Jacques Cœur

Jacques Cœur (c. 1395 – 25 November 1456 in Chios), was a French merchant, one of the founders of the trade between France and the Levant.

Origins

He was born at Bourges, the city where his father, Pierre Cœur, was a rich merchant. Jacques is first heard of around 1418, when he married Macée de Léodepart, daughter of Lambert de Léodepart, an influential citizen, provost of Bourges and a former valet of John, Duke of Berry.

Early career

About 1429 he formed a commercial partnership with two brothers named Godard; and in 1432 he was at Damascus, buying and bartering, and transporting the wares of the Levant—gall-nuts, wools and silks, mohair, brocades and carpets—to the interior of France by way of Narbonne. In the same year he established himself at Montpellier, and there began the gigantic operations which have made him illustrious among financiers. Details are wanting; but it is certain that in a few years he placed his country in a position to contend fairly well with the great trading republics of Italy, and acquired such a reputation as to be able, mere trader as he was, to render material assistance to the knights of Rhodes and to Venice itself.

Cœur de pirate

Béatrice Martin (born September 22, 1989), better known by her stage name Cœur de pirate ([kœʁ də piʁat]; French for: Pirate's Heart), is a Canadian singer-songwriter. A francophone from Montreal, she sings mostly in French and has been credited with "bringing la chanson française to a whole new generation of Quebec youth".

Career

Born in the province of Quebec, Béatrice Martin started playing the piano when she was only three years old. She entered the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal at the age of nine and studied there for five years.

At the age of 15, she played as a keyboardist in the post-hardcore band December Strikes First which starred her best friend, Francis, who would later become the subject of the song "Francis" on her debut album. Martin had a brief stint as keyboardist for Bonjour Brumaire from late 2007 to April 2008.

2007–2009: Debut album and first success

In a report broadcast on French television, Martin explained that she chose the name "Cœur de pirate" to appear not "as an isolated musician, but to get a band identity from the start." She released her debut album Cœur de pirate on September 16, 2008 on Grosse Boîte. Described as "rather simple" musically, it mostly featured Martin's voice and piano playing with some minor additional instrumentation.