Madam de Maintenon

Francoise d' Aubigné , (November 27th 1635, prison of Niort - April 15th 1719, Saint-Cyr-the School), more known like Madam de Maintenon , was secretly the wife of Louis XIV (1643 - 1715), king de France and of Navarre.

Childhood

Francoise d' Aubigné was born on November 27th 1635 with the prison from Niort, jail of her father Constant of Aubigné, the son of the famous poet Agrippa of Aubigné. Born catholic, it passes its early childhood at Mrs. de Vilette, her aunt huguenote, in Mursay. She goes then with her parents in Guadeloupe where his/her father is named governor of Marie-Gallant, a stay which will be worth to him the nickname of “Beautiful Indian”. She returns in France in 1645 after the disappearance of her Constant father of Aubigné and is dealt with by Mrs. de Neuillant, her godmother, which immediately places it in the Ursulines to reconvert it with the Catholicisme, and to abjure her faith Calviniste.

First marriage

In April 1652, at the sixteen years age, it marries the writer and paralytic poet Paul Scarron (1610 - 1660) twenty-five years its elder, protected from Mrs. de Neuillant. She was his wife of 1652 with 1660. Become “Mrs Scarron”, it becomes the stimulating one, of the living room opened by her husband, quickly attended by the writers of the time. It then weaves, on its side, a solid network of relationships to the beautiful spirits of the Marsh among which is Athénaïs de Montespan. At twenty-five years, it becomes widowed and, if Scarron had inculcated a field crop to him, it leaves it without the penny. Of her marriage, Francoise had gained art to like and had preserved the relations of them, thus Anne of Austria, requested by mutual friends granted to the Scarron widow a small pension. With died of the queen mother, her pension is restored by Mrs. de Montespan, not yet favorite; the two women had met in the marshal of Albret, cousin by alliance of Mrs. de Montespan and close to Scarron. If Athénaïs de Montespan thought of it to become controlling it of bastard royal, it was that the Scarron widow had known to divert it and that it was discrete but more especially because Francoise knew well that one always gained to serve the king.

With the service of the children of the king

In 1669, it accepts the load of controlling illegitimate children of the king and of Madam de Montespan whereas it has just refused to be the lady's companion of the queen of Portugal. She thus settles with Vaugirard and meets there for the first time the king who ventured there to see his children. She reappears at the court in 1673 at the time of legitimation of bastard royal.

Its true relation with the king began in 1675, moreover Louis XIV wrote in his newspaper “a few days ago, a gentleman of gray vêtu, perhaps a prince wandering incognito undertook during the night a nymph mislaid in the park of Saint-Germain. It savoit the name of this nymph that it étoit beautiful, good, full with spirit but wise. The nymph however was let make and no favor refused to him. This nymph resembled to mistake there with Mrs. Sc; and I believe to guess who étoit the prince vêtu of gray. This prince is like me, it hates the light women, it honnit the prudes, it likes the wise ones. ”, its favor started to be declared when in 1675, the king names it “marchioness of Maintenon”, thus sweeping the old Scarron poet.

She discharged her task successfully since the king conferred to him in 1680, the load of “lady of atour” of the dauphine . It is at the time of this load that it went to Barèges to look after the duke of Maine, crossing the Col of Tourmalet in 1675. Thereafter very accelerated, its favor grows, it formed with the king the true parental couple of bastard of which the duke of Maine.

The secret marriage

The progressive disgrace of Mrs. de Montespan, compromised in the Business of the poisons, and death, the July 30th 1683 of the queen Marie Therese of Austria (1638-1683) put an end to the case of conscience which arose for Mrs. de Maintenon concerning her relation with Louis XIV and to take ascending growing on the king. This one, in love, has need for a woman, but its " conversion" incites to flee the sin of the flesh. Not seeing utility in a political union with the infante of Portugal, however quoted like favorite for the throne, the king leans quickly for a marriage of slope with that which he likes.

With the active support of the Church of France, Francoise d' Aubigné, widowed Scarron and old of almost fifty years marries secretly, in the night from October 9th to 10th 1683, the king of France and Navarre, " the largest king of the monde" according to saying them Louvois. This secret marriage will remain secret only for the people. At the Court, one knows well what it is: the king passes most of his time in the apartments of his wife, and, when Madam de Maintenon moves in sedan-chair, the princesses must follow immediately behind. What will make say to Madam de Maintenon: " My happiness is éclatant".

Its influence on Louis XIV

Mrs. de Maintenon makes plane on the court one era of devotion and rigor. One lends him large influence, made rigor and of austerity on king and on Court, in particular concerning decision having led to revocation, in 1685, of edict of Nantes, which, “prohibiting” the Protestants, caused the massive exodus of those and their capital, which caused to ruin France, or the incentive with the release of the War of succession of Spain in 1701. The historians wondered much and still raise questions about the real part played by Mrs. de Maintenon, shown of all the evils. With regard to precisely the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the whole of the historians subscribes today to the demonstration summarized by François Bluche in his biography of reference on the large king: “ the marchioness of Maintenon is delighted by conversions, when they seem to him the result of persuasion and softness. But it feels reluctant with the constraint towards its former co-religionists. Only an outrageous polemic, then a legend without base will be able to make believe that she encouraged the monarch with hardness. ”

It is sure that its ambiguous statute (it was simple fashionable as a public, queen into private but also collaborator, mother-in-law and beautiful grandmother) was source for it of a great psychological tension. Little liked the royal family, it was to it even less courtiers and of the people which lent a disproportionate capacity to him and saw in it the “evil genius” of Louis XIV.

Last years and later destiny

Three days before the death of the king in 1715, it withdraws until its own disappearance with Saint-Cyr military school in the royal Maison of Saint-Louis, founded in 1686 (where it receives the visit of the Tsar Pierre Large the), house of education for noble and desilvered young girls. In 1793, the royal House became a military hospital for finally accommodating, of 1808 with 1940, the military special École of Saint-Cyr military school and, since the Années 1960, a military college. With its death in 1719, Madam de Maintenon is embaumée and buried in Saint-Cyr military school. Its body, preserved well, is unearthed in 1793 by the revolutionists (“This day, it was treated as a queen”, writes one of its biographers, quoted in the Alley of the King ) and its trace is lost.

The establishment occupied by the Germans is destroyed by the bombardments of 1944. It is during rebuilding works that one discovers, in the attics of Saint-Cyr military school, a marked case “Bones of Madam de Maintenon”. These remainders, initially placed in the royal Vault of the Castle of Versailles, are buried since the April 15th 1969 in the vault of the military academy of Saint-Cyr military school, whereas all the skins of Kings de France were dispersed with the Révolution. In accordance with her wishes, Madam de Maintenon is buried in the old Royal House of Saint-Louis with Saint-Cyr military school, Saint-Cyr military school of which she would have said in 1715 while withdrawing herself there to died from the king: " its walls closing my retirement will be also those of my tombeau".

Curiosity of the French history, the “queen without crown” arrived to us.

It should be noted that there exists in the castle of Maintenon a Cénotaphe Madam de Maintenon comprising the facsimile of the plate epitaph of the first tomb of Madam de Maintenon with Saint-Cyr military school.

Works on line

  • Correspondence general Madam de Maintenon , published for the first time on the autographs by Theophilus Lavallée, preceded by a study on the letters of Mrs. de Maintenon, published by Beaumelle, Paris, Carpenter, 1865-1866, 5 vol.; in-16

Selective bibliography

  • Francoise Chandernagor, the alley of the king: memories of Francoise d' Aubigné, marchioness of Maintenon, marries of the King de France , Paris, Julliard, 1995 ISBN 2266067877
  • André Lambert, the queen without crown: Francoise de Maintenon, the secret wife of Louis XIV , Paris: Del Duca, 1962 ISBN 2866470087
  • Alain Niderst, Around Francoise d' Aubigné, marchioness of Maintenon: acts of the Days of Niort, 23 May 25th, 1996 , Paris: H. Champion, 1999
  • Simone Bertière, Women of the Sun king , Editions of Fallois, 1998, ISBN 2-253-14712-5
  • Andre Castelot, Madam de Maintenon, the secret queen , Perrin Editions, 1996, ISBN 2-262-01249-0
  • Louis Mermaz, Madam de Maintenon - Book of pocket

See too

Related articles

Marriage morganatic -->
  • List of the mistresses of the kings de France

External bonds

  • SIEFAR Fortunate Note of the dictionary of Lighter (1804) put on line by the SIEFAR (International Company for the study of the women of the Old Mode)
  • history of Madam de Maintenon
  • the posthumous destiny Madam de Maintenon

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