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| Francois I of France @artuk |
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| Charles d'Angouleme & Louis de Savoie @The Freelance Writer |
Son of: Charles d'Orleans, Comte d'Angouleme & Louise de Savoie.
Francois I's personal & family background.
"In January 1515 Louis XII died without a direct heir and the Valois throne was assumed by his cousin, Francis I of Angouleme, who reigned for thirty-two years as the sixth Renaissance king of France. Francis was born on September 12, 1494, at the castle of Cognac and was the only son of Count Charles of Angouleme and Louise, daughter of the Duke of Savoy. The Angouleme House was a minor branch of the ruling Valois dynasty and the young lord was not in the direct line of succession. In January 1496 Count Charles died and his son inherited his lands and titles under the guardianship of his mother. While Francis remained in Cognac under the care and custody of Louise, in 1498 Charles VIII died and was succeeded by Louise of Orleans. Th new monarch was without a male heir and as his closest relative, Francis, was recognized as dauphin. He was also taken under the direct protection of Louis XII and provided a household at the chateau of Clos-Live in Amboise. . . ." (Monarchs of the Renaissance: 206)
Francois I's personal & family background.
"In January 1515 Louis XII died without a direct heir and the Valois throne was assumed by his cousin, Francis I of Angouleme, who reigned for thirty-two years as the sixth Renaissance king of France. Francis was born on September 12, 1494, at the castle of Cognac and was the only son of Count Charles of Angouleme and Louise, daughter of the Duke of Savoy. The Angouleme House was a minor branch of the ruling Valois dynasty and the young lord was not in the direct line of succession. In January 1496 Count Charles died and his son inherited his lands and titles under the guardianship of his mother. While Francis remained in Cognac under the care and custody of Louise, in 1498 Charles VIII died and was succeeded by Louise of Orleans. Th new monarch was without a male heir and as his closest relative, Francis, was recognized as dauphin. He was also taken under the direct protection of Louis XII and provided a household at the chateau of Clos-Live in Amboise. . . ." (Monarchs of the Renaissance: 206)
Francois' parents.
Louise, the King's mother, "lusted" after Charles III de Bourbon.
" . . . Bourbon, the richest man in the kingdom after the sovereign, faced ruin. Because he had no direct heir, it was possible for the crown to make a claim on Suzanne's inheritance: her mother was a Princess of France and part of her property had come to her from her royal father. There were also other properties of Suzanne's claimed for the crown by the avaricious Louise de Savoie, first cousin of Suzanne's mother, Anne de Beaujeau. Thad had faded Louise de Savoie's beauty, and power had turned her head; then, at age forty-five, she lost her heart. As the king's mother, Louise had had no shortage of candidates to console her in widowhood, and she took full advantage of her position. Soon after Suzanne's death, the object of her overwhelming desire became none other than the Constable of France---the recently widowed, attractive, and considerably younger Charles de Bourbon. Darkly handsome at thirty-two, extremely proud, and grieving for his wife whom he had loved sincerely, Charles was not at all interested in the overtures made to him by the king's mother. The duc de Bourbon needed to produce an heir to his vast possessions and title; otherwise, with his death, everything he owned would revert to the crown. Louise was, of course, too old for children, and she would have realized all this, but she was madly in love and desired desperately to marry the richest and most powerful nobleman in France." (The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King: 74)
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Claude of Brittany |
Husband of:
" . . . His first, . . . , was Claude, the daughter of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany. Her name is still remembered in the Reine-Claude plum, or, greengage, and she did her duty by bearing Francis seven children; but since she was 'very small and strangely corpulent', with a limp and a pronounced squint, she never interested him much. For all that, she was a good, sweet-natured girl; an ambassador reported that 'her grace in speaking greatly made up for her want of beauty'. She died in 1524, in her twenty-fifth year. . . ." (Four Princes)
"While Francis I was held prisoner in Madrid, in June 1524 Queen Claude died at age twenty-four. Despite being an arranged marriage for political and dynastic reasons, the king and Claude developed a close and caring relationship, in spite of his many amorous affairs. As the daughter of Queen Anne of Brittany, she inherited her kinds and after Claude's death the duchy was later annexed to France. The marriage resulted in seven children, including the dauphin, Francis, born in 1518." (Monarchs of the Renaissance: 211)
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Eleanor of Austria |
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| Francis I & Eleanor |
" . . . The King's second wife, whom he married after six years of riotous bachelorhood, was Eleanor of Austria, sister of Charles V; for three brief years she had been the third wife of King Manuel I of Portugal. Alas, she proved to be no great improvement on her predecessor: tall and sallow, with the jutting Habsburg chin and a curious absence of personality. A lady-in-waiting was subsequently to report that 'when undressed she was seen to have the trunk of a giantess, so long and big was her body, yet going lower she seemed a dwarf, so short were her thighs and legs'. Already four years before her wedding to Francis it was reported that she had grown corpulent, heavy of feature, with red patches on her face 'as if she had elephantiasis'. Francis largely ignored her; there were no children. She was certainly no match for her husband's regiment of mistresses. . . ." (Four Princes)
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| Francis I of France |
"Francois I was one of the most attractive and exciting personalities ever to sit on the throne of France---tall, dark, well built, he was thought most handsome (despite rather spindly legs), and very regal. He also had great charm and blind courage, and neither he nor anyone at his court believed there was a woman living who could resist him. He saw the court as a font of pleasure, his own and that of his courtiers. This was an era when tales of chivalry exerted a powerful influence on the young courtiers around the new king. The costly pageantry and joie de vivre which enveloped this smiling monarch and his court wherever he went were in stark contrast to the simple ideals of royalty maintained in the reign of Louis XII. Francois loved women, their spirit as well as their beauty. Gathering the charmers of the court about him at one of his chateaux, he told his enchanted listeners: 'A court without ladies 'tis like a year without springtime, and a springtime without roses.' . . . ." (The Serpent)
"What kind of a man Francis I? The English chronicler Edward Hall described him as 'a godly prince, stately of countenance, merry of chere, brown coloured, great eyes, high nosed, big lipped, fair breasted and shoulders, small legs and long feet'. Less succinct, but equally vivid, is a description by Ellis Griffith, a Welshman in Henry VIII's service, who saw the king at the Field of Cloth of Gold. Francis, he writes, was six feet tall. His head was rightly proportioned for his height, the nape of his neck usually broad, his hair brown, smooth and neatly combed, his beard of three months' growth darker in colour, his nose long, his eyes hazel and bloodshot, and his complexion the colour of watery milk. He had muscular buttocks and thighs, but his legs below the knees were thin and bandy, while his feet were long, slender and completely flat. He had an agreeable voice and, in conversation, an animated expression, marred only by the unfortunate habit of continually rolling his eyes upward." (Francis I: 83)
A magnificent figure of a man, bursting with youthful energy.
"His new subjects were delighted. The country had recently suffered a whole series of drab and sickly monarchs; here now was a magnificent figure of a man, bursting with youthful energy. A Welshman who saw him at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 describes him as being six feet tall, the nape of his neck usually broad, his hair brown, smooth and neatly combed, his beard (of three months' growth) darker in colour, his eyes hazel, and somewhat bloodshot, and his complexion the colour of watery milk. His buttocks and thighs were muscular, but his lower legs were thin and bandy. . . ." (Four Princes)
Guillaume Budé, a French scholar, on Francois I.
"'This monarch', he wrote, is not only a Frank (which is in itself a glorious title); he is also Francis, a name borne by a king for the first time and, one can prophesy, predestined for great things. He Is educated in letters, which is unusual in our kings, and also possesses a natural eloquence, wit, tact, and an easy, pleasant manner; nature, in short, has endowed him with the rarest gifts of body and mind. He likes to admire and to praise princes of old who have distinguished themselves by their lofty intellects and brilliant deeds, and he is fortunate to have as much wealth as any king in the world, which he gives more liberally than anyone.'" (Four Princes)
Exemplification of all kingly virtues.
"What kind of a man Francis I? The English chronicler Edward Hall described him as 'a godly prince, stately of countenance, merry of chere, brown coloured, great eyes, high nosed, big lipped, fair breasted and shoulders, small legs and long feet'. Less succinct, but equally vivid, is a description by Ellis Griffith, a Welshman in Henry VIII's service, who saw the king at the Field of Cloth of Gold. Francis, he writes, was six feet tall. His head was rightly proportioned for his height, the nape of his neck usually broad, his hair brown, smooth and neatly combed, his beard of three months' growth darker in colour, his nose long, his eyes hazel and bloodshot, and his complexion the colour of watery milk. He had muscular buttocks and thighs, but his legs below the knees were thin and bandy, while his feet were long, slender and completely flat. He had an agreeable voice and, in conversation, an animated expression, marred only by the unfortunate habit of continually rolling his eyes upward." (Francis I: 83)
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| Francis I of France |
"His new subjects were delighted. The country had recently suffered a whole series of drab and sickly monarchs; here now was a magnificent figure of a man, bursting with youthful energy. A Welshman who saw him at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 describes him as being six feet tall, the nape of his neck usually broad, his hair brown, smooth and neatly combed, his beard (of three months' growth) darker in colour, his eyes hazel, and somewhat bloodshot, and his complexion the colour of watery milk. His buttocks and thighs were muscular, but his lower legs were thin and bandy. . . ." (Four Princes)
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| Francis I of France |
"'This monarch', he wrote, is not only a Frank (which is in itself a glorious title); he is also Francis, a name borne by a king for the first time and, one can prophesy, predestined for great things. He Is educated in letters, which is unusual in our kings, and also possesses a natural eloquence, wit, tact, and an easy, pleasant manner; nature, in short, has endowed him with the rarest gifts of body and mind. He likes to admire and to praise princes of old who have distinguished themselves by their lofty intellects and brilliant deeds, and he is fortunate to have as much wealth as any king in the world, which he gives more liberally than anyone.'" (Four Princes)
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| Francis I of France |
"Francois was then twenty-one, an impressive six feet in height, and broad-shouldered, with an athletic physique and slim legs, although already he was putting on weight. He was considered handsome, with his dark, saturnine looks and long Valois nose, his cynical eyes and sensual mocking lips, and he was undoubtedly attractive to women. A contemporary described him as 'young, mighty, and insatiable, always reading and talking of such enterprises as whet and inflame himself and his hearers.' Cultivated, intelligent, artistic, and open-handed, yet at the same time wily and extravagant, he was also spirited, literate, and a brilliant, merry, and witty conversationalist who had impeccable courtly manners and boundless ambition. To his contemporaries, he exemplified all the kingly virtues." (Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings: 71)
| Francis I of France |
Epitome of the French Renaissance.
"Francis I (1515-1547)---handsome, tall, imposing, richly attired---epitomizes the French Renaissance. When he came to the throne as a young man, his vitality offered a striking contrast to the enfeebled Louis XII and embodied hopes for a new reign. His court adapted Renaissance style to a French setting. He patronized the arts and built a chateaux in a new distinctive style. He brought artists of the Italian Renaissance, most notably Leonardo da Vinci, inti a court enlivened by an endless chivalric pageant of feasts, balls, tournaments, hunting, sports, and court ceremonies. . . ." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 111)
Francois is the king the French most love today.
" . . . They love him for his swagger and his braggadocio; for his courage in war and his process in the bedchamber; for the colour and opulence with which he surrounded himself; for the whole new civilisation that he left behind. They pass over with a shrug his financial recklessness, which by June 1517 had led him into a debt roughly equal to his annual income. . . There is admiration too, for the sheer zest that he showed in his lifelong struggle with the House of Habsburg -- all too easily identified in French minds with Germany, France's traditional enemy for the next four hundred years. Only this increasing persecution of the Protestants, mostly (though not entirely) in the last decade of his reign, do they find harder to forgive." (Four Princes)
Well-known gallant, great womanizer.
Francois is the king the French most love today.
" . . . They love him for his swagger and his braggadocio; for his courage in war and his process in the bedchamber; for the colour and opulence with which he surrounded himself; for the whole new civilisation that he left behind. They pass over with a shrug his financial recklessness, which by June 1517 had led him into a debt roughly equal to his annual income. . . There is admiration too, for the sheer zest that he showed in his lifelong struggle with the House of Habsburg -- all too easily identified in French minds with Germany, France's traditional enemy for the next four hundred years. Only this increasing persecution of the Protestants, mostly (though not entirely) in the last decade of his reign, do they find harder to forgive." (Four Princes)
Well-known gallant, great womanizer.
"At twenty, Francis was already a well-known gallant. As Beatis noted, 'The king is a great womanizer and readily breaks into others' gardens and drinks from many sources.' The Venetian ambassador Dandolo described him as a great hunter of deer and women. . . ." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 121)
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| Francois I of France @Getty Images |
"As is well known, Francis was a great womanizer. Some of the stories that have been told about him are hard to swallow. For example, it has been alleged that he had a mistress at the age of ten, that his relations with his sister were incestuous, and that he build Chambord to be near one of his mistresses. Some of these tales can be traced to late sixteenth-century works by authors associated with the house of Bourbon, who wanted to blacken the king's reputation. Yet Francis was undoubtedly a libertine. He was reputed to be such by contemporaries and may have contracted syphilis as early as August 1524, when he was said to be 'sick of his own French disease'. About the time of his accession he was having an affair with the wife of Jacques Disomme, a prominent Parisian barrister; Mary Tudor also complained that Francis had been 'importunate with her in divers matters not to her honour'. The letters which the young Federico Gonzaga or his secretary, Gadio, wrote to the marquis of Mantua and his wife from the French court in 1516 and 1517 suggest that the king's morals wee far from irreproachable. Federico, who became a notorious libertine himself, may well have picked up some of his habits during his years at Francois's court." (Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I: 113)
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| Francois I of France @Art Prints on Demand |
A dissolute from his earliest days?
" . . . Francis had allegedly been dissolute since his earliest days; no beautiful woman had been safe from his lust. He had forced his attentions on Mary Tudor, Louis XII's widow, and only a warning that he might lose his throne to his own bastard had persuaded him to desist. He had contracted syphilis (invariably described as 'a shameful malady') in the arms of La Belle Ferroniere and had passed it to his first wife, Claude de France, who had died of it. He had lured the beautiful comtesse de Chateaubriant to his court by means of a cheap trick, and, she, after becoming his mistress, had used her influence to have her three incompetent brothers appointed to high military commands, with disastrous results. For purely selfish reasons, she had allied with the queen mother and had forced treason on the duc de Bourbon. Having jilted Madame de Chateaubriant, who fell victim to her husband's cruel vengeance, Francis took as his mistress Anne de Pisseleu, one of his mother's ladies-in-waiting. But first he married her off to Jean de Brosse, comte d'Etampes, one of Bourbon's accomplices, who complied with the king's wish so as to recover his own confiscated lands. Madame d'Etampes now became the supreme dispenser of favours and disfavours. She also deceived the king by having affairs with the comte de Brissac, the constable of Montmorency, Admiral Chabot and the comte de Longueval. In 1539 she planned to take the emperor prisoner during his visit to the French court, but he won her over by dropping a large diamond at her feet. Thereafter she was an imperialist, and during the war of 1544 she and Longueval tricked the heroic garrison of Saint-Dizier into capitulating to Charles V. Yet she retained her credit with Francis, although he was aware of her treasonable intrigues. Turning to Michelet, we find another allegation about Francis: namely, that his love for his sister, Marguerite, was incestuous." (Francis I: 427)
"The reputation of the new king preceded him. At the licentious court of Francis I 'both maids and wives do oft-times trip, indeed do so customarily', and he was described in thinly veiled sexual metaphors as 'drinking' from many fountains and 'clothed' in women. Reputed to have created spyholes in his palaces in order to watch women undressing and engaging in intimate acts, Francis would have been aware of the young women in the entourage of the dowager queen. . . ." (The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories: cxliii)
False claims or fantastic fantasies?
"Women played an important part in Francis's life, though much that has been written on the subject is mere fantasy. It has been alleged that he had a mistress at the age of ten, that his relations with his sister were incestuous, that he built Chambord to be near one of his mistresses and so on. None of these stories merits serious attention. That is not to say that Francis's life was irreproachable. He had the reputation of being dissolute, and he may have had syphilis as early as 1524. There is evidence, too, that about the time of his accession, he was having an affair with the wife of Jacques Disomme, an eminent Parisian barrister, and Mary Tudor also complained that he had been 'importunate with her in divers matters not to her honour.' But the truth cannot be sifted from the gossip. Even the king's first official mistress, Francoise de Foix, comtesse de Chateaubriant, remains a shadowy figure. We do not know when the king met her for the first time or when he jilted her. . . ." (Francis I: 86)
The king's greatest mistake?
" . . . Bayle credits Francis with courage and that 'frank and open generosity that is so rare among persons of his condition', but criticizes him for allowing himself to be ruled by women and unworthy favourites. The king's greatest mistake, in his judgment, was to admit women to his court. This, he concedes, did not lead to the overthrow of the Salic law, but 'one may say that, from that time until more or less the end of the sixteenth century, France was ruled by women'." (Francis I: 426)
Keeping appearances up.
"...Having jilted Madame de Chateaubriant, who fell victim to her husband's cruel vengeance, Francis took as his mistress Anne de Pisseleu, one of his mother's ladies-in-waiting. But first he married her off to Jean de Brosse, comte de Etampes, one of Bourbon's accomplices, who complied with the king's wish so as to recover his own confiscated lands. [Fam1: GeneaNet]
Royal mistresses playing queen?
Royal mistresses playing queen?
"Handsome and debonair, Francis was never at a loss for female companionship. His two officially designated mistresses were successively important. Francoise de Foix, duchess of Chateaubriant, and Anne de Pisseleu, the duchess of Etampes, frequently filled the public roles of the queen, presiding over some of the most lavish feasts associated with his reign. Francoise was beautiful and well educated; she and Francis exchanged romantic poems. This relationship did not mask its sexual character. Instead, this mistress romanticized the king's extramarital relationship, casting their relationship in an idealized light. Anne, his official mistress for the last twenty years of his reign, led a political faction and thus became a polarizing figure. The prominence of these two mistresses attests to an evolution in court culture away from the emphasis on female virtue, which had characterized Anne of Brittany's court, to Francis's more libertine, sophisticated court. His court vibrantly reflected the rebirth of the classics in the revitalized culture of the French Renaissance." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 113)
Francois I's high regard for the women of his court.
" . . . More than any previous king, Francis understood that royal pageantry enhanced his authority and that women were central to his court. They were not simply decorative embellishments of its many festivities. Instead, powerful, influential women shaped Francis's reign and were essential to its accomplishments. They too patronized artists and refurbished chateaux in Renaissance style. Not simply devoted to the study of classical texts, as were all proponents of the humanist culture of the Renaissance, some of them also wrote important texts of the French Renaissance. They were political actors and diplomats. Under Francis, 'women were everything, even generals and captains,' complained Marechal Gaspard de Saulx Tavannes in 1573, reflecting back on the court of his youth. The women most closely associated with Francis were crucial in define his reign and advancing the new culture of the court and thus in formulating his legacy---a distinctive French Renaissance." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 111)
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| Francis I of France |
Summary list of mistresses.
4. Jeanne Le Cocq, Dame de La Commune-en-Brie
6. La Châtelaine de Montrault
7. Marie de Montchenu, Dame de Macy
9. Mary of England
10. Mary Boleyn
11. NN d'Estouteville, Dame de Villecouvin
Francois I's lovers were:
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| Françoise de Foix |
1) Francoise de Foix (1475-1537)
Lover in 1518-1526.
Comtesse de Chateaubriant
Lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude.
Francois I's first official mistress.
Comtesse de Chateaubriant
Francois I's first official mistress.
Daughter of Jean de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec & Jeanne d'Aydie.
Personal & family background.
"Françoise, born in 1495, was the daughter of Jean de Foix, Viscount de Lautrec, and Jeanne d'Aydie. Her father was the younger brother of Gaston IV de Foix, who had married Eleanor, Queen of Navarre. He belonged to the high nobility of France, being the second cousin of Anne, Duchess of Brittany and Queen of France. When she was only ten years old, she was called by the court to be educated according to her rank." (Los Lios de la Corte)
[She was the] " . . . daughter of Phoebus de Foix (sic), born in 1475, and known in French history as the mistress of Francis I whose affections she lost through the superior attractions of Mlle. d'Heily, afterwards the duchess d'Etampes. Brantome has given a spirited narrative of this affair. Early in life she married Jean de Laval Montmorency, count of Chateaubriant. She was sister to the celebrated mareschal de Lautrec; and was a woman of majestic presence, and of great courage. She died in 1537." (New general biographical dictionary, Vol 6: 253)
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Jean de Laval, c1536 |
Wife of: Jean de Laval-Montmorency, Comte de Chateaubriant, mar 1509.
Francoise & Jean's love story.
"[In] 1505: Jean de Laval fell in love with an exquisite girl, newly arrived in the service of the Duchess-Queen: Françoise de Foix (born about 1475). A small beauty, refined in spirit and culture, but without any pedantry. Françoise de Foix is cousin of Anne of Brittany. Coming from Ariège, she is the daughter of a nobleman, Jean de Foix, Lord of Lautrec, and his wife Jeanne d'Aydie, heiress of the Comte de Comminges. 'Though she scarcely came out of childhood, and was born only in her twelfth year, her beauty was so perfect that she took away her heart.' An advantageous size, and perfecting from day to day; an engaging air mingled with pride and gentleness, black hair, and a great quantity, which enhanced the whiteness and brilliancy of her complexion, that joined to a spirit of austerity, just, fine, common sense, which began to shine, rendered her the rarer and the most beautiful person of the century'. Françoise de Foix is only 11 years old, Jean de Laval is 19 years old. The girl is noble but poor. The young man owns one of the biggest fortunes in Brittany. But whatever. Anne of Brittany has a rule that can not stand any exception: those who enjoy themselves must marry. Then on September 4th, 1505, in Morlaix, the sovereign makes celebrate the engagement of Jean and Francoise. To this last she attributes a dote of 20,000 livres, taken on the revenues of the finances of Brittany. An extraordinary thing for the time, Jean and Françoise leave immediately for the Manor of Châteaubriant, betrothed but not married, living somehow in common law. A daughter Anne, born of this union in March 1507. The official marriage of the two young people took place only in 1509." (Châteaubriant, Histoire et Résistance)
"She had barely just turned eleven when a handsome gentleman of nineteen, Jean de Laval, Count of Châteaubriant, began to woo her and fell madly in love with her. Queen Anne could not do anything about it, to the point that she had no choice but to accept the pleas and accept him as the fiance of her childish lady, whom she highly esteemed. The sovereign provided the girl with twenty thousand pounds and promised her sponsorship when it was time to think of a wedding. But for the anxious Jean, who was not content with anything, this was not enough." (Los Lios de la Corte)
Natural Offspring:
Anne de Valois-Orleans-Angouleme (1508-1521).
" . . . One biographer described him as being 'as amorous as a cat, amorous and inconstant. It is true that Francis enjoyed both casual liaisons and a string of more significant mistresses, who included Francoise de Foix, Madame de Chateaubriant; her husband, who took his wife's infidelity in his stride, was Jean de Laval, Sire de Chateaubriant. Francoise was a demanding and spoilt woman, whose requirements both sexual and political were considerable. She made the king work for her affections, and only agreed to become his maitresse en titre in 1518. Boasting dark hair and a tall, slender figure, she was attractive, naturally, but with a steeliness and strength that made her the opposite of the demure Queen Claude. She had been educated and shared Francis's cultural abd aesthetic interest and, like him ,was seldom content with the status quo. She was by no means faithful, at one point sleeping not only with Francis but also with the Admiral of France, Guillaume Gouffier, Seigneur de Bonnivet. In an effort to make the king jealous, or possibly excite him, she described their encounter in sexually graphic terms. On another occasion, Bonnivet was obliged to hide in the fireplace under some green boughs after sleeping with Francoise when the king arrive, only to suffer the indignity of being urinated upon by the monarch relieving himself before having his way with his mistress. She also wrote Francis love poems, one of which extolled the virtues of the dark over the fair. Perhaps hse had heard rumours about his great intimacy with his sister and wished to dissuade him from finding another mistress reminiscent of her." (Francis I: The Maker of Modern France)
Francoise's physical appearance & personal qualities.
"Francoise de Foix was tall, slender and exquisitely proportioned. Her features were of extreme delicacy, her eyes large and of a tender blue, her eyebrows beautifully pencilled, her locks blonde, and her complexion ravishingly fair. Her attire was of white brocade, her long stomacher being covered with gems, while the girdle had encircled her narrow waist was studded with precious stones. Over her gown she wore a surcoat of azure satin embroidered with gold, and having loose hanging sleeves. A magnificent headdress of goldsmith's work confined her blonde tresses, and set off her lovely countenance. Francoise de Foix was as fascinating in manner as she was charming in person, and her royal lover seemed spellbound by her attractions. She was net, however, more faithful to him that she had been to her husband, but she had the art to conceal her infidelities, and never incurred his suspicions. Unable to brook his dishonour, the Comte de Chateaubriand had withdrawn wholly from court, and secluded himself in his lonely chateau in Brittany, where he meditated a terrible revenge, which he afterwards consummated. The end of the lovely countess was very tragical." (The Constable de Bourbon)
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| Françoise de Foix @Chateaubriant website |
First encounter.
"Whatever the case may be, it seems certain that Madame de Chateaubriant came to court, for the first time in 1518, at the baptism of the Dauphin Francis, and after a long resistance she yielded to the passion she had inspired the king. Becoming " the king's cloak " she received many gifts and her husband and brothers were not left out. But the king's mother, Louise of Savoy , watched and saw with an evil eye this connection, not because of an excess of morality, but because she hated the family of Foix . François I er having been captured at Pavia in 1525. Madame de Chateaubriant remained exposed to the hatred of the regent and to the vengeance of her husband." (Wikipedia)
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| Francoise de Foix @Wikipedia |
The first official mistress.
"Two other ladies at the court of Francis I need to be singled out. They were his official mistresses, Francoise de Foix, dame de Chateaubriant and Anne de Pisseleu, dame d'Heilly. Comparatively little is known about the first: we do not know when the king met her for the first time or when he jilted her. A number of love letters and poems attributed to one or the other of them are uninformative and may not even be genuine. However, Francoise, who had married Jean de Laval, sire de Chateaubriant, in 1509, is known to have been present at court as early as June 1516. She was one of Queen Claude's twelve ladies-in-waiting and evidently had some political influence. . . Francoise was also noted for her elegance. . . If she was already the king's mistress, as seems likely, there may be some truth after all in the tradition that she was instrumental in obtaining high military commands for her three brothers, Odet, Thomas and Andre. . . ." (Francis I: 116)
"Early in Francis's reign, Francoise de Foix, his first official mistress, often appropriated the queen's public roles. Her relationship with Francis embodied romance. A royal mistress who captured the imagination, Francoise inspired romantic anecdotes, repeated in virtually every source that mentions her. She did not, as later mistresses, use her position to raise her own social standing or to shape politics; instead her relationship with the king seemed based on mutual attraction and love. This relationship may have also allowed Francoise to have a personally fulfilling relationship or evade an abusive husband. She also cloaked the king's extramarital relationship in chivalry and love." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 124)
Maitresse en titre in 1518.
"On the other hand, Mary ]Boleyn] was not, and would never be, Francois's maitresse en titre, his official mistress, the first of whom would be Francoise de Foix. The experiences of the two women could not be more different. Madame de Foix was a distant relative of King Francois. She was betrothed to Jean de Laval in 1506 and gave birth to their daughter two years later. In 1509 the couple were married and were making their life together at Chateaubriant when Francois called them to court in 1516. It was not long before Madame de Foix's beauty and sophistication brought her to the King's notice. Francois showered her with gifts and favours. Her family also found favour: her husband was given offices, while her elder brother was made governor of the duchy of Milan; other brothers secured positions of high command in Francois's army. Madame de Foix became the official mistress of the King in about 1518, and bu the following year, her position was obvious to all." (Mary Boleyn: The True Story of Henry VIII's Favourite Mistress: 37)
"Two other ladies at the court of Francis I need to be singled out. They were his official mistresses, Francoise de Foix, dame de Chateaubriant and Anne de Pisseleu, dame d'Heilly. comparatively little is known about the first: we do not know when the king met her for the first time or when he jilted her. A number of love letters and poems attributed to one or other of them are uninformative and may not even be genuine. However, Francoise, who had married Jean de Laval, sire de Chateaubriant, in 1509, is known to have been present at courtr as early as June 1516. She was one of Queen Claude's twelve ladies-in-waiting and evidently had some political influence. She was asked to intercede with her brother, marshal Lautrec, in an effort to stop incursions by his troops into Mantuan territory. Francoise was also noted for her elegance. The magnificent clothes she wore at a banquet held at l'Arbresle on 11 July 1516 were much admired. If she was already the king's mistress, as seems likely, there may be some truth after all in the tradition that she was instrumental in obtaining high military commands for her three brothers, Odet, Thomas and Andre. She died in 1537." (Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I: 116)
" . . . One biographer described him as being 'as amorous as a cat, amorous and inconstant'. It is true that Francis enjoyed both casual liaisons and a string of more significant mistresses, who included Francoise de Foix, Madame de Chateaubriant; her husband, who took his wife's infidelity in his stride, was Jean de Laval, Sire de Chateaubriant. Francoise was a demanding and spoilt woman, whose requirements both sexual and political were considerable. She made the king work for her affections, and only agreed to become his maitresse en titre in 1518. Boasting dark hair and a s tall, slender figure, she was attractive, naturally, but with a steeliness and strength that made her the opposite of the demure Queen Claude. She had been educated and shared Francis's cultural and aesthetic interests and, like him, was seldom content with the status quo. . . She also wrote Francis love poems, one of which extolled the virtues of the dark over the fair. Perhaps she had heard rumours about his great intimacy with his sister and wished to dissuade him from finding another mistress reminiscent of him." (Francis I: The Maker of Modern France)
Affair with an Admiral of France.
" . . . She was by no means faithful, at one point sleeping not only with Francis but also with the Admiral of France, Guillaume Gouffier, Seigneur de Bonnivet. In an effort to make the king jealous, or possibly to excite him, she described their encounter in sexually graphic terms. On another occasion, Bonnivet was obliged to hide in the fireplace under some green boughs after sleeping with Francoise when the king arrived, only to suffer the indignity of being urinated upon by the monarch relieving himself before his way with his mistress . . . ." (Francis I: The Maker of Modern France)
End of the affair in 1526?.
End of the affair in 1526?.
" . . .His first official mistress, Francoise de Foix (d. 1537), dame de Chateaubriant, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude. Married to Jean de Laval, sire de Chateaubriant in 1509, Francoise was influential at court by 1516 in part because of her family connections in Brittany. Francois gradually moved Francoise aside after meeting Anne de Pisseleu in 1526. . . ." (The Sexual Culture of the French Renaissance: 201)
A shadowy figure?.
" . . . Even the king's first official mistress, Francoise de Foix, comtesse de Chateaubriant, remains a shadowy figure. We do no know when the king met her for first time or when he jilted her. A number of love letters and poems attributed to her and Francis are singularly uninformative and may not be genuine. Francoise seems to have had little or no political influence. She has been held responsible for the appointment of her three brothers, Odet, Thomas and Andre, to important military commands, but his cannot be proved. Odet had already become a marshal of France by April 1518, when the king and the countess allegedly met." (Francis I: 86)
Affair's benefits.
". . . Francoise's new status was immediately obvious; she was given a place just behind the royal princesses at the baptism of Francis's son. Such a position was tantamount to a public announcement of her status as an official favorite. Her presence was also on display at the lavish royal fete at the Bastille in December 1518 as reported by the Journal of a Bourgeois of Paris. When Francis spent Christmas at Romorantin, his mother's chateau, he insisted that a pavilion be set aside for Francoise. . . ." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 128)
Affairs beneficiaries.
". . . Jean nonetheless benefited financially from his wife's position as royal favorite: He was first sent to Nantes to collect taxes, a position that gave him a lucrative income; he was rewarded with estates that added greatly to his domains and wealth. The duties of these positions also entailed more time away from court." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 128)
"One reason why de Laval remained sanguine about being cuckolded by his monarch is because he was a beneficiary of the king's largesse. Not only did he receive many expensive and lavish gifts, courtesy of his wife, but he became a commander of a company: a lucrative position because of the potential for backhanders and bribery. It is unsurprising, then, that when de Laval was sent by Francois to Brittany in December 1519 to negotiate a tax, he did not mention the other circumstances that bound him and his monarch. Francoise was also able to provide favours for her brothers: Thomas de Lescun, Odet de Foix, Viscount of Lautrec and Andre de Lesparre all found themselves promoted to similar positions commanding companies, but their inefficiency meant that this particular example of nepotism had backfired." (Francis I: The Maker of Modern France)
"The death of Anne de Bretagne was not a political disaster for the Lavals. The count continued his successful career to become one of the central figures of the kingdom whilst Jean de Laval-Chateaubriant consolidated his own position, helped in his endeavours by his wife, Francoise de Foix, who became Francis I's first important mistress. . . ." (The Counts of Laval: Culture, Patronage and Religion in Fifteenth- and -Sixteenth-century France: 88)
"One reason why de Laval remained sanguine about being cuckolded by his monarch is because he was a beneficiary of the king's largesse. Not only did he receive many expensive and lavish gifts, courtesy of his wife, but he became a commander of a company: a lucrative position because of the potential for backhanders and bribery. It is unsurprising, then, that when de Laval was sent by Francois to Brittany in December 1519 to negotiate a tax, he did not mention the other circumstances that bound him and his monarch. Francoise was also able to provide favours for her brothers: Thomas de Lescun, Odet de Foix, Viscount of Lautrec and Andre de Lesparre all found themselves promoted to similar positions commanding companies, but their inefficiency meant that this particular example of nepotism had backfired." (Francis I: The Maker of Modern France)
"The death of Anne de Bretagne was not a political disaster for the Lavals. The count continued his successful career to become one of the central figures of the kingdom whilst Jean de Laval-Chateaubriant consolidated his own position, helped in his endeavours by his wife, Francoise de Foix, who became Francis I's first important mistress. . . ." (The Counts of Laval: Culture, Patronage and Religion in Fifteenth- and -Sixteenth-century France: 88)
Affair's effects on lovers' family, other people and society.
"Jean did not take the relationship with the good grace husbands in that position often demonstrated. Instead, he was angry enough over the alienation of Francoise's affections that he reportedly beat her. . . Francis, Brantome reported, went to Jean and threatened to have him beheaded if he ever beat his wife again. . . . " (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 128)
Francoise de Foix's other lover.
Guillaume Gouffier (1488-1525)
" . . . In 1518 his maitresse-en-titre, the twenty-three-year-old Francoise de Foix, was unfaithful. One night her lover, Admiral Bonnivet, hearing the king coming, jumped out of his mistress's bed and hid himself in her large fireplace. Luckily, it was summer and the hearth was filled with scented pine branches behind which Bonnivet concealed himself. Unluckily, the hearth also served as a latrine, and before making love to his mistress the king unknowingly urinated on poor Bonnivet hiding behind the boughs, soaking him to the skin." (Herman: 31)
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Anne de Pisseleu Duchesse d'Etampes |
2) Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly (1508-1580)
Duchesse d'Etampes
Lover in 1526-1547.
Wife of: Jean IV de Brosse, Comte de Penthievre, Duc d'Etampes 1536, Governor of Bourbonnais, Governor of Auvergne. mar 1534.
Anne's personal & family background.
"Anne was the daughter of Guillaume d'Heilly, Seigneur de Pisseleu. Anne de Pisseleu, selected by Louise of Savoy from among her ladies-in-waiting as a potential mistress for Francis, eagerly fell in with plans to bring her to Francis's attention. Born in 1508, Anne was one of the youngest of twenty-three children (sixteen survived) born to Guillaume de Pisseleu, a minor, impoverished nobleman and his three successive wives. (Anne's mother was his second.) With many sisters competing for very limited resources, Anne's prospects for a marriage dependent on a dowry were discouraging, to say the least. . . ." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 170)
" . . . Anne was widely praised for her beauty (she was fair, unlike Françoise de Foix), intelligence and vivaciousness. She was the daughter of Guillaume d'Heilly, seigneur de Pisseleu, a nobleman from Picardy, who married three times and had thirty children. After the death of Louise of Savoy, in September 1531, Anne became the governess of the king' daughters, Madeleine and Marguerite. About 1534 the king married her off to Jean de Brosse, seigneur de Penthievre, and on 23 June he gave them both the county of Etampes, raising it two years later to ducal status. Thus did Anne d'Heilly become the duchesse d'Etampes, the title by which she is best remembered. In spite of her marriage she remained at court and continued to exercise a powerful influence on the king and his entourage till the end of his reign." (Francis I: 193)
First encounter with the king.
Francois I seized with a mad passion for Anne at first meeting.
. . . Free at last, and happy tp find himself once again upon the soil of France, he made but one day's ride of it from Fontarabia to Bayonne, where his mother's joyous court had arrived, bringing beauty and pleasure to hold the opinions of the newly-descended dove of peace. Among the damoiselles who accompanied the Duchess of Angouleme, was one distinguished from all the rest by her vivacity, youth, and peculiar gracefulness. She was known as Anne de Pisselieu, or Mademoiselle d'Heilly, daughter of Antony, lord of Meudon. Born in 1508, she was therefore eighteen at the time of the journey to Bayonne, in 1526. Her features have been preserved in two immortal works---Primaticcio has reproduced Anne de Pisselieu on canvas, and Jean Goujon has chiselled her bust. She was not exactly pretty; having a brew too prominent to be intelligent; eyes of a dull blue without much expression, a long nose, but a charming mouth, the lines of which were somewhat effaced by the youthful plumpness of her cheeks. But over all this peculiarity of countenance there was a singularly brilliant freshness, like that possessed by those graceful yet robust girls teared in the castles of the Middle Ages, and accustomed to follow the chase on horseback, staff in hand and falcon on wrist. Such was Mademoiselle d'Heilly when she was presented to King Francis I on his return from captivity at Madrid. The king, then of mature age, but still of impetuous sensibility, was seized with a mad passion for Mademoiselle d'Heilly, to such a pitch as to forget everything else beside; so far indeed as to efface the hard stipulations of the treaty of Madrid, and the immense sacrifices even of Francis's own family---imposing upon it a most sorrowful separation. . . ." (Royal Favourites, Vol 1: 217)
Mistress's downfall & aftermath.
"Anne was the daughter of Guillaume d'Heilly, Seigneur de Pisseleu. Anne de Pisseleu, selected by Louise of Savoy from among her ladies-in-waiting as a potential mistress for Francis, eagerly fell in with plans to bring her to Francis's attention. Born in 1508, Anne was one of the youngest of twenty-three children (sixteen survived) born to Guillaume de Pisseleu, a minor, impoverished nobleman and his three successive wives. (Anne's mother was his second.) With many sisters competing for very limited resources, Anne's prospects for a marriage dependent on a dowry were discouraging, to say the least. . . ." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 170)
Her father died at 115, married thrice & begot 30 children.
"In many ways, the family of Pisseleu, sieurs de Heilly, may be seen as complementary to the story of the Humieres, for when the Humieres were enjoying their greatest political fortunes, those of the Heilly were in eclipse. Guillaume de Pisseleu, sieur de Heilly, Fontaine-Lavaganne, etc., came of a Beauvaisis family which had acquired important properties in Picardy by marriage in the fifteenth century. It was a tough stock, for his father is supposed to have died 115 in 1508 and he himself married three times and had thirty children. His sisters were married into the Soyecourt, Mailly and Sarcus families. Guillaume took part in the defence of the province in 1521 and was a maitre d'hotel du roi in 1524. The real fortunes of the family, however, were made by his daughter, a member of Louise of Savoy's household, who at the age of eighteen captivated the king on his return from Spain in 1526. Anne de Pisseleu was a young woman of remarkable intelligence and beauty --'la plus belle des savantes et la plus savante des belles' - but had a penchant for worldly goods which led her not only to enrich herself but also her family. The king also forced Jean de Brosse-Bretaigne, comte de Penthievre, to marry her in order to regain his confiscated property and created the county (1534) and then duchy (1536) of Etampes in their favour. From 1540 and Montmorency's decline in favour, Mme d'Etampes became all-powerful at court." (War and Government in the French Provinces: 134)
Anne's physical appearance & personal qualities.
" . . . Anne was a beauty whose looks corresponded to the standards of the day. . . . Blonde, blue-eyed, and renowned for charm, vivacity, and wit, she was conventionally extolled by her contemporaries as 'the most beautiful of the learned women and the most learned of the beautiful women' --- a designation likely intended to slight the undeniably intelligent former mistress, Francoise. Immediately after his return from prison, Francis began to wear Anne's colors, and his relationship with her endured for the rest of his life. . . ." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 170)
Well-read, highly cultured and ravishingly beautiful.
" . . . ]T]he loveliest of all was Anne d'Heilly, one of the thirty children of Guillaume d'Heilly, Sieur de Pisseleu ('worse than wolf') in Picardy. Later Francis was to make her Duchesse d'Etampes. Well read, highly cultured and ravishingly beautiful, she was, as he used to say, 'le plus belle des savants, le plus savante des belles' ('the most beautiful of the scholars, the most scholarly of the beauties')." (Four Princes)
A woman of great beauty -- and perfidy.
Well-read, highly cultured and ravishingly beautiful.
" . . . ]T]he loveliest of all was Anne d'Heilly, one of the thirty children of Guillaume d'Heilly, Sieur de Pisseleu ('worse than wolf') in Picardy. Later Francis was to make her Duchesse d'Etampes. Well read, highly cultured and ravishingly beautiful, she was, as he used to say, 'le plus belle des savants, le plus savante des belles' ('the most beautiful of the scholars, the most scholarly of the beauties')." (Four Princes)
A woman of great beauty -- and perfidy.
"Anne of Pisseleu, duchess of Etampes, was a woman of great beauty. She was maid of honour to Louisa of Savoy, when she went to meet her son Francis I at Madrid, and that monarch fell in love with her. Though Francis forgot himself with her, he yet attempted to cover her dishonour by marrying her to one of his followers, whom he created duke of Etampes. In the declining years of the monarch, the duchess, who still possessed the influence of her charms, corresponded with Charles V, to counteract the views of the dauphin and of his mistress, De Poitiers. By her perfidious communications, Charles, at the head of an almost famished army, was enabled to take Epernay and Chateau Terre, where the magazines of the French troops were deposited, and as no measures were taken without consultation with Francis, every secret was imparted to the faithless mistress, and by her to the enemy, so that the ruin of the kingdom seemed inevitable. After the death of Francis, the worthless favourite returned to her country seat and died a protestant." (A Universal Biography, 3rd Series: 36)
"A key figure in all these intrigues was Madame d'Etampes, who used her influence to advance her relatives and friends. Being fickle, she was capable of abandoning one favourite for another. In 1545, for example, she tried to get her erstwhile protege, Admiral Annebault, dismissed so that her new favourite, Nicolas de Bossut, seigneur de Longueval might take his place. . . ." (Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I: 497)
"A key figure in all these intrigues was Madame d'Etampes, who used her influence to advance her relatives and friends. Being fickle, she was capable of abandoning one favourite for another. In 1545, for example, she tried to get her erstwhile protege, Admiral Annebault, dismissed so that her new favourite, Nicolas de Bossut, seigneur de Longueval might take his place. . . ." (Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I: 497)
His mother's ploy against Anne de Pisseleu.
"When Francis, captured at the battle of Pavia, was taken to Spain, Louise, as regent, displayed unusual diplomatic skill by leaguing the Pope and the Italian states with Francis against the Spanish king. When, after nearly a year's captivity, her son returned, she welcomed him with a bevy of beauties; among them was a new mistress, designed to destroy the influence of the woman who had so often thwarted the plans of Louise---the beautiful Francoise de Foix whom the king had made Countess of Chateaubriant. This new beauty was Anne de Pisseleu, one of the thirty children of Seigneur d'Heilly, a girl of eighteen, with an exceptional education. Most cunning was the trap which Louise had set for the king. Anne was surrounded by a circle of youthful courtiers, who hung upon her words, laughed at her caprices, courted her smiles; and when she rather confounded them with the extent of the learning which---with a sort of gay triumph---she was rather fond of showing, they pronounced her 'the most charming of learned ladies and the most learned of the charming. The plot worked; Francis was fascinated, falling an easy prey to the wiles of the wanton Anne. The former mistress, Françoise de Foix, was discarded, and Louise, purely out of revenge and spite, demanded the return of the costly jewels given by the king and appropriated them herself." (Women of Modern France: 11)
First encounter with the king.
"Tradition has it that it was at Mont-de-Marsan in March 1526 that Francis first met Anne, the daughter of Guillaume d'Heilly, seigneur de Pisseleu, who was to become his mistress. Anne was eighteen at the time and attached to the household of Madame de Vendome. By 1527 she had joined the 'fair band' of ladies which accompanied the king on hunting expedition. . . ."(Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I: 249)
"It was probably at this time that he first met Anne d'Heilly, who took the place in his affections formerly occupied by Francoise de Foix. On the evidence of certain anonymous poems which have been ascribed to her and the king, it has been claimed that their liaison antedated the Favia campaign, but the wright of contemporary evidence contradicts this. Tradition has it that they first met at Mont-de-Marsan at the end of March 1526. Anne was eighteen at the time and a maid-of-honour of Louise of Savoy. By 1527 she had become one of the 'band' of ladies the king liked to have about him on hunting expeditions. . . ." (Francis I: 192)
Francois I seized with a mad passion for Anne at first meeting.
. . . Free at last, and happy tp find himself once again upon the soil of France, he made but one day's ride of it from Fontarabia to Bayonne, where his mother's joyous court had arrived, bringing beauty and pleasure to hold the opinions of the newly-descended dove of peace. Among the damoiselles who accompanied the Duchess of Angouleme, was one distinguished from all the rest by her vivacity, youth, and peculiar gracefulness. She was known as Anne de Pisselieu, or Mademoiselle d'Heilly, daughter of Antony, lord of Meudon. Born in 1508, she was therefore eighteen at the time of the journey to Bayonne, in 1526. Her features have been preserved in two immortal works---Primaticcio has reproduced Anne de Pisselieu on canvas, and Jean Goujon has chiselled her bust. She was not exactly pretty; having a brew too prominent to be intelligent; eyes of a dull blue without much expression, a long nose, but a charming mouth, the lines of which were somewhat effaced by the youthful plumpness of her cheeks. But over all this peculiarity of countenance there was a singularly brilliant freshness, like that possessed by those graceful yet robust girls teared in the castles of the Middle Ages, and accustomed to follow the chase on horseback, staff in hand and falcon on wrist. Such was Mademoiselle d'Heilly when she was presented to King Francis I on his return from captivity at Madrid. The king, then of mature age, but still of impetuous sensibility, was seized with a mad passion for Mademoiselle d'Heilly, to such a pitch as to forget everything else beside; so far indeed as to efface the hard stipulations of the treaty of Madrid, and the immense sacrifices even of Francis's own family---imposing upon it a most sorrowful separation. . . ." (Royal Favourites, Vol 1: 217)
Mistress's downfall & aftermath.
" . . . On his restoration to his kingdom, Francois I had completely and almost brutally discarded his mistress, Madame de Chateaubriand, in favour of Anne de Pisseleu, demoiselle d'Heilly, a pretty and vivacious blonde, whom Louise de savoy, long jealous of the old mistress's influence over her son, is said to have thrown in his way. At the bidding of his new enchantress, he had even gone so far as to demand back from the dethroned sultana the jewels that he had giver her in the days of her favour. When a mistress fell, her friends and proteges not infrequently shared her disgrace, and those who had identified themselves too closely with the interests of Madame de Chateaubriand trembled lest they should come under the ban of her successor." (The Brood of False Lorraine: 29)
"No one stood to lose as much from Francis's death as Madame d'Etampes, who had created so many enemies by her arrogance and nepotism. Saint-Mauris believed that, if she had appeared in public, she would have been stoned. Having retired to Limours shortly before Francis died, she tried early in April to reoccupy her apartment at Saint-Germain, but was informed by Henri that Queen Eleanor would determine its allocation. This was only the first of several humiliations for the duchess. She was forced to disgorge jewels given to her by Francis and was sued by her husband, who claimed that she had cheated him of certain revenues. For a time she was even imprisoned. Yet Madame d'Etampes was not ruined completely: she retired to one of her chateaux and devoted her last years to good works. As for her friend (and lover?) Nicolas de Bossut, comte de Longueval, he was tried for high treason, but saved his head by giving up an estate near Laon to the cardinal of Lorraine." (Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I: 551)
Chosen by the queen to become her husband's mistress.
"No one stood to lose as much from Francis's death as Madame d'Etampes, who had created so many enemies by her arrogance and nepotism. Saint-Mauris believed that, if she had appeared in public, she would have been stoned. Having retired to Limours shortly before Francis died, she tried early in April to reoccupy her apartment at Saint-Germain, but was informed by Henri that Queen Eleanor would determine its allocation. This was only the first of several humiliations for the duchess. She was forced to disgorge jewels given to her by Francis and was sued by her husband, who claimed that she had cheated him of certain revenues. For a time she was even imprisoned. Yet Madame d'Etampes was not ruined completely: she retired to one of her chateaux and devoted her last years to good works. As for her friend (and lover?) Nicolas de Bossut, comte de Longueval, he was tried for high treason, but saved his head by giving up an estate near Laon to the cardinal of Lorraine." (Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I: 551)
Chosen by the queen to become her husband's mistress.
" . . . According to tradition, it was during this progress, at Mont-de-Marsan, that Francois first met his future mistress Anne d'Heilly, a daughter of the lesser nobility from Pisseleu, in Picardy. According to Brantome, Anne was one of Louise's maids of honor, and it was Louise and Marguerite who chose her to be the king's official mistress. Eighteen years old at the time and already known for her wit as well as her beauty, she was soon among the ladies who routinely joined the king for the royal hunts. on which he always carried a bed... A few years later, the king gave her a husband and made her the duchess of Etampes. She was to become a strong supporter of religious reform and Marguerite's good friend and ally at court. . . ." (Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549): Mother of the Renaissance: 133)
Benefits to Anne de Pisseleu's husband.
"The duty assigned to the new mistress was that of keeping Francis busy with fetes adn other amusements. While he was thus kept under the spell of his enchantress, he lost all thought of his subjects and the welfare of his country and affairs of the kingdom fell into the hands of Louise and her chancellor, Duprat. The girl-mistress, Anne, was married by Louise to the Duc d'Etampes whose consent was gained through the promise of the return of his family possessions which, upon his father's departure with Charles of Bourbon, had been confiscated." (Women of Modern France: 11)
"It was considered more appropriate for a royal mistress to be married in the event she had children. Therefore, in 1534, the king arranged Anne de Pisseleu's wedding to Jean de Brosse, the intelligent, impoverished, and acquiescent comte de Penthievre. He needed to be all three so that he would accept the arrangement, profit by it, and give Anne a pedigree. Thus she became a countess. Francois allowed the newlyweds a honeymoon, and then, leaving Anne at court, the count returned to Brittany with money to renovate his ruined estates. Two years later, Francois made him duc d'Etampes. . . ." (The Serpent and the Moon: 164)
" . . . Over time, Francis elevated her to befit her position as designated favorite. . . In 1534, he married her to Jean de Brosse, count of Penthievre, which made her a countess. Two years later, he made her husband duke of Estampes (sic), 'in recognition,' as Francis put it, 'of the exceptional consideration and pleasant services rendered to him daily by our dear and beloved cousin Jean . . . and also those of our dear and beloved cousin Anne,' which made her a duchess. Then he made her husband governor of Bourbonnais and Auvergne, positions that further elevated the couple's status and took Jean far from Anne." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France:172)
Benefits to Anne de Pisseleu's relatives.
" . . . Over time, Francis elevated her to befit her position as designated favorite. . . In 1534, he married her to Jean de Brosse, count of Penthievre, which made her a countess. Two years later, he made her husband duke of Estampes (sic), 'in recognition,' as Francis put it, 'of the exceptional consideration and pleasant services rendered to him daily by our dear and beloved cousin Jean . . . and also those of our dear and beloved cousin Anne,' which made her a duchess. Then he made her husband governor of Bourbonnais and Auvergne, positions that further elevated the couple's status and took Jean far from Anne." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France:172)
Benefits to Anne de Pisseleu's relatives.
" . . . Nothing, moreover, could satisfy her rapacity; and while distress, which amounted almost to famine, oppressed the lower classes of the citizens, she greedily seized upon every opportunity of enriching herself and aggrandizing her family. It is curious to trace the extent to which she succeeded in effecting the latter object, and the digression will accordingly be pardoned. Within a few years, her maternal uncle, Antoine Sanguin, became the Abbot of Fleury-sur-Loire, Bishop of Orleans, a cardinal and Archbishop of Toulouse; Charles, her elder brother, was made Abbot of Bourgueil and Bishop of Condom; Francois, the second, received the Abbey of Saint Corneille de Compiegne, and the bishopric of Amiens; and William, the youngest, was elevated to the see of Pamiers. Nor were her sisters forgotten; two of them became the abbesses of wealthy convents, and the other three were married into the noble families of Barbancon-Cauny, Chabot-Jarnac, and Vertus. Numerous, also, were the cousins and distant connections for whom she provided no less liberally; and, as is ever, the case with individuals suddenly aggrandized, their ramifications were ere long endless; nor did one of them, even although many were, as we have shown, in holy orders, hesitate for a moment to profit by her disgrace." (The Court and Reign of Francis the First, King of France, Vol 2: 139)
"Anne's eldest brother, Adrien sieur d'Heilly, joined the court as ecuiyer d'ecurie in 1531, but, as sieur de Fontaines-Lavaganne, had already acquired a reputation for commanding infantry and became one of the captains of the Picard legion in 1536 along with his kinsman, Jean de Sarcus. When Sarcus died in 1537, Orleans appointed Estrees to look after Hesdin, while the king approved, reserving the right to appoint another in due course 'tel que ie verray et connoistray estre a propos pour mon service.' This proved to be none other than Adrien de Pisseleu, whose fortunes were distinctly rising. By September 1545, he was commanding a company of gendarmerie and was employed on a number of special royal commission in the later years of the reign.
Anne's full sister, Peronne, was married to Michel de Barbancon, sieur de Canny in 1522, and the latter in turn benefited from royal favour with the lieutenancy of Vendome's company (1525), a command of 2,000 men of the Picard legion (1536), participation in the Savoy campaign of 1535-6, the defence of Peronne in 1536 and special embassies to the court of the Netherlands. Canny, like others of his family a member of the young duke of Orleans's household, was fortification commissioner at Ardres and, briefly, in 1541-2, deputy governor of the province, dying in 1543. Mme d'Etampes watched over the fortunes of Canny's six surviving children. Francois, the eldest, was placed at court as gentleman of the chamber with his cousin Jean de Pisseleu in 1546, and had already become bailli of Senlis in 1543. Anne's other sisters were well placed by marriages into the Bretaigne-Avagour and Chabot families.
One of Mme d'Etampes's most effective forms of patronage was finding ecclesiastical posts for relatives in holy orders. Her brother Charles became an abbot of several houses, bishop of Mende then of Condom. Another brother, Francois, became bishop of Amiens in 1546, while her nephew Jean de Barbancon became bishop of Pamiers in 1544 (though he had difficulty in getting recognition). But it was her maternal uncle, Antoine Sanguin, who did best of all. Known as cardinal de Meudon after his castle near Paris, he was successively bishop of Orleans, archbishop of Toulouse and Grand Aumonier of France." (War and Government in the French Provinces: 135)
Affair's end and aftermath.
"Anne's eldest brother, Adrien sieur d'Heilly, joined the court as ecuiyer d'ecurie in 1531, but, as sieur de Fontaines-Lavaganne, had already acquired a reputation for commanding infantry and became one of the captains of the Picard legion in 1536 along with his kinsman, Jean de Sarcus. When Sarcus died in 1537, Orleans appointed Estrees to look after Hesdin, while the king approved, reserving the right to appoint another in due course 'tel que ie verray et connoistray estre a propos pour mon service.' This proved to be none other than Adrien de Pisseleu, whose fortunes were distinctly rising. By September 1545, he was commanding a company of gendarmerie and was employed on a number of special royal commission in the later years of the reign.
Anne's full sister, Peronne, was married to Michel de Barbancon, sieur de Canny in 1522, and the latter in turn benefited from royal favour with the lieutenancy of Vendome's company (1525), a command of 2,000 men of the Picard legion (1536), participation in the Savoy campaign of 1535-6, the defence of Peronne in 1536 and special embassies to the court of the Netherlands. Canny, like others of his family a member of the young duke of Orleans's household, was fortification commissioner at Ardres and, briefly, in 1541-2, deputy governor of the province, dying in 1543. Mme d'Etampes watched over the fortunes of Canny's six surviving children. Francois, the eldest, was placed at court as gentleman of the chamber with his cousin Jean de Pisseleu in 1546, and had already become bailli of Senlis in 1543. Anne's other sisters were well placed by marriages into the Bretaigne-Avagour and Chabot families.
One of Mme d'Etampes's most effective forms of patronage was finding ecclesiastical posts for relatives in holy orders. Her brother Charles became an abbot of several houses, bishop of Mende then of Condom. Another brother, Francois, became bishop of Amiens in 1546, while her nephew Jean de Barbancon became bishop of Pamiers in 1544 (though he had difficulty in getting recognition). But it was her maternal uncle, Antoine Sanguin, who did best of all. Known as cardinal de Meudon after his castle near Paris, he was successively bishop of Orleans, archbishop of Toulouse and Grand Aumonier of France." (War and Government in the French Provinces: 135)
Affair's end and aftermath.
"The crucial nature of court favour is revealed by the fate of the family after Francis I's death in 1547. Not only were the duchess and her uncle deprived of the best items of their landed property (in favour of the Guise family) but, almost as soon as the new reign began, Adrien de Pisseleu was stripped of his governorship of Hesdin in favour of Louis de Saint-Simon. He never regained military office and in 1558 was described as 'ung veil gentil homme, homme d'honneur et fort oppiniastre, qui s'estoit retire en sa maison depuis la mort du Roy Francois. . . ." (War and Government in the French Provinces: 137)
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Claude de Rohan-Gie @ Musee du Louvre |
3) Claude de Rohan-Gie (1519-1579)
Lover in 1539-1540.
Comtesse de Tonnerre
Dame de Thoury
Maid of Honour to Queen Eleanor 1530-1537
Daughter of: Charles de Rohan-Gie, Comte de Guise, Companion in arms of Francis I & Giovanna di San Severino.
Daughter of: Charles de Rohan-Gie, Comte de Guise, Companion in arms of Francis I & Giovanna di San Severino.
Wife of:
1. Claude de Beauvillier (1502-1539), Comte de Thoury (cr. 1537), Sire de Thoury (paternal), Comte de Saint-Aignan (maternal), mar 1537
2. Julien de Clermont (d.1563) mar 1541
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Château de Chambord |
Claude's personal & family background.
"The building, which was never completed, was constructed from 1519-1547 by King Francois I in part to be near to his mistress the Comtesse de Thoury, Claude Rohan, wife of Julien de Clermont, a member of a very important family of France, whose domain, the chateau de Muides, was adjacent. Her arms figure in the carved decor of the chateau." (Chateau de Chambord)
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Jacquette Andron de Lansac @ Pinterest |
Dame de Lansac, Dame de Bourg, Dame de Saint-Savin, Duc d'Ambes
Daughter of: Thomas Lansac, Seigneur de Lansac, a knight & rich merchant of Bordeaux & Perusse des Cars.
Wife of:
1. Alexandre de Saint-Gelais (d.1522), Seigneur de Romefort, Seigneur de Cornefou, Counsellor & Chamberlain of Jean d'Albret, King of Navarre 1506, Counsellor & chamberlain of Francois I de France, French ambassador to Spain mar 1512
2. Jacques II de Pons (1490-1555), Baron de Mirambeau, Seigneur de Brouage, Seigneur de Plassac, Seigneur de Verneuil mar 1525
Natural offspring: 1. Louis de Saint-Gelais (1513-1589), Seigneur de Lansac
Jacquette was the mistress of Francis I when he was Count of Angouleme. (Les Favorites Royales)
6) Jeanne Le Cocq (d.1546)
Dame de La Commune-en-Brie
Dame de La Commune-en-Brie
Daughter of: Jean Le Cocq, Seigneur de La Commune-en-Brie & Madeleine Bochart.
Wife of:
1. Jacques Dishomme, Seigneur de Cernay-en-Beauvaisis mar 1512
2. Pierre Pedrier, Seigneur de Bobigny.
1. Jacques Dishomme, Seigneur de Cernay-en-Beauvaisis mar 1512
2. Pierre Pedrier, Seigneur de Bobigny.
Jeanne was Francis's mistress while he was still Count of Angouleme. It ended when he ascended the throne of France. (Les Favorites Royales)
Jeanne was said to have been the mistress of the Duke of Suffolk when the latter accompanied Mary Tudor for her marriage to Louis XII of France. (Les Favorites Royales)
9) Marie d'Assigny (1502-1558).
Dame de Canaples
12) Marie Gaudin (1490/95-1580)
Dame de La Bourdaisiere
1st mistress of Francis I of France.
Daughter of: Victor Gaudin, Mayor of Tours & Agnes Morrin, Dame de Raueres.
Wife of: Philibert Babou (1484-1557), mar 1510, Seigneur de Givray, Seigneur de La Bourdaisiere, Superintendent of Finances to Francis I, 1524-1544, Butler to Francis I.
"It was between 1518-1522 that Philibert Babou transformed the medieval fortress into a Renaissance Castle, with large windows, reception rooms and 3 drawer bridges to the terrace. Philibert Babou was the husband of Marie Gaudin who was the mistress of Francis I. As such, Philibert received numerous charges and honours that brought a huge fortune to the family." (Chateau de La Bourdaisiere, A Magnificent Castle in the Loire Valley)
Benefits: "The Chateau de la Bourdaisiere...was...[b]uilt for his mistress, Marie Gaudin, the wife of Philibert Babou, Superintendent of Finances for France, after her death, the property would remain in the family's hands. Marie Gaudin's granddaughter, Gabrielle d'Estrées, was born in the château and would herself grow up to become mistress to another king, Henry IV of France." (Wikipedia)
'Marie Gaudin was the mistress of Francois I, who rebuilt and expanded the chateau for her in 1520', de Broglie said in excellent English. 'She was also the mistress of Pope Clement VII and Charles V. Her daughter, Jeanne, was the favorite of Henry II. And Marie's granddaughter, Gabrielle d'Estrees, was the mistress of Henry III and Henry IV (both of France).'" (Lost Angeles Times)
-_la_Belle_Ferroniere.jpg/300px-Leonardo_da_Vinci_(attrib)-_la_Belle_Ferroniere.jpg) |
La Belle Ferronniere 1490-96 @ Musee du Louvre |
Daughter of: Jean Feron, French lawyer.
"La belle ferronniere is a name given to a portrait of a woman in the Musee du Louvre, usually attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. It is also simply known as Portrait of an Unknown Woman. The Louvre currently ascribes it to the school of Leonardo da Vinci in Milan. The painting's title, applied as early as the seventeenth century, the sitter as the wife or daughter of an ironmonger, was said to be discreetly alluding to a reputed mistress of Francis I of France, married to a certain Le Ferron. The tale is a romantic legend of revenge in which the aggrieved husband intentionally infects himself with syphilis, which he passes to the king through infecting his wife." (Leonardo da Vinci: 222 Paintings & Drawings)
8) La Chatelaine de Montrault.
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Marie d'Assigny, Dame de Canaples @ National Galleries of Scotland |
Dame de Canaples
Lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France
Lady-in-waiting to Queen Louise of Savoy
Lady-in-waiting to Queen Eleanor of Austria.
Lady-in-waiting to Queen Eleanor of Austria.
Daughter of Jean VI d'Acigne, brother of Guillaume d'Acigne, Lord of La Roche-Jagu.
Wife of Jean VIII de Crequi, Seigneur de Canaples mar 1525
Wife of Jean VIII de Crequi, Seigneur de Canaples mar 1525
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| Marie de Langeac Dame de Lestrange 1533 |
10) Marie de Langeac (1508-1588).
Dame de Lestrange.
Maid of Honour to Eleonore of Austria, Queen of France, 1534-1542, 1545-1547.
Daughter of: Renaud de Langeac, bailiff of Auvergne & Claudine de Lespinasse
Wife of: Louis, Baron de Lestrange.
"The beauty of Marie de Langeac was then noticed by all her contemporaries, but her presence at the court where the glances turned with interest towards this blonde beauty, attracted many admirers."
"Her husband, a sweetheart of King Francis I, was also one of his relatives. He accomplished various missions for the king and became his ambassador in Germany in 1541. In 1542, he became ambassador of François 1st in Flanders. His wife, Marie de Langeac, had remained at court and it was at that time that she became the mistress of the third son of François 1st: Charles d'Angoulême, Duc d'Orléans just twenty years old. The sudden death of Charles of Angouleme was reported in a letter from the nuncio of the pope on September 18, 1545: the Duke of Orleans arrived on September 4 at the camp of the king between Abbeville and Montreuil while the plague ravaged the region. It is said that the beautiful Marie de Langeac was devastated by the news. She was then pregnant with her youngest daughter, Charlotte when she heard the news (the father was his husband or the youngest son of the king?). She lost a lover of twenty-three years, of which she had been the secret mistress for three years. During this period, she had ceased to hold the position of maid of honor to Queen Eleonore of Austria and had given birth to two daughters: Hélène and Charlotte who will be her two last children. When the court heard of the young prince's death, the queen took Marie de Langeac back from her after the latter had given birth to her daughter Charlotte." (Les Scandaleuse)
11) Marie de Macy (1515-1560)
Dame de Lestrange.
Maid of Honour to Eleonore of Austria, Queen of France, 1534-1542, 1545-1547.
Daughter of: Renaud de Langeac, bailiff of Auvergne & Claudine de Lespinasse
Wife of: Louis, Baron de Lestrange.
"The beauty of Marie de Langeac was then noticed by all her contemporaries, but her presence at the court where the glances turned with interest towards this blonde beauty, attracted many admirers."
"Her husband, a sweetheart of King Francis I, was also one of his relatives. He accomplished various missions for the king and became his ambassador in Germany in 1541. In 1542, he became ambassador of François 1st in Flanders. His wife, Marie de Langeac, had remained at court and it was at that time that she became the mistress of the third son of François 1st: Charles d'Angoulême, Duc d'Orléans just twenty years old. The sudden death of Charles of Angouleme was reported in a letter from the nuncio of the pope on September 18, 1545: the Duke of Orleans arrived on September 4 at the camp of the king between Abbeville and Montreuil while the plague ravaged the region. It is said that the beautiful Marie de Langeac was devastated by the news. She was then pregnant with her youngest daughter, Charlotte when she heard the news (the father was his husband or the youngest son of the king?). She lost a lover of twenty-three years, of which she had been the secret mistress for three years. During this period, she had ceased to hold the position of maid of honor to Queen Eleonore of Austria and had given birth to two daughters: Hélène and Charlotte who will be her two last children. When the court heard of the young prince's death, the queen took Marie de Langeac back from her after the latter had given birth to her daughter Charlotte." (Les Scandaleuse)
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Marie de Macy Dame de Montchenu |
French aristocrat, courtier & royal mistress
Dame de Montchenu; Demoiselle de Macy, Dame d'Harcourt
Wife of: Antoine de Pons, mar 1556
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Marie Gaudin @Pinterest |
Dame de La Bourdaisiere
1st mistress of Francis I of France.
Daughter of: Victor Gaudin, Mayor of Tours & Agnes Morrin, Dame de Raueres.
Wife of: Philibert Babou (1484-1557), mar 1510, Seigneur de Givray, Seigneur de La Bourdaisiere, Superintendent of Finances to Francis I, 1524-1544, Butler to Francis I.
"It was between 1518-1522 that Philibert Babou transformed the medieval fortress into a Renaissance Castle, with large windows, reception rooms and 3 drawer bridges to the terrace. Philibert Babou was the husband of Marie Gaudin who was the mistress of Francis I. As such, Philibert received numerous charges and honours that brought a huge fortune to the family." (Chateau de La Bourdaisiere, A Magnificent Castle in the Loire Valley)
Personal & family background.
"Gabrielle's maternal progenitors had greatly enhanced the family through their extramarital relations. Marie Gaudin, Gabrielle's great-grandmother and the wife of Philibert Babou, was one of Francois I's many unofficial mistresses, which led to the elevation of the Babou family and the gift to Marie of the chateau de La Bourdaisiere in the Loire Valley. Marie's son Jean de Babou advanced the family considerably in more orthodox ways; he was grand master of the artillery, served as ambassador to Rome under Catherine de Medici, and made an advantageous marriage to Francoise Robertet, the daughter of one of Henry II's ministers. Their daughter and Gabrielle's mother, Francoise, and her sisters were renowned for their beauty and bad reputations. Francoise, who served as lady-in-waiting to Mary Stuart when she became Francis II's bride, was notorious for her extramarital affairs." (Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France: 327)
"Hanelot de la Houssage relates many scandalous adventures, in connection with certain ladies of the court, who had permission to come to Bologna during the interview between the two sovereigns, and amongst others, one concerning one of the mistresses of the king, named Marie Gaudin, who was remarkably beautiful. It appears that this lady attracted the attention of his holiness, and by an agreement between him and Francis, she had yielded to the passion of the pope, who gave her as a momento (sic), a jewel of great value, which was carefully preserved in the family of Sourdis, under the name of the Gaudin diamond." (The Public and Private History of the Popes of Rome: 78)
"Hanelot de la Houssage relates many scandalous adventures, in connection with certain ladies of the court, who had permission to come to Bologna during the interview between the two sovereigns, and amongst others, one concerning one of the mistresses of the king, named Marie Gaudin, who was remarkably beautiful. It appears that this lady attracted the attention of his holiness, and by an agreement between him and Francis, she had yielded to the passion of the pope, who gave her as a momento (sic), a jewel of great value, which was carefully preserved in the family of Sourdis, under the name of the Gaudin diamond." (The Public and Private History of the Popes of Rome: 78)
Benefits: "The Chateau de la Bourdaisiere...was...[b]uilt for his mistress, Marie Gaudin, the wife of Philibert Babou, Superintendent of Finances for France, after her death, the property would remain in the family's hands. Marie Gaudin's granddaughter, Gabrielle d'Estrées, was born in the château and would herself grow up to become mistress to another king, Henry IV of France." (Wikipedia)
Marie & Philibert's descendants.
Marie Gaudin's other lovers were:
2. Emperor Charles V
3. Pope Leo X.
Marie Gaudin was in the entourage of Francis I when he went to Bologna for a meeting with Pope Leo X. Her remarkable beauty attracted the passion of the pope. By agreement between the King and the Pope, Marie responded to the pope's passion. In gratitude, Leo X gave her a valuable diamond ring which became known as the "Gaudin diamond." (Les Favorites Royales)
1. Pope Clement VII
3. Pope Leo X.
Marie Gaudin was in the entourage of Francis I when he went to Bologna for a meeting with Pope Leo X. Her remarkable beauty attracted the passion of the pope. By agreement between the King and the Pope, Marie responded to the pope's passion. In gratitude, Leo X gave her a valuable diamond ring which became known as the "Gaudin diamond." (Les Favorites Royales)
13) Mary of England.
"Francis made ineffectual attempts to seduce Queen Mary during her brief widowhood, but he was pre-empted by Charles Brandon, newly created Duke of Suffolk, whom Henry had sent to convey her back to England. Unknown to the King, Mary had long cherished a secret love for Brandon, and the effect of his arrival in Paris was cataclysmic. She wanted no more arranged marriages, she told him, and begged him to marry her himself. Such was the pressure she brought to bear upon him that Brandon capitulated, and secretly made her his wife." (The Six Wives of Henry VIII: 124)
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| Mary Boleyn @Wikipedia |
Maid-of-Honour to Princess Mary, Henry VIII's sister 1514
Wife of:
1) William Carey (d.1528) mar 1520
"In 1519, she was sent back to England, where she was appointed to the court of Catherine of Aragon, the queen consort. There, she met her husband, William Carey, a wealthy member of the King’s court. All members of the court were present at the couple’s wedding, including the queen consort, and of course, her husband, King Henry VIII." (All That's Interesting)
2) William Stafford mar 1534.
A soldier
"However, while her sister and her former lover were reforming the country, Mary’s first husband was dying. Upon his death, Mary was left penniless, and forced to enter the court of her sister, who had since been crowned queen. When she married a soldier, a man far below her social standing, Anne disowned her, claiming that she was a disgrace to the family and to the king. After Anne was famously beheaded, Mary Boleyn dissolved into relative obscurity. Records show that her marriage to the soldier was a happy one and that she was cleared of any involvement with the rest of the Boleyns." (All That's Interesting)
" . . . In 1534, Mary secretly married William Stafford, second son of a landowner and soldier. The union was discovered when Mary became visibly pregnant (she was possibly pregnant when they were married); Anne (now Queen) was furious and Mary was disowned by her family and banished from court. Being sister to the Queen of England, Mary could have had her pick of noble and wealthy suitors - instead she chose love." (A King's Whore)
"The king's procession gallops through a Tudor village full of warty peasants, who are hard at work grimly foreshadowing Anne's fate by hacking at big lumps of meat with heavy cleavers. Though he is still married to Catherine of Aragon, Henry is charmed by Mary. Soon, they are having sex in flickering candlelight and soft focus, and she gets pregnant with his longed-for son. While she is out of action, Anne makes a move on Henry – who is torn between his lust for her, and his commitment to Mary's son. A false dilemma. One of the handy things about being a Tudor king was that you could recognise your bastards without marrying their mother, just as Henry did by bestowing the title of Duke of Richmond on his natural son Henry Fitzroy." (The Guardian)
" Mary was also rumoured to have been a mistress of Henry VIII's rival, King Francis I of France, for some period between 1515 and 1519" (Wikipedia)
" . . . Another of his earlier mistresses was allegedly Mary Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII and sister of Henry's future wife, Anne Boleyn." (Wikipedia)
"There is just one piece of evidence to suggest that, for a brief spell, Mary Boleyn became the mistress of King Francois himself, but it dates from more than twenty years later. On March 10, 1536, Rodolfo Pio, Bishop of Faenza, the Papal Nuncio in Paris, was to write that 'the French king knew her here in Paris 'per una grandissima ribalda et inflame sopre tutte'' ('for a very great whore, and infamous above all'). It is this statement---bolstered by later gossip that actually referred to Anne Boleyn---that has led numerous writers to assume that Mary acquire a notorious reputation at the French court. . . These, and many more claims of a similar nature, are dubious assumptions---because, according to the historical evidence, Mary never incurred notoriety or infamy as a royal mistress." (Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings: 72)
" . . . Another of his earlier mistresses was allegedly Mary Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII and sister of Henry's future wife, Anne Boleyn." (Wikipedia)
"There is just one piece of evidence to suggest that, for a brief spell, Mary Boleyn became the mistress of King Francois himself, but it dates from more than twenty years later. On March 10, 1536, Rodolfo Pio, Bishop of Faenza, the Papal Nuncio in Paris, was to write that 'the French king knew her here in Paris 'per una grandissima ribalda et inflame sopre tutte'' ('for a very great whore, and infamous above all'). It is this statement---bolstered by later gossip that actually referred to Anne Boleyn---that has led numerous writers to assume that Mary acquire a notorious reputation at the French court. . . These, and many more claims of a similar nature, are dubious assumptions---because, according to the historical evidence, Mary never incurred notoriety or infamy as a royal mistress." (Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings: 72)
" . . . His extramarital activities and official mistresses were in stark contrast to the modest and pious establishment of the new queen, Claude, in which Mary was now engaged. Handsome and experienced, Francis was then twenty-one and Mary was fifteen, the age at which the king himself had lost his virginity. It is entirely in keeping with what is known about Francois that he may have tried to seduce one of his wife's attractive young maids and succeeded. Later, Francis referred to Mary in the disparaging terms of 'a very great whore and infamous above all'. He also described her as 'more dirty than queenly'." (The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories: cxliii)
15) NN d'Estouteville.
Dame de Villecouvin.
16) Madame de Jacques Disomme.
prominent Parisian barrister
16) Madame de Jacques Disomme.
prominent Parisian barrister
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