Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon
| Françoise d'Aubigné | |
|---|---|
The Marquise de Maintenon
|
|
| Born |
27 November 1635 Niort, France |
| Died | 15 April 1719 (aged 83) Saint-Cyr |
| Title | Marquise de Maintenon |
| Spouse(s) |
Paul Scarron (1652-1660) Louis XIV of France (1684?-1715) |
| Parent(s) |
Constant d'Aubigné Jeanne de Cardilhac |
Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon (27 November 1635 – 15 April 1719) was the second wife of King Louis XIV of France. She was known during her first marriage as Madame Scarron, and subsequently as Madame de Maintenon. Her marriage to the king was never officially announced or admitted, though she was very influential at court. She founded the Maison royale de Saint-Louis, a school for girls from poorer noble families, in 1684.
Françoise d'Aubigné was born on 27 November 1635, but her place of birth is under speculation. A plaque suggests her birthplace was at the Hotel du Chaumont in Niort, in western France. Some sources indicate she may have been born in or just outside the prison at Niort because her father, the Huguenot Constant d'Aubigné, was incarcerated there for conspiring against Cardinal Richelieu. Her mother, Jeanne de Cardilhac, was the daughter of Constant's jailer. Her grandfather was Agrippa d'Aubigné, a well-known Protestant General, a former intimate servant of Henry IV, and an epic poet. Jeanne had her child baptised in her own Catholic religion; the young girl's godparents were Suzanne de Baudéan, the daughter of the Comtesse de Neuillant and the governor of Niort; and the Duc de la Rochefoucauld, father of François de La Rochefoucauld, author of the famous Maxims. Suzanne would later go to serve Anne of Austria and Maria Theresa, the first wife of Louis XIV.
In 1639 Françoise's father was released from prison and went with his family to the island of Martinique in the West Indies. Jeanne was a strict mother, allowed her children few liberties, and gave them a Protestant education, despite their Catholic baptism. Constant returned to France, leaving his wife and children behind in Martinique. Jeanne was forever trying to be "mother and father" to her children, and eventually she made it back to France, to join her husband in 1647. Within months of her return to France Jeanne's husband died and Françoise returned to the care of her beloved aunt, Madame de Villette, her father's sister. The Villettes' house, Mursay, became a happy memory for Françoise, who had been in the care of her aunt and uncle before leaving for Martinique. The de Villettes were wealthy and took good care of the child, but they were ardent Protestants and they continued to school Françoise in their beliefs. When this became known to her godmother's family, an order was issued that Françoise had to be educated in a convent.
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