Angélique de Fontanges
Encyclopedia
Marie Angélique de Scorailles (1661 – 28 June 1681) was a French noblewoman and one of the many mistresses
of Louis XIV
. A lady-in-waiting
to his sister-in-law
the Duchess of Orléans, she caught the attention of the Sun King and became his lover in 1679. She died as a result of childbirth.
in July 1661. Having noticed her great beauty, a cousin was responsible for bringing her to the court of Louis XIV in 1678 as maid of honor of the Duchess of Orléans, sister of the king. Louis XIV was, at this time, torn between the Marquise de Montespan and Madame de Maintenon. Athénaïs de Montespan saw Marie Angélique as a way of reclaiming her royal lover - seduced by the beauty of the young girl, the King would then abandon the Marquise de Maintenon. Knowing that despite her physical charm, Marie Angélique was, according to the Cour, "stupid as a basket", Athénaïs was sure that Louis XIV would then return to her. The arrangements were quickly made, and, a few weeks after the presentation of the young girl, the king made her his new favourite
and presented entertainments in her honour.
Louis showed his great affection for Marie Angélique by wearing ribbons often matched to hers. This flattery spoiled her, and she began to believe herself queen
; she passed Queen Marie Thérèse without greeting, and treated Athénaïs de Montespan ignominiously. The king gave her one hundred thousand crowns a month, twice as gifts, but he could not exhaust her extravagance, her coach
was being driven by eight horse
s, it seemed to "eat her reign at a time." For Fontanges, Louis XIV had become young, wearing diamonds, ribbons and feathers. Every day a new party, hunts, ballet
, comedy
-- never had luxury been pushed so far.
Soon, it appeared that she was pregnant, causing the wrath of Madame de Montespan, who did not think the king so enamoured of his young conquest. She then said to the Marquise de Maintenon "the king has three pillars: my name, this girl and your heart." Marie-Angélique soon created the famous fashion of Fontanges: during a ride in the forest of Fontainebleau
, her hair clinging to a branch and she appears before the king dishevelled, which Louis found charming. The next day, all the courtiers adopted this hairstyle, except the Marquise de Montespan, who thought it in "bad taste".
In December 1679, Marie Angélique gave birth prematurely to a son who died at birth. She was then said to have been "wounded in the service." In 1680, the favour of Marie Angélique declined, after the king bestowed on her the title of Duchess of Fontanges. Still sick (suffering from serious blood loss) since the birth, she retired to the Abbey of Chelles, and did not reappear before the court. While the Duchess remained in the Abbey of Chelles, her doctor prescribed mineral water, six vials of which were dispensed each evening. These bottles were filled with poison, with the identity of the attempted poisoner unknown. In late 1680, Madame de Montespan brought two tame bears after the king offered to permit sack the sumptuous apartment of Mademoiselle de Fontanges in Versailles. The event made Marie Angélique the laughingstock of the whole court.
In 1681, Marie Angélique suffered a high fever and was sent to the abbey of Port-Royal. According to some sources, Marie Angélique gave birth prematurely to a stillborn
girl in March. The poor girl did not long survive her retirement. One day the court learned that Mademoiselle Fontanges was going to die and had asked for the king. Louis XIV surrendered to the wishes of the patient, and seemed touched by the suffering of the poor girl, and wept. "I thank your majesty," murmured Fontanges, I'm happy because in my death bed I saw my king cry." The Duchess died on the night of 27 to 28 June 1681.
. Their testimonies can be fabricated. It also appears that Frances Filastre, poisoner and abortionist, sought to enter the service of Marie Angélique de Fontanges. When asked, the Filastre denies attempt on the life of the young Duchess: all she wanted was to enter as a domestic service to provide for his family. Under torture, she admits, however, have acted on behalf of Madame de Montespan: Marquise wished the death of his young rival and regain the love of the king. And yet, before being executed, the poisoner returns to his statements: "All I said is false. I did that for me free of pain and torment of pain and fear that I rappliquât question. I say all this because I do not want to kill the guilty conscience of a lie." Clearly, the Marquise de Montespan has never sought to poison Miss Fontanges. Moreover, all attempts at poisoning failed. If Madame de Montespan had been involved in these conspiracies, it would have been easy to penetrate the poisoners in the yard. In 1680, it is clear that although Marie Angélique escaped an attempted poisoning: when she was sick at the Abbey of Chelles, her doctor prescribed mineral water which is made the same evening at six vials. Marie Angélique eatetk fortunately not for tomorrow, we see that the bottles are filled with poison. We do not know who was the author of this attempted poisoning.
When he learned the death of the Duchess, Louis XIV asked that there be no autopsy. This request of the monarch did amplify the doubts of poisoning. At the request of the family of the deceased, the autopsy still occurred. Without really means medical doctors diagnose TB with "rot total lung lobes rights" and "water in the membrane surrounding the heart which results in increasing the volume of the liver, that the called fatty liver." Thus, we are given is the cause of death of the duchess but do not in any way connected with the blood loss which she suffered for months from 1680. And for good reason, although doctors try to see clearly at the time, they were quickly discouraged.
They had in mind to explain these losses simply by a missed abortion
. So the doctors thought that the young mistress of Louis XIV was guilty of the crime of infanticide and abortion. This makes no sense because all the king's mistresses (and Marie Angélique was no exception) wanted more than anything to give children the King to consolidate their place at court. It was not until the late twentieth century that a medical specialist, Professor of Gynecology Yves Malinas, conducted a study of the autopsy. According to him, Marie Angélique died of cancer of the fetal membrane. After childbirth, a piece of placenta
remained in the body of the Duchess and would have caused the loss of blood. However, the Duchess of Fontanges gave birth to a son in late December 1679.
Although it shows signs of weakness due to her confinement, she did not have the least glorious day of the year 1680. At that time, his losses have not yet begun. These signs of weakness, therefore only prove that the Duchess resents pregnancies, in contrast to the Marquise de Montespan. Blood loss to begin mid-1680. Madame de Caylus wrote about Miss Fontanges "this girl was killed for trying to Fontainebleau from 13 May (1680), the same day that though the king was in labor and give birth. It was from still languishing." According to Ernest Lavisse and Bernard Christmas "Two miscarriages caused her to lose favor with the king." Can we really speak of miscarriage for the first pregnancy in 1679, as Marie Angélique is good to a son (born prematurely and who does not live) in December? Although the child of Marie Angélique, born prematurely, died a natural death, Princess Palatine, who does not like Madame de Montespan, wrote that he was probably poisoned by the Marquise! Yves Malinas, these losses of blood flow of a second miscarriage (or confinement) which, logically, takes place in 1680 when the bleeding starts. This may challenge some sources speaking of a child (usually a girl) stillborn in March 1681 because at that time, their losses, which last for months, the Duchess of Fontanges can hardly be pregnant again especially if a piece of placenta is still in it.
Legend has it that in 1695, the ghost of Marie Angélique appeared to the king when he came to bed. The Duchess then asked him to dispose of the Marquise de Maintenon would have recalled that when she was still alive, he had vowed repeatedly that she was the woman he loved best and today she was very sorry to see that he had forgotten so quickly in the arms of another. The Duchess told him that the return of Madame de Maintenon was the only solution to ease his future punishment in purgatory for this was that it was and that the king would be after death. She also reportedly told Louis XIV that his years of rule were numbered and that soon he would join her, she was waiting. She finally confessed that it was Madame de Montespan, who had been poisoned and begged Louis to abandon for good Madame de Maintenon and look only to God. It is true that the Marquise de Montespan was accused of the death of the Duchess of Fontanges: it would have killed Maria Angelica by administering a poison to be delayed, which would explain the sudden flow of blood began in 1680. For eleven months, Athenais de Montespan would slowly passing away and her rival. Before dying, the Duchess of Fontanges had indeed been responsible for his death deprived the favorite and the Princess Palatine wrote about that "it is certain that the Fontanges died poisoned. A servant that had won Montespan was destroyed with milk." Although science innocent of this crime the marquise, for some, the death of Miss Fontanges still does not appear to be natural.
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. A lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to his sister-in-law
Affinity (law)
In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity, as distinguished from consanguinity, is kinship by marriage. It is the relation which each party to a marriage bears to the kindred of the other. In English, affinity is usually signified by adding "-in-law" to the degree of kinship...
the Duchess of Orléans, she caught the attention of the Sun King and became his lover in 1679. She died as a result of childbirth.
Mistress to a king, untimely death
Marie Angélique de Scorailles was born in AuvergneAuvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
in July 1661. Having noticed her great beauty, a cousin was responsible for bringing her to the court of Louis XIV in 1678 as maid of honor of the Duchess of Orléans, sister of the king. Louis XIV was, at this time, torn between the Marquise de Montespan and Madame de Maintenon. Athénaïs de Montespan saw Marie Angélique as a way of reclaiming her royal lover - seduced by the beauty of the young girl, the King would then abandon the Marquise de Maintenon. Knowing that despite her physical charm, Marie Angélique was, according to the Cour, "stupid as a basket", Athénaïs was sure that Louis XIV would then return to her. The arrangements were quickly made, and, a few weeks after the presentation of the young girl, the king made her his new favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
and presented entertainments in her honour.
Louis showed his great affection for Marie Angélique by wearing ribbons often matched to hers. This flattery spoiled her, and she began to believe herself queen
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
; she passed Queen Marie Thérèse without greeting, and treated Athénaïs de Montespan ignominiously. The king gave her one hundred thousand crowns a month, twice as gifts, but he could not exhaust her extravagance, her coach
Coach (carriage)
A coach was originally a large, usually closed, four-wheeled carriage with two or more horses harnessed as a team, controlled by a coachman and/or one or more postilions. It had doors in the sides, with generally a front and a back seat inside and, for the driver, a small, usually elevated seat in...
was being driven by eight horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, it seemed to "eat her reign at a time." For Fontanges, Louis XIV had become young, wearing diamonds, ribbons and feathers. Every day a new party, hunts, ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
-- never had luxury been pushed so far.
Soon, it appeared that she was pregnant, causing the wrath of Madame de Montespan, who did not think the king so enamoured of his young conquest. She then said to the Marquise de Maintenon "the king has three pillars: my name, this girl and your heart." Marie-Angélique soon created the famous fashion of Fontanges: during a ride in the forest of Fontainebleau
Château de Fontainebleau
The Palace of Fontainebleau, located 55 kilometres from the centre of Paris, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The palace as it is today is the work of many French monarchs, building on an early 16th century structure of Francis I. The building is arranged around a series of courtyards...
, her hair clinging to a branch and she appears before the king dishevelled, which Louis found charming. The next day, all the courtiers adopted this hairstyle, except the Marquise de Montespan, who thought it in "bad taste".
In December 1679, Marie Angélique gave birth prematurely to a son who died at birth. She was then said to have been "wounded in the service." In 1680, the favour of Marie Angélique declined, after the king bestowed on her the title of Duchess of Fontanges. Still sick (suffering from serious blood loss) since the birth, she retired to the Abbey of Chelles, and did not reappear before the court. While the Duchess remained in the Abbey of Chelles, her doctor prescribed mineral water, six vials of which were dispensed each evening. These bottles were filled with poison, with the identity of the attempted poisoner unknown. In late 1680, Madame de Montespan brought two tame bears after the king offered to permit sack the sumptuous apartment of Mademoiselle de Fontanges in Versailles. The event made Marie Angélique the laughingstock of the whole court.
In 1681, Marie Angélique suffered a high fever and was sent to the abbey of Port-Royal. According to some sources, Marie Angélique gave birth prematurely to a stillborn
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
girl in March. The poor girl did not long survive her retirement. One day the court learned that Mademoiselle Fontanges was going to die and had asked for the king. Louis XIV surrendered to the wishes of the patient, and seemed touched by the suffering of the poor girl, and wept. "I thank your majesty," murmured Fontanges, I'm happy because in my death bed I saw my king cry." The Duchess died on the night of 27 to 28 June 1681.
Death by poisoning?
Marie Angélique died during the Affaire des Poisons and poisoning has suggested to explain the early death of the young duchess. During the interrogation of the accused witches and wizards, some of them mentioned the name of Mademoiselle de Fontanges, referring to a plot to poison the young woman. Thus, Marie-Marguerite Monvoisin, daughter of the sorceress La Voisin, accused accomplices of his late mother, having planned the poisoning of the Duchess of Fontanges. A man named Romani and Bertrand were some of those arrested in 1680. The first was accused of trying to sell poisonous stuffs to Miss Fontanges; the second of attempting to deliver to her gloves impregnated with poison. Defendants pronounce the name of Miss Carnation, lady's maid to the Marquise de Montespan. However, be aware that prisoners were able to communicate them in prison and at first seen, they agreed to say the more often the names of Madame de Montespan and Miss Fontanges hoping to not having to undergo the ordeal of tortureTorture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. Their testimonies can be fabricated. It also appears that Frances Filastre, poisoner and abortionist, sought to enter the service of Marie Angélique de Fontanges. When asked, the Filastre denies attempt on the life of the young Duchess: all she wanted was to enter as a domestic service to provide for his family. Under torture, she admits, however, have acted on behalf of Madame de Montespan: Marquise wished the death of his young rival and regain the love of the king. And yet, before being executed, the poisoner returns to his statements: "All I said is false. I did that for me free of pain and torment of pain and fear that I rappliquât question. I say all this because I do not want to kill the guilty conscience of a lie." Clearly, the Marquise de Montespan has never sought to poison Miss Fontanges. Moreover, all attempts at poisoning failed. If Madame de Montespan had been involved in these conspiracies, it would have been easy to penetrate the poisoners in the yard. In 1680, it is clear that although Marie Angélique escaped an attempted poisoning: when she was sick at the Abbey of Chelles, her doctor prescribed mineral water which is made the same evening at six vials. Marie Angélique eatetk fortunately not for tomorrow, we see that the bottles are filled with poison. We do not know who was the author of this attempted poisoning.
When he learned the death of the Duchess, Louis XIV asked that there be no autopsy. This request of the monarch did amplify the doubts of poisoning. At the request of the family of the deceased, the autopsy still occurred. Without really means medical doctors diagnose TB with "rot total lung lobes rights" and "water in the membrane surrounding the heart which results in increasing the volume of the liver, that the called fatty liver." Thus, we are given is the cause of death of the duchess but do not in any way connected with the blood loss which she suffered for months from 1680. And for good reason, although doctors try to see clearly at the time, they were quickly discouraged.
They had in mind to explain these losses simply by a missed abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. So the doctors thought that the young mistress of Louis XIV was guilty of the crime of infanticide and abortion. This makes no sense because all the king's mistresses (and Marie Angélique was no exception) wanted more than anything to give children the King to consolidate their place at court. It was not until the late twentieth century that a medical specialist, Professor of Gynecology Yves Malinas, conducted a study of the autopsy. According to him, Marie Angélique died of cancer of the fetal membrane. After childbirth, a piece of placenta
Placenta
The placenta is an organ that connects the developing fetus to the uterine wall to allow nutrient uptake, waste elimination, and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply. "True" placentas are a defining characteristic of eutherian or "placental" mammals, but are also found in some snakes and...
remained in the body of the Duchess and would have caused the loss of blood. However, the Duchess of Fontanges gave birth to a son in late December 1679.
Although it shows signs of weakness due to her confinement, she did not have the least glorious day of the year 1680. At that time, his losses have not yet begun. These signs of weakness, therefore only prove that the Duchess resents pregnancies, in contrast to the Marquise de Montespan. Blood loss to begin mid-1680. Madame de Caylus wrote about Miss Fontanges "this girl was killed for trying to Fontainebleau from 13 May (1680), the same day that though the king was in labor and give birth. It was from still languishing." According to Ernest Lavisse and Bernard Christmas "Two miscarriages caused her to lose favor with the king." Can we really speak of miscarriage for the first pregnancy in 1679, as Marie Angélique is good to a son (born prematurely and who does not live) in December? Although the child of Marie Angélique, born prematurely, died a natural death, Princess Palatine, who does not like Madame de Montespan, wrote that he was probably poisoned by the Marquise! Yves Malinas, these losses of blood flow of a second miscarriage (or confinement) which, logically, takes place in 1680 when the bleeding starts. This may challenge some sources speaking of a child (usually a girl) stillborn in March 1681 because at that time, their losses, which last for months, the Duchess of Fontanges can hardly be pregnant again especially if a piece of placenta is still in it.
Legend has it that in 1695, the ghost of Marie Angélique appeared to the king when he came to bed. The Duchess then asked him to dispose of the Marquise de Maintenon would have recalled that when she was still alive, he had vowed repeatedly that she was the woman he loved best and today she was very sorry to see that he had forgotten so quickly in the arms of another. The Duchess told him that the return of Madame de Maintenon was the only solution to ease his future punishment in purgatory for this was that it was and that the king would be after death. She also reportedly told Louis XIV that his years of rule were numbered and that soon he would join her, she was waiting. She finally confessed that it was Madame de Montespan, who had been poisoned and begged Louis to abandon for good Madame de Maintenon and look only to God. It is true that the Marquise de Montespan was accused of the death of the Duchess of Fontanges: it would have killed Maria Angelica by administering a poison to be delayed, which would explain the sudden flow of blood began in 1680. For eleven months, Athenais de Montespan would slowly passing away and her rival. Before dying, the Duchess of Fontanges had indeed been responsible for his death deprived the favorite and the Princess Palatine wrote about that "it is certain that the Fontanges died poisoned. A servant that had won Montespan was destroyed with milk." Although science innocent of this crime the marquise, for some, the death of Miss Fontanges still does not appear to be natural.