Francoise of Chassaigne

Francoise Léonore of Chassaigne (born v. 1545 - died v. 1602) was an young woman of the minor nobility of Bordeaux of the 16th century which became the woman of the Philosophe Michel de Montaigne, celebrates it author of the Essais .

Francoise of Chassaigne was the girl of Joseph of Chassaigne (v. 1515 - 1572), rider, knight, Sudan of Pressac, Seigneur of Javerlhac, Conseiller of the King at the Parliament in 1538 and 1543, President with the Parlement of Bordeaux in 1569, and of Marguerite de Douhet.

The September 23rd 1565, it married a former adviser with the Cour of the Assistances of Périgueux, become colleague of its father to the Parlement of Bordeaux, twelve years its elder, the future writer and future mayor of Bordeaux Michel de Montaigne. It gave him six girls, of which only one - Léonor - survived.

It would seem that the marriage did not have a great importance in the emotional life of Montaigne. The husbands made room with share, which was current at the time, and Montaigne, worried by good of other activities, left readily the management of its properties to his wife.

In September 1570, in a letter with his wife marked by the loss of their first daughter died at the two years age, Michel de Montaigne wrote:

My wife you hear well that it is not the turn of a galand man, with the reigles of this time icy, to still court you & cherish. Because they say that a habil man can take woman well: but that to marry it is to be made with stupid. Let us let say them: I dye myself of my share to the simple way of old the aage, also in carry I tantost the hair. And of vray nouvelleté the couste so expensive until ceste hour with this poor estat (& if I scay if we are with the closing bid) that in all & leave all I leave the party of them. Let us live my wife, you & moy, with the Francoise hurdy-gurdy. However it peult to remember you like fire Mister Boetie this mien dear brother, & compaignon inviolable, gave me dying its papers & its books, which esté me since more favory piece of furniture of the miens. I veulx not chichement to use moy of it only, ny do not deserve that they are used only for moy. With ceste it causes took desire to me for informing my friends of it. And by what I in ay, this croy I no one more private than you, I to you sent the consolatory Letter of Plutarque to its wife, translated by luy into a François: well marry dequoy fortune returned this present to you so clean, & that having child only one lengthily awaited girl, with pares four years of nostre marriage, it was necessary that you lost it in the deuxiesme year of her life. (...)

Francoise does not seem to have taken shade of the friendly relation which the philosopher maintained with Marie de Gournay, met at the time of a voyage to Paris in 1588, a relation which lasted several years, on bases of confidence, mutual admiration and freedom. After the death of Montaigne, it forwarded to him an annotated copy of the Essais of 1588 requesting it to take care of their publication. It is Marie de Gournay who published the first posthumous edition of the “Tests”, with a long foreword in which it defended the ideas of Montaigne. It remained then fifteen months with Montaigne, near Madam de Montaigne and of her daughter Léonor, her “sister of alliance”.

After the death of the philosopher, in 1592, Francoise of Chassaigne, gave certain volumes of the library of her husband to friends and religious communities, in particular with the Breaking into leaf of Bordeaux. The unit still remained, in 1616, with the death of Léonor de Montaigne, girl and heiress of the writer.

See too

Random links: