Marie Angélique de Scoraille de Roussille

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Marie Angélique de Scorailles.

Marie Angélique de Scorailles, duchesse de Fontanges (* 1661 at Cropières Castle , Raulhac , Cantal department ; † June 28, 1681 in Port Royal des Champs ), was a mistress of the French King Louis XIV.

Life

Her father, Jean-Rigal de Scoraille, was the king's lieutenant in the Auvergne ; her mother was Aimée Eléonore de Plas.

Because of her extraordinary, red-haired beauty, a cousin of her father suggested accompanying the young woman to Paris to introduce her to the court of Versailles . Her parents agreed, as they had four more daughters and three sons to raise. A short time later she was introduced to the court as the lady of honor of Liselotte von der Pfalz - the Duchess of Orléans and sister-in-law of Louis XIV.

“Fontange was a stupid animal, but she had a good disposition and was beautiful as an angel. As the king was in love with her, I had to be with her at all times, because she loved me very much. "

- Liselotte von der Pfalz : letter to Caroline of Wales, April 1718

According to the testimony of various people, Angélique de Scoraille was uneducated, provincial and naive, perhaps even stupid - according to Athénais de Montespan , she had "neither spirit nor education" - but her beauty, stature, and demeanor "surpassed" everything by far, what had been seen in Versailles until then ". Her radiant appearance drew the attention of the king, as hoped, and she soon became his mistress , in 1678, ousting Madame de Montespan.

This connection was kept secret until the spring of 1679, when it was officially recognized as maitresse royale en titre . It was during this time that she revealed her haughty and lavish character (she is said to have literally thrown the money out the window). Towards the end of 1679 she was given premature birth to a stillborn son and made poor recovery from her ailments. Because of her lack of intellect and education, Louis XIV could not hold her long-term and he therefore distanced himself more and more from her. Her appointment as Duchess of Fontanges in 1680 already marked the end of her favor, which was as outstanding as it was brief. Angélique de Fontanges retired to Port-Royal Abbey . Abandoned and still not recovered from her illness, she died in June 1681, barely 20 years old.

Her sudden death fed the rumor of poisoning under the influence of the famous poisoning affair of Catherine Monvoisin . Several accomplices of the Voisin, her own daughter, the valet Romani, his godfather Bertrand and the poisoner Filastre, testified that a poisoning of the Fontanges with cloths and gloves was planned; and Romani tried to get into the Fontanges' house disguised as a cloth dealer. Madame de Montespan was suspected of being responsible for her death (including von der Fontanges herself, Liselotte von der Pfalz, and Bussy-Rabutin ), but today's doctors, who have examined the autopsy report more closely, believe that Mademoiselle is de Fontanges died of natural causes of pleurisy.

The Duchess of Fontanges is the namesake of a hairstyle and headgear, the Fontange .

literature

  • Henri Pigaillem: La Duchesse de Fontanges , Pygmalion, Paris 2005, ISBN 2-7564-0004-1
  • Jean Gallotti: Mademoiselle de Fontanges , éditions Fasquelle, Paris 1939
  • Isabelle Mattalon: Angélique de Fontanges , éditions Générique, coll.Intimité de l'histoire , Paris 1983, ISBN 2-86647-023-0
  • Antonia Fraser : Les Femmes dans la vie de Louis XIV , Flammarion, 2007

Web links

Commons : Marie Angélique de Scorailles  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dirk van der Cruisse: " Being a Madame is a great craft ...": Liselotte von der Pfalz - a German princess at the court of the Sun King , Piper, Munich 1990, unabridged paperback edition: 1997 (3rd edition), p. 239 .
  2. ↑ Dirk van der Cruisse: " Being a Madame is a great craft ...": Liselotte von der Pfalz - a German princess at the court of the Sun King , Piper, Munich 1990, unabridged paperback edition: 1997 (3rd edition), p. 240
  3. ↑ "..of a moderate spirit and still quite provincial" she says z. B. Ezechiel Spanheim , extraordinary envoy of the Elector Palatinate at the court of Versailles. Gilette Ziegler: The court of Louis XIV. In eyewitness reports . Rauch, Düsseldorf 1964, p. 160.
  4. ↑ Dirk van der Cruisse: " Being a Madame is a great craft ...": Liselotte von der Pfalz - a German princess at the court of the Sun King , Piper, Munich 1990, unabridged paperback edition: 1997 (3rd edition), p. 239
  5. ↑ See above the quote from Liselotte von der Pfalz.
  6. ^ Gilette Ziegler: The court of Ludwig XIV. In eyewitness reports . Rauch, Düsseldorf 1964, p. 161.
  7. ^ Testimony from Ezekiel Spanheim. Gilette Ziegler: The court of Louis XIV. In eyewitness reports . Rauch, Düsseldorf 1964, p. 160.
  8. ^ Gilette Ziegler: The court of Ludwig XIV. In eyewitness reports . Rauch, Düsseldorf 1964, pp. 180, 183, 187.
  9. ^ Gilette Ziegler: The court of Ludwig XIV. In eyewitness reports . Rauch, Düsseldorf 1964, p. 187.
  10. ^ Gilette Ziegler: The court of Ludwig XIV. In eyewitness reports. Rauch, Düsseldorf 1964, pp. 187–190, here especially pp. 188–189.
personal data
SURNAME Scoraille de Roussille, Marie Angélique de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Scorailles, Marie Angélique de; Fontanges, Marie Angélique de; Fontanges, Angélique de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mistress of Louis XIV.
DATE OF BIRTH 1661
PLACE OF BIRTH Raulhac
DATE OF DEATH June 28, 1681
Place of death Port Royal des Champs