Esther Imbert

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Esther Imbert (born  December 11, 1570 in Fontenay-le-Comte , † after 1593), called La rochelaise in some publications , was a mistress of the French King Henry IV from 1586 to 1588. The middle-class girl gave birth to Henry IV. in 1587 his first child, who died the following year.

Life

Esther was the first child and thus the eldest daughter of Jacques Imberts, Herr von Boislambert, and his wife Catherine Rousseau. Her father was Vogt of Aunis and was appointed maître de requêtes of his royal court by Henry IV .

The king made Esther his lover when she was only 16 years old and Heinrich had had a love affair with Diane d'Andouins , known as La belle Corisande , for several years . Corisande approved of this affair because she did not try to oust her young rival from the king's favor. As a result of the relationship, Esther gave birth to a son on August 7, 1587 in La Rochelle , who was baptized in the name of Gédéon. However, he died the following year, so that Heinrich could not recognize him as a legitimate child due to the early death.

For a long time, historians of the 17th and 18th centuries took the statements in Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigné's pamphlet Confession catholique du sieur de Sancy at face value, which confirmed Esther Imbert's sad end. Afterwards, she is said to have lived in dire poverty and was ignored by her former lover despite requests for support, so that she starved to death in Saint-Denis together with her son. However, documents from the king's accounting chamber show that he took good care of his former mistress with an annual pension of 600  écuos and other regular payments .

It is not yet known exactly where and when Esther Imbert died.

literature

  • Andrew CP Haggard: The amours of Henri de Navarre and of Marguerite de Valois . Brentano's, New York 1910, pp. 32-40 ( online ).
  • Jean de Jaurgain: Corisande d'Andoins, Comtesse de Guiche et Dame de Gramont . In: Revue Internationale des Études Basques . No. 1, 1907, ISSN  0212-7016 , pp. 130-132 ( PDF; 156 kB ).

References and comments

  1. ↑ According to Benjamin Fillon: Recueil de notes sur les origines de l'Eglise réformée de Fontenay-le-Comte et sur ses pasteurs . Clouzot, Niort 1888, p. 51. However, Haggard states in his publication that Esther Imbert was baptized on January 5, 1565.
  2. ^ Benjamin Fillon: Lettres écrites de la Vendée à M. Anatole de Montaiglon . Tross, Paris 1861, p. 54.
personal data
SURNAME Imbert, Esther
ALTERNATIVE NAMES La rochelaise; Ymbert, Esther; Boislambert, Esther de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mistress of the French King Henry IV.
DATE OF BIRTH December 11, 1570
PLACE OF BIRTH Fontenay-le-Comte
DATE OF DEATH after 1593