Mignon (history)
Published in 1605 in L'Isle des Hermaphrodites by Thomas Artus .
Mignon (German for about darling ) is the name that the Parisians in the 16th century gave - quite disparagingly - to the favorites of the kings of France . In the 19th and 20th centuries, the name was restricted to the favorites of King Henry III. a.
Henry III's favorites
Henry III. urged the high nobility of France out of state affairs when they did not stop fighting for power after the start of the Huguenot Wars . He replaced his relatives with those of the lower nobility, to whom he gave high duties and on whom he relied in his government. His court was thus a narrow circle of favorites who, thanks to their master, were able to amass an immense fortune. They started to ironically call them “les mignons”.
Among them the most famous are:
- François d'O
- Henri de Saint-Sulpice
- Jacques de Lévis, Comte de Caylus
- Louis de Maugiron
- François d'Espinay
The two most important so-called Archimignons, however, were:
- Anne de Batarnay de Joyeuse , Baron von Arques, later Duke of Joyeuse
- Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette , called le demi roi ( half king ), later Duke of Épernon
Profile of the mignons
Henry III's favorites applied makeup and powder, wore earrings, lace and tinsel, but were also notorious philanderers and successful soldiers - the death of the Duke of Joyeuse is an example of this. The Mignons appeared full of courage and courage, were proud, often violent and provocative.
See also
literature
- Nicolas Le Roux: La faveur du roi. Mignons et courtisans au temps des derniers Valois (verse 1547-verse 1589) . Champ Vallon, Seysse 2001, ISBN 2-87673-311-0 .