Marquise de Montespan

Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan

Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise de Montespan (October 5, 1641 – May 27, 1707), better known as Madame de Montespan, was one of the most famous mistresses of Louis XIV of France

Born into one of the oldest noble families in France, the House of Rochechouart, Madame de Montespan was called by some the True Queen of France during her romantic relationship with Louis XIV due to the pervasiveness of her influence at court during that time.

Her so-called reign lasted from around 1667, when she first danced with Louis XIV at a ball hosted by the king's younger brother, Monsieur, at the Louvre, until her alleged involvement in the notorious Affaire des Poisons in the late 1670s to 1680's. She is an ancestor of many royal houses in Europe such as Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Portugal.

Early life

Born on October 5 1641 at the Château of Lussac-les-Châteaux in today's Vienne department, in the Poitou-Charentes region in France, Françoise de Rochechouart de Mortemart (as a précieuse, she later adopted the name "Athénaïs"), Mlle de Tonnay-Charente, possessed the blood of two of the oldest noble families of France through her parents, Gabriel de Rochechouart, duc de Mortemart, prince de Tonnay-Charente, and Diane de Grandseigne.

From her father, she inherited the famous Mortemart esprit. As a young girl, she often travelled with her mother between the family estates and the court at the Louvre in Paris. At the age of twelve, she began her formal education at the Convent of St Mary at Saintes. She entered the convent where her sister Gabrielle had started almost a decade earlier. Her other siblings were:

Gabrielle, born in 1633,

married Claude Léonor Damas de Thianges, marquis de Thianges and had issue.

Louis Victor de Rochechouart, titled as marquis de Vivonne and born on August 25 1636; enfant d'honneur and a friend of Louis XIV in his youth.
Marie Madeleine Gabrielle, born in 1645;

Abbesse de Fontevrault,

Marie Christine, born in 1645; she entered religion and very few details are known of her life.

At the age twenty, Françoise-Athénaïs became a maid-of-honour to the king's sister-in-law, Princess Henrietta-Anne of England, who was known at court by the traditional honorific of Madame. Later, because of the relationship between her mother and the queen dowager, Anne of Austria, Françoise-Athénaïs was appointed to be a lady-in-waiting to the king's wife, Queen Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche.

Marriage

Françoise de Rochechouart de Mortemart married in February, 1663, Louis-Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin, marquis de Montespan (1640-1701), who was a year older than she. Françoise had previously been engaged to his brother, but he was killed in a duel after a ball at the Louvre. It then was decided that she would marry the brother of the deceased. With her husband, the marquis de Montespan, she had two children:

Marie-Christine de Pardaillan de Gondrin (1663-1675),

who died with her father in his self-imposed exile.

Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin, marquis d'Antin (1665-1736),

who was later given the title of duc d'Antin. Louis Antoine had a friendly relationship with his younger half-brothers, the duc du Maine and the comte de Toulouse.

Beauty was only one of Madame de Montespan's many charms. She was a cultured and amusing conversationalist who won the admiration of such figures as the diarist Saint-Simon and letter-writer Mme de Sévigné. In addition, she kept abreast of political and world events. This had the effect of making her even more appealing to men of intellect and power.

Rise as Maîtresse-en-titre

Mme de Montespan astounded the court by openly resenting the position of the queen, Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche, the daughter of the king and queen of Spain, Philip IV and Elisabeth of Bourbon. A scandal arose when the duchesse de Montausier, governess of the Royal children and lady-in-waiting to the queen, was accused of acting as a go-between in order to secure the governorship of the Dauphin for her husband, the duc de Montausier.

By 1666, Mme de Montespan was trying to take the place of Louis XIV's current mistress, the lovely but timid Louise de La Vallière. Using her wit and charm, she sought to ingratiate herself with the king. She became close to the Dauphin as well whose affection for her never wavered.

First Royal Children

The first of the seven children that Mme de Montespan bore to the king was born in March 1669. The new-born child, a girl, Louise Françoise de Bourbon (1669-1672), was entrusted to one of Mme de Montespan's friends, Mme Scarron (the future marquise de Maintenon) to raise. The King bought a small house in the village of Vaugirard, on the outskirts of Paris.

In 1673, the couple's three living illegitimate children were legitimatised by Louis XIV without mention of their mother's name for fear that she might claim them.

The eldest, a son, Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, became the duc du Maine; the second child, a son named Louis César de Bourbon, became the comte de Vexin; and the third, a daughter named Louise-Françoise, became Mademoiselle de Nantes. As Mme de Montespan spent the majority of her time immersed within the social whirl of the court, the three had little contact with her and spent most of their childhood with their governess, Mme Scarron.

Later, Mme de Montespan was compelled to retire to Spain, and in 1674 an official separation with her husband was declared by the procureur-general Achille de Harlay, assisted by six judges at the Châtelet. When Louis's affections showed signs of cooling, Mme de Montespan is alleged to have resorted to black magic in order to get him back. Some have supposed that she may have started to consider using poison against potential rivals for the king's affections as early as 1676.

Her adversary turned out to be the Roman Catholic Church. In 1675 the priest Lécuyer refused to give her absolution which was necessary for her to make her Easter communion, a requisite for all Catholics. Father Lécuyer demanded in the confessional,

Is this the Madame that scandalises all France? Go abandon your shocking life and then come throw yourself at the feet of the ministers of Jesus Christ.

The King appealed to the priest's superiors but the Church refused to yield to the King's demands. After a short separation, the King and Mme de Montespan resumed their relationship which resulted in the birth of two more children, Mlle de Blois in 1677 and the comte de Toulouse in 1678, both of whom were to be legitimised in 1681. However, the affair of the poisons, which had burst upon the scene in September 1677, was to be the beginning of the end of the reign of La Montespan.

Louis' intrigue with Angélique de Fontanges and Mme de Montespan's relegation to the position of superintendent of the Queen's household brought matters to a crisis. Mlle de Fontanges died in 1681 and poisoning was suspected by many at the time, although none could prove it. It is now believed that Mlle de Fontanges died from natural causes.

Nature and Appearance

Athénaïs was considered breathtakingly beautiful by the standards of her time. She had thick, curly corn-colored hair that fell in ringlets around her face so beautifully that even the Queen copied her hair style. Her eyes were huge and blue, her lips full and her figure sensuously curvaceous. All of these qualities appealed to the sensibilities of beauty at the time. Her love of mockery, infectious laughter and quick wit were engaging, as were her intelligence and flirtatious interplay. Steeped in sensualism, she is often described as a hedonist with a fondness for music, dancing, the arts, food and love-making.

She had an extravagant and demanding nature and possessed enough charm to usually get what she wanted. She was expensive and glorious, like the Palace of Versailles itself. Her apartments were filled with pet animals and thousands of flowers; she had a private gallery, and costly jewels were showered upon her. She was highly discriminating as regards to the quality of the gems ; returning them if they did not meet her exacting standards. She was given the nickname Quanto ("How much", in Italian). Her love for food and her numerous pregnancies caused her to gain weight in her late thirties until her pleasingly plump figure became undesirably fat

Royal scandal and fall

Affaire des Poisons

Long assumed to have been involved in the infamous Affaire des Poisons, Mme de Montespan has never been conclusively implicated. Gabriel Nicolas de La Reynie, Paris' first Lieutenant General of Police and the chief judge of the court before which the famous poisoning cases were brought, heard testimony that placed Mme de Montespan's first visits to the so-called witch Catherine Monvoisin, known as La Voisin, in 1665. Initially, La Voisin reportedly just gave Mme de Montespan love potions concocted of repulsive ingredients for Louis XIV to take, with the objective of obtaining the king's desire and replacing Louise de La Vallière in the role of maitresse-en-titre.

In 1666, Mme de Montespan supposedly went so far as to allow a priest, Etienne Guibourg, to perform a black mass over her nude body in a blood-soaked ceremony, which was also said to have included infant sacrifice. Whatever the truth in these allegations, in July 1667, Mme de Montespan became the king's new mistress even though Louise was carrying his child, Louis de Bourbon, comte de Vermandois.

Poison

In addition to seeking Louis' love, some charged Mme de Montespan with also conspiring to kill him. However, certain inconsistencies in this testimony suggest that the royal mistress was innocent of these charges. However, suspicion was thrown onto Mme de Montespan because the name of her maid, Mlle Desœillets, was frequently mentioned in connection with La Voisin in the evidence brought before the Chambre Ardente.

Indeed, if anyone was attempting to kill the king, it was more likely Mlle Desœillets, who also had an illegitimate child fathered by Louis who did not acknowledged it. Presumably, the maid resented the loss of Louis' attention. Olympia Mancini, Comtesse de Soissons, herself a former mistress of the king as well as a notorious intrigante, was also implicated in the conspiracy . From the end of 1680 onwards, the marquis de Louvois, Jean-Baptiste Colbert and Mme de Maintenon all helped to hush up the affair in order to prevent further scandal about the mother of the king's legitimatised children. Concerning the king's need to avoid shocking scandal, Police Chief La Reynie said:

the enormity of their crimes proved their safeguard

Exile

After the scandal had forced Louis XIV and Mme de Montespan apart, the king continued to visit her daily in her rooms at the palace, and apparently her brilliance and charm in conversation mitigated to some extent her reduced status as a discarded mistress. In 1691, no longer in royal favour, Mme de Montespan retired to the Filles de Saint-Joseph convent, in the rue Saint-Dominique in Paris, with a pension of half a million francs. In gratitude for her departure, the king made her father the governor of Paris, her brother, the duc de Vivonne, a marshal of France, and one of her sisters, Gabrielle, whose vows were but four years old, the abbess of the wealthy Fontevraud Abbey.

In her long retirement, Mme de Montespan donated vast sums to hospitals and charities. She was also a generous patron of letters, and befriended Corneille, Racine and La Fontaine.

Later life

Death

The last years of her life were given up to a very severe penance. When she died at Bourbon-l'Archambault, the king forbade her children to wear mourning for her. Real sorrow over her death was felt by her three youngest children. She died May 27 1707 at the age of sixty-five while taking the waters at Bourbon-l'Archambault in order to try and heal an illness.

Effects

The duchesse de Bourbon, duchesse d'Orléans and the comte de Toulouse all refused to go to any court gatherings as a mark of respect for the death of their beloved mother - who they had grown very close to within her last years. However, her eldest and most disloyal child, the duc du Maine, was hardly able to conceal his joy at the death of his mother. He had always considered Mme de Maintenon to be more of a mother to him.

After hearing of the death of Françoise-Athénaïs, Madame de Maintenon, is said to have run to her privy and wept bitterly. Françoise-Athénaïs had after all helped her get into court and put her in charge of her children, the position that originally allowed Mme. de Maintenon to gain the king's attention.

Children by Louis XIV

Louis XIV and Mme de Montespan had seven children, only four of whom survived childhood:

Louise Françoise de Bourbon

Louise Françoise (1669-1672).

She was the first child to be placed in the care of the future Mme de Maintenon, a religious woman, who later changed the dynamics of the French court when she replaced the frivolous Françoise-Athénaïs in the king's affections.

Louis-Auguste de Bourbon

Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine (1670-1736) married Anne-Louise-Bénédicte de Bourbon-Condé. Before this marriage, he was going to marry Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, the daughter of his uncle, Monsieur)

Legitimised December 1673.
When legitimated he was given the title of duc du Maine.
Had issue but no surviving descendants.
Was also the founder of the house of Bourbon du Maine.
Inherited the Château de Clagny.

Louis César de Bourbon

Louis César de Bourbon, comte de Vexin (1672-1683),

Abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Abbé de Saint-Germain-des-Prés).
Died at the age of 11.

Louise-Françoise de Bourbon

Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1673-1743) married Louis III, Prince of Condé.

Legitimised in 1673 after her birth.
Given the title of Mademoiselle de Nantes after her legitimisation.
Upon her marriage, she assumed the title of duchesse de Bourbon and later princesse de Condé.
The present members of the House of Orléans are descended from Louise-Françoise through her daughter Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé, whose daughter Louise Henriette de Bourbon-Conti married Louis Phlippe I d'Orléans. They became the parents of Louis Phlippe II d'Orléans, better known to history as Philippe Égalité.
Said to be named after her mother's predecessor as Louis XIV's official mistress the duchesse de La Vallière et Vaujours; La Vallière was also her godmother.
The Palais Bourbon in Paris was built for her.

Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon

Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon (1674-1681).

Given the title of Mademoiselle de Tours.
Legitimised in January 1676.

Françoise-Marie de Bourbon

Françoise-Marie de Bourbon (1677-1749) married in 1692 the future regent Philippe II d'Orléans (1674-1723).

Legitimised in 1681 with her younger brother.
Given the title of Mademoiselle de Blois. She held this title until her marriage. It had been held previously by her elder half sister, Marie Anne de Bourbon, the daughter of her father and Louise de La Vallière.
Upon her marriage, she assumed the title of duchesse de Chartres, then on the death of her father-in-law, Philippe de France, she became the duchesse d'Orléans. As such, Françoise-Marie became second in precedence at court to the young wife of the king's grandson, Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy.
Through her son, Françoise-Marie became a direct ancestor of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French and the modern House of Orléans.

Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon

Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse (1678-1737) married Marie Victoire de Noailles.

Legitimised in 1681 with his older sister.
Given the title of comte de Toulouse.
The modern house of Orléans is also related to him through his granddaughter Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon-Penthièvre who married Louis Philippe II d'Orléans (Philippe Égalité).
He founded the house of Bourbon-Toulouse which later became the House of Bourbon-Penthièvre.
Bought the Hôtel de Toulouse (former Hôtel de la Vrillière), his residence in Paris.

Legacy

House of Orléans

Through three of her children (Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon and Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse), Mme de Montespan is an ancestor of the modern House of Orléans and its present head, the comte de Paris.

She is related to the present Portuguese and Brazilian Royal House of Braganza, the House of Este, the House of Austria-Este and the House of Savoy, mainly through her granddaughter by Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans.

Françoise-Marie's great-great-grandson was Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. Through Louis-Philippe's eldest daughter, Louise-Marie d'Orléans, the wife of King Leopold I of Belgium, Mme de Montespan is an ancestor of the present king of Belgium, Albert II.

Through Louis Philippe's son Ferdinand Philippe Louis Charles Henri Joseph, duc d'Orléans she is also an ancestor of the Spanish Royal Family and its head, King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

Through Louis-Philippe's fourth daughter, Clémentine d'Orléans, the wife of Leopold's nephew, Prince August of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary, she is also the ancestor of the current pretender to the throne of Bulgaria, King Simeon II.

Château de Clagny

The Château de Clagny in Versailles was built between 1674 and 1680 from the drawings of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Premier architecte du Roi, (First architect of the King), on land bought by Louis XIV in 1665. Mme de Sévigné wrote that its construction employed 1 200 workers and the cost was no less than two millions "livres. The royal gardener André Le Nôtre created the gardens, which looked west toward the much larger palace of Versailles, of which Clagny was a smaller version. The château de Clagny was also famed for its gallery. In 1685, Louis XIV gave the magnificent castle to Mme de Montespan. At her death, Clagny was inherited by her oldest son, the duc du Maine, who, in turn, passed it on to his son, the prince de Dombes, the last of his line. The château reverted to the French Crown in 1766 and was demolished in 1769.

Trianon de porcelaine

Louis XIV also had a pleasure pavilion, called the Trianon de porcelaine built for Mme de Montespan, and surrounded by gardens, on the site of the former hamlet of Trianon which he had purchased near the Palace of Versailles. It was meant as a hideaway for the couple. Because of the fragility of the earthenware tiles used in its construction, the Trianon de porcelaine was demolished in 1687 and replaced by the Grand Trianon of pink marble (marbre rose des Pyrénées).

Fashion

At court, women copied Madame de Montespan's lavish style of dress which was often very loose and unfettered. The looseness allowed her to move more easily during her frequent pregnancies. Queen Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche unsuccessfully copied her coiffure in order to get the king to notice her more. Later, even after her departure from court, Mme de Montespan's favourite fashions were still being copied.

Court

As the king's official mistress, Mme de Montespan frequently joined the rest of the court as it escorted the king as he waged his many wars against the Dutch and Austrians. Below is a picture of one of the court processions. It shows Louis XIV and his wife, Queen Marie-Thérèse, in Arras in 1667 during the War of Devolution.

Mme de Montespan, is said to be the blonde woman at the center of the coach which would have also held the king's sister-in-law Madame, his first cousin La Grande Mademoiselle, the Queen and Mme de Montespan's older sister, the marquise de Thianges. Louis XIV stands behind the coach with his red hat while his younger brother, Monsieur, stands further to the right in blue.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan

Galleries

General

Descendants

Mme de Montespan in fiction

She figured in Victorien Sardou's play L'Affaire des poisons (1907).
She played a major role as the rival to the main character in "Angelique and the King" by Sergeanne Golon (1960).
She also was a driving force in Judith Merkle-Riley's novel The Oracle Glass (1995).
Mme de Montespan was also fictionally referenced as a Satanist in Chelsea Quinn Yarbo's vampire novel Hotel Transylvania (1978).
She had a minor role in Chiho Saito and Kunihiko Ikuhara's manga series S to M no Sekai (2001), which was published in English as The World Exists For Me (2005).
She was one of the many courtiers of Louis XIV in Alexandre Dumas, père's novel, The Vicomte de Bragelonne. She was seen more in her younger years as one of the maids of honor to Queen Marie-Thérèse and a close friend to Louise de La Vallière, Louis XIV's mistress at the period of the novel's action.
She has a major role in 'The Orange Trees of Versailles' by Annie Pietri. It is set during the Affair of the Poisons and is written from the viewpoint of Marion, one of Mme de Montespan's maids. Marion disrupts Mme de Montespan's attempt to murder Queen Marie-Thérèse and is taken to work as a perfumer for the king and queen.
She is a central character in Clare Colvin's novel The Mirror Makers (2003).
She is a central figure in the collection of poetry, "Some Other Garden", by Jane Urquhart, first published as: "I am Walking in the Garden of His Imaginary Place". (2000; 1982)

External Link and reference

Full text of Memoirs of Madame de Montespan from Project Gutenberg

References

Other References

See contemporary memoirs of Mme de Sévigné, of Saint-Simon, of Bussy-Rabutin and others; also the proceedings of the Chambre Ardente preserved in the Archives de la Bastille (Arsenal Library) and the notes of La Reynie preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale.