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Marie-Anne de Wurtemberg, Princesse de Wurtemberg
Anna-Maria-Ignacia von Württemberg, sometimes also Maria-Anna, or in French Marie-Anne-Ignace de Wurtemberg, was the daughter of Ulrich von Württemberg-Neuenbürg, younger brother of the reigning Herzog von Württemberg, and his second wife. His first wife Gräfin Sophia Dorothea von Solms, which he married in 1647, had died in child-bed and the child two days later. Ulrich married again in 1651, this…
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A Thousand Notable Things by Thomas Lupton
If you ever wondered what household tricks your ancestors might recommend, have a look at Thomas Lupton’s A thousand notable things, on various subjects; disclosed from the secrets of nature. It’s a vast collection of all kind of tips, tricks, advice on how to deal with illnesses or children and wives, how to keep the plague away and cure deafness,…
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17th century beauty hacks
Beauty hacks and tricks to enhance body features are nothing new. The ladies in the 17th century had quite a few of them, some dating back to ancient times, on how to lose weight, make the teeth whiter, the skin smoother or how to get rid of lice. In matters of weight loss, the 1694 Ladies’ Dictionary advises some easy…
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Versailles season two… what happened and what not?
In spirit of last season’s what happened and what not, we shall look at season two as well. If you have not finished the season yet, you should probably not read any further, because spoilers. Did Rohan get executed for kidnapping the Dauphin? The Chevalier de Rohan never managed to kidnap the Dauphin, but he was executed for planning…
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La Fronde
Long before the Revolution shook France and turned the country upside down, there was the Fronde. A sort of civil war lasting from 1648 to 1653. During this time of general unrest, Louis XIV, still a child, was forced to flee his own residences to escape a violent mob, as members of his own family sought to gain power and…
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Gabrielle de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Thianges
Born in 1633 at Lussac-Les-Châteaux into the illustrious de Rochechouart de Mortemart family, Gabrielle was the older sister of the famous Madame de Montespan and just like her little sister, Gabrielle was celebrated for her great beauty, sharp mind and wit. Gabrielle was the first-born child of Gabriel de Rochechouart de Mortemart and his wife Diane de Grandseigne. Her childhood…
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Of Ink, Wit and Intrigue…
‘THE WILDEST AND MOST FANTASTICAL ODD MAN ALIVE.’ Susan Cooper-Bridgewater explores the life of John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, in Of Ink, Wit and Intrigue, a gripping novel that weaves together fact and fiction. I surrender this testimony of my life and have laid bare some obscure events, the truth of which is for you to ponder upon.…
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17th century beauty standards, or what was sexy at the court of Louis XIV…
Every century and every epoch got their own standards of what is considered handsome and what not. Some of these 17th century might be a bit of a surprise compared to those of our modern times. So, let’s have a look at what was sexy during the time of Louis XIV… First of all, forget tanning. The ideal skin is…
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Review: City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris by Holly Tucker
Holly Tucker, author of Blood Work and Pregnant Fictions, dived deep into the archives and into one of the most interesting tales of the reign of Louis XIV, the infamous affaire des poisons. “A TALE AS TWISTED AS ANY AGATHA CHRISTIE MURDER MYSTERY.” —Deborah Blum— Author of The Poisoner’s Handbook Her new book City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and…
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Dangeau’s Diary, May 1686
2d. — Mademoiselle de Malause, who still remains a Huguenot, has been ordered to retire to a convent. 6th. — Letters received from Rome state, that several Quietists have abjured. Their errors are mostly founded upon some passages ill understood by the most devout and most celebrated authors who have written upon mental prayer. They pretend, that, when a person…
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Thoughts on Versailles, the season two summary
Poison, murder, cabals, betrayal, weddings, good versus bad… this season two was packed. It was dark, dangerous and wicked. If you read my thoughts on Versailles, you probably already know that I had some issues with this season regarding its general story and with how some of the characters have been written. Especially one character in particular. If you haven’t…
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Dame Louise de Maisonblanche
Louise-Marie-Antoinette-Josèphe-Jeanne de Bourbon-Maisonblanche was born on June 17 in 1676 as daughter of Philippe de Maisonblanche, Captain of the Guards/Cavalry, and his wife Gabrielle de La Tour. This was the official version at least. The girl, her name being shortened to Louise de Maisonblanche, was actually the daughter of Claude de Vin des Œillets, a lady-in-waiting and companion of Madame…
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Thoughts on Versailles season two, episode ten….
We are at the last episode of this new season. Are you excited? Will we get a major cliffhanger again? Will the King be poisoned? So many questions, so lets jump straight back in time to 17th century France and Versailles. Madame de Montespan narrowly escaped Fabien last episode and is having a bit of a wash in her rooms.…
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Thoughts on Versailles season two, episode nine….
Episode nine. That means only one more to go and before we dive into this episode I will put a rant warning here. I have seen the episode already and before I did so the first time, I was actually warned about a scene. This scene will get me to rant a bit again later on…. and I feel terrible…
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Thoughts on Versailles season two, episode eight….
Our King is on his way back to Versailles and we are at episode eight. I actually felt a little guilty after complaining so much again last episode…. How long does it take to travel from Holland to Versailles on horseback? I can’t quite say. I do have a note somewhere that lists distances and how fast one could travel…
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Monsieur, Madame, their bed and the Virgin Mary…
I do love court anecdotes and this is probably my favourite of them all. It’s cute, hilarious and took place in the bed of Monsieur and Madame…. and thanks to the latter’s habit to write pretty much everything down in various letters, we can have a bit of a laugh about it today. The letter that contains this lovely anecdote was…
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Thoughts on Versailles season two, episode seven….
Episode seven. This means we are drawing close to the end of this season. Last episode finished with a smug William of Orange and a dripping wet Louis XIV. Although in a state of wetness and anger, or perhaps because of it, our King did look quite dashing. Don’t you think? We return to the convent and find Louis and…
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Thoughts on Versailles season two, episode six….
Bonjour again. We are half way through season two and left off last episode with our King drawing some lines with his own blood on a plan of his Palace of Dreams. It’s in the walls. Before watching episode six, I was told it would be a bit as if Philippe was King… so I am looking forward to discover…
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Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon
A plague at the Hotel du Chaumont in Niort suggests Françoise d’Aubigné, the future Marquise de Maintenon, was born there… but that seems not to be quite true. Her father, Constant Agrippa d’Aubigné lodged in the city of Niort, in its prison to be precise, for allegedly conspiring against Cardinal Richelieu. He led quite the debauched life, murdered his wife along with her…
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Thoughts on Versailles season two, episode five….
Episode five, this means we are half way through the season. Last season things really started to kick off then. I’m thrilled to discover how this new season continues, but before we travel back in time to 17th century France allow me to say something regarding the previous episode. It did get a little ranty… or rather I got a…
