Louise of Vallière - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

Biography

Born in 1644 with the manor of Vallière, to Tours, the young person Louise Francoise, girl of the governor of the castle of Amboise, passes then a pleasant childhood to the Château of Blois, where his/her father is taken with the service of Gaston of Orleans.

In 1661, it enters as a young lady of honor the House of Henriette of England, known as Madam, first wife of Mister, brother of the king. Louise-Francoise is a 17 year old young girl to the eyes full with charm, but it boitillait slightly because of a fall of horse.

François Honorat de Beauvilliers, count of Saint-Aignan precipitates Louise-Francoise in the arms of the king as of 1661, not by personal ambition but by love. The bringing together between Louis XIV and it is done through the said strategy, at the time, of the " paravent" or of the " chandelier": the king was to pretend to court her so that the attention of the Court does not go any more on the idylle which was born between the king and Madam, his/her beautiful sister. Louise loved the king seals some since her arrival at the Court like all the girls and ladies of this time. Quickly, the king, who does not have that came-three years is taken with its own play and fact of Louise her first favorite. The connection, known of all, although discreetly maintained, causes the outcries of the excessively pious people of the Court and its preachers, like Bossuet. The king, very believing, refuses with communier as of 1663.

Nicolas Fouquet, wanting to be made allied near to the king, proposes a " to him; gratification" of 20000 S. Louise sprays refuses it but the king will be informed of this proposal which will contribute to increase the ire of the king against Fouquet.

It will have four children of the king, the two last will reach the adulthood and will be legitimated:

Charles (1663-1666)
Philippe (1665-1665)
Marie-Anne of Bourbon (1666-1739), known as Miss de Blois , which married Louis Armand Ier of Bourbon-Conti
Louis de Bourbon, count de Vermandois (1667-1683)

After the death of Anne of Austria in 1666, Louis XIV publicly posts their connection, which displeases much in Louise who, with the records of a public connection with the king, prefers the demonstrations of tenderness in aside. It that the Court sees the return of the young beauty Francoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, became Marquise of Montespan meanwhile at this time. The king, subjugated by this " beauty to be shown with all the ambassadors " , seeks to make its mistress of it. The beginning of their connection, which one usually locates at the time of the countryside of Flandres of 1667, mark the beginning of a decline without return of the royal favor with regard to Louise. Sublime Athénaïs becomes favorite in title.

In May 1667, the king legitimates the girl whom it had of Louise and for the child sets up the grounds of Vaujours in duchy. With the eyes of all, it is the gift of disgrace. Then begin a period of cohabitation between the two favorite ones, Louis XIV] wishing to keep Louise at her sides, although it does not pass any more to her that in strong gale before going to the Marchioness Once again, Louise be a " paravent" having to dissimulate with the public the loves of the king with a married woman. In the hope to regain the heart of king whom it did not cease loving, Louise essuie all humiliations which inflicts to him the favorite news, known for its corrosive tooth and its malicious caustiquevoire spirit. In 1670, after a long disease perhaps a miscarriage which makes him foresee death, Louise turns to the religion, writing moving " Reflections on the mercy of God ". In 1671, it intervened with the king for the rehabilitation of Fabienne de Lanneau, intrigante of the 16th century.

On the councils of Bourdaloue, from the Marshal of Bellefonds (1st Master of hotel of the king) and of Bossuet, and after a first missed departure, it withdraws Court at the conclusion of a last interview with the king the April 19th 1674 and chooses to enter in religion to the convent of Large the Carmélite S of the Saint-Jacob suburb. An entry with the carmel implied a total sacrifice and a total abandonment of any fashionable life. It thus acted, for the Court, of a provocation. And its departure also makes great noise because of the public excuses that Louise makes a point of addressing to the queen.

Obliged to request the authorization of Louis XIV to withdraw itself, it rejects any solution of convent “plus soft”. Madam de Montespan makes him depict, by the way of Mrs Scarron (who will become later Madam de Maintenon), the deprivations and the auquelles sufferings it would be exposed, as well as the scandal that would not fail to cause such a decision. But these attempts will remain vain, and the contacts between the duchess of Vallière and higher of the carmel already succeeded. Little time afterwards, it pronounces its perpetual wishes, taking the name of Louise of the Mercy . With the convent, it accepted several times the visit of the queen, Bossuet and Madam de Sévigné.

She will die in 1710 after 36 years of religious life and was buried in the cemetery of her convent, far from her duchy-peerage, where nothing attests that she came one day.

Saint-Simon does not hesitate to qualify it " sainte" and known as of it: " Heureux the king if it had had only mistresses similar to Mrs. of Vallière… ". Holy-Beuve estimates that, of three more famous favorite of Louis XIV, it is it " of much most interesting, only the really interesting one in itself. "

It inspired to the character of Louise of Vallière in the Viscount of Bragelonne of Alexandre Dumas.

She also inspired the key character of Louise of Vallière in the historical novel 1661 of Yves Jego.

Anecdote

At the time of its splendor, Louise of Vallière carried a tie to broad floating node, flexible, and of gray fabric, color of the family Vallière. In 1875 the term of Vallière was associated with this tie when the painters of this time painted this vestimentary element.

the family will leave her name to a binding of color breaks into leaf dead known as morocco lavalli2ere, of the duke of Vallière, celebrates bibliophile, nephew of the duchess (1708 - 1780).

See too

the film the Castle lost
the film If Versailles to me were told…
animated the Zero No Tsukaima

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