato levantou o olhar para o Senhor Prefeito e assim ficou, uma vez que, na cidade de Beaugency, era permitido gato grudar o olho em prefeito. Quando o gato se cansou de olhar para o Prefeito (até os gatos se cansam de olhar para prefeitos), começou a brincar com a tal corrente de ouro dele. O Senhor Prefeito parou na cabeceira da ponte. Cada homem travou a respiração; cada mulher  prendeu a língua. O Prefeito depositou o gato na ponte e, com a rapidez de um raio, tchaaaaaa!, despejou o balde inteiro em cima do gato.
 O gato, agora entre o Diabo e o balde d’água, nem pestanejou! Orelha apontada pra trás, varou a  ponte numa corrida desabalada e se jogou nos braços do Diabo. O Diabo ficou danado feito só mesmo um diabo fica.
 “Messieurs le Balgentiens”, ele berrou lá do outro lado da ponte, “vous n’êtes pás de belles gens du tout! Vous n’êtes que des chats!” E chamou o gato: “Viens ici, mon petit chat! Tu as peur, mon petit chou-chat? Tu as froid, mon pau petit chou-chat? Viens ici, le diable t’emporte? On va se chauffer tous le deux.”*
 E lá se foram os dois.
 Desde aquele dia, os habitantes da cidadezinha ficaram conhecidos por “les chats de Beaugency (os gatos de Beaugency). Mas a ponte ainda está lá, e as crianças estão sempre nela: andando, bicicletando, brincando. Espero que você tenha gostado dessa história. 
Nonno.

*[Footnote:] ‘Para quem não entende muito bem francês macarrônico, o Diabo falou mais ou menos assim: “Povo de Beaugency, voçes não são gente boa! Voçes nao passam de gatos de telhado: vira-latas!” Depois, disse ao gato: “Vem cá, meu gatinho, vem. Tá com medo, não é meu fofo? Não fique assim, naão, o Diabo vai tomar conta de voçe, viu. Tá com frio? A gente se aquece um no outro, pobre gatinho, vem.’ (p.26.)

P.S.: O Diabo, em geral, fala uma língua que ele mesmo vai inventado mundo afora, chamada  bellysbabble; mas ele fala, também, um monte de outras línguas. Só que, quando fica zangado, ele fala um francês macarrônico muito bom, apesar de quem já o ter ouvido falar assim dizer que ele tem um forte sotaque dublinense. (p.29.)

Note on James Joyce: ‘Foi em Paris que lancou seu últimão livro em vida, Finnigans Wake [sic] - traduzido para o português pelos irmãos Campos - no qual sua técnica narrativa se torna tão complexa que chega a ser considerada por muitos ininteligível. É da Françla também que envia a seu neto Stephen, na época com quatro anos, a carta que se tranformaria neste O gato e o Diabo. (1936). A historia traz alguns elementos que permeiam toda a obra de Joyce, como a condição expatriado, personificado na figura do diabo, e a critica às autoridades governantes de seu pais, ao chamar, por examplo, o prefeito de Beaugency pelo nome do primeiro prefeito de Dublin pós-independência da Irlanda. A carta de Joyce permaneceu inédita por vinte anos e, quando tornada pública, foi vertida par catorze idiomas.’ [End papers; p.[30]].

Bojunga (b.1932) is winner of the Christian Anderson award (1982) and Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2004) and founder of Casa Lygia Bojunga Press [editora] and the Fundacao Cultural Casa Lygia Bojunga for book-related projects.

Lélis [Marcelo Eduardo Lelis de Oliveira] was born in Montes Claros (Minas Gerais) in 1967 and has illustrated works including Cidade de Ouro (2015), Dernières Cartouches (France, 2009) and Clara dos Anjos by Lima Barreto (2011). He has won a prize at the 3a. Bienal Internacional de Quadrinhos with Saino a precurá (2001).

[...] Em geral, não é natural ao gênero epistolar apresentar títulos. E a carta de Joyce não é exceção. É já na segunda oração, todavia, que encontramos a pista que daria nome à nossa edição: “Alguns dias atrás, mandei para você um gatinho recheado de doces, mas talvez você não conheça a história do gato de Beaugency” (JOYCE, 2013, p. 13, grifos nossos). Ao contrário da estratégia adotada para as edições comerciais da história relatada na carta, que em sua maioria são denominadas, em suas respectivas línguas, ao que se traduz por “O Gato e o Diabo”, Joyce deixa claro que a sua narrativa tratará da história de um gato — o Gato de Beaugency. Trata-se de uma questão de foco, e já se viu um pouco do papel que gatos desempenham [44] nas duas narrativas joyceanas que comentamos. Aqui, o Diabo não se apresenta senão mais adiante, depois de descritas a cidade e a dificuldade do povo em atravessar o rio. Não quer isso dizer que o papel do Diabo seja secundário na narrativa. Ao contrário: é ele quem movimenta toda a trama e se destaca inclusive por suas características tipicamente humanas, inesperadas em um ser de poderes sobrenaturais, como o fato de falar francês ruim quando está nervoso, de precisar ler jornais para se manter bem informado, de usar uma luneta para enxergar do outro lado da ponte ou mesmo de dançar enquanto espera o prefeito do outro lado da ponte. O personagem do Diabo, assim, afasta-se do prototipicamente demoníaco, já que Joyce descreve-o sem chifres, rabo ou pés de bode virados para trás, como é comum em suas aparições nas narrativas folclóricas. Com exceção do fato de ser capaz de construir a ponte em uma só noite, o Diabo, atendendo por qualquer outro nome, poderia se passar por um cavalheiro qualquer, habitante da cidade. Na visão do Stephen adulto que escreve a introdução à história (JOYCE, 1957), o Diabo chega a ser “kind and considerate to animals” — bondoso e atencioso com os animais. [...] (pp.44-45)

Version given at Entre L’Àne et le Chat [Course Nature entre Meung-sur-Loire and Beaugency] - online; accessed 16.11.2017; see other French versions - as infra.

No doubt, Beaugency Bridge is the eighth Wonder of the World, an incomparable masterpiece, for it was built ... by the devil himself. It sprang from nothing. Overnight, if you please. There it was, although not a single hammer blow had been heard!
 The inhabitants of Beaugency needed a bridge across the River Loire very badly. And in came the devil, with an irresistible offer, a deal in fact: he would provide for free with the bridge, and that would, at last, accomodate unrestricted circulation from one bank to the other (no more boats requested) ... on condition that the first «soul» crossing the bridge would be his, whether young or old, male or female.
 The people of Beaugency retired for the night. As you might expect, they would not be the victims of that deal and here is how they got out of this terrible predicament on the following morning: they took a cat and prompted her across the bridge with a bucket of water. Here, the real story differs from what James Joyce narrated in his «Cat and the Devil», for we know, from the cat’s mouth, that the poor thing was at first reluctant to play the game, and ready to play truant instead! Now the devil, who was dwelling in a tower on the embankment (see Culture/Monuments, Devil’s Tower), was very much surprised to see a cat on the scene of the bargain. He abruptly decided to follow her. No sooner had he jumped onto the deck of the bridge than the cat, remarkably quick on the uptake, leaped across the bridge at breakneck speed: nothing could stop her, even after she had reached the other bank, and, before the devil could say «Heavens!», the cat had hidden in a quiet and big enough bush of verdure.
 Of course, the devil’s reaction was not long to come: cross as he could be, he tried to shake the sturdy bridge he had so perfectly built with a hard knock of his shoulder. He failed in his project of utter collapse ... but caused one of the arches to go awry as some sort of reminder of that memorable day! Do not miss it, for it can still be seen!
 Besides, not far from the bridge, you will also come across a small area of clustering trees known as (Petit) Chaffin, which is but another memento of the smart cat (Chat-fin) that once outwitted the devil.
 As for the inhabitants of Beaugency, who had also proved very canny in their attempt to escape the devil’s grab at one of them, they were called the Cats of Beaugency, after the devil - in his anger - had decided so. A fraternity of Cats is still active in these parts to bear testimony to it, though we must admit, dear Visitor, that the number of eyewitnesses to the 11th century apparition of the bridge overnight is sorely subsiding ...

A Beaugency la Loire clapote et tourbillonne autour des piles du pont, il s’agit de l’un des plus anciens. D’une architecture complexe cet ouvrage médiéval enjambe le fleuve, ses vingt arches relayant la Beauce à la Sologne. 

 Voici sa légende: il y a très longtemps de cela, les gens de Beaugency quand ils voulaient franchir la Loire devaient prendre une barque car il n’y avait pas de pont. Et ils n’avaient pas les moyens d’en bâtir un eux mêmes, ni de payer quelqu’un d’autre pour le faire. Alors comment s’en tirer!

Le diable toujours à l’affût entendit parler de cette affaire, il s’habilla et vint rendre visite au maire de Beaugency.

Ce maire aimait bien s’habiller lui aussi. Il portait une robe écarlate et avait toujours une grande chaîne en or autour du cou, même en dormant il ne la quittait pas. Le diable expliqua au maire qu’il avait entendu parler de son affaire et déclara que lui était capable de bâtir un pont pour les habitants de Beaugency de telle sorte qu’ils pourraient le franchir autant de fois qu’il leur plairait. Il dit encore qu’il lui suffirait d’une seule nuit pour le construire. Le maire lui demanda alors combien il voulait pour construire ce pont là. «pas un sou, dit le diable, tout ce que je demande c’est que la première personne qui passe le pont m’appartienne». D’accord dit le maire.

La nuit tomba, tous les gens de Beaugency allèrent se coucher et s’endormirent. Le matin arriva, ils sortirent et s’écrièrent: quel pont magnifique? En effet, ils avaient sous les yeux un beau, un solide pont de pierres qui enjambait le large fleuve.

Alors il y eut une sonnerie de trompettes, le maire apparut dans son bel habit, il avait un seau à la main et sous le bras il tenait un chat. Quand il le vit, à l’autre bout du pont, le diable s’arrêta de danser et ajusta sa longue vue. Les gens se parlaient tout bas essayant de deviner les intentions de leur premier magistrat. Quand le maire arriva à l’entrée du pont les hommes retinrent leur souffle et les femmes leur langue. Le maire posa alors le chat par terre sur le pont, et le temps de dire ouf, il jeta son seau d’eau sur lui. Le chat effarouché ne demanda pas son reste, il traversa le pont à toute allure et vint se jeter dans les bras du diable. Celui-ci piqua alors une vraie colère, il entra dans une telle rage qu’il donna un coup de pied à l’une des arches du pont qui depuis reste décalée. «Messieurs les Balgentiens, hurla-t-il de l’autre coté, vous n’êtes pas de belles gens[,] vous n’êtes que des chats!»  Voici pourquoi depuis cette époque on appelle les habitant de cette ville «les chats de Beaugency.»   

Plus sérieusement, on pense que le mot «chat» est une contraction du mot châtaigne. Il est vrai que les foires aux châtaignes sont très nombreuses dans la région. Les «chats de Beaugency» seraient en réalité les châtaignes de Beaugency.

1.i. - Letters from James Joyce to Giorgio Joyce, 1923-1940 [incls. letter from Beaugency (Loiret), 03.08.36 [given as 1936 in NLI cat.; dated 03.08.1936 by staff at JJ Foundation (Zurich); letter from Hotel Casino de Deauville, 15.08.36; letter from Turist Hotel, Vestre, Boulevard 8, Copenhagen, 31.08.1936; Postcards sent from Turist Hotel, Copenhagen, 05.09.1936 [50 items.]

[*The Cat and the Devil was sent in a letter of included in Letters [Vol. 1] (1957, 1966; Sel. Letters, 1975, pp.382-34 - hence not in the Janhke Bequest and not included here.]10 August 1926 addressed Villers s/ Mer [Villers-sur-Mer]

To George
Beaugency (Loiret), [3.10.]1936;
Deauville, 15.08.36;
Copenhagen, 31.08.1936;
Copenhagen, 05.09.1936.

To George and Helen
Paris, 16.07.1936;
Hamburg, 21.08.36;
Copenhagen, 26.08.26 [3 PCs];
Copenhagen, 31.08.1936; 05.09.1936;

Bonn, 10.09.36.

to Stephen Joyce
Villers-sur-Mer, 10.8.1936 [Letters, 1]
Deauville, 10.08.1936 [actually typed copy of the above].
Copenhagen 5.09.1936 [contains “Cats of Copenhagen”]
Paris, 06.12.1936.

to Helen Joyce
Edmond Valentin, Paris, 24.07.34.
Edmond Valentin, Paris, 25.07.34.

Copenhagen, 01.09.1936.
Postcard [n.d.; 1936]

1.v. - Letters from Joyce to Joyce Family, 1936 [i.e., Postcard from Liège, Belgium, 19.08.1936.

• The Cat and the Devil, ill. by Richard Erdoes [Daisy Books for Print Disabled Series] (NY: Dodd, Mead & Co. 1964).
• The Cat and the Devil, ill. by Gerald Rose (London: Faber & Faber 1965).
• The Cat and the Devil, ill. by Roger Blachon (London: Moonlight 1980; NY: Schocken Books 1981).
• The Cat and the Devil, ill. by Roger Blachon [rep.] (London: Moonlight 1990; Newfoundland, Can.: Breakwater 1990), 29pp., [28]pp. [afterword by Stephen Joyce].

• Le chat et le diable, trans. Jacques Borel [1st French edn.] (Paris; Gallimard 1966), ill. Jean-Jacques Corre.
• Le chat e le diable, dessiné par Roger Blachon, intro. by Stephen J. Joyce [Collection folio Benjamin, 77] (Paris: Gallimard 1978 [rep. 1984]) [30]pp., 18cm [see extract and publishing details - as infra].

Le chat et le diable - links to French Editions

[ See Gallimard’s “Fiche Pédagogique” - infra. ]

• Le Chat de Beaugency: Una storia de Stephen [2nd edn.] (Brescia: Edizione L’Obliquo 1996)*

• O Gato e O Diabo, trans. Joana Morais Varela (Lisboa: Contexto 1983);, with Blachon’s illustrations.
• O Gato e o Diabo (Lisboa: Nova Vega 2013), ill. by Tomislav Torjanac.
• O Gato e O Diabo, Lygia Bojunga, trans. (São Paulo: Cosac Naify 2012), ill. “Lelis”  [viz, Marcelo Eduardo Lélis].
• O Gato de Beaugency, trans. Ana Graça Canan & Marcelo Amorim (Natal: EDUFRN 2013), ill. Arthur Seabra; Afterword by Bruce Stewart [48pff.]
• O Gato de Beaugency seguido de Os Gatos de Copenhagen (Bauro Brazil: Lumme 2015).
• Os Gatos de Copenhague [sic], trans. Dirce Waltrick Do Amarante (Sao Paolo: Iluminuras 2013), 24pp.

[Source: Primarily compiled from the Goodreads database for The Cat and the Devil - amplified by other sources. Note that the Goodread website includes the following tag: ‘The Cat and the Devil by James Joyce first published 1936’. Note: This list has been amplified by other known editions to form a complete record.]

The Cat and the Devil 1964
[Dodd, Mead & Co.] 48pp. hb.
Richard Erdoes (Ill.)

The Cat and the Devil 1965
Faber & Faber, London 32pp. hb.
Gerald Rose (Ill.)

Die Katze und der Teufel 1966
Fritz Senn (Trans.), Richard Erdoes (Ill.)
24 pages Rhein-Verl. [Zürich]

Le chat et le diable [1st French edn.] 1966
Gallimard, Paris 1966, 64pp., 32 ills.*
Albums Jeunesse Pays: Irlande
Jacques Borel (Trans.). Jean-Jacques Corre (Ill.)

Il gatto e il diavolo, 1967
Enzo Siciliano (Trans.), Flaminia Siciliano (Ill.)
Milan: Emme Edizioni 1967.

Kattene fra Beaugency 1669 [Danish]
Ole Wahl Olsen (Trans.), Kirtsten Ruth (Ill.)
(Ravnesbjerg: Tryk & Scanprint 1969)

Die Katze und der Teufel 1973
Fritz Senn (Trans.), Roger Blachon (Ill.)
[Die besten klasischen und modern Katzengesichten]
(Zürich: Diogenes 1973), pp.97-99.

Η γάτα και ο Διάβολος 1977
χατζηνικολή
Τζαίημς Τζόυς 16pp. pb.

Le chat e le diable 1978 [new edn.; rep. 1984, ... 2010, &c.]
[Collection Folio Benjamin, 77]*
Gallimard, Paris 1978, [30]pp.,
Roger Blachon Ill.); intro. by Stephen J. Joyce.

The Cat and the Devil 1978
[Japanese] trans. Maruya Saiichi
(Tokyo: Shueisha 1978);

Neko to akuma 1981
Bunka Publ. Bureau (1981)
Ando Moto (Trans.), Roger Blachon (Ill.)

The Cat and the Devil 1981
Moonlight 1980 [London]; NY: Schocken Books 1981]
Roger Blachon [Ill.] Afterword by Stephen J. Joyce.

The Cat and the Devil 1981
[Hebrew] Avraham Yavin (Trans.), Blachon [Ill.]
(Tel Aviv: Am Oved Publ. 1981).

Die Katze und der Teufel 1995
Fritz Senn (Trans.), Roger Blachon (Ill.)
Stephen J. Joyce (Vorwerd)
([Berlin:] Broshciert [Insel Verlag] 1995).

El Gato y el Diablo 1996
Gerald Rose (Ill.). Julián Rios (Trans]
2nd Spanish edn. 32pp.
[Lectorum Pubns (1981).]

O gato e o diabo 1983
Contexto e Imagem [Lisbon] 27pp. hb.
Roger Blachon (Ill.), Joana Morais Varela (Trans.)
[This version set in Linda-a-Gente]

The Cat and the Devil 1987
January 1st 1987 Schocken 28pp. hb.
Roger Blachon (Ill.)

The Cat and the Devil 1988
December 31st 1988 [London]
Moonlight Publishing 32pp. pb.
Roger Blachon (Ill.)

El Gato y el Diablo, 1988
(Quoto: Ecuador: Libresa 1988)
Carla Torres (Ill.);

The Cat and the Devil 1990
[rep. of Moonlight 1980]
January 1st 1990 Breakwater Books
[Newfoundland] 2[7]pp. hb.
Blacon (Ill.)

Le chat et le diable 1990
Gallimard 32pp. hb. [premier parution 1978]
Roger Blachon (Ill.)

Katten og djævelen 1990
Susanne Vebel (Trans.), Roger Blachon (Ill.)
Agertoft [Copenhagen], eksp. Børnenes boghandel

Le chat et le diable 1994
November 3rd 1994 Gallimard Jeunesse pb.
Roger Blachon (Ill.)

Die Katze und der Teufel 1995
Insel Verlag (Berlin)
Fritz Senn (Trans.) Roger Blachon (Ill.)

El Gato y el Diablo 1996
August 28th 1996 Lumen Espana [Spain]
Mabel Piérola (Trans.), [Torres, Ill.]

Le chat de Beaugency: Una storia de Stephen 1996
(Brescia: Edizione L’Obliquo 1996) [65 copies]
Francesco Binni (Trans.), Giorgio Bertelli, Felice Martinelli,
Albano Morandi, Agostino Perrini and Diego Saiani. (5 ills.)

A Macska es a Odrog 1997
Imre V. Szilvia (Trans.), Peter Vladimir (Ill.)
(Budapest AB OVO 1997) [Hungarian].

Kočka a čert 1999
Argo 32pp. hb. [Czech]
Jarmila Rosikove (Trans.), Sasa Svolikova (Il..)
(Praha: Argo 1999).

“A Letter to Stephen Joyce” 1999
[bilingual English & Japanese]
N. Watanabe (Trans.)
in ABIE Quarterly, 3 (Spring 1999), 67-70;

القط والشيطان. 2000
مكتبة الأسرة 28pp. pb
جيمس جويس, عبد التواب يوسف (ترجمة)
[Arabic]

Mmacek in hucic 2000
Ales Pogacnik (Trans.) [Slovenian]
James Joyce: Poezija in kratka proza
(Ljubljana Zaloznistvo Literature DZS 2000), pp.185-89

Mačak i vrag 2005
Mozaik knjiga, Zagreb 20pp. hb.
Tomislav Torjanac (Ill.) [Croatian]

Kot i diabeł 2008
Media Rodzina 32pp. hb.
Kiedy Stevie [trans.] [Ill. Blachon]

Kočka a čert 2011
Meander [Prague] 32pp. hb.
Ivana Pecháčková (Trans.), Tadeáš Kotrba (Ill.)

Kedi ile Şeytan 2012
İletişim Yayınları 36pp. pb.
Celâl Üster (Trans.), Gerald Rose (Ill.) [Turkish]

O gato e o Diabo 2012
Cosac Naify [São Paulo] 32pp. hb.
Lygia Bojunga (Trans.), “Lelis”  [Marcelo Eduardo Lélis] (Ill.)

Le chat et le diable (iBookids) 2013
February 26th 2013 Numeriklivres
Kindle Edition, 34pp.
Jasmine Bourrel (Ill.), Céline Decamps (Trans.)

O gato de Beaugency 2013 pb.
Ana Graça Canan & Marcelo Amorim (Trans.), Arthur Seabra (Ill.);
EDUFRN, Natal 2013,
Afterword by Bruce Stewart [pp.48-55.]

O gato e o diabo 2013
Nova Vega Editora [Lisbon] 28pp. hb.
Tomislav Torjanac (Ill.) [n. trans.]

O gato e o diabo 2013
Iluminuras [São Paulo] 32pp. pb.
Dirce Waltrick do Amarante (Trans.), Michaella Pivetti (Ill.)

Le Chat et le Diable (iBookids) 2013
Céline Decamps (Trans.), Jasmine Bourrel (Ill.)
Kindle Edition 34pp.  

Η γάτα και ο Διάβολος 2015
May 2015 Ηριδανός 32pp. pb.
Σπάρτη Γεροδήμου (Trans.)

Il gatto e il diavolo 2015
Edizioni ETS [Pisa, Italy] 44pp. pb.
Franco Marucci (Trans.), Cristiano Coppi (Ill.). 

The Cat and the Devil/O Gato e o Diabo e The Cats of Copenhagen/Os Gatos de Copenhagen 2016
Eclair Antonio Almeida Filho (Trans.)
Bauro Brazil: Lumme Editor 2015, 34pp.

Cf. editions listed by Amanda Sigler (JJQ, during 2008) - as infra: 1. The Cat and the Devil [in Hebrew] trans. Avraham Yavin, ill. Blachon (Tel Aviv: Am Oved Publ. 1981); 2. The Cat and the Devil [Japanese] trans. Maruya Saiichi (Tokyo: Shueisha 1978); 3. Il Gato y el Diablo, ill. Carla Torres (Quoto: Ecuador: Libresa 1988); 4. Il gatto e il diavolo, trans. Enzo Siciliano, ill. Flaminia Siciliano (Milan: Emme Edizioni 1967); 5. Kattene fra Beaugency [Danish], trans. Ole Wahl Olsen, ill. Kirtsten Ruth (n.p. Ravnesbjerk [sic] Tryk & Scanprint 1969); 6. Die Katze under der Teufel, trans. Fritz Senn, [Die besten klasischen und modern Katzengesichten] (Zürich: Diogenes 1973), pp.97-99; 6. Kocha a cert, trans. Jarmila Rosikove, ill. Sasa Svolikova (Praha: Argo 1999); 7. “A Letter to Stephen Joyce” [English & Japanese]. trans. N. Watanabe, in ABIE Quarterly, 3 (Spring 1999), 67-70; 9. Mmacek in hucic (Slovenian) trans. Ales Pogacnik, James Joyce: Poezija in kratka proza (Ljubljana Zaloznistvo Literature DZS 2000), pp.185-89; 10. A Macska es a Odrog (Hung.) trans. Imre V. Szilvia, ill. Peter Vladimir (Budapest AB OVO 1997). [The foregoing titles have been incorporated in the above list. BS: 30.10.2017.]

Go to Goodreads Inc - online; accessed 07.10.2017.

[ See A Collection of Illustrated Editions - attached.]

Cf. The Oxford Hachette Dictionary: ‘When used with gens, the adjectives bon, mauvais, petit, vieux, vilain are placed before gens and in the feminine: (toutes) les vieilles gens. But the gender of gens itself does not change: les bonnes gens sont heureux. All other adjectives behave normally: (tous) les braves gens. (Oxford Hachette French Dictionary, ed. Mare-Hélène Corréard & Valerie Grundy  [2nd Edn.] (Oxford University Press 1997), p.382.

[Note: The letter is among numerous items donated to the Zurich James Joyce Foundation by Hans E. Jahnke, son of Giorgio Joyce’s second wife, Asta. See version at Ithys Press 2012 - online; also Guardian report by Alison Flood - online; accessed 20.04.2013] See also commentary by Amanda Sigler, in JJQ (2008) - as supra.

The following remarks by Fritz Senn, revered director of the James Joyce Institute in Zurich, deal with the publication of “The Cats of Copenhagen” in an interview given to Lara May O’Muirithe in Dublin for New Dublin Press [online] on 15 June 2014:

[LMO’M:] Jumping to recent events, are you able to discuss the controversy surrounding the release of The Cats of Copenhagen?

[FS:] The Foundation received a donation of lots of original stuff a few years ago, generously given by Hans Jahnke, an in-law of the Joyce family. It comprises a lot of documents, notes, additions to Finnegans Wake, and quite a cache of letters, and photographs, as well as ephemera. Among the letters there is a very short one, a page and a half, where Joyce writes to his grandson that there are no cats in Copenhagen. Some weeks before he had sent his grandson a box of chocolates called “The Cats of Beaugency”. This is based on a local legend of the Devil building a bridge but demanding the first soul that passes over it, but he is cheated by a cat that is sent across first. That much longer letter had long ago been turned into a children’s book, The Cat and the Devil. The short follow-up is a charming piece, written in a fairylike tone. As you know, all the material we have, and we have a lot, is open for inspection. It is the purpose of libraries to make their holdings accessible for the benefit of scholars and readers. Somebody we know - no mention of any names - must have copied the letter, as others have been free to do. Then in February last year we heard that a new Ithys Press in Dublin was going to publish the letter, as they wrote us just before it became a fact — out of the blue. We never imagined anybody would do that, behind our back, without asking us or informing us in good time. The Foundation of course does not have (and never claimed) copyright of the letter, this belongs to the Joyce Estate. But legally the owner of a document must also give permission. So this publication, an expensive limited edition, happened behind our back, without our knowledge, agreement, permission or connivance. We also had assumed that the expiration of Joyce copyright would not include all the unpublished material, which would still be under seal for an indeterminate time. The legal situation is extremely confused and obscure with different laws obtaining in different countries. At any rate, we were shocked and felt betrayed. I made it quite clear to newspapers that we had nothing to do with the act of which we were ignorant. We were - and I’m always trying to find a term for which we cannot be sued — bypassed, the publication happened behind our back. If publication is legally possible at all we would have liked at least to be given an option. A bitter taste is left behind.

[...]

[LMO’M:] I know how congenial the staff at the Foundation are and I certainly benefited from the open-access to the resources. You received quite a lot of sympathy from those who had visited the Foundation. 

[FS:] The main issue is that trust has been broken, the kind of trust among scholars without which we could not function. The Foundation has been and will remain open to scholars. Most of our visitors are known, familiar or even friends. We are a financially weak institution. We cannot engage in law suits. It was never our intention to publish and make money from the letter. When I protested against the clandestine action Ithys Press presented me as someone suppressing the free expression thoughts, and I was called ‘morally reprehensible’ — a new role for me.

[LMO’M:] One of the editions of The Cats of Copenhagen is being sold for a large sum of money?

[FS:] They did an expensive bibliophile edition, for collectors. It has now been published in the States in a commercial edition. Again, it happened without our knowing or consent. We still believe, naively, that as sole owners of the document we ought to have a say in its publication.

(Available online; accessed 14.10.2019.]

• The Cats of Copenhagen (Dublin: Ithys Press 2012), 40pp. [printed by Michael Caine in letterpress; in early 20th cn. Italian and French handcut fonts; with pen-and-ink drawing by Casey Sorrow; edn. of 200 copies consisting of 26 lettered copies, 170 numbered copies and 4 copies hors commerce; distrib. by Schuster & Schuster in America citing Ithys copyright. Priced at £300-1,500. (See copy at Brain Pickings - online; accessed 20.04.2013.)
• Os Gatos de Copenhague, trans. Dirce Waltrick de Amarante (São Paolo: Illuminuras 2013), 24pp. [narrando a assombrosa inexistência de felinos nessa famosa capital; claims to have received the text from the JJF - see Illuminuras page - online; accessed 10.10.2017].
  
• O Gato de Beaugency seguido de Os Gatos de Copenhagen, trans. by Eclair Antonio Almeida Filho (Bauro Brazil: Lumme 2015).

Note: The Battle of Beaugency took place on 16 and 17 June 1429. It was one of Joan of Arc’s battles. Shortly after relieving the siege at Orléans, French forces recaptured the neighboring district along the Loire river. This campaign was the first sustained French offensive in a generation during the Hundred Years' War. Beaugency was a small town on the northern bank of the Loire river in central France. It controlled a bridge of strategic significance during the latter part of the war. Conquered by the English a few years earlier as a staging point for a planned invasion of southern France, the French attack recaptured the bridge and the town, providing a vital supply conduit for the summer offensive in the north and the coronation of King Charles VII of France. (Wikipedia - online; accessed 28.11.2017.)