Historical Context 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.

Clemence Isaure is a legendary character supposed to be a patroness of the arts.

Agnes Sorel was a 15th century courtesan and favorite of King Charles VII of France.

The French Revolution of 1789 where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed by guillotine, ending the monarchy altogether. Marie Antoinette is dubbed "The Last Queen of France."

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

Mademoiselle de la Valliere was a lover of King Louis XIV who caused an incredible controversy in the court of the "Sun King" of France, and who eventually retired to a convent. Alexandre Dumas idealized her life and wrote about her.

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.

Count d'Artois was the future Charles X of France, brother of the deposed and beheaded King Louis XVI, and brother-in-law to Marie Antoinette.

The Principles of 1789 by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes consist of the tenets imposed upon the people of France after the fall of the constitutional monarchy. It expresses the power of the Third Estate, the people's movement, which chides away from the monarchy.

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.

The Gallic Rooster is the unofficial national symbol of France. It is a Christian symbol that stands for "vigilance" much like roosters watch over the other chickens in a farm. However, the French also adopted it because of the way a citizen of Gaul is called gallicus and the rooster is a gallus. During the Second French Republic roosters were used on coins and other nationally-recognized objects.

Charles X was the younger brother of Louis XVI and the brother-in-law of Marie Antoinette who would later became the King of France. Also known as Charles Phillipe.

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.

Known in the middle ages as "The King's Evil," "scrofula" is the swelling of lymph nodes in the neck as a result of the same bacteria that causes tuberculosis. It was thought that French and English kings had a god-given power to heal scrofula and that they could touch people and cure them. 

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.