Hortense Mancini, duchesse Mazarin (1646,
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
– November 9, 1699,
ChelseaChelsea is an area of south-west London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe...
), was the favourite niece of Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister of France, and a mistress of
Charles IICharles II was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father King Charles I was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War. The English Parliament did not proclaim Charles II king at this time. Instead they passed a statute making such a...
, King of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
. She was the fourth of the five famous Mancini sisters.
Early life, family and marriage
One of five sisters noted for their great beauty, she was born
Ortensia in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
to Baron
Michele Lorenzo ManciniMancini was one of the oldest families of Roman nobility. Their titles and fiefs were numerous: Dukes of Nevers and Donzy, Princes of Vergagne and of the Holy Roman Empire, French Peers, Spanish Grandees, Marquises of Fusignano, Counts of Montefortino, Viscounts of Clamecy, Barons of Tardello,...
, an Italian aristocrat. After his death in 1650, her mother,
GeronimaGirolama or Geronima Mazzarini was the sister of Cardinal Mazarin, Prime minister of France under Louis XIV, and mother of the five famous Mancini sisters....
, brought her daughters from Rome to
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in hopes of using the influence of her brother, Cardinal Mazarin, to gain them advantageous marriages. Hortense's four famous sisters were:
- Laure
Laura Mancini, duchess of Mercoeur and Vendôme was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin. Her husband was Louis II de Bourbon-Vendôme, grandson of King Henry IV, by whom she became the mother of the great general Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme.She was born Laura Vittoria Mancini and known as Laure...
(1636-1657), who married Louis II de Bourbon-Vendôme, Duc de MercoeurLouis of Bourbon-Vendôme , was duke of Mercœur and later the second duke of Vendôme, and the grandson of Henry IV of France and Gabrielle d'Estrée....
and became the mother of the famous general Louis Joseph of Bourbon-Vendôme,
- Olympe (1638 - 1708), who married Eugène-Maurice of Savoy-Carignano and became the mother of the famous general Prince Eugene of Savoy
François-Eugène, Prince of Savoy-Carignan , was one of the most prominent and successful military commanders in European history. Born in Paris to aristocratic Savoyard parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV. He was initially prepared for a career in the church, but by...
,
- Marie
Marie Mancini was the middle of the five Mancini sisters, nieces to Cardinal Mazarin who were brought to France to marry advantageously....
(1639 - 1715), who married Lorenzo Colonna and was the first romantic love of King Louis XIV of FranceLouis XIV , popularly known as the Sun King , was King of France and of Navarre His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days, and is the longest documented reign of any European monarch.Louis began personally governing France after the death...
,
- Marie Anne
Marie Anne Mancini, duchesse de Bouillon , was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin and the youngest of the five famous Mancini sisters.-Family:...
(1649 - 1714), who married Maurice Godefroy de la Tour d'Auvergne, Duc de Bouillon, a nephew of the famous field marshal TurenneHenri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne,often called simply Turenne was the most illustrious member of the La Tour d'Auvergne family. He achieved military fame and became a Marshal of France...
.
The sisters' cousins, the Martinozzis, also moved to France at the same time, for the same goal (to marry well). The elder,
LauraLaura Martinozzi was the regent of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in the name of her son, Francesco. She was born in Fano to Cardinal Mazarin's eldest sister, also named Laura, and Girolamo Martinozzi, an Italian noble...
, married
Alfonso IV d'Estethumb|240px|Alfonso IV d'Este, by [[Justus Sustermans]]Alfonso IV d'Este was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1658 until his death....
, duke of Modena and became the mother of
Mary of ModenaMary of Modena was queen consort to James II of England. Her reign as consort lasted from 6 February 1685 until 11 December 1688...
, second wife of
James II of EnglandJames II & VII was King of England and Ireland as James II, and Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
. The younger,
Anne Marie MartinozziAnne Marie Martinozzi, Princess of Conti was a Niece of Cardinal Mazarin and the wife of Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti. She was the mother of the libertine François Louis, Prince of Conti, le Grand Conti...
, married
Armand de Bourbon, Prince de ContiArmand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti was the second son of Henry II, Prince of Condé and brother of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and Anne Genevieve, Duchess of Longueville. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince du Sang.The title of Prince de Conti was revived in his...
.
The Mancini also had three brothers: Paul, Philippe, and Alphonse.
Marriage proposals
Charles II of EnglandCharles II was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father King Charles I was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War. The English Parliament did not proclaim Charles II king at this time. Instead they passed a statute making such a...
, the first cousin of Louis XIV, proposed to Hortense in 1659, but his offer was rejected by Cardinal Mazarin who believed the exiled king to have little in the way of prospects. Mazarin realised his mistake when Charles was reinstated as King of England only months later. Mazarin then became the supplicant and offered a dowry of 5 million
livre Livré-la-Touche is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. Prior to October 6, 2008, it was known as Livré....
s, but Charles refused. While a marriage did not materialize, the two were to cross paths later.
Hortense's hand was also requested by
Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of SavoyCharles Emmanuel II was the Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675 and under regency of his mother Christine Marie of France until 1663. He was also Marquis of Saluzzo, Count of Aosta, Geneva, Moriana and Nice, as well as claimant king of Cyprus and Jerusalem.-Biography:He was born in Turin to Victor...
, another first cousin of Louis XIV, but arrangements fell through when Cardinal Mazarin refused to include the stronghold-castle of Pigneol in her
dowryA dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband in marriage. Compare bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both dowry...
. For similar reasons, an offer made by the Duke of Lorraine was broken off as well.
Failed marriage
On March 1 1661, fifteen-year-old Hortense was married to one of the richest men in Europe, Armand-Charles de la Porte, duc de La Meilleraye. By marriage to Hortense, he was granted the title of
Duc Mazarin. On the death of Cardinal Mazarin shortly thereafter, he gained access to his wife's huge inheritance, which included the
Palais Mazarin in Paris, home to many pieces of fine art.
The marriage was not a success. Hortense was young, bright, and popular; Armand-Charles was miserly and extremely jealous, not to mention mentally unstable. His strange behaviour included preventing milkmaids from going about their job (to his mind, the cows' udders had strong sexual connotations), having all of his female servants' front teeth knocked out to prevent them from attracting male attention, and chipping off and painting over all the "dirty bits" in his fantastic art collection. He forbade his wife to keep company with other men, made midnight searches for hidden lovers, insisted she spend a quarter of her day at prayer, and forced her to leave Paris and move with him to the country.
It was at this point that Hortense began a lesbian love affair with the sixteen-year-old Sidonie de Courcelles. In attempt to remedy his wife's 'immorality', her husband sent both girls to a
conventA convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
. This tactic failed, as the two plagued the nuns with pranks: they added ink to the holy water, flooded the nuns' beds, and headed for freedom up the chimney.
Flight from marriage
Hortense finally made a bid to escape from her hellish marriage on the night of June 13 1668, with help from her brother, Philippe, Duc de Nevers, who procured horses and an escort to help her travel to Rome, where she counted on being able to take refuge with her sister
Marie ManciniMarie Mancini was the middle of the five Mancini sisters, nieces to Cardinal Mazarin who were brought to France to marry advantageously....
, now the Princess Colonna.
Under the protection of Louis XIV and of the Duke of Savoy
The French king
Louis XIVLouis XIV , popularly known as the Sun King , was King of France and of Navarre His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days, and is the longest documented reign of any European monarch.Louis began personally governing France after the death...
declared himself her protector and granted an annual pension of 24 thousand livres. Her former suitor,
Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of SavoyCharles Emmanuel II was the Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675 and under regency of his mother Christine Marie of France until 1663. He was also Marquis of Saluzzo, Count of Aosta, Geneva, Moriana and Nice, as well as claimant king of Cyprus and Jerusalem.-Biography:He was born in Turin to Victor...
, also declared himself her protector. As a result, Hortense retired to
ChambéryChambéry is commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made it his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry was founded at...
in
Haute-SavoieHaute-Savoie is a French department, named for its location in the Alps mountain range.- History :...
and established her home as a meeting place for authors, philosophers, and artists. After the death of the duke, though, she was turned out by his widow, Marie Jeanne Baptiste de Savoie-Nemours, due to Hortense's romantic involvement with her husband.
Charles II
After the death of Savoy, Hortense had no source of income; her husband froze all of her income, including the pension from Louis XIV.
The English ambassador to France, Ralph Montagu, aware of Hortense's desperate situation, enlisted her help in increasing his own standing with Charles II. He hoped she would replace the king's current mistress, Louise de Kerouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth. Hortense was willing to try. In 1675, she traveled to London under the pretext of a visit to her young cousin,
Mary of ModenaMary of Modena was queen consort to James II of England. Her reign as consort lasted from 6 February 1685 until 11 December 1688...
, the new wife of Charles II's younger brother,
James, Duke of YorkJames II & VII was King of England and Ireland as James II, and Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
. She was dressed as a man; her penchant for
cross-dressingCross-dressing is the act of wearing clothing commonly associated with the other gender within a particular society. The usage of the term, the types of cross-dressing both in modern times and throughout history, an analysis of the behaviour, and historical examples are discussed in the article...
is thought to be an outward expression of her
bisexualityBisexuality is sexual behavior with or physical attraction to both sexes , or a bisexual orientation. People who have a bisexual orientation "can experience sexual, emotional, and affectional attraction to both their own sex and the opposite sex"; "it also refers to an individual’s sense of...
.
Maîtresse en titre
By mid-1676, Hortense had fulfilled her purpose; she had taken the place of Louise de Kerouaille in Charles's affections. He provided her a pension of £4,000, which considerably lightened her financial troubles.
Montagu recounted:
I went to see Madame de Portsmouth [Louise de Kerouaille]. She opened her heart to me… explained to me what grief the frequent visits of the King of England to Madame de Sussex [Hortense Mancini] cause her every day.
Fall from favour
Such state of affairs might have continued had it not been for Hortense's promiscuity.
Firstly, there was her almost certainly
lesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
relationship with
Anne, Countess of SussexAnne Lennard, Countess of Sussex , formerly Lady Anne Palmer, alias Fitzroy, was the eldest daughter of Barbara Palmer née Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, and most likely Charles II of England or Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield.-Biography:She was born Anne Palmer on February 25 1661...
, the king's illegitimate daughter by the
Duchess of ClevelandBarbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland was an English courtesan and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of Charles II of England.-Early life:Born Barbara Villiers at the parish of St...
. This culminated in a very public, friendly fencing match in
St James ParkSt James Park is a football stadium in Exeter and is the home of Exeter City F.C. The stadium is served by the St James Park railway station which is right next to the ground...
, with the women clad in nightgowns, after which Anne's husband ordered his wife to the country. There she refused to do anything but lie in bed, repeatedly kissing a miniature of Hortense.
Secondly, she began an affair with
Louis I de Grimaldi, Prince de MonacoLouis I, Prince of Monaco was Prince of Monaco from 1662 until 1701.He was a son of prince Hercule of Monaco and Aurelia Spinola.
He succeeded his grandfather Honoré II as Prince of Monaco in 1662....
. Charles remonstrated with her and cut off her pension, although within a couple of days he repented and restarted the payments. However, this signified the end of Hortense's position as the king's favourite. Though she and Charles remained friends, the Duchess of Portsmouth returned to her role as ’
maitresse en titre’.
The introduction to
Aphra BehnAphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing participated in the amatory fiction genre of British literature.-Early life:...
's "
The History of the NunThe History of the Nun, Or The Fair Vow Breaker is a short story by Aphra Behn written in 1688.It contains an introduction which may suggest a romantic affair between the author and Hortense Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin, one of the mistresses of Charles II and "adventuresses" of the 17th...
" has been taken as a suggestion that Behn too had romantic relations with Hortense during this same time. It reads:
to the Most Illustrious Princess, The Dutchess of Mazarine...how infinitely one of Your own Sex ador'd You, and that, among all the numerous Conquest, Your Grace has made over the Hearts of Men, Your Grace had not subdu'd a more intire Slave; I assure you, Madam, there is neither Compliment, nor Poetry, in this humble Declaration, but a Truth, which has cst me a great deal of Inquietude, for that Fortune has not set me in such a Station, as might justifie my Pretence to the honour and satisfaction of being ever near Your Grace, to view eternally that lovely Person, and here that surprising Wit; what can be more grateful to a Heart, than so great, and so agreeable, an Entertainment? And how few Objects are there, that can render it so entire a Pleasure, as at once to hear you speak, and to look upon your Beauty?
Hortense, however, maintained good relations with the king until his death. The Sunday before, the diarist
John EvelynJohn Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
wrote:
the King sitting and toying with his concubines, Portsmouth, Cleveland, and Mazarin [Hortense Mancini being the Duchesse Mazarin]... Six days after, all was in dust.
After Charles II's death
Following the death of Charles II, Hortense was well-provided for by
James IIJames II & VII was King of England and Ireland as James II, and Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, possibly because of her kinship with the new queen, Mary of Modena. Even when James fled England and
William and MaryThe phrase William and Mary usually refers to the joint sovereignty over the Kingdom of England, as well as the Kingdom of Scotland, of King William III and his wife Queen Mary II, a daughter of James II...
came to power, she remained in place, albeit with a much reduced pension. During this time, she presided over a
salonA salon is a gathering of intellectual, social, political, and cultural elites under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation...
of intellectuals.
Charles de Saint-ÉvremondCharles de Marguetel de Saint-Denis, seigneur de Saint-Évremond , was a French soldier, hedonist, essayist and literary critic. After 1661, he lived in exile, mainly in England, as a consequence of his attack on French policy at the time of the peace of the Pyrenees . He is buried in Poets' Corner,...
, the great poet and epicurean, was a close friend and brought to her door all the learned men of London.
Evelyn recorded her eventual death in 1699:
June 11th, 1699. Now died the famous Duchess of Mazarin. She had been the richest lady in Europe; she was niece to Cardinal Mazarin, and was married to the richest subject in Europe, as was said; she was born at Rome, educated in France, and was an extraordinary beauty and wit, but dissolute, and impatient of matrimonial restraint, so as to be abandoned by her husband, and banished [note the 17th-century male views on the topic]: when she came to England for shelter, lived on a pension given her here, and is reported to have hastened her death by intemperate drinking strong spirits. She has written her own story and adventures, and so has her other extravagant sister, wife to the noble family of Colonna.
With the exception of
Marguerite de ValoisMargaret of Valois was Queen of France and of Navarre during the late sixteenth century.-Early life:...
, Hortense and her sister,
Marie ManciniMarie Mancini was the middle of the five Mancini sisters, nieces to Cardinal Mazarin who were brought to France to marry advantageously....
, were the first women in France to put their memoirs into print. Both women were partly motivated by the help that producing a body of evidence would bring to the cause of separation from their abusive husbands.
Hortense may have committed
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
, keeping her life dramatic until the very end. Her husband managed to continue the drama after her death; he carted her body around with him on his travels in France, before finally allowing it to be interred by the tomb of her uncle, Cardinal Mazarin.
Further reading
- Mazarine Legacy: The Life of Hortense Mancini, Duchess Mazarin, Toivo David Rosvall, Viking Press, 1969