# The Prologue explained — Chivalry

> Chapter companion for Chivalry by James Branch Cabell.

## What happens

Messire Nicolas de Caen dedicates his book to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess Dowager of Burgundy, explaining his purpose to write of queens and their love affairs. He reflects on the unique burdens of royal women, who must play the game of life on a loftier table, their choices affecting many lives, and invokes the themes of destiny, choice, and the necessity of proving oneself under the gaze of fate.

## Themes in this chapter

### Power and Queenship

The prologue discusses the unique burdens of queens, who must play the game of life on a loftier table and whose choices affect many lives, acting as vicars of destiny.

### Fate and Free Will

Nicolas de Caen reflects on how queens are left free to choose by Destiny and Chance, yet must prove themselves and eternally abide that choice, highlighting the interplay of fate and free will.

### Sacrifice and Suffering

The prologue notes that queens must pay a hard price for grandeur, and that their choices can evoke much happiness or age-long weeping, implying sacrifice and suffering.

## Character check-ins

### Nicolas de Caen

The author and narrator of the prologue, dedicating his work to Isabella of Portugal.

### Alfonso Henriques

Mentioned as the house of Isabella of Portugal, the indomitable Alfonso Henriques.

### Isabel of Valois

Referenced indirectly as the dedicatee Isabella of Portugal, Duchess Dowager of Burgundy.

## Key lines

> A queen must always play, in fine, as the vicar of destiny, free to choose but very certainly compelled in the ensuing action to justify that choice

A queen must act as a representative of fate, able to make choices but always required to answer for them later.

_Highlights the theme of power and queenship and the burden of free will._

> Grandeur sells itself at this hard price, and at no other.

Greatness comes only at a steep cost, with no alternative.

_Emphasizes the theme of sacrifice and suffering inherent in royal life._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/chivalry_se/chapters/the-prologue
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/chivalry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/chivalry_se/chapters