Jacques d'Adelswärd-heels

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Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen in 1905

Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen (born February 20, 1880 in Paris , † November 5, 1923 in Capri ) was a French aristocrat, author and poet . After a scandal over pederastic relationships with Paris schoolboys made him a persona non grata in the city's salons and thwarted his marriage plans, he moved to Capri in 1903, where he lived with his long-time friend Nino Cesarini until he died in 1923 ended with a cocaine overdose .

Early years of life

Born as Jacques d'Adelswärd, he was related on his father's side to the Swedish Count Axel von Fersen , who had a relationship with Marie Antoinette . D'Adelswärd took the name Fersen in his later life out of admiration for this distant relative. On Capri he finally got rid of the name "d'Adelswärd" and called himself only Count Fersen.

D'Adelswärd-Fersen's grandfather had founded a steel mill in Longwy- Briey which was quite profitable and made d'Adelswärd-Fersen a wealthy man when he took the inheritance at the age of 22. This made him coveted in the higher society, because many families hoped to marry one of their daughters to him.

In addition to joining the military, d'Adelswärd-Fersen also traveled extensively and published some poems in books such as Chansons Légères . Around this time he became aware of his homosexual orientation, which is also expressed relatively clearly in his poems. However, he was not interested in adult men (which would not have caused him legal trouble in France at the time), but in 15 to 17 year old boys. This tendency ultimately led to his exclusion from French society.

The process

In 1903 there were allegations that the baron had held black masses in his home. Presumably these orgiastic parties were attended by Parisian schoolboys and included sexual acts between the baron and the boys. He was found guilty of improper conduct towards minors, served six months' imprisonment, fined 50 francs and lost his civil rights for five years.

The scandal was basically the counterpart to the Oscar Wilde case a few years earlier. D'Adelswärd-Fersen was probably still lucky that his parties, which he mockingly called Pink Messen (alluding to homosexual acts), were also attended by other distinguished personalities of Parisian high society who put the court under pressure to drop some allegations in order to limit the impact of the scandal.

From what is known today about the circumstances of the case, d'Adelswärd-Fersen's pink masses were probably more harmless than was claimed in certain social circles at the time. They seem to have mainly consisted of reciting poetry and depicting mythological scenes in living images (with the participation of half-naked boys). However, D'Adelswärd-Fersen also masturbated some of the boys on at least one occasion .

On Capri

Nino Cesarini, d'Adelswärd-Fersen's partner from around 1904. Painting by Paul Hoecker (1904)

After his marriage plans were thwarted in this way, d'Adelswärd-Fersen remembered the island of Capri, which he had visited in his youth, and had a house built there. He bought a piece of land on the top of a hill in the extreme northeast of the island near the Villa Jovis , which the Roman Emperor Tiberius had built two millennia earlier . His house, which he initially called Gloriette , was eventually christened Villa Lysis (later also simply called Villa Fersen ) in reference to the Platonic dialogue Lysis , which is about friendship and homosexual love.

The architect of the Villa Lysis was Edouard Chimot , who designed it in the Art Nouveau style. In the basement there is a large smoking room in which d'Adelswärd-Fersen consumed his opium and ultimately took his own life. The Latin inscription above the entrance reads: Amori et dolori sacrum - "Shrine of love and sorrow".

Lord Lyllian

Lord Lyllian , published in 1905, is one of his most important works targeting the Paris scandal, with references to the Oscar Wilde affair as an encore.

The main character, Lord Lyllian, goes on a wild odyssey of sexual debauchery, is seduced by a person similar to Oscar Wilde, falls in love with boys and girls, and is ultimately killed by a boy. The public outcry over the suspected black masses is also caricatured. The work is a daring mix of fact and fiction, including four characters who are all alter egos of d'Adelswärd-Fersen himself.

Académos

Cover of the Akadémos magazine

Académos. Revue Mensuelle d'Art Libre et de Critique was d'Adelswärd-Fersen's short-lived attempt to publish a monthly magazine to promote pederastic love. When the first edition of Akadémos appeared in 1909, it was the first such publication in French . Thematically it dealt with the same area as the German magazine Der Eigen , which was published from 1896 to 1931 by Adolf Brand . This is not a coincidence, because before he started the Akadémos , d'Adelswärd-Fersen took a close look at the German magazine, the aim of which was to promote the social acceptance of homosexuality.

Akadémos was discontinued after only one year (twelve editions). The reason is assumed that the production of the magazine was too expensive for the baron. Other influences, such as the pressure of the hostile press and society in general, cannot be ruled out either. Still, the printed editions contain essays by well-known people such as Achille Essebac , Claude Farrère , Jean Ferval and Anatole France .

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Commons : Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Adelswärd-Fersen, Jacques d '
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French aristocrat, author and poet
DATE OF BIRTH February 20, 1880
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH November 5, 1923
Place of death capri