.jpg/593px-Maurice_de_Saxe_(1696-1750).jpg)
German aristocrat, general & military theorist
Lieutenant General of France 1734, Marshal of France 1743, Marshal General of France 1747
Illegitimate son of August II of Poland and Maria Aurora von Konigsmark
Husband ofJohanna Viktoria von Loeben (1699-1747) mar 1714-1721.
Spouse & Children
He married Johanna Viktoria von Loeben. ". . . The Countess von Konigsmark, on her side, worked to assure her son's fortunes by a wealthy marriage and succeeded in securing for him the hand of the Countess von Loeben, the richest heiress in Saxony. This lady's fortune he quickly dissipated, and other and graver causes of complaint against him not being wanting, in 1721 the marriage was annulled. . . . " (Williams)
Disastrous marriage
"Maurice de Saxe was not in his seventeenth year. The youth, tall and strong for his age, was a true Konigsmarck. He loved the fatigues and excitement of war, and early gave tokens that he possessed the ability to plan as well as to carry out great enterprises. Unfortunately, as frequently happens with characters of this kind, to him inactivity meant ruin. The licentiousness and brutality which made the father infamous throughout Europe did not fail to reproduce themselves in the son. In times of peace they shone forth with baleful lustre. The young count, scarcely come to man's estate, began to gain an unenviable reputation for all kinds of profligacy. His mother, who now held the post of Abbess of Quedlimburg (sic), was quite unable to supply her son's inordinate extravagance. She began to send constant appeals to the king to do something for him. Augustus needed every thaler in the treasury for the crowd of harpies who filled his palace. Fortunately, however,there was then residing at the court of Dresden, under the monarch's own paternal eye, a wealthy young heiress named Joanna Victoria von Loeben. To her, therefore, young Maurice was directed to pay his court. His father assisted him by carefully sounding his praises in the young lady's ear, and before long a marriage was arranged between the two. It took place on March 12th, 1714. The results of the union were miserable in the extreme. The husband never pretended to show any affection towards his wife. No sooner had he got her revenues into his hands than he began to squander them with a prodigality that put all his former extravagances into the shade. But the year 1718 his creditors were compelled to seize his wife's revenues to satisfy their claims. The young Countess Joanna was reduced to such distress to seek an asylum with her mother-in-law at Quedlimburg (sic). But the latter was too fond of her scapegrace son to believe much against him. After a short residence at Quedlimburg, Joana quarrelled with her mother-in-law, and retired to one of her country houses. From this place she wrote a pathetic letter to the king, asking his aid; but at the same time imploring him not to let her husband, of whose violence she was in abject terror, know of her application. It would be useless to enter into a miserable dispute that ensued. Joanna continued to implore the king's protection. The Countess Aurora, on the other hand, wrote to him to the effect that her daughter-in-law was a woman of the most abandoned character, and was even then living on her estate of Schonbrunn with a lover. The charge, for which there seems to have been no foundation, was indignantly denied. At last Maurice resolved to end the whole dispute in a summary way. He wrote to his wife to say that if she wanted a divorce, he would be perfectly willing to take all the blame on himself. The countess yielded, and her husband kept his promise to the letter. The countess sent in a formal petition to the Lutheran Consistory praying for a divorce from her husband. On March 26th, 1721, both parties appeared before the court. Joanna accused her husband of adultery, and added that his extravagance had crippled her once large fortune. The president asked Maurice what he had to say in answer. 'Absolutely nothing,' responded the young count. The president, rather surprised, repeated his question; was there no special animosity on the part of the countess? 'No,' replied Maurice; 'it is true our mutual affection has never been very strong; but the countess has not exaggerated ---her statements are perfectly correct.' After this there was nothing left for the president but to pronounce sentence of divorce. . . ." (The Living Age, Vol. 175: 753)
An unmitigated beast of a lecherous age
Disastrous marriage
"Maurice de Saxe was not in his seventeenth year. The youth, tall and strong for his age, was a true Konigsmarck. He loved the fatigues and excitement of war, and early gave tokens that he possessed the ability to plan as well as to carry out great enterprises. Unfortunately, as frequently happens with characters of this kind, to him inactivity meant ruin. The licentiousness and brutality which made the father infamous throughout Europe did not fail to reproduce themselves in the son. In times of peace they shone forth with baleful lustre. The young count, scarcely come to man's estate, began to gain an unenviable reputation for all kinds of profligacy. His mother, who now held the post of Abbess of Quedlimburg (sic), was quite unable to supply her son's inordinate extravagance. She began to send constant appeals to the king to do something for him. Augustus needed every thaler in the treasury for the crowd of harpies who filled his palace. Fortunately, however,there was then residing at the court of Dresden, under the monarch's own paternal eye, a wealthy young heiress named Joanna Victoria von Loeben. To her, therefore, young Maurice was directed to pay his court. His father assisted him by carefully sounding his praises in the young lady's ear, and before long a marriage was arranged between the two. It took place on March 12th, 1714. The results of the union were miserable in the extreme. The husband never pretended to show any affection towards his wife. No sooner had he got her revenues into his hands than he began to squander them with a prodigality that put all his former extravagances into the shade. But the year 1718 his creditors were compelled to seize his wife's revenues to satisfy their claims. The young Countess Joanna was reduced to such distress to seek an asylum with her mother-in-law at Quedlimburg (sic). But the latter was too fond of her scapegrace son to believe much against him. After a short residence at Quedlimburg, Joana quarrelled with her mother-in-law, and retired to one of her country houses. From this place she wrote a pathetic letter to the king, asking his aid; but at the same time imploring him not to let her husband, of whose violence she was in abject terror, know of her application. It would be useless to enter into a miserable dispute that ensued. Joanna continued to implore the king's protection. The Countess Aurora, on the other hand, wrote to him to the effect that her daughter-in-law was a woman of the most abandoned character, and was even then living on her estate of Schonbrunn with a lover. The charge, for which there seems to have been no foundation, was indignantly denied. At last Maurice resolved to end the whole dispute in a summary way. He wrote to his wife to say that if she wanted a divorce, he would be perfectly willing to take all the blame on himself. The countess yielded, and her husband kept his promise to the letter. The countess sent in a formal petition to the Lutheran Consistory praying for a divorce from her husband. On March 26th, 1721, both parties appeared before the court. Joanna accused her husband of adultery, and added that his extravagance had crippled her once large fortune. The president asked Maurice what he had to say in answer. 'Absolutely nothing,' responded the young count. The president, rather surprised, repeated his question; was there no special animosity on the part of the countess? 'No,' replied Maurice; 'it is true our mutual affection has never been very strong; but the countess has not exaggerated ---her statements are perfectly correct.' After this there was nothing left for the president but to pronounce sentence of divorce. . . ." (The Living Age, Vol. 175: 753)
An unmitigated beast of a lecherous age
" . . . Maurice of Saxony, Marshal of France, hero of Fontenoy, beau sabreur, the greatest Lothario of a lecherous age, appears here as an unmitigated beast. He deserves a lengthy introduction, however, being one of the most interesting characters that can be found among the world's famous black-guards. An illegitimate son of Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, he began life as a soldier of fortune, and through skill in the arts of war and love he became one of the mightiest men in Europe. When twelve years old he carried a musket at Malplaquet. At seventeen he was in command of a regiment of Cuirassiers. He appeared in Paris, with his sword for sale, when twenty-two, and entered upon a brilliant career of martial and amorous conquests." (Great Love Stories of the Theatre: 162)
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| La Bataille de Fontenoy @ Palace de Versailles |
Moritz de Saxe's physical appearance & personal qualities
"The new hero was a giant in stature, strikingly handsome, and so strong that in one had he could crush a horseshoe into a shapeless lump. He was a paladin---Ajax, Don Juan, Tamerlane, Mark Antony, Baldur, all rolled into one. He was a glorious animal, high of spirits and of hopes, devoid of fear and of the finer feeling. A Greek god---or whatever you will. And about him hung the glamour of countless conquests on the battlefield and in love..." (Terhune: 125)
"The person of Maurice de Saxe was rather noble-looking than handsome. The characteristic expression of his countenance corresponded with his nature---being bold, penetrating, and warlike. A harsh jaw and prominent chin were softened in their effect by mild yet piercing eyes. A salient nose and firm mouth, added to the striking quality of his face, which was extremely pleasing, being full of extraordinary indications of genius." (Graham's Illustrated Magazine, Vol. 50: 194)
"He was short, even stocky, and his complexion was rather too basane, or swarthy, to be quite in fashion: but the appeal of the golden earrings which he wore was hard to resist. As early as April 1720, the duchesse d'Orleans had written to the Princess of Wales to retail the latest gossip: how the British ambassador, Lord Stair, had fallen in love with a certain Mme Raymond, and how Mme Raymond, the former mistress of the Elector of Bavaria, ' . . . has just taken another lover who causes my Lord Stair a great deal of heart burning. This is Count Saxe, who is not particularly handsome, but who is young, seductive and possesses fine manners." (Marshal of France: The Life and Times of Maurice, Comte de Saxe, 1699-1750)
A man of mark
"The person of Maurice de Saxe was rather noble-looking than handsome. The characteristic expression of his countenance corresponded with his nature---being bold, penetrating, and warlike. A harsh jaw and prominent chin were softened in their effect by mild yet piercing eyes. A salient nose and firm mouth, added to the striking quality of his face, which was extremely pleasing, being full of extraordinary indications of genius." (Graham's Illustrated Magazine, Vol. 50: 194)
"He was short, even stocky, and his complexion was rather too basane, or swarthy, to be quite in fashion: but the appeal of the golden earrings which he wore was hard to resist. As early as April 1720, the duchesse d'Orleans had written to the Princess of Wales to retail the latest gossip: how the British ambassador, Lord Stair, had fallen in love with a certain Mme Raymond, and how Mme Raymond, the former mistress of the Elector of Bavaria, ' . . . has just taken another lover who causes my Lord Stair a great deal of heart burning. This is Count Saxe, who is not particularly handsome, but who is young, seductive and possesses fine manners." (Marshal of France: The Life and Times of Maurice, Comte de Saxe, 1699-1750)
A man of mark
"...His striking figure, his vivacious manners, and the great reputation acquired from his wild adventures in Northern Europe, made him everywhere a man of mark. All contemporary writers speak with enthusiasm of his personal appearance. Six feet in height, Maurice de Saxe was of a muscular and well-proportioned frame. His features were well though roughly cut, and aquiline in character; the eyes blue, the brows thick, black, and strongly arched; his expression was bold and determined; his glance, keen and swift, seemed designed by nature to electrify the souls of men, and win the hearts of women....." (Temple Bar, Volume 9: 69)
One of the handsomest men of his time
"From the moment of his arrival in Paris, Maurice de Saxe claimed a large share of the attention of both Court and town. Tall and superbly built, with 'circular black eyebrows, eyes glittering bright, partly with animal vivacity, partly with spiritual,' a high complexion, and a frank, open countenance, he was one of the handsomest men of his time. His physical strength was extraordinary; no amount of exertion seemed able to fatigue him; in war and in the chase he was capable of performing prodigies of endurance; he could break between his fingers crown-pieces and horseshoes...." (Williams, 2005, pp. 170-171)
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| Maurice de Saxe |
Comte de Saxe's Love Life
"The sexual adventures of one of the few military heroes of eighteenth-century France, Maurice, Count de Saxe (1696-1750), also belie the accounts of seduction contained in the novels. Marshal of the French armies, hero of the battle of Fontenay (1745), son of the elector of Saxony, Maurice was a great ladies' man even though he lacked the Herculean body nineteenth-century writes liked to attribute to him. As a young man in the 1720s, he was involved in a love triangle with the duchesse de Bouillon and the tragic actress Adrienne Lecouvreur. The thespian's sudden, mysterious death stirred rumors that the duchess had poisoned her to end the rivalry for Maurice's heart. If true, Bouillon was still unable to keep his love, for Maurice shared his bed with one theater woman after another. The writer Jean-Francois Marmontel explained that Maurice de Saxe believed that 'the French never behave so well as when one brings them diversion, and what they fear most in warfare is boredom.' ...The actresses in his troop kept Maurice from experiencing boredom, but the marshal was rarely able to keep them faithful. Marmontel had affairs with two of Maurice's mistresses, Mademoiselles Navarre and Verriere (with whom Maurice had a daughter, who became the grandmother of George Sand)..." (Berlanstein, , 2001, p. 36)
The pursued and pursuer of women par excellence
"Maurice was regarded as the strongest and most handsome man of his time. As a soldier he was impeccable; as a roue he was unsurpassed. Though untutored, with a barrack-room manners that gained for him the sobriquet of 'Wild boar' in the salons of Paris, he was the pursued and the pursuer of women, par excellence. Don Juan is hardly to be mentioned in the same class with Maurice de Saxe. His liaison with Adrienne Lecouvreur, the great tragic actress, is conventional when compared with his rapacious quest of the more obscure Justine Favart." (Great Love Stories of the Theatre: 162)
Widely known affairs with innumerable well-born ladies
"Aurore's son, Maurice, handsome and sentimental, was destine for a military career. His father prepared him for it the hard way. He was allowed to eat only soup and bread as he crossed all of Europe on foot, carrying his full battle equipment. At the age of thirteen, he was commissioned ensign on the battlefield, then ray away with a gird, also thirteen, whom he impregnated. As a young officer in Paris, having inherited his father's libertinism, conducted widely known affairs with the Princess de Conti, the Duchess de Bouillon, and innumerable other well-born ladies. Hoping to be elected duke of the Courland provinces of Russia on the Baltic, he proposed marriage to Duchess Anna Ivanovna, the widow of the last duke. Maurice committed, however, the imprudent act of smuggling a young mistress into the palace: He was caught red-handed and chased away. Anna Ivanovna later became the empress of All Russias." (Chopin in Paris: The Life and Times of the Romantic Composer: 150)
Maurice de Saxe's personal & family background
"Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was the most astonishing debauchee of his time. It is no extraordinary honor to have a bit of his blood in one's veins, for he had, several hundred bastard offspring. He had, by the beautiful Aurora von Konigsmarck, that great and clever coquette before whom Charles XI withdrew leaving her to regard herself as more formidable than an army, a son who surpassed him greatly in nobility although he was no more than a field marshal of France. This son was Maurice de Saxe, victor of Fontenou, clever and brave like his father, but no less debauched, more knowledgeable on the art of war, also more fortunate and and better supported.
Maurice de Saxe's personal & family background
"Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was the most astonishing debauchee of his time. It is no extraordinary honor to have a bit of his blood in one's veins, for he had, several hundred bastard offspring. He had, by the beautiful Aurora von Konigsmarck, that great and clever coquette before whom Charles XI withdrew leaving her to regard herself as more formidable than an army, a son who surpassed him greatly in nobility although he was no more than a field marshal of France. This son was Maurice de Saxe, victor of Fontenou, clever and brave like his father, but no less debauched, more knowledgeable on the art of war, also more fortunate and and better supported.
His lovers were:
1) Adrienne Lecouvreur (1892-1730)
French actress.
French actress.
Daughter of: Robert Couvreur, French hat make & Marie Couvreur.
Adrienne's other lovers
1. Young officer of Regiment de Picardie."Her rise to the position of the leading actress in France had been neither rapid nor easy. The daughter of the villa ge hat maker, she was already appearing in amateur productions at the age of thirteen. She showed such promise that she was given an audition by Mlle Fonpre, the directness of the theatre at Lille. There se became the mistress of a young officer in the crack Regiment de Picardie.
2. Philippe Le Roy, French officer
Natural offspring: Elisabeth-Adrienne Le Roy.
3. Baron D.
4. Comte Francois de Klinglin, Son of Strasbourg's chief magistrate.
2. Philippe Le Roy, French officer
Natural offspring: Elisabeth-Adrienne Le Roy.
3. Baron D.
4. Comte Francois de Klinglin, Son of Strasbourg's chief magistrate.
Adrienne's physical appearance & personal qualities
"Nor did she lack the physical charms which make the empire of a clever woman absolute. Nature, by one of those contrasts she often affects, had clothed her brilliant and almost masculine faculties in the fairest, tenderest, most feminine form. She was moderately tall and possessed a fine figure. Her neck , breast, arms, and hands were of a whiteness whose parallel was never seen. The regularity of her features heightened their unrivalled delicacy. Her teeth were so nicely placed and of so beautiful a colour that they could scarcely be distinguished from a row of pearls. Her sparkling almond-shaped eyes were like two bright, brown stars in whose soft reflection a tender and sensitive soul blended with the lively flash of with and humour. Her hair, of the same colour as her eyes, set off most exquisitely her beautiful complexion, where blushed an exceeding fine carnation. In a word, Nature seemed to have exhausted all her charms in her favour. With so much to make her conceited, she was, however, in no way prepossessed in favour of her extraordinary merits." (A Beau Sabreur Maurice de Saxe, Marshal of France: His Loves, His laurels and His Times, 1696-1750: 37)
"Adrienne Lacouvreur was remarkably beautiful. Her countenance was admirably adapted to the expression of the higher order of passions. Her eyes were large, well-shaped, and bewildering in the beauty of their expression, while the mobility of her handsome eyebrow, added much to the expression of her face. Her brown was noble, handsome, and intellectual. Its marble smoothness and regal dimensions caused the bold style of dressing the hair then in fashion to be very well suited to her face, which was of the oval form. A small, bow-shaped mouth, and a Roman nose, of the most delicate yet imposing form, completed the regularity of her features---while in superb shoulders, a noble bust, and fine arms, consisted some of the charms of her figure. Add to these attractions, extraordinary talents and much affability, and it will not be denied that the Lecouvreur was worthy of charming the greatest hero of her time." (Graham's Illustrated Magazine, Volume 50: 194)
A great ladies' man in a love triangle: "The sexual adventures of one of the few military heroes of eighteenth-century France, Maurice, Count de Saxe (1696-1750), also belie the accounts of seduction contained in the novels. Marshal of the French armies, hero of the battle of Fontenay (1745), son of the elector of Saxony, Maurice was a great ladies' man even though he lacked the Herculean body nineteenth-century writers liked to attribute to him. As a young man in the 1720s, he was involved in a love triangle with the duchess de Bouillon and the tragic actress Adrienne Lacouvreur. The thespian's sudden, mysterious death stirred rumors that the duchess had poisoned her to end the rivalry for Maurice's heart. If true, Bouillon, was still unable to keep his love, for Maurice shared his bead with one theater woman after another. . . ." (Daughters of Eve: A Cultural History of French Theater Women: 36)
First encounter
"In 1720 Maurice de Saxe arrived in Paris to become the lion of the salons and the danger of dames. A constant patron of the theatre, addicted to the company of actresses, he soon met Adrienne, whose virtuous resolves capitulated at once before this warlike wooer. From that time until her death she was his favourite mistress; she gave her undivided heart to him, while he distributed his favours broadcast." (Great Love Stories of the Theatre: 126)
"Adrienne Lacouvreur was remarkably beautiful. Her countenance was admirably adapted to the expression of the higher order of passions. Her eyes were large, well-shaped, and bewildering in the beauty of their expression, while the mobility of her handsome eyebrow, added much to the expression of her face. Her brown was noble, handsome, and intellectual. Its marble smoothness and regal dimensions caused the bold style of dressing the hair then in fashion to be very well suited to her face, which was of the oval form. A small, bow-shaped mouth, and a Roman nose, of the most delicate yet imposing form, completed the regularity of her features---while in superb shoulders, a noble bust, and fine arms, consisted some of the charms of her figure. Add to these attractions, extraordinary talents and much affability, and it will not be denied that the Lecouvreur was worthy of charming the greatest hero of her time." (Graham's Illustrated Magazine, Volume 50: 194)
A great ladies' man in a love triangle: "The sexual adventures of one of the few military heroes of eighteenth-century France, Maurice, Count de Saxe (1696-1750), also belie the accounts of seduction contained in the novels. Marshal of the French armies, hero of the battle of Fontenay (1745), son of the elector of Saxony, Maurice was a great ladies' man even though he lacked the Herculean body nineteenth-century writers liked to attribute to him. As a young man in the 1720s, he was involved in a love triangle with the duchess de Bouillon and the tragic actress Adrienne Lacouvreur. The thespian's sudden, mysterious death stirred rumors that the duchess had poisoned her to end the rivalry for Maurice's heart. If true, Bouillon, was still unable to keep his love, for Maurice shared his bead with one theater woman after another. . . ." (Daughters of Eve: A Cultural History of French Theater Women: 36)
First encounter
"In 1720 Maurice de Saxe arrived in Paris to become the lion of the salons and the danger of dames. A constant patron of the theatre, addicted to the company of actresses, he soon met Adrienne, whose virtuous resolves capitulated at once before this warlike wooer. From that time until her death she was his favourite mistress; she gave her undivided heart to him, while he distributed his favours broadcast." (Great Love Stories of the Theatre: 126)
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2) Anna I of Russia (1693-1740)
Lover in 1726-1727.
"While Saxe was in Courland, a Baltic province (now in both Poland and Russia), he became good friends with Anna Ivanovna, the dowager duchess of the state and later Empress Anna of Russia. They allegedly became romantically involved, and a marriage was considered, but in 1727 Saxe was expelled by Russian authorities who considered the union unsuitable. He then returned to France, where he wrote a work on military science, Mes Reveries (My daydreams), which was finished in 1732 but not published until 1756 and 1757 in two volumes." (World Military Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary: 310)
"Anna Ivanovna, duchess of Courland (later empress of Russia) secured Saxe's election as duke of Courland (a Baltic duchy between Prussia and Latvia) in 1726, but the Russians expelled him from the region in 1727 in order to prevent him from marrying the duchess. . . . " (Web Gallery of Art)
The price of ambition: "In 1726 these occupations were interrupted by a curious episode in his life. The people of the duchy of Courland, anticipating the dissolution of their infirm sovereign without issue, and suspecting a project of the Polish Duke, in that event, to unite their independent territory with the kingdom of Poland as a lapsed fief of that crown, determined to avert such a design by electing a successor to their prince. For this dignity the relationship of the Comte de Saxe to King Augustus, as well as his high personal reputation, marked him as an eligible aspirant, and he was accordingly encouraged by a large party in the duchy to offer himself as a candidate for the succession. On his arrival from Paris, his cause was particularly espoused by the Princess Anne of Russia, dowager of a former duke of Courland, who saw and admired him, and agreed to give him her hand as the reward or price of his elevation. By her exertions chiefly his election was carried in the states of the duchy, and a diploma was solemnly drawn up constituting him Duke of Courland and Semigallia in succession to the reigning sovereign. Nor was the Russian princess the only female advocate of the attractive soldier: for Le Couvreur, the most celebrated Parisian actress of her day, pledged her moveables (sic) for 40,000 livres, and sent the supply to assist his necessities or to forward his views in his new duchy. But the interests opposed to his elevation proved too powerful for him to resist with success. While the Russian court insisted upon the election of some creature of its own, the Diet of Poland arbitrarily compelled King Augustus to declare against his own son, and to forbid him to sustain his pretensions. On both hands the enemies of the dew duke proceed to eject him by actual force of arms; and while the Russian troops besieged him in a post which he had attempted to fortify, a commission from the Polish Diet entered Mittau, the capital of the duchy, with a body of cavalry, and obliged the states to annul their election. De Saxe made a gallant show of resistance to the last moment; but being overpowered by the Russians, and deserted by his Courlanders, he was finally reduced to evacuate the duchy, and leave his Russian and Polish enemies settle as they might their conflicting interests." (The Museum of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, Volume 28: 249-250)
"Anna Ivanovna, duchess of Courland (later empress of Russia) secured Saxe's election as duke of Courland (a Baltic duchy between Prussia and Latvia) in 1726, but the Russians expelled him from the region in 1727 in order to prevent him from marrying the duchess. . . . " (Web Gallery of Art)
The price of ambition: "In 1726 these occupations were interrupted by a curious episode in his life. The people of the duchy of Courland, anticipating the dissolution of their infirm sovereign without issue, and suspecting a project of the Polish Duke, in that event, to unite their independent territory with the kingdom of Poland as a lapsed fief of that crown, determined to avert such a design by electing a successor to their prince. For this dignity the relationship of the Comte de Saxe to King Augustus, as well as his high personal reputation, marked him as an eligible aspirant, and he was accordingly encouraged by a large party in the duchy to offer himself as a candidate for the succession. On his arrival from Paris, his cause was particularly espoused by the Princess Anne of Russia, dowager of a former duke of Courland, who saw and admired him, and agreed to give him her hand as the reward or price of his elevation. By her exertions chiefly his election was carried in the states of the duchy, and a diploma was solemnly drawn up constituting him Duke of Courland and Semigallia in succession to the reigning sovereign. Nor was the Russian princess the only female advocate of the attractive soldier: for Le Couvreur, the most celebrated Parisian actress of her day, pledged her moveables (sic) for 40,000 livres, and sent the supply to assist his necessities or to forward his views in his new duchy. But the interests opposed to his elevation proved too powerful for him to resist with success. While the Russian court insisted upon the election of some creature of its own, the Diet of Poland arbitrarily compelled King Augustus to declare against his own son, and to forbid him to sustain his pretensions. On both hands the enemies of the dew duke proceed to eject him by actual force of arms; and while the Russian troops besieged him in a post which he had attempted to fortify, a commission from the Polish Diet entered Mittau, the capital of the duchy, with a body of cavalry, and obliged the states to annul their election. De Saxe made a gallant show of resistance to the last moment; but being overpowered by the Russians, and deserted by his Courlanders, he was finally reduced to evacuate the duchy, and leave his Russian and Polish enemies settle as they might their conflicting interests." (The Museum of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, Volume 28: 249-250)
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned: "But the most singular feature in this transient dream of ducal sovereignty, was his neglected enjoyment and unconscious loss of a far more brilliant provision. The Princess Anne of Russia, who was to have shared his ducal throne, discovered, while he was her guest at Mittau, that among other infidelities, he was carrying on an intrigue in her own palace with one of the ladies of her household. Piqued at these proofs that his addresses to herself were wholly those of political interest, Anne broke off all negociations (sic) for their marriage: not was De Saxe made sensible, until the sudden and unexpected succession of the princess to the crown of Russia, within two years, that his inconstancy had cost him no less than the loss of an imperial consort and a matrimonial throne. But all his subsequent efforts were in vain to rekindle in the breast of the Empress the passion which he had outraged. The double defeat of his views upon the duchy of Courland, and the hand of the Russian princess, was followed by the death of both his parents, and the disruption of his connexion with his native country: for though his half-brother, the new Elector of Saxony, offered him the command of his troops, he declined to quit the French service; and in 1733 he finally returned to France, and thenceforth devoted himself wholly to the prosecution of his fortunes in that kingdom." (The Museum of Foreign Literature, Science an d Art, Volume 28: 250)
3) Genevieve Rinteau, Sister of Marie Rinteau.
3) Genevieve Rinteau, Sister of Marie Rinteau.
"Claude-Louis Rinteau, a lemonade merchant, and his wife, Marie-Anne Dupuy are the parents of two daughters: Marie and Geneviève. Desiring to ensure a brilliant career to his children, but above all to ensure his own success, Claude-Louis Rinteau uses Maurice de Saxe, Marshal of France, known for his military victories, but also for his agitated love life. A great lover of theatre, he ordened (sic) that during his campaigns a group of actors followed him to support the morale of his troops. Claude-Louis Rinteau knew that the prettiest actresses are used by the pleasure of Marshal de Saxe and without scruples, he offered him his two daughters during the year 1747. Claude-Louis Rinteau in return obtained his appointment as military storekeeper, who proved to be a big source of profits. But his greed had a cost for Maurice of Saxony, who was accused of embezzlement and misappropriation and thanks of his position he could escape from prosecution, but justice must find culprits. Therefore look towards his subordinates, Claude-Louis was put in prison. While the "bon père de famille" meditated his fate in a dungeon in Brussels, Marie (aged 17), and Geneviève (aged 13), entered into the world of entertainment at the Theatre of the Army. They adopt a stage name from which both sisters will be known in history: Mesdemoiselles de Verrières. Maurice de Saxe first sets his eyes on the very young Geneviève, but this was a short-lived affair. The oldest sister, Marie, a remarkable beauty and vivid spirit, could seduced the old soldier. She soon became in his mistress and was installed in Le Marais near the Rue du Parc-Royal at Paris. From the affair, a daughter was born on 20 September 1748. She was baptized a month after her birth, on 19 October in the Church of St-Gervais-et-St-Protais. The child was registered as a daughter of certain Jean-Baptiste La Rivière, in fact a non-existed person, and was named after her paternal grandmother, Maria Aurora von Königsmarck. Her godfather was the adjutant of the Marshal of Saxe, Antoine-Alexandre Colbert, marquis de Sourdis, and the godmother was her aunt Geneviève. The Marshal de Saxe show any interest in the fate of his illegitimate daughter and bequeathed him nothing, just like the other children that he leaves behind. Marshal Maurice de Saxe, in turn, was as a product of the affair between Augustus II the Strong, King of Polandand Elector of Saxony, with the Countess von Königsmarck." (Wikipedia)
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| Louise-Elisabeth de Bourbon Princesse de Conti |
Daughter of Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Conde & Louise-Francoise de Bourbon-Conde.
Wife of: Louis-Armand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti.
"It was at this time that he first came to Paris to study military tactics. He had fought hard against the French in the wars that were now wended; but his chivalrous bearing, his handsome person, and his reckless joviality made him at once a universal favorite in Paris. To the perfumed courtiers, with their laces and lovelocks and mincing ways, Maurice de Saxe came as a sort of knight of old---jovial, daring, pleasure-loving. Even his broken French was held to be quite charming; and to see him break a horseshoe with his fingers threw every one into ruptures. No wonder, then, that he was welcomed in the very highest circles. Almost at once he attracted the notice of the Princesse de Conti, a beautiful woman of the blood royal. Of her it has been said that she was 'the personification of a kiss, the incarnation of an embrace, the ideal of a dream of love.' Her chestnut hair was tinted with little gleams of gold. Her eyes were violet black. Her complexion was dazzling. But by the king's orders she had been forced to marry a hunchback---a man whose very limbs were so weakened by disease and evil living that they would often fail to support him, and he would fall to the ground, a writhing, screaming mass of ill-looking flesh. It is not surprising that this lovely wife should have shuddered much at his abuse of her and still more of his grotesque endearments. When her eyes fell on Maurice de saxe she saw in him one who could free her from her bondage. By a skilful trick he led the Prince de Conti to invade the sleeping-room of the princess, with servants, declaring that she was not along. The charge proved quite untrue, and so she left her husband, having won the sympathy of her own owrld, which held that she had been insulted. But it was not she who was destined to win and hold the love of Maurice de saxe." (The Romance of Devotion: Top Biography Collections)
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| Maria Karolina Sobieska Duchesse de Bouillon |
5) Maria Karolina Sobieska, Duchesse de Bouillon (1697-1740)
Daughter of: Jakub Ludwik Sobieski, Prince of Poland, Prince of Olawa & Hedwig Elisabeth von Neuburg.
Wife of:
Daughter of: Jakub Ludwik Sobieski, Prince of Poland, Prince of Olawa & Hedwig Elisabeth von Neuburg.
Wife of:
1. Frederic-Maurice-Casimir de La Tour d'Auvergne.(1702-1723) mar 1723
2. Charles-Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne (1708-1771), French aristocrat. mar 1723
" . . . The Duchesse de Bouillon, a great lady of the court---facile, feline, licentious, and eager for delight---resolved that she would win the love of Maurice de Saxe. She set herself to win it openly and without any sense of shame. Maurice himself at times, when the tears of Adrienne proved wearisome, flirted with the duchess. Yet, even so, Adrienne held the first place in his heart, and her rival knew it. Therefore she resolved to humiliate Adrienne, and to do so in the place where the actress had always reigned supreme." (The Romance of Devotions)
" . . . Notwithstanding Adrienne's devotion and the sacrifices she had made for him, Maurice de Saxe was soon engaged in carrying on an intrigue with the Duchesse de Bouillon, and accepted the condition imposed upon him by that Lady, that he would henceforth forbear to hold any communications with the great actress. The story of De Saxe's base desertion became public property, and loud sympathy was expressed with Adrienne, who was now the idol of the people. Mme. de Bouillon appeared at the Theatre Francais one night when Adrienne was playing 'Phedre.' This was more than the actress could stand. . . ." (Illustrated American, Vol. , 1891: 516)
6) Marie Armabade Carton.
6) Marie Armabade Carton.
Who was La Carton?
"Considering she is consistently referred to as 'la fameuse Carton' there is not much to go on. Marie Armabade Carton, 'La Carton', also known as 'Manon', was a dancer at the Paris Opera and was for many years the mistress of the banker Samuel Demard (d.1739) by whom she had three daughters. She also among the many mistresses of the Marechal de Saxe, war hero, and Freemason. Maurepas recorded an undignified scrap which took place at the bal de l'Opera in November 1734 when she came to blows with her successor in the Marechal's affections. In 1745 she is named as a potential recruit for the Order of Felicity. She was no spring-chicken, she is said to have been 55 at the time of the revelations concerning Freemasonry. It is reassuring to learn that she later retired to a comfortable and respectable life." (The Dancer and the Freemason 1737)
7) Marie-Claude-Nicole Cartou (d.1770).
An Opera girl
7) Marie-Claude-Nicole Cartou (d.1770).
An Opera girl
A cause for concern for mother
" . . . [The Comte de Saxe] also had close relations with the Comedie and the Opera--- . . . in the shape of a pretty soprano called Marie-Claude-Nicole Cartou. His affair with Marie Cartou caused Adrienne acute distress. . . ." (Marshal of France: The Life and Times of Maurice, Comte de Saxe: 73)
"According to Campardon, (Marie-Claude-Nicole Cartou sang minor roles between 1727 and 1749, left the Opera in 1751 and died on 22 April 1770." (Opera Remade, 1700-1750)
She pursued Maurice in his camp
"According to Campardon, (Marie-Claude-Nicole Cartou sang minor roles between 1727 and 1749, left the Opera in 1751 and died on 22 April 1770." (Opera Remade, 1700-1750)
She pursued Maurice in his camp
"The real obstacle was probably an Opera girl named Cartou, of whom Maurice was desperately enamoured. According to Grimm, this young lady followed her lover to the famous Camp of Muhlberg, in Saxony, where she had the honour of supping with two kings, Augustus II of Poland and Frederick William of Prussia, and two future kings, Augustus III and Frederick the Great." (Queens of the French Stage: n.p.)
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| Justine Favart |
8) Marie-Justine-Benoite Favart (1727-1772)
French actress & vocalist.
French actress & vocalist.
Lover in 1747.
Wife of: Favart. mar 1745.
First encounter at a camp theatre
"In his affair with Marie Rinteau, Marshal Saxe had rendered himself ridiculous. In his conduct towards Madame Favart, he sank to the lowest extremity of baseness. The latter's maiden name was Justine Duronceray. She first attracted the marshal's notice while a member of the camp theatre in 1747. Becoming alarmed at his importunities (sic), she fled to Brussels. The marshal, infuriated by her resistance, threatened to have her brought back by a squadron of hussars. She at once left Brussels and made her way to Paris. Her husband unfortunately had still remained in Flanders. . . ." (The Living Age, Volume 175: 758)
Madame Favart's first encounter with Maurice de Saxe
Madame Favart's first encounter with Maurice de Saxe
"It happened that some little time before the suppression of the Opera-Comique, Favart had met at the house of one of those leaders of the fashionable world whose whim it was to patronise actors and men of letters, Maurice de Saxe, now become the greatest soldier of his age, Marechal de France, and 'general-in-chief of all the armies of the King.' Maurice, who was an enthusiastic a patron of the drama as he had been in the days of poor Adrienne Lecouvreur, was followed in his campaigns by a troupe of actors, which gave performances wherever the army happened to be quartered, sometimes in the regular theatre, sometimes in an improvised one; and he now suggested to Favart that he should organise a second troupe and accompany him to Flanders for the campaign which was about to open." (Queens of the French Stage)
"The uproar occasioned by the Rinteau affair was nothing compared to the tempest raised by Maurice's affair with another actress in his Flemish troupe, Mme Justine Favart, the wife of its director. At seventeen, Justine has been discovered by Favart at the court of King Stanislas at Luneville, where her father was a resident musician. Under the stage name of 'Mlle Chantilly', Justine Duronceray had made her debut at the Opera Comique in one of Favart's own plays. In December 1745, he married her. In Flanders, where she went as the star of her husband's company, she made an immediate impression on Maurice. She was then twenty, and although she was no great beauty her vivacity was irresistible. Maurice had to have her. In 1746 he began to write gauche love letters to her. 'Mlle Chantilly,' began one of them, 'you must release me; you are an enchantress more potent than Armide. I can already visualize myself draped with flowers and posies: quite the wrong attire for a devotee of Mars. What would the king say, if he found me clasping not the torch of vengeance, but a nosegay?'" (Marshal of France)
Marshal de Saxe's opera-comique, his seraglio of actresses
"The uproar occasioned by the Rinteau affair was nothing compared to the tempest raised by Maurice's affair with another actress in his Flemish troupe, Mme Justine Favart, the wife of its director. At seventeen, Justine has been discovered by Favart at the court of King Stanislas at Luneville, where her father was a resident musician. Under the stage name of 'Mlle Chantilly', Justine Duronceray had made her debut at the Opera Comique in one of Favart's own plays. In December 1745, he married her. In Flanders, where she went as the star of her husband's company, she made an immediate impression on Maurice. She was then twenty, and although she was no great beauty her vivacity was irresistible. Maurice had to have her. In 1746 he began to write gauche love letters to her. 'Mlle Chantilly,' began one of them, 'you must release me; you are an enchantress more potent than Armide. I can already visualize myself draped with flowers and posies: quite the wrong attire for a devotee of Mars. What would the king say, if he found me clasping not the torch of vengeance, but a nosegay?'" (Marshal of France)
Marshal de Saxe's opera-comique, his seraglio of actresses
"Though now in his fiftieth year, Maurice de Saxe was still as susceptible to feminine charms as in the days when he had wrought such havoc among the ladies of Lithuania and Courland. . . His tastes, particularly where the theatre was concerned, were catholic. . .
'Whom did he not love" To what actress of opera-girl's skirts was he not attached?
'Whom did he not love" To what actress of opera-girl's skirts was he not attached?
"All the actresses of his campaigns in Flanders succeeded one another in that inflammable heart and disputed there an ephemeral reign. . . . For the Saxon hero, the troupe which he caused to follow him was a seraglio, in which the last comers were the most honored. . . ." (Queens of the French Stage)
" . . . The marshal was a patron of the theater and even took an accomplished acting group along with him on military campaigns. the writer Jean-Francois Marmontel explained that Maurice de Saxe believed that 'the French never behave so well as when one bring them diversion, and what they fear most in warfare is boredom.' The actresses in his troop kept Maurice from experiencing boredom, but the marshal was rarely able to keep them faithful. Marmontel had affairs with two of Maurice's mistresses, Mademoiselle Navarre and Verrieres (with whom Maurice had a daughter, who became the grandmother of George Sand). Although it was considered unseemly for great lords to show jealousy, the marshal complained to Louis XV about 'that insolent poet who takes all my mistresses.' He also complained, on another occasion, the his mistress Mademoiselle Beaumenard gave him 'more torment than all the soldiers of the queen of Hungary.' Later, the marshal wanted to make Madame Favart the mistress of Chanonceaux, the Loire Valley chateau that the king had given him for his victories, but had to use intimidation and even incarceration to make her submit to his will. Clearly, the theater women who so troubled the great warrior were not mere pawns in the libertinism of the court." (Daughters of Eve: 36-37)
Flanders campaign actresses.
" . . . The marshal was a patron of the theater and even took an accomplished acting group along with him on military campaigns. the writer Jean-Francois Marmontel explained that Maurice de Saxe believed that 'the French never behave so well as when one bring them diversion, and what they fear most in warfare is boredom.' The actresses in his troop kept Maurice from experiencing boredom, but the marshal was rarely able to keep them faithful. Marmontel had affairs with two of Maurice's mistresses, Mademoiselle Navarre and Verrieres (with whom Maurice had a daughter, who became the grandmother of George Sand). Although it was considered unseemly for great lords to show jealousy, the marshal complained to Louis XV about 'that insolent poet who takes all my mistresses.' He also complained, on another occasion, the his mistress Mademoiselle Beaumenard gave him 'more torment than all the soldiers of the queen of Hungary.' Later, the marshal wanted to make Madame Favart the mistress of Chanonceaux, the Loire Valley chateau that the king had given him for his victories, but had to use intimidation and even incarceration to make her submit to his will. Clearly, the theater women who so troubled the great warrior were not mere pawns in the libertinism of the court." (Daughters of Eve: 36-37)
Flanders campaign actresses.
"Two actresses of this theatre, Chantilly and Beaumenard, were his two favourite mistresses, and their rivalship, jealousy, and caprices gave him, as he said, 'more torment than the hussars of the queen of Hungary.' I have seen these words in one of his letters. It was for these women that mademoiselle Navarre had been neglected. He thought her too haughty, with too little complaisance, and too much delicacy. Mademoiselle Verriere, with infinitely less artifice, had no ambition to dispute the preference with her rivals: she seemed to repose on her beauty for the care of pleasing, without contributing to it otherwise than by the quality of an amiable temper, and by the indolence with which she suffered herself to be loved." (Memoirs of Marmontel: 150)
9) Mademoiselle Amand.
9) Mademoiselle Amand.
10) Mademoiselle Auguste.
11) Mademoiselle Beaumenard
12) Mademoiselle Bline.
13) Mademoiselle Darimattes.
14) Mademoiselle Fleury.
15) Mademoiselle Navarre.
"Mademoiselle Navarre was the daughter of a most respectable bourgeois family, who had gone on the stage, not from love of the theatre, but in search of adventures. Gifted with great beauty, she had no difficulty in leading me, victor of Fontenoy and Laufeld, captive. She then cast her spells over Marmontel, a young poet, for whose rose-pink effusions I had taken a great fancy. But the distinction of wearing two such diamonds did not satisfy Mademoiselle Navarre. Becoming enamoured of the Chevalier de Mirabeau, a youth as reckless and passionate as herself, she discarded her parure of hearts for a solitaire. She eloped with him. Weak enough to be furiously jealous I gave chase; but though they got away and got married they did not long enjoy their tumultuous idyll, for Navarre died shortly afterwards---of excess of happiness, they said. It was one of those tragedies of the coulisses that occasion more talk than a drama which has taken the town by storm" (A Beau Sabreur: 319)
"We might add the testimony of Marmontel, who, from his very intimate relations with two prominent members of Maurice's seraglio, Mlles. Navarre and de Verrieres, was without doubt well informed in regard to the Marshal's love-affairs. 'He (Maurice de Saxe) always kept an opera comique in his camp. Two performers belonging to this theatre, called Chantilly and Beaumenard, were his favourite mistresses; and he declared that their rivalry and caprices plagued him more than the Queen of Hungary's Hussars. I have read these words in one of his letters. For them it was that he neglected Mlle. Navarre.'" (Queens of the French Stage)
"Marmontel had been in love with a certain Mlle. Navarre, whose heart he had stolen away from Maurice de Saxe, much to the indignation of the famous Marshal, and who had made of him 'the happiest of lovers and the most miserable of slaves.' One day, he learned that his enchantress had jilted him, in his turn, for the Chevalier de Mirabeau, upon which he went home, 'fell down like a sacrificed victim,' and was for some time alarmingly ill. . . ." (Queens of the French Stage: n.p.)
"Mademoiselle Navarre was the daughter of a most respectable bourgeois family, who had gone on the stage, not from love of the theatre, but in search of adventures. Gifted with great beauty, she had no difficulty in leading me, victor of Fontenoy and Laufeld, captive. She then cast her spells over Marmontel, a young poet, for whose rose-pink effusions I had taken a great fancy. But the distinction of wearing two such diamonds did not satisfy Mademoiselle Navarre. Becoming enamoured of the Chevalier de Mirabeau, a youth as reckless and passionate as herself, she discarded her parure of hearts for a solitaire. She eloped with him. Weak enough to be furiously jealous I gave chase; but though they got away and got married they did not long enjoy their tumultuous idyll, for Navarre died shortly afterwards---of excess of happiness, they said. It was one of those tragedies of the coulisses that occasion more talk than a drama which has taken the town by storm" (A Beau Sabreur: 319)
"We might add the testimony of Marmontel, who, from his very intimate relations with two prominent members of Maurice's seraglio, Mlles. Navarre and de Verrieres, was without doubt well informed in regard to the Marshal's love-affairs. 'He (Maurice de Saxe) always kept an opera comique in his camp. Two performers belonging to this theatre, called Chantilly and Beaumenard, were his favourite mistresses; and he declared that their rivalry and caprices plagued him more than the Queen of Hungary's Hussars. I have read these words in one of his letters. For them it was that he neglected Mlle. Navarre.'" (Queens of the French Stage)
"Marmontel had been in love with a certain Mlle. Navarre, whose heart he had stolen away from Maurice de Saxe, much to the indignation of the famous Marshal, and who had made of him 'the happiest of lovers and the most miserable of slaves.' One day, he learned that his enchantress had jilted him, in his turn, for the Chevalier de Mirabeau, upon which he went home, 'fell down like a sacrificed victim,' and was for some time alarmingly ill. . . ." (Queens of the French Stage: n.p.)
16) Marie Rinteau de Verrieres (1730-1775)
French opera singer.
Lover in 1748.
Daughter of: Claude-Louis Rinteau & Marie-Anne Dupuy.
Her other lovers were:
1. Denis La Live, Marquis d'Epinay, French farmer-general
French opera singer.
Lover in 1748.
Daughter of: Claude-Louis Rinteau & Marie-Anne Dupuy.
Her other lovers were:
1. Denis La Live, Marquis d'Epinay, French farmer-general
2. Godefroy-Charles de La Tour, Duc de Bouillon (1728-1792)
3. Jean-Francois Marmontel.
"Mademoiselle Verrieres was a charmeuse of quite another sort. Marie Rinteau was her real name, and her father sold lemonade in the streets of Paris. One day, finding his trade declining, he abandoned it to become a vendeur d'amour, and retired into obscurity on the profit from the sale, recommendation, what you will, of his daughters to the patrons of the stage. Like Mademoiselle Navarre, Mademoiselle Verrieres was less distinguished for her acting than her gallantries. Though I heaped benefits upon her and recognised as mine the child she brought into the world in the beaux jours of my enchantment, she was ungrateful enough to expose me to ridicule by her infidelities." (A Beau Sabreur: 320)
"Allusions has already been made to the evil effects of continued inaction in calling into play the darker sides of Maurice's character. This period of his life is not without its stains. In the year 1748, Marshal Saxe had taken under his protection a singer at the opera called Marie Rinteau, her stage name being Mlle. Verrieres. She was a very young girl of extraordinary loveliness, delicacy and grace. In the autumn of 1748 she gave birth to a daughter who was christened Aurora. The marshal seems to have broken off his intimacy with her for some time after this event. Believing that she was actually abandoned, Marie devised a curious place to bring back her errant lover. The marshal was then travelling in Germany. 'Suppose,' thought she, 'that on his return he were to find the simple and timid chorus-singer grown into a brilliant actress, able not only to inflame by her beauty, but to enthrall by her talents; would not this have the effect of bringing back the wanderer to her feet?' She at once put her scheme into execution." (The Living Age, Volume 175: 758)
"The marshal himself never married, but, at age fifty-two, acquired a new mistress in the person of the beautiful seventeen-year-old Marie Rinteau. Their illegitimate daughter, Marie-Aurore, as beautiful as Marie and the first Aurore, was born in 1748. Maurice left her nothing, but Marie-Aurore threw herself at the feet of her cousin, the royal mother, and Louis XV awarded her eight hundred livres as pension, a respectable amount. Next, this feisty lady persuaded parliament to recognize her formally as 'the natural daughter of Maurice, Count of Saxony, the General Marshal of the Camps and Armies of France, and of Marie Rinteau.' Her half-brother was the Chevalier de Beaumont, whose father, the Duke of Bouillon, had been her mother's lover after Maurice (who, of course, had been the lover of the Duchess of Bouillon some time earlier.)" (Chopin in Paris: 150)
"Having discovered the deception of Mademoiselle Verrieres, I compelled her to abdicate her throne, and gave it, in an evil hour, to one who has caused me more trouble than all her comrades of the theatrical seraglio, of which her husband was the director, and who, in spite of her ingratitude and caprices, which she has expiated in a manner that she has managed to make redound to her honour and my shame, still occupies the chief place in my affections---I mean Madame Favart. Her maiden name was Justine Durenceray, and she was the daughter of one of the musicians of the private chapel of Stanislas Leczinski, who after the War of the Polish Succession lived at Luneville, in Lorraine, of which he had been given the government. Justine had received a brilliant education, under the personal supervision of
"Mademoiselle Verrieres was a charmeuse of quite another sort. Marie Rinteau was her real name, and her father sold lemonade in the streets of Paris. One day, finding his trade declining, he abandoned it to become a vendeur d'amour, and retired into obscurity on the profit from the sale, recommendation, what you will, of his daughters to the patrons of the stage. Like Mademoiselle Navarre, Mademoiselle Verrieres was less distinguished for her acting than her gallantries. Though I heaped benefits upon her and recognised as mine the child she brought into the world in the beaux jours of my enchantment, she was ungrateful enough to expose me to ridicule by her infidelities." (A Beau Sabreur: 320)
"Allusions has already been made to the evil effects of continued inaction in calling into play the darker sides of Maurice's character. This period of his life is not without its stains. In the year 1748, Marshal Saxe had taken under his protection a singer at the opera called Marie Rinteau, her stage name being Mlle. Verrieres. She was a very young girl of extraordinary loveliness, delicacy and grace. In the autumn of 1748 she gave birth to a daughter who was christened Aurora. The marshal seems to have broken off his intimacy with her for some time after this event. Believing that she was actually abandoned, Marie devised a curious place to bring back her errant lover. The marshal was then travelling in Germany. 'Suppose,' thought she, 'that on his return he were to find the simple and timid chorus-singer grown into a brilliant actress, able not only to inflame by her beauty, but to enthrall by her talents; would not this have the effect of bringing back the wanderer to her feet?' She at once put her scheme into execution." (The Living Age, Volume 175: 758)
"The marshal himself never married, but, at age fifty-two, acquired a new mistress in the person of the beautiful seventeen-year-old Marie Rinteau. Their illegitimate daughter, Marie-Aurore, as beautiful as Marie and the first Aurore, was born in 1748. Maurice left her nothing, but Marie-Aurore threw herself at the feet of her cousin, the royal mother, and Louis XV awarded her eight hundred livres as pension, a respectable amount. Next, this feisty lady persuaded parliament to recognize her formally as 'the natural daughter of Maurice, Count of Saxony, the General Marshal of the Camps and Armies of France, and of Marie Rinteau.' Her half-brother was the Chevalier de Beaumont, whose father, the Duke of Bouillon, had been her mother's lover after Maurice (who, of course, had been the lover of the Duchess of Bouillon some time earlier.)" (Chopin in Paris: 150)
"Having discovered the deception of Mademoiselle Verrieres, I compelled her to abdicate her throne, and gave it, in an evil hour, to one who has caused me more trouble than all her comrades of the theatrical seraglio, of which her husband was the director, and who, in spite of her ingratitude and caprices, which she has expiated in a manner that she has managed to make redound to her honour and my shame, still occupies the chief place in my affections---I mean Madame Favart. Her maiden name was Justine Durenceray, and she was the daughter of one of the musicians of the private chapel of Stanislas Leczinski, who after the War of the Polish Succession lived at Luneville, in Lorraine, of which he had been given the government. Justine had received a brilliant education, under the personal supervision of
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Marie-Aurore de Saxe
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Natural offspring:
1. Marie-Aurore de Saxe (1748-1821)
Countess of Horn
"The elder, Marie, was seventeen when she became Maurice's mistress, and when she was eighteen she bore him a daughter, the only acknowledged offspring of his innumerable liaisons. On October 19th, 1748, the child was baptized at the church of Saint-Gervais in Paris, her parents being described as Jean-Baptiste de la Riviere and Maria Rinteau. Marie was, of course, unmarried, and the name La Riviere was a prete-nom; no doubt the river in question was the Seine. The child was christened Aurore, after her famous grandmother, the Countess Maria Aurora von Konigsmarck. In early childhood she was to be adopted by her royal cousin, the Dauphine Maria Josepha, and to become the grandmother of the novelist George Sand (who was born Armandine-Aurore-Lucie Dupin in 1804). George Sand, in her turn, was so proud of her Konigsmarck descent that she called her son Maurice, while the elder of her granddaughters was named Aurore." (Marshal of France: The Life and Times of Maurice, Comte de Saxe: 242)
Countess of Horn
"The elder, Marie, was seventeen when she became Maurice's mistress, and when she was eighteen she bore him a daughter, the only acknowledged offspring of his innumerable liaisons. On October 19th, 1748, the child was baptized at the church of Saint-Gervais in Paris, her parents being described as Jean-Baptiste de la Riviere and Maria Rinteau. Marie was, of course, unmarried, and the name La Riviere was a prete-nom; no doubt the river in question was the Seine. The child was christened Aurore, after her famous grandmother, the Countess Maria Aurora von Konigsmarck. In early childhood she was to be adopted by her royal cousin, the Dauphine Maria Josepha, and to become the grandmother of the novelist George Sand (who was born Armandine-Aurore-Lucie Dupin in 1804). George Sand, in her turn, was so proud of her Konigsmarck descent that she called her son Maurice, while the elder of her granddaughters was named Aurore." (Marshal of France: The Life and Times of Maurice, Comte de Saxe: 242)
Wife of: 1. Antoine Comte de Horn (1723-1767) mar 1766
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| Claude Dupin |
17) Rosette Dubosan (1666-1726?)
"It was noted (a pretty story runs) that the young Saxon, dining in the tent of Prince Eugene, was attracted by the budding beauty of a girl from Tournay, one Rosetta Dubosan, who had come to the camp to sell a headdress of elaborate lace, worked by her dead mother, and her sole dowry. Neither Eugene nor Marlborough was remarkable for prodigality, and the lace went unpurchased, but the young Come de Saxe (as his dubious title ran) followed the sweet pedlar from the tent and recompensed her for her disappointment by apt and accomplished tributes to her charms, for the son of Aurora von Konigsmarck already the arts of the successful lover. The little maiden, who was his own age, was as innocently won as wooed, and the idyllic intrigue continued to the sound of Boufflers' desperate fire from the citadel of Lille and the fierce reply from the Allies' trenches, and, when the city surrendered on 10th December, Maurice, like a seasoned soldier, retired to Brussels to enjoy his leisure with his little mistress whom he now boldly snatched from the guardianship of her father; the inaction of winter, however, galled the young lover, despite this pretty companion, and he was further depressed by a recall to Dresden where Madame Konigsmarck lavished tender caresses on him, and his father laughingly commended him n vain, the desires of Maurice were with the army and Rosetta. In the spring movement of the troops in Flanders Maurice was with Marlborough at Tournay, which fell on 28th July; what time he could spare from his duties in the palisades or on the redoubts was spent in hurrying post-haste to Brussels and visiting the lace-maker's daughter; at least so runs the legend, which is true to character, if not to fact. . . But the peculiar Venus of Maurice vanished; when he reached Brussels the adorable Rosetta had disappeared, spirited away either by virtue or inconstancy, and Maurice was scarcely consoled for her loss by the excitement of Malplaquet, where he assisted the amiable Englishman to gain some of the most glossy laurels that ever entwined his handsome peruke." (Sundry Great Gentlemen: Some Essays in Historical Biography)
