Maison royale de Saint-Louis
| Maison royale de Saint-Louis | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
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Saint-Cyr-l'École, Yvelines France |
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| Information | |
| Type | Maison d'éducation |
| Founded | 1686 |
| Founder | Madame de Maintenon |
| Status | Closed - buildings reused by École spéciale militaire and Lycée militaire de Saint-Cyr |
| Closed | 1803 |
| Head of school | Madame de Brinon |
The Maison Royale de Saint-Louis was a 'pensionnat' or boarding school for girls set up in 1684 at Saint-Cyr (what is now the commune of Saint-Cyr-l'École, Yvelines) in France by king Louis XIV at the request of his second wife, Madame de Maintenon, who wanted a school for girls from impoverished noble families. The establishment lost its leading role on the deaths of Louis and then Maintenon, but it nevertheless marked an evolution in female education under the Ancien Régime. Its notable students included Maintenon's niece Marthe-Marguerite Le Valois de Villette de Mursay, marquise de Caylus, and Napoleon's sister Élisa Bonaparte, grand duchess of Tuscany.
It remained in existence during the first years of the French Revolution, but closed for good in March 1793, with its empty buildings being taken over by the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1808. However, the Maison royale later provided Napoleon with the inspiration for his Maison des demoiselles de la Légion d'honneur, which still exists as the Maison d'éducation de la Légion d'honneur.
The origins of the Maison Royale de Saint-Louis were strongly linked to the youth of Madame de Maintenon. She was herself from a noble family which had fallen on hard times; she received only a limited education, administered via the convents, which were then the only institutions educating noble girls. Their curricula were minimal, with lessons in French, Latin, mathematics and domestic work. The main emphasis was on religion and liturgy, with no opening onto the real world.
Madame de Maintenon later moved in intellectual circles, thanks to her first husband, Scarron, before becoming governess to the children of Madame de Montespan, giving her exposure to education and a vocation as an educator. Once beside Louis XIV, de Maintenon wished to improve the education available to girls from impoverished noble families, who were becoming increasingly numerous because many provincial noblemen died in Louis's wars or expended their fortunes in his service.
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