Martine de Bertereau

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Petition poem to Cardinal Richelieu by Martine Bertereau

Martine de Bertereau , Baroness von Beausoleil (* around 1590 , Touraine or Berry , † around 1642 in Vincennes ) was a French alchemist and mining expert .

Little is known about her origins, but she had a good upbringing. She had some knowledge of Latin and Hebrew and learned other languages ​​(Spanish, Italian, German) on her travels. She had knowledge of astrology and alchemy. With her husband Jean du Châtelet (Chastelet, Baron Beausoleil, around 1578 in Brabant until around 1642), she toured Europe (Central Europe including Hungary and Poland, Sweden, Scotland, Italy) and South America ( Potosí ), where they looked for minerals and engaged in mining concerned. Emperor Rudolf II made her husband the overseer of mines in Hungary.

1626 commissioned Ludwig XIII. Martine de Bertereau's husband with the inspection of mines in France and the search for natural resources. The couple traveled to the south of France and Brittany . In 1627 her stay in Morlaix in Brittany aroused the suspicion of the clergy and the provincial officials. She and her husband were suspected of witchcraft and fled abroad. Although there was no charge, her property, including minerals and instruments, was confiscated, something Martine Bertereau complained about in her petition poem in 1640. In 1629 and 1630 she was back in Hungary, where her husband was again managing mines on behalf of the emperor. Soon after, they were called back to France to explore natural resources. They invested large sums of money from their own capital and were accompanied by miners from Germany. The position in Hungary was administered by her eldest son. Martine Bertereau published a report on her discoveries in mining in 1632 ( Véritable déclaration de la découverte des mines et minières ). In 1634 her husband became the inspector general of mines in France. The concessions they had hoped for were a long time coming and the baron lost his job again.

In 1640 she published a petition poem to Cardinal Richelieu ( La restitution de pluton ), in which she requested payment for services rendered and also described her own discoveries and her life. But this did not have the desired effect. They were imprisoned (Jean du Châtelet in the Bastille , Martine Bertereau in Vincennes ) and died in prison.

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ He came from the House of Chastelet , a branch of the House of Lorraine
personal data
SURNAME Bertereau, Martine de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bertereau, Martine; Baroness Beausoleil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French alchemist and mining expert
DATE OF BIRTH around 1590
PLACE OF BIRTH Touraine or Berry
DATE OF DEATH around 1642
Place of death Vincennes