Before Marie Mancini and Louise de La Vallière, Louis XIV, aged tender sixteen, had a fling for a certain Mademoiselle de la Motte-Argencourt. Born in 1637 or 1638 to Pierre de Conty d’Argencourt and Madeleine de Chaumont de Bertichères, Anne-Madeleine deContinue reading
Category: Dames de la cour
Better and lesser known ladies of Louis XIV’s court.
Bonne de Pons, Marquise d’Heudicourt
Bonne de Pons was born between 1641 and 1644 in Poitou to Pons de Pons, Seigneur de Bourg-Charente, and his wife Elisabeth de Puyrigaud. Bonne is the youngest of the couple’s three children, having an older brother, RenaudContinue reading
Louise de La Vallière, Duchesse de La Vallière et de Vaujours
Françoise Louise de La Baume Le Blanc was born on August 6 in 1644 to Françoise Le Provost and the officer Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc. Her father Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc wasContinue reading
Marie Mancini, Princesse Colonna
Anna Maria Mancini, adopted, like her sisters and cousins, the French version of her name, Marie, as she came to France. Born on August 28, 1639, to the Italian aristocrat and necromancer Lorenzo Mancini andContinue reading
Laure Martinozzi, Duchesse de Modène
Born as Laura Martinozzi on May 27, 1639, Laura adopted the French version of her name, Laure, when setting foot on French soil. She was the oldest daughter of Laura Margherita Mazzarini, sister of Cardinal Mazarin, and theContinue reading
Laure Mancini, Duchesse de Mercœur
Laure Mancini was the eldest of the five Mancini sisters. Born on May 6, 1636, she was called to France by Cardinal Mazarin, along with her sister Olympe and cousin Anne Marie Martinozzi, in 1647. Continue reading
Marie-Madeleine-Marguerite d’Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers
Marie-Madeleine Marguerite d’Aubray was born on July 2 in 1630, into a wealthy and well-known noble family. Her father, Antoine Dreux d’Aubray, was a civil lieutenant of the Châtelet during the Fronde. Her mother died in childbirth and, accordingContinue reading
Claude de Vin des Œillets
Claude de Vin des Œillets, dite Mademoiselle des Œillets, was born in the Provence in 1637, as daughter of Nicholas de Vin and Alix de Faviot, better known by their stage name des Œillets, bothContinue reading
Catherine Monvoisin, fortune teller, sorceress and poisoner
France was shaken by a scandal of enormous proportions in the late 1670’s, l’affaire des poisons, in its center the King, various women of the best noble families of France and a woman called LaContinue reading
Anne-Marie Martinozzi, Princesse de Conti
Born in 1637, as youngest daughter of Comte Girolamo Martinozzi and Laura Margherita Mazzarini, sister of Cardinal Mazarin, Anne-Marie came to France in 1648 together with her mother and sister Laura. Mother and daughters lived firstContinue reading
Olympe Mancini, Comtesse de Soissons
Born on July 11 in 1638, as Olimpia and third child of Lorenzo Mancini and Geronima Mazzarini, sister of Cardinal Mazarin, Olimpia adopted the French version of her name, Olympe, as she came to FranceContinue reading
Hortense Mancini, Duchesse Mazarin
Born on June 6 in 1646, Ortensia was the second youngest of the Mancini sisters, who along with their Martinozzi cousins were known as les Mazarinettes. Ortensia was six years old as she arrivedContinue reading
Marie-Anne Mancini, Duchesse de Bouillon
Born in 1649, to Girolama Mazzarini, sister of Cardinal Mazarin, and Lorenzo Mancini, a Baron and necromancer, Marie-Anne Mancini was the youngest of the five famous Mancini sisters, who along with their Martinozzi cousins becameContinue reading
Louise de Kérouaille
Born on 6 September 1649, into a noble but relatively poor Breton family, Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille, was the daughter of Guillaume de Penancoët, Seigneur de Kérouaille, and Marie de Ploeuc de Timeur.Continue reading