-
The Confessions of Monsieur E by Jules Harper
“From a tiny French village to the glittery debauchery of 17th century Paris… Take a romp through the wicked court of King Louis XIV… Nothing is censored. Everything is for sale.” Does that caption intrigue you? Then dive into the world of Monsieur E. It is the time of Louis XIV and while the young King enjoys women and…
-
Julie d’Aubigny, Mademoiselle Maupin
One can use a lot of words to describe Mademoiselle Maupin, a flamboyant cross-dressing opera-singing swords-woman, but utterly badass might be the most fitting. Julie was born between 1670 and 1673 to Gaston d’Aubigny, who served as secretary to the Comte d’Armagnac. Said Comte d’Armagnac, Louis de Lorraine, was a Prince of Lorraine and the Grand Écuyer of France and on…
-
Henri de la Tour d’Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
“A General who has never been defeated can’t have been at his business very long.” Henri de la Tour d’Auvergne, or simply Turenne, is one of the most celebrated war heroes of France and already was one during his lifetime. Henri comes from a prominent family with Huguenot roots that gained political influence. Henri IV arranged for Turenne’s father to…
-
Dangeau’s Diary, November 1687
6th. — Monsieur Charmel has for some time felt such a religious call, that he has resolved upon quitting the court. He informed the King of it this evening, and will sell his offices in order to be the more independent. He is captain of the battle-axes, and the King’s lieutenant for the Isle of France. His determination is the…
-
Chronologie de la vie de Louis XIV, October 1661
1 October, his Majesty names the Bishop of Rodez (Hardouin de Péréfixe de Beaumont) Chancellor and Superintendent of the Order and witnesses the saying of the oath. 9 October, his Majesty is present as François de Clermont-Tonnerre takes his oath as new Bishop of Noyon. 10 October, the new Bishop of Noyon takes his leave from the King. 15 October,…
-
Marie Bosse, palm-reader and poisoner
After the arrest of Madame de Brinvilliers, who had conspired with her lover to murder half her family in order to inherit wealth and property, the people of Paris and Louis XIV’s court were not just truly shocked by it all, the arrest also made them remember quite the number of strange and mysterious deaths and talk of powders and…
-
Dangeau’s Diary, October 1687
22d. — Fontainebleau. The King expected that Monsieur le Prince would have been here to speak to him, respecting the conduct of Monsieur le Duc, with whom his Majesty is not satisfied. He wishes him to break off his intimacy with certain young persons. Monsieur le Duc is only anxious to justify his friends, saying, that he alone should be…
-
The War of the Reunions, 1683-1684
The War of the Reunions was a short conflict in a larger conflict between France, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Some historians claim it was Louis XIV’s most successful war. The whole thing already started in the 1670s. In several peace treaties, that of Westphalia, Aix-la-Chapelle and Nijmegen, France gained several…
-
Élisabeth-Marguerite d’Orléans, Duchesse de Guise, d’Alençon et d’Angoulême
Élisabeth-Marguerite d’Orléans was the second born daughter to Gaston de France, brother of Louis XIII, and his second wife Marguerite de Lorraine. She was born on 26 December in 1646 in what was then the Palais d’Orléans and is now the Palais du Luxembourg. As grandchild of a King, Élisabeth-Marguerite was a Royal Highness and known at court as…
-
In bed with the Sun King, mademoiselles, mistresses and wives of Louis XIV
New publication alarm. Hurray. A while ago, some of you asked me if I could do a bundle of my mistress articles and make it available as e-book. I did just that and you can now get it for your Kindle devices or on your Kindle apps. What is it about? Louis XIV had a lot of mistresses. Some of…
-
Marie de Lorraine, Princesse de Monaco
Marie de Lorraine, born on 12 August 1674, was a daughter of Louis de Lorraine, Comte d’Armagnac, and his wife Catherine de Neufville de Villeroi. The couple was very fertile and had fourteen children, Marie was their ninth child and fifth daughter. Both of her parents were rather prominent courtiers. Louis held the rank of foreign prince and the…
-
Chronologie de la vie de Louis XIV, September 1661
1 September, his Majesty arrives in Nantes around noon to attend the états de Bretagne. Monsieur Fouquet has already arrived the previous day. 1 September, after arriving in Nantes, the King proceeds to the chateau where he meets various deputies, before walking to the chateau’s parapet on the river side to be greeted by the town with a canon salute.…
-
Julie d’Angennes, Duchesse de Montausier
Julie-Luciana d’Angennes was born in 1607 in Paris as daughter of Charles d’Angennes and the famous Catherine de Vivonne. Charles and Catherine married as she was twelve years old and they had seven children, two boys and five girls. Catherine, known as Madame de Rambouillet, was a very famous lady. She hosted the first and most brilliant Parisian literary…
-
Françoise-Madeleine d’Orléans, Duchesse de Savoie
Françoise-Madeleine was born on 13 October in 1648 as third child and daughter of Gaston de France and his second wife Marguerite de Lorraine. The little girl received the style Mademoiselle de Valois, from one of her father’s properties, and spend much of her early years in the French countryside. Her papa was fond of intrigues and the result of one of…
-
Chronologie de la vie de Louis XIV, August 1661
3 August, his Majesty sets out to hunt in the forests of Fontainebleau, before the Ballet des Saisons is performed once more in the evening. 4 August, his Majesty invites to a promenade at the canal and is happily joined by the court and its beauties. 7 August, the ladies often promenade by carriage in the evenings, when the air…
-
Must-watch Louis XIV movies…
With Versailles being over, do you wonder what Louis XIV related productions you could watch next? As it happens, Louis wasn’t just a great King, but also is a bit of a movie star. There is plenty of stuff featuring him and I will list some of them, the ones I like the best, for you. If you are here…
-
Marguerite de Lorraine, Duchesse d’Orléans
Born on 22 July in 1615, Marguerite was a daughter of François de Lorraine and his wife Christine de Salm. At the time of her birth, her father was known as the Comte de Vaudémont. He was a son of Charles III, Duc de Lorraine, and Claude de France, daughter of Henri II, and upon Charles’ death in 1608, François’ older brother Henri became Duc…
-
Website issues…
Rant incoming, bear with me: My website is hosted by one of the major companies. For some time now, random posts stop to work. As in, they work fine one day, but the next day they are displayed as a blank page. (Not even the admin panel shows on them then.) Doesn’t matter what browser and which post is affected…
-
Louis XIV, the real Sun King by Aurora von Goeth & Jules Harper
This is a lovely compact biography of Louis XIV of France. The great aspect and selling point of this book is that it provides a readable comprehensive foundation on the life of Louis XIV. If you like the period or want to know more about France and Europe at this time, this is the perfect place to start. This was…
-
Was Louis XIV illegitimate?
Versailles season 3 plays with the idea that Louis XIV, the great Sun King, was not legitimate. This idea is not new at all and pretty much as old as Louis XIV. If a child is legitimate, it means it is born to two people bound in marriage and those two people are the natural parents of the child. If…
