15th and 16th centuries

The 15th and 16th centuries enter the story through Amaury’s recollection of the difficult times he lived through in his native France. The novel gives no specific dates or historical events for this period; its significance lies in the hardships and personal history Amaury associates with it.

Historical Setting

France is identified as Amaury’s homeland during the period. His brief account presents the centuries as a span of difficulty, but does not describe what caused that hardship or connect it to a named conflict or ruler. The history remains personal rather than panoramic: the reader encounters the era through one vampire’s memory.

Amaury’s Experience

Amaury says he endured those difficult times before deciding that he needed a fresh start on another continent. By the present-day narrative, he is almost two hundred years older than Samson, and his long life gives his recollection the weight of lived experience. The account does not establish a precise birth date or map his years in France to particular decades.

Departure and Reinvention

Amaury’s move was also an attempt to escape the reputation that preceded him. He describes himself as known for being a scoundrel and philanderer, and says that he had pursued women so widely—from fifteen to fifty—that willing partners were becoming harder to find. The departure therefore links the difficult past in France to a deliberate effort to begin again elsewhere.

Narrative Significance

The period supplies a historical depth to Amaury’s character without becoming a detailed historical setting in its own right. His recollection connects an old world of hardship and accumulated reputation to his later life on another continent, where he remains marked by both his longevity and the identity he hoped to leave behind.