Brewer's: Yvetot

(pron. Eve-tó). The King of Yvetot. Yvetot is a town in Normandy, and the king referred to is the lord of the town, called roi d'Yvetot in old chronicles. The tradition is that Clotaire, son of Clovis, having slain Gaulthier, lord of Yvetot, before the high altar of Soissons, made atonement by conferring the title of king on the heirs of the murdered man.

Il était un roi d'Yvetot Peu connu dans l'histoire; Se levant tard, se couchant tôt, Dormant fort bien sans gloire, Et couronne par Jeanneton D'un simple bonnet de coton, Dit-on. Oh! oh! oh! oh! ah! ah! ah! ah! Quel bon petit roi c'éctait, là! là! là!

Beranger: Roi d'Yvetot (1813).

A king there was, `roi d'Yvetot' clept, But little known in story; Went soon to bed, till daylight slept, And soundly without glory His royal brow in cotton cap Would Janet, when he took his nap, Enwrap. Ah! ah! ah! ah! ho! ho! ho! ho! A famous king this `roi d'Yvetot.'

E. C. D.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894

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