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Quotes of Antoine de Pluvinel
with Commentary by Dr. Thomas Ritter
(previously published as an edition of Classical Quotes)
Antoine de Pluvinel hardly needs an introduction. However, his biographical data are probably not known to most riders. He was born in the town of Crest in 1555. At the age of 10, he was taken to Italy to study horsemanship under Pignatelli until 1571 or 1572, when he was taken in by M. de Sourdis, the premier ecuyer of King Charles IX.
Andre Monteilhet writes in "Les Maitres de l'oeuvre equestre":
"Pluvinel's references earned him an appointment as premier ecuyer to the king's brother, the Duc d'Anjou, the future Henri III. He accompanied his lord to Poland where the latter was put on the throne in 1573. Only a few months later, in 1574, when Henri secretly left his Polish kingdom to which he preferred the beautiful and good crown of France, following the death of King Charles IX, Pluvinel was one of three French gentlemen who accompanied him on horseback nonstop from Cracow to Paris. His services were recognized and honors were heaped upon Pluvinel. When Henri IV succeded his cousin to the throne in 1589, Pluvinel maintained his office and his income: chamberlain and sub-governor to the dauphin Louis, tutor to the Duc de Vendome, governor of Grosse Tour de Bourges, etc.
"In 1594, patronized by the Chevalier de Sainct-Antoine, his old friend of the manege at Naples, who had become premier ecuyer ordinaire under Henri III and Henri IV, Pluvinel was authorised to found the Academie d'equitation which he had dreamed of, close to the Grande Ecurie royale, i.e. in the same location as the modern Place des Pyramides - where the Cercle hippique de France put up a plaque in 1955, commemorating his work in this place.
"In 1609, Henri IV sent Pluvinel to the Stadhouter Maurice of Holland for the delicate negotiations of the 'grand projet' against Spain, which had been arrested by the knife of Ravaillac.
"Pluvinel died on 24 August 1620 without having edited his book. A first incomplete edition appeared in 1623 under the title of 'Le Maneige royal', thanks to the painter Crispin de Pas and J.-D.Peyrol, Pluvinel's old valet.A second version, with a better text, due to the deceased's old friend Menou de Charnizay, was edited in 1625 under the definitive title that has become famous: 'L'Instruction du Roy en l'exercice de monter a cheval'. The book had splendid illustrations by the same Crispin de Pas and was re-edited and translated numerous times.
"Pluvinel did not leave a son behind, but his niece married Gabriel de la Baume, counsellor at the Department of Finance, giving rise to the house of La Baume-Pluvinel, which still exists today.
"The instruction of the king is that of the young Louis XIII, who was born in 1601, crowned in 1610 under the regency of his mother, declared an adult in 1615, and who reigned himself from 1617 onward, after having dismissed Concini. It is an adolescent whom Pluvinel, now in his fifties, had to teach, with all the necessary prudence and deference, the best principles of 'making horses obedient in the shortest time'. He did it in the form of conversations with the king, interspersed with commentaries by Monsieur le Grand and other distinguished gentlemen. Discussing the reduction of the police force, the ban of tournaments following the accident that befell Henri II (1559), and the development of horsemanship that we would call "amateurs", Pluvinel pushed the manege further than his predecessors (with the exception of the enigmatic Pignatelli).
"In order to supple the horse, he worked on two tracks, in voltes, around one pillar (which was known before him), but also between two pillars. The invention of the latter was even attributed to him, wrongly it seems, for La Noue, who wrote a little before him, also used them. What distinguishes Pluvinel is the measure, the tact and the discretion of the aids, with simplified bits, consisting of broken curbs, indicators instead of torturers."
Today, Pluvinel is most famous for his humane training methods. Whereas his Italian predecessors Grisone and Pignatelli resorted to harsh, sometimes cruel, methods, Pluvinel seems to be the first Renaissance author who continued where Xenophon left off. Therefore, I have selected a few passages from "L'instruction du Roy" that are typical for his approach.
Page 5:
"Because, as a rule, the horse must take pleasure in his work. Otherwise, he and his rider will not be able to accomplish anything graceful."
Pages 24f.:
"But in so far as the perfection of an art lies in the knowledge of where to begin, I am very well advised in this regard, to teach the horse his first lessons, since he finds them the most difficult, in searching for a way in which to work his mind, rather than his thighs and shanks, while being careful not to annoy him, if possible, and not to rob him of his gentleness: since it is to the horse as the blossom is to the fruit, which, once withered, never returns. By the same token, if their gentleness is lost, one can restore it only with difficulty in light horses with fiery temperaments and not at all in German horses. It never fails that someone who does not work with consideration either destroys his horse's gentleness or teaches him incorribible vices."
Page 29:
"Sire, when I said that one has to avoid beating the horse in the beginning of the training for the reasons I have given, I also said if it is possible. But I go further and claim that it is unnecessary to beat the horse in the beginning, the middle, or the end (if one can help it), as it is much more necessary to train him by gentleness (if there is the means) than by harshness, since a horse who works with pleasure moves much more gracefully than a horse who is dominated by force."
Page 47:
"If possible, one must be sparing with punishment and lavish with caresses, as I have already said, and I will say it again, in order to make the horse obey and go out of pleasure rather than discomfort."
Pages 49f.:
"I concentrate mainly on exercising his mind and his memory, in such a way that I achieve what I want: so that it is the horse’s mind which I work the most: the mind of the rider must work perpetually as well, in order to detect all kinds of opportunities to arrive at his goal, without letting any movement pass unnoticed, nor any opportunity unused."
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