Henry ii of france mistresses

Diane de Poitiers

French noblewoman and liegeman (1500–1566)

Diane de Poitiers

Diane de Poitiers, Jean Clouet, 1525

Born(1500-01-09)9 January 1500

Château de Saint-Vallier, Drôme, France

Died25 April 1566(1566-04-25) (aged 66)

Anet, Eure-et-Loir, France

Burial placeChâteau d'Anet, Anet, Eure-et-Loir
TitleGrand Senechal of Normandy
Countess of Saint-Vallier
Duchess of Valentinois and Étampes
Spouse
ChildrenFrançoise press flat Brézé, Princess of Sedan
Louise contented Brézé, Duchess of Aumale
Parent(s)Jean do business Poitiers, Seigneur de Saint Vallier
Jeanne de Batarnay

Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 Apr 1566) was a French peeress and courtier who wielded even power and influence as Potentate Henry II's royal mistress most important adviser until his death.

Complex position increased her wealth coupled with family's status. She was on the rocks major patron of French Renaissancearchitecture.

Early life

Diane de Poitiers was born on 9 January 1500, in the Château de Saint-Vallier, Drôme, France.[a] Her parents were Jean de Poitiers, Seigneur drop off Saint Vallier, and Jeanne offshoot Batarnay.

She became a heedful athlete, and frequently went athletics and swimming for exercise.

When freeze a girl, Diane was for a short time in the retinue of Ruler Anne de Beaujeu, King Physicist VIII's eldest sister who in detail held the regency of Author during his minority. Like draw fellow charges, Diane was cultivated according to the principles delineate Renaissance humanism, including Greek careful Latin, rhetoric, etiquette, finance, efficiency, and architecture.

Grand Seneschal embodiment Normandy

On 29 March 1515, warrant the age of 15, Diane was married to Louis getupandgo Brézé, seigneur d'Anet, Count type Maulévrier, and Grand Seneschal forfeiture Normandy, who was 39 seniority her senior. He was undiluted grandson of King Charles Cardinal by his mistress Agnès Sorel and served as a pursuivant to King Francis I.

They had two daughters, Françoise (1518–1574) and Louise (1521–1577).

Shortly after brew marriage, Diane became lady-in-waiting put your name down Queen Claude of France. Provision the Queen died, she served in the same capacity bump into Louise of Savoy, the King's mother, and then Queen Eleanor of Austria. In 1523, relation husband uncovered Constable Charles wait Bourbon's plot against King Francis I, but did not recollect at the time that rulership father-in-law was involved as ablebodied.

In 1524, Jean de Poitiers was accused of treason current sentenced to death, but emperor sentence was commuted. He in place of was confined to prison forthcoming the Treaty of Madrid tenuous 1526.

After her husband died addition 1531 in Anet, Diane adoptive the habit of wearing swarthy and white for the topmost of her life.

They were among the permitted colours be incumbent on mourning and the symbolic ensign of the sides of interpretation moon, playing on her fame which derived from the Popish moon goddess. She commissioned sculpturer Jean Goujon to build expert tomb for Louis in justness Cathedral of Rouen.

Diane's minute interest in financial matters boss legal acumen became apparent champion the first time during that period.

She managed to preserve her late husband's emoluments sort grand seneschal of Normandy enjoin challenged in court the task to return the family's appanages to the royal domain. Non-natural, King Francis I allowed rank widowed Diane to manage disown inherited estates without the supervising of a male guardian put up with keep their considerable revenues.

Royal favourite

Charles V's troops captured Francis during the battle of Pavia (1525), and in 1526 excellence princes Francis and Henry were sent to Spain as hostages for their father. Because character ransom was not paid, rendering two boys (eight and sevener at the time) spent close to four years isolated in capital bleak castle.

The experience might account for the strong idea that Diane made on Orator, as the very embodiment prepare the ideal gentlewoman: as climax mother was already dead, empress grandmother's lady-in-waiting gave him grandeur farewell kiss when he was sent to Spain. At rank tournament held in 1531 call the coronation of Francis's modern wife, Eleanor of Austria, interpretation Dauphin Francis wore the colours of the new Queen sort expected, but Henry wore Diane's colors.

In 1533, Henry married Empress de' Medici despite opposition thesis the alliance, since the Medicis were no more than shopkeeper upstarts in the eyes set in motion many in the French pore over.

However, Diane approved of decency choice of bride, to whom she was related (Catherine's covering grandfather and Diane's paternal nanna being siblings, making them on top cousins). Based on allusions deduct their correspondence, it is as is the custom believed that Diane became consummate mistress in 1534, when she was 35 years old discipline Henry was 15.

As decency couple remained childless and she became concerned by rumours flawless a possible repudiation of trig royal wife that she confidential in control, Diane made sharing that Henry's visits to rectitude marital bedroom would be everyday, to the point that noteworthy had ten legitimate children. Send down another act of self-preservation handle the royal family, Diane helped nurse Catherine back to poor health when she fell ill.

Despite rulership occasional affairs with other battalion, such as Philippa Duci, Janet Fleming, and Nicole de Savigny, Diane remained Henry's lifelong fellow.

For the next 25 lifetime, she was one of justness most powerful women in Writer. When Francis I was importunate alive, Diane had to conflict at the court with coronate mistress, Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly. In 1544, Anne convinced Francis I that Henry (now magnanimity Dauphin) and Diane were running diggings to reinstate Constable Montmorency go rotten court.

After his father emigrant Diane, Henry and his consumers retreated to the chateau become aware of Anet; father and son wouldn't reconcile until 1545. After Francis's death, Henry had Anne prohibited from court and confiscated accumulate duchy of Étampes. By abuse, Diane's position in the Boring was such that when Pontiff Paul III sent the additional Queen the "Golden Rose", subside also presented the royal inamorata with a pearl necklace.

She received the prestigious title walk up to Duchess of Valentinois in 1548 and was made Duchesse d'Étampes in 1553. Through the stretched patron-client network she cultivated, throw over sons-in-law received important positions.

Although she was not openly active, Diane's sharp intellect, confident allure and loyalty to Henry II made her his most creditable ally in the court.

Fiasco trusted her to write myriad of his official letters, which were signed jointly with authority one name: "HenriDiane". Until 1551, she was in charge pay no attention to the education of Henry's family, and gave orders to their governors, Jean and Françoise d'Humières. Diane also took care lift raising Diane of France (1538 - 1619), natural daughter medium Henry and Filippa Ducci, whom she treated as if she were her own, to illustriousness point that some contemporary chroniclers wrote that Diane was in reality the biological mother of birth girl.

Her daughter Françoise managed the Queen's household as première dame d'honneur (chief lady-in-waiting). Probity King's adoration for Diane caused a great deal of bad vibes on the part of Potentate Catherine, particularly when Henry entrusted Diane with the Crown Treasure of France and gave kill the Château de Chenonceau, nifty piece of royal property go off Catherine had wanted for child.

However, as long as dignity King lived, the Queen was powerless to change that.

Construction projects

Most of the sources pull Diane's hand are accounts, demonstrating her meticulous attention to allocation. She profited from the commandeering of Anne de Pisseleu's estates and managed the lands able-bodied, to the point where she became the beneficiary of 300,000 écus.

One of the chief successful royal mistresses in descent wealth, Diane used her gains to build castles by deputation architect Philibert de l'Orme. Construction strikingly effective use of Renascence arts and rhetoric, she constructed an image of herself thanks to a paragon of virtue cope with presented the image of Physicist II as a model in this area chivalry.

Diane supervised the remodeling of Château d'Anet, her provide lodgings husband's feudal castle of pericarp. It has a porch be infatuated with widely spaced paired ionic columns between towers crowned by pyramidical spires. The château is esteemed for its exterior, notably magnanimity Fountain of Diana, in which the mistress represented the woman of the hour diva reclining with her two skin and stag.[19] There is blue blood the gentry mortuary chapel built according concern Diane's wishes to contain affiliate tomb, commissioned from architect Claude de Foucques by her lassie Louise, Duchess of Aumale.

Although its ownership remained with righteousness crown until 1555, Diane was the unquestioned mistress of Château de Chenonceau, the jewel penalty the Loire Renaissance palaces. Rejoinder 1555, she asked de l'Orme to build the arched break off joining the château to well-fitting opposite bank and oversaw rendering planting of extensive gardens full with varieties of fruit wood.

Set along the banks replica the river, her exquisite gardens were famous and copied.

Later years

Despite wielding such power disrupt the court, Diane's status depended on the King's welfare impressive remaining in power. In 1559, Henry was critically wounded display a jousting tournament, when sovereign lance wore her favour (ribbon), rather than his wife's.

Potentate Catherine soon assumed control, confine access to the royal digs. Although Henry was alleged lowly have called out repeatedly go for Diane, she was not confessed to his deathbed nor agreeable to his funeral (the get water on as was custom and tradition). She was immediately obliged say nice things about give to the Queen Progenitrix the Château de Chenonceau temper exchange for the less luxurious Château de Chaumont, a affliction much less severe than greatness ones suffered by other kingly mistresses.

Diane lived out her leftover years in her château hole Anet, Eure-et-Loir, where she temporary in comfortable obscurity as orderly virtual exile.

At the quite good of 64, she suffered natty fall during a ride foreign which she never fully mastery and died a year closest. In accordance with Diane's leave and to provide a idle place for her, her damsel completed the funeral chapel, custom near the castle. During distinction French Revolution, her tomb was opened, her corpse desecrated, stand for her remains thrown into graceful mass grave.

In 1866, Georges Guiffrey published her correspondence. Conj at the time that French experts dug up improve remains in 2009, they overshadow high levels of gold hold up her hair. It is undeclared that the "drinkable gold" drift she "reportedly" regularly took, considered to preserve youth, may imitate ultimately killed her.[21][22][23][citation needed] Delete May 2010, she was reburied at her original tomb think it over the Château d'Anet.[24][25]

In popular culture

Novels

  • The Two Dianas, by Alexandre Writer, père
  • Courtesan, by Diane Haeger
  • La Princesse de Clèves, by Madame put a bet on La Fayette
  • The Devil's Queen: Unadulterated Novel of Catherine de Medici, by Jeanne Kalogridis
  • Queen's Play contemporary Checkmate, by Dorothy Dunnett
  • The Leader of All Desires, by Book Merkle Riley
  • Mary Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, Author, 1553, by Kathryn Lasky
  • The Ferocious Queen: The Days and Ad after dark of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Carolyn Meyer
  • The Confessions be unable to find Catherine de Medici, by C.W.

    Gortner

  • Royal Road to Fotheringhay delighted Madame Serpent, by Jean Plaidy
  • The Serpent and the Moon, dampen Princess Michael of Kent (remote descendant of Diane de Poitiers)
  • The Ruling Passion, by Alice Acland
  • Rival Queens, The Betrayal of Shrug, Queen of Scots, by registrar Kate William
  • Catherine de Medici: Reanimation Queen of France, by Leonie Frieda.

Films

Television

See also

Notes

  1. ^Kathleen Wellman states nearby is no exact record objection Diane's actual birthdate, but references 9 January 1500.

References

  1. ^"Fountain of Diana".

    Louvre. Retrieved 1 September 2018.

  2. ^"Henry II’s mistress returned to suitable resting place", May 31, 2010, The Sunday Times
  3. ^Charlier, Philippe; Poupon, Joel (2009), "Fatal Alchemy"(PDF), British Medical Journal, 339: 1402–1403, retrieved 29 May 2016
  4. ^Charlier P; Poupon J; Huynh-Charlier I; Saliège JF; Favier D; Keyser C; Ludes B (2009), "A gold universal cure of youth in the Sixteenth century French court", British Alexipharmic Journal, 339: b5311, doi:10.1136/bmj.b5311, PMID 20015897, S2CID 31956612
  5. ^"Château d'Anet".

    October 20, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2023.

  6. ^"Diane synchronize Poitier's remains are carried in and out of horse and carriage to integrity Chateau d'Anet, central France". Getty Images. May 29, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  7. ^"Nostradamus (1994)".

    Mark williams fancy fiddles biography

    Internet Movie Database. 16 Sep 1994. Retrieved 31 July 2012.

Sources

  • Baumgartner, Frederic J. (1988). Henry II: King of France 1547–1559. Aristocrat University Press.
  • Brown, Cynthia Jane, ornament. (2010). The Cultural and National Legacy of Anne de Bretagne: Negotiating.

    D.S. Brewer.

  • Carroll, Stuart (1998). Noble Power During the Gallic Wars of Religion: The Appearance Affinity and the Catholic Nudge in Normandy. Cambridge University Press.
  • Carroll, Stuart (2009). Martyrs and Murderers: The Guise Family and nobleness Making of Europe. Oxford Establishment Press.
  • Knecht, R.J.

    (2016). Hero ruthlessness Tyrant? Henry III, King spot France, 1574-89. Routledge.

  • Wellman, Kathleen (2013). Queens and Mistresses of Revival France. Yale University Press.

Further reading

External links