Facts in Madame Bovary

Twelfth Night is the eve of the Feast that in some branches of Christianity marks the beginning of the Epiphany. It also marks the twelfth day of Christmas.

Leonardo Da Vinci's painting La Belle Ferroniere, which means the beautiful daughter of an ironmonger, is also known in the English-speaking world as "The Portrait of the Unknown Woman" and has the same air of mystery as The Mona Lisa.

The "Genie du Christianisme" is a treatise in defense of Catholicism written by François-René Viscount (Vicomte) de Chateaubriand.

*Paul et Virginie *is set on the island of Mauritius, a French territory.

This is a reference to the 1788 novel *Paul et Virginie *(1788) by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint Pierre.

During the Summer period, particularly July 3 to August 11, the Sirius star sets and rises with the Sun much like the North star does during Winter months. Sirius was known as the "dog" star by the ancients because of the shape it forms when seen from below.

Cultivated in France, the greengage is a variety of plum that is oval-shaped and green, sometimes yellow. They make great dessert fruits because of their powerfully sweet flavor.

The "Hirondelle" is a barge or city car that would make the rounds from mid point to end point several times per day. In the novel, the "Hirondelle" transports some characters from one city to another, symbolizing change and possibility.

Pierre-Jean de Beranger (1780-1857) was a poet, songwriter, satirist, and critic of the Napoleonic France era.

Francois Marie Arouet (1964- 1778) was a philosopher, dramatist, and author of the Enlightenment period under the pen name Voltaire. He was a critic of the French government whose wits got him voted into the Academie Francaise.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was an American inventor, ambassador, philosopher, political envoy, founding father of the United States of America, intellectual, community leader, and writer (among many other things).

Socrates (469–399 B.C.E.) was a Greek Philosopher, whose attitudes and ideas modeled the Western philosophical constructs by which everything, from our law system to our teaching system, operate.

The word "phlebotomy" refers to blood-letting, or bleeding someone with the intention of making them heal. As far back as the Middle Ages, it was understood that the human body was run by "humors" and that bleeding out excess blood would repair the body's natural balance of humors. Leeches were often used since they feed off impurities that naturally occur in the blood.

The tricolor design on the French flag denotes Republicanism, just like France became a Republic after disposing of the monarchy. The order is blue, white, and red. Americans adopted the same three colors.

Racahout des Arabes Delangrenier was a well-known children's remedy to cure stomach aches and other problems.

Sir Walter Scott (1771- 1832) was a novelist, historian, and considered the father of the historical novel.

René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur created a measurement scale which set the freezing and boiling temperatures to 0 and 80.

During the Ancien Régime, the medical profession was reformed by Fourcroy. The calendar was changed drastically in France and gave months, seasons, and years different names. As expected, it ended in disaster, which is why that calendar is not used today. 10 March 1803 would have been 19 Ventose (an=year) XI. The law remains though, that only medical doctors, trained physician's assistants, or nurses can practice medicine.