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149-698: The novel follows events in France during the Fronde , during the childhood reign of Louis XIV , and in England near the end of the English Civil War , leading up to the victory of Oliver Cromwell and the execution of King Charles I . Through the words of the main characters, particularly Athos, Dumas comes out on the side of the monarchy in general, or at least the text often praises the idea of benevolent royalty. Setting aside their political differences,

298-515: A Barb horse bareback , using only a silk string to guide it, standing up and sitting down while it was moving; she handled the pistol and the lance expertly. She was trained by a squire of Moorish origins. During her time as royal mistress, La Vallière played an important role in the intellectual life of the court. She belonged to the circles of libertines such as Isaac de Benserade and Antonin Nompar de Caumont, Duke of Lauzun . She read

447-557: A hypocritical ploy to achieve material gains from the King. Her potential marriage was mentioned again, possibly to Lauzun . In late June 1670, Madame died. She agonised for a long time and believed that she had been poisoned . La Vallière was present at her deathbed. In her last hours, she was told by a canon , Nicolas Feuillet  [ fr ] , that ‘all [her] life had been but sin ’, and she repented publicly. When she complained of excruciating pain, Feuillet told her to embrace

596-482: A chance to converse, Athos talks d'Artagnan and Porthos into helping to save Charles I. D'Artagnan and Porthos free their friends and start plotting to save the imprisoned king. In the end, all their plans fail and Mordaunt turns to regicide, executing King Charles I after d'Artagnan and the three former Musketeers have kidnapped London's official executioner in order to prevent this. D'Artagnan and his friends later confront Mordaunt at Cromwell's secret residence, but in

745-481: A conflict with his wife who supported her father, Philip IV of Spain in a diplomatic conflict. If the Orléans household was established separately from the court, the King regularly dined there, probably to see La Vallière. La Vallière grew closer with Montalais. According to Madame de La Fayette , a contemporary who later wrote a fictionalised biography of Madame, the King disapproved, considering Montalais to be

894-599: A daughter of La Vallière's age, Catherine, and the couple had a third daughter together. The family lived at the Duke's household in Blois . La Vallière and her stepsister became demoiselles de compagnie ( lady's companions ) to the Duke's younger daughters and met the also-exiled Grande Mademoiselle , paternal half-sister of the princesses. La Vallière befriended Anne-Constance de Montalais, another demoiselle de compagnie , who remained her confidante for years. Lair says

1043-467: A generation of war in Germany, where troops still tended to operate autonomously. Louis XIV, impressed as a young ruler with the experience of the Fronde, came to reorganize French fighting forces under a stricter hierarchy, whose leaders ultimately could be made or unmade by the king. Cardinal Mazarin blundered into the crisis but came out well ahead at the end. The Fronde represented the final attempt of

1192-404: A group who think them Frondeurs while outside the house of Madame de Longueville . When this group is satisfied that d'Artagnan is not the man they seek, Aramis surprises Planchet by dropping onto his horse from the tree in which he had been hiding. D'Artagnan finds that the former musketeer, who had thought of little other than being a priest, is now a priest who thinks of little other than being

1341-440: A horse riding accident from this time. Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc died in the summer of 1651, leaving his family in debt. His widow decided to reclaim her dowry and dower to finance a new marriage, which would have meant relinquishing guardianship of her children and depriving them of their maternal inheritance. Safeguarding the interest of the children, La Vallière's paternal family persuaded Françoise Le Provost to settle

1490-550: A marriage for their extramarital partners was a common way for monarchs to provide for them, but marrying would have defeated La Vallière's idea of a ‘holy devotion’ to her sovereign. According to diplomatic records from early 1665, there was a proposed match between her and the Marquis of Vardes. Both refused the marriage. The same dispatch mentions that the Palais Brion was attacked but the perpetrators were never identified;

1639-515: A meal on Whitsuntide , to which La Ramée, second in command of the prison, is invited. The escape is successful, but d'Artagnan and Porthos, on Mazarin's orders, are in pursuit. After a race against time, and having defeated several adversaries along the way, Porthos and d'Artagnan find themselves on a dark road, surrounded, with swords crossed against adversaries equal to them, who are revealed to be Athos and Aramis. The four arrange to meet in Paris at

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1788-458: A military career, Montespan had an opportunity to seduce the King. She befriended both La Vallière and the Queen, visiting them daily to see the King. La Vallière's detractors agreed that she could not ‘amuse’ the King without Montespan's witty conversation. Louis started a sexual relationship with her between November 1666 and July 1667. It is unclear when sexual relations between La Vallière and

1937-476: A new Calais , to be held by England forever, gave the next campaign a character of certainty and decision which was entirely wanting in the rest of the war. Dunkirk was besieged promptly in great force and when Don Juan of Austria and Condé appeared with the relieving army from Fumes, Turenne advanced boldly to meet them. The Battle of the Dunes , fought on 14 June 1658, was the first real trial of strength since

2086-501: A priest, the Abbé d'Herblay. Fortune intervenes when Planchet, his old servant, enters d'Artagnan's chambers, attempting to escape arrest for aiding the escape of Rochefort. Through Planchet, he locates Bazin, Aramis' old servant, now beadle at Notre Dame. Though Bazin is unwilling to help, d'Artagnan is able to find out, through an altar boy, that Bazin makes frequent visits to Noisy. D'Artagnan and Planchet go there, where they are set upon by

2235-689: A quiet life at court. She continued studying, reading historical, theological, and philosophical works. In 1670 (certainly before May), during a near-fatal, long illness (perhaps smallpox ), she had a vision of her soul at the gates of hell , from which the ‘ thunder of God’ awakened her. She turned to religion and abandoned her previous, libertine friends. She read the spiritual works of the Counter-Reformation , being most influenced by Teresa of Ávila's The Way of Perfection. Bossuet became her spiritual guide. With his help, she wrote her Réflexions sur la miséricorde de Dieu (‘Reflections on

2384-540: A rebellion. The champion of the French populace and parliament, Pierre Broussel , is arrested, but then released when it becomes clear that his imprisonment has only served to stir the crowd up worse. D´Artagnan meets the young king and watches over him as some Frondeurs - including Planchet, under a false name - who wanted to make sure that the king and queen were not about to escape, enter the king's bedroom demanding to see him. Immediately after this, he contrives for all of

2533-636: A refusal to pay but also a condemnation of earlier financial edicts and a demand for the acceptance of a scheme of constitutional reforms framed by a united committee of the parlement (the Chambre Saint-Louis), composed of members of all the sovereign courts of Paris. The military record of the Parlementary Fronde is almost blank. In August 1648, feeling strengthened by the news of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé 's victory at Lens (20 August 1648), Mazarin suddenly arrested

2682-508: A remark that displayed the feudal arrogance which ironically led to the iron-handed absolutism of Louis XIV. After Bléneau, both armies marched to Paris to negotiate with the parlement , de Retz and Mlle de Montpensier, while the archduke took more fortresses in Flanders , and Charles, duke of Lorraine , with an army of plundering mercenaries, marched through Champagne to join Condé. As to

2831-522: A reunion with his brother and sister-in-law in Villers-Cotterêts . Queen Maria Theresa could not attend because of her pregnancy, and she was distraught by his behaviour. According to the memoir of a contemporary, Françoise Bertaut de Motteville , the King promised his wife that after the age of thirty (he was then twenty-six), he would be an ‘examplary husband’, but left with La Vallière. Lair considers La Vallière as official favourite from

2980-436: A skirmish with Spanish soldiers. After they defeat their enemies, they find a church servant close to death who requests the last rites. They help him to a nearby inn and find a traveling monk. When the monk does not seem inclined to perform this service, they have to force him to go to the inn. At the confession, the man reveals that he has been the official executioner in the town of Béthune for many years, yet his only regret

3129-458: A soldier. Aramis is not willing to enter into Mazarin's service, however. D'Artagnan leaves but waits in hiding, suspecting that Aramis is both the Frondeur who had been sought earlier and the lover of Madame de Longueville. His suspicions are confirmed. The visit to Aramis was not fruitless, as it yielded the address of Porthos. When d'Artagnan arrives at Porthos' estate he finds Mousqueton, who

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3278-512: A talk the King had with Dr Boucher. La Vallière attended midnight mass on 24 December to counter rumours, but scorn was so great that she fled before the end of the service. Courtiers observed that she was ‘very pale’ and ‘much changed’, taking this as proof that she had given birth. The situation was worsened by a story invented by Boucher: at the same time as he was helping La Vallière, another lady called for him. To explain his absence, he told her that he had been blindfolded and taken to deliver

3427-405: A ‘beautiful’ voice. Fraser suggests that La Vallière refrained from pursuing material benefits through her relationship because she needed to conceptualise it as ‘pure’ or ‘holy’ to fit it into her religious worldview . In his memoirs , Louis-Henri de Loménie de Brienne  [ fr ] claims to have been in love with La Vallière, not knowing about her affair. The King saw them when he

3576-444: A ‘flirtatious friendship’ with Anne de Rohan-Chabot , Princess of Soubise , and had at least ‘occasional’ sexual encounters with Madame de Soissons. He probably also slept with other women put forward by factions hoping to replace La Vallière. Their relationship, however, remained strong and La Vallière was reportedly happy. They shared a love of hunting, in which La Vallière was regarded as a talent. A diplomat reported seeing her ride

3725-543: A ‘good reputation’; the Duke once said that La Vallière certainly did not take part in mischief, as ‘she [was] too sensible for that’. Later in life, she attributed the ‘beginning of [her] fall’ to the self-assurance she gained from his praise. In February 1660, the Duke died and his widow, Marguerite of Lorraine , moved the household to the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. The Orléans daughters and their friends spent their time with balls and feasts organised by

3874-409: A ‘schemer’. He seems to have been jealous of any close relationship La Vallière had. He disliked her mother and rarely permitted them to see each other. During Lent 1662, a guest preacher, Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet delivered a series of sermons criticising the King's behaviour through biblical examples. In late February, Louis questioned La Vallière about an alleged affair between Madame and

4023-459: Is betrayed by the leaders of the Scottish troops he commands and taken prisoner. Mordaunt, a favorite of Cromwell's, murders his uncle, Lord de Winter, Milady's brother-in-law, and attempts to lay hands on Athos and Aramis, when the duo are the last men to defend Charles I. However, Athos and Aramis are captured by d'Artagnan and Porthos who are fighting under Cromwell's troops. As soon as they have

4172-724: Is now a beggar and Frondist). At the end the four friends once again go their separate ways. D'Artagnan stays in Paris with Mazarin and Queen Anne; Athos returns to la Fère; Aramis returns to his abbey in Noisy le Sec; and Porthos returns to his castle to enjoy his baronage. In 1967, the BBC aired a 16-episode television adaptation by Alexander Baron titled The Further Adventures of the Musketeers , based on Twenty Years After , with Joss Ackland as d'Artagnan, Jeremy Young as Athos, Brian Blessed as Porthos and John Woodvine as Aramis. It

4321-433: Is of a rather heavy nature, not very talkative: it is said that she does not speak French very well. This is what causes these little jealousies and distractions that the King takes. [...] But it is not for the people to speak ill of their king, touching on such frivolous [things]. Oudart Coquault, In October 1665, the King had a short affair with Catherine-Charlotte de Gramont , Princess of Monaco , developed

4470-523: Is overjoyed to meet d'Artagnan and Planchet. He finds that Porthos, despite his wealth and life spent in pursuit of amusement, is not happy. Porthos who envies nobles of high origin desires to become a baron, and with this bait d'Artagnan lures him into Mazarin's service. D'Artagnan continues his search for Athos, whom he finds almost completely changed, set to live as an example to his ward, Raoul. Though Athos will not be enlisted into Mazarin's service, and indeed reveals that his sympathies lie against Mazarin,

4619-555: Is that he took part in the execution of some noble woman, Milady de Winter , twenty years ago. The monk reveals himself as her son, John Francis de Winter, who calls himself Mordaunt after Charles I stripped him of all his titles. Mordaunt stabs the executioner. Grimaud, who is travelling to join Raoul, arrives to the inn just in time to learn, from the dying man, about the Mordaunt's existence and rushes back to warn Athos. After joining

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4768-551: Is the son born of a chance encounter that Athos had with her, and through her gets a letter of recommendation for Raoul to join the army. The scene then changes, to focus on the Duc de Beaufort , Mazarin's prisoner at Vincennes , who finds a new jailer, Athos' servant, the silent Grimaud. Grimaud instantly makes himself disagreeable to the Duc, as part of an escape plot. Using messages passed to Rochefort using tennis balls, they arrange to have

4917-485: The noblesse de robe . Her father served as governor of the Castle of Amboise where she occasionally visited him. He was a devout Catholic who practiced penance and charity , and owned a library of forty-four folios , extensive for the time. In March 1651, during the Fronde , he held Amboise against the forces of the revolt and remained loyal to King Louis XIV . La Vallière and her brother were raised at

5066-502: The Duke of Lauzun . Montespan's husband returned and became extremely jealous, loudly complaining about the relationship between his wife and the King. He publicly lectured Louis on biblical morality, promising to take revenge by contracting a sexually transmitted infection so that his wife would infect the King. After he insulted and threatened the elderly Julie d’Angennes, Duchess of Montausier (whom he blamed for his wife's adultery),

5215-502: The Grande Mademoiselle . In August 1660, La Vallière was present at the joyeuse entrée of Louis and his new wife, Maria Theresa of Spain , into Paris. In April 1661, the King's younger brother, Philippe , the new Duke of Orléans (‘Monsieur’), married Henrietta of England (‘Madame’). Madame's household was organised by Madame de Choisy, Jeanne de Bélesbat de Hurault, a distant relative of La Vallière and member of

5364-628: The Hôtel de la Crouzille  [ fr ] (or Hôtel de la Vallière) in Tours as the daughter of Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc, Seigneur of La Vallière (1611–1651) and his wife, Marie- Françoise Le Provost de La Coutelaye (died 1686). She had an older brother, Jean-François, later Marquis of La Vallière (1642–1676). In La Vallière's paternal family, Catholicism and royalism were important values, many relatives chose an ecclesiastical or military career. Her maternal family belonged to

5513-548: The Spanish Netherlands , but peasants of the countryside rose against the invaders; the royal army in Champagne was in the capable hands of César de Choiseul, comte du Plessis-Praslin , who counted 52 years of age and 36 of war experience; and the little fortress of Guise successfully resisted the archduke's attack. At that point Mazarin drew upon Plessis-Praslin's army for reinforcements to be sent to subdue

5662-522: The centre of gravity was soon transferred, the Frondeurs were commanded by intriguers and quarrelsome lords, until Condé's arrival from Guyenne. His bold leadership made itself felt in the Bléneau (7 April 1652) in which a portion of the royal army was destroyed, but fresh troops came up to oppose him. From the skillful dispositions made by his opponents, Condé felt the presence of Turenne and broke off

5811-579: The navy . In March 1669, Montespan gave birth to her first child by the King. During her time at court, La Vallière lived in several places, first in the Palais Brion until the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture moved there in July 1665. Then the King gave her an hôtel particulière in the rue de l’Échelle  [ fr ] , near the Tuileries . She owned it until her entry into

5960-435: The royal court in 1661 as maid-of-honour to Henrietta of England and soon became Louis XIV's mistress. Two of her five children by the King, Marie-Anne, Mademoiselle de Blois ( Princess of Conti by marriage) and Louis, Count of Vermandois , survived infancy and were legitimised . She was an important participant in the court's intellectual life, interested in the arts , literature , and philosophy . In 1666, she

6109-566: The 1978 musical miniseries D'Artagnan and Three Musketeers , with the same director and main cast. The 1994 fantasy novel Five Hundred Years After by Steven Brust , the second book in the Khaavren Romances series, is loosely inspired by Twenty Years After . Fronde The Fronde ( French pronunciation: [fʁɔ̃d] ) were a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in

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6258-420: The 27th, Queen Maria Theresa invited La Vallière to stand next to her at mass to display her complacency to her husband. However, there were signs that the King's love was diminishing. Courtiers who sensed the change derided her for not being beautiful and witty enough. On 2 October 1666, La Vallière gave birth to her daughter Marie-Anne at Vincennes . During the delivery, Madame passed through her room on

6407-643: The Bastille, but on his way there Rochefort escapes. Having determined that d'Artagnan is the man he seeks, Mazarin enters the chambers of the Queen to let her know that he has enlisted the man who had served her so well twenty years earlier (in adventures covered in The Three Musketeers ). The Queen, feeling guilty for having forgotten d'Artagnan's service, gives Mazarin a diamond ring to return to d'Artagnan, one which she had previously given him that d'Artagnan sold. The avaricious Mazarin merely uses

6556-699: The Count of Guiche, but she refused to answer. After their argument, troubled by Bossuet's sermons, she fled the Tuileries for the Augustinian Convent of Sainte-Pélerine in Chaillot . The King was informed during an audience with Spanish envoys, rushed to end the talks, and searched for her personally amid fears that his wife would learn of his affair because of La Vallière's disappearance. La Fayette claims that Madame and Monsieur were reluctant to admit La Vallière back into their household, but she

6705-592: The Crown needed to recover from its expenditures in the recent wars. The costs of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) constrained Mazarin's government to raise funds by traditional means, the impôts , the taille , and the occasional aides . The nobility refused to be so taxed, based on their old liberties, or privileges, and the brunt fell upon the bourgeoisie . The movement soon degenerated into factions, some of which attempted to overthrow Mazarin and to reverse

6854-432: The French nobility to confront the king, and ended in its humiliation. In the long run, the Fronde served to strengthen royal authority, but weakened the national economy. The Fronde facilitated the emergence of absolute monarchy . The Spanish Empire promoted the Fronde to the point that without its support, it would have had a more limited character; it benefited from the internal upheaval in France, as it contributed to

7003-536: The Fronde paved the way for the absolutism of Louis XIV. Meanwhile, the Franco-Spanish war continued in Flanders, Catalonia , and Italy wherever a Spanish and a French garrison were face to face. Condé, along with the remnant of his army, defiantly entered the service of the king of Spain. In 1653, France was so exhausted that neither invaders nor defenders were able to gather supplies to enable them to take

7152-441: The Fronde. These concessions are later accepted by Queen Anne, who finally realizes she has been rather ungrateful to d'Artagnan and his friends. At the end of the novel, the first Fronde comes to an end and Mazarin, Queen Anne, and Louis XIV enter Paris. A riot takes place during which d'Artagnan accidentally kills Rochefort and Porthos kills Bonacieux (who in the earlier novel was d'Artagnan's landlord and an agent of Richelieu and

7301-488: The King assigned guards to the house. The first book about La Vallière's affair, by Roger de Rabutin, Count of Bussy , a disgraced courtier who was imprisoned for his work, was written around 1665 and published in 1666, titled Les Amours du Palais-Royal (‘Loves of the Palais-Royal’). It depicted La Vallière as a ‘gentle, kind, [and] selfless’ person who loved the King ‘for himself’, concluding that she would ‘always be

7450-512: The King ended. Plans to arrange her marriage or give her a suo jure title were renewed, seen by contemporaries as a sign of her retirement. That year, Louis XIV started to pursue personal ‘glory’ through military conquests and magnificent feasts. La Vallière participated in courtly ballet performances, as did Montespan. The King decided to march on Flanders, starting the War of Devolution . On Easter 1667, he took communion again in preparation for

7599-491: The King imprisoned him. He was freed on the condition that he exiled himself to his country estate. There, he announced the death of his wife, organised a funeral , wore mourning clothes, and forbade his children to contact their mother. In order to contain the scandal , La Vallière remained the official mistress and had to share an apartment with Montespan so that the King could visit her. ‘Double adultery’, an extramarital affair in which both parties are married to others,

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7748-418: The King published a letter patent to legitimise his only living child with La Vallière, Marie-Anne . He conferred on her Chasteau in northern Touraine , including the ruins of a fortress on Lake Val Joyeux (Vaujours) and created a duchy ‘to be enjoyed by the said damoiselle Louise-Françoise de La Vallière, and, after her death, by Marie-Anne [...] [and] her [legitimate] heirs and descendants’. Marie-Anne

7897-418: The King talked with her for an hour, crying. Some faulted La Vallière for being ‘inconstant [in her] resolution’ to live a religious life, while others thought that she had acted ‘foolishly’ by returning without exploiting her stronger bargaining position. The Grande Mademoiselle believed that the King would have secretly been happy to ‘get rid of’ La Vallière. Lair argues that Louis still needed La Vallière as

8046-483: The King's premier écuyer (‘first squire ’). Their sexual relationship started around the end of July 1661, after about six weeks of courtship. The Queen Mother noticed that her son neglected religious practice and around mid-July discovered the identity of La Vallière. She reminded Louis of his duty to his country and God, asking him to hide his feelings for La Vallière from his wife. Louis did not end his relationship but promised to conduct it secretly. La Vallière

8195-530: The King's affair from the Queen Mother. Nicolas Fouquet , superintendent of finances noticed that the King was neglecting his religious and administrative duties. He learned La Vallière's identity by 27 June through his network of spies. He wanted to establish a political relationship with the new favourite and sent her a letter complimenting her appearance and offering a bribe , which she refused. He then attempted to talk to her. La Vallière informed

8344-454: The King's choice a mark of good taste, as La Vallière was seen as more attractive than the Queen. On 7 January 1665 at noon, La Vallière gave birth to a second son in the Palais Brion with Dr Boucher. At nine in the evening, the physician gave the newborn to Colbert who delivered him to Monsieur Bernard, his servant; he was baptised Philippe, registered as the son of ‘François Derssy, bourgeois ’ and his wife, ‘Marguerite Bernard’. The child

8493-432: The King's great love’. She was becoming known around the country as Louis’ mistress. [The Countess of Soissons], the viper of the late lord Cardinal de Mazarin , as she is known to the people of France, [wanted to] babble and even wrote the Queen some supposed letter about a little love affair between the King and a lady called La Vallier. [...] This Lady Vallier is pleasant, obliging, and beautiful and cheerful. The Queen

8642-488: The King, who seems to have believed that Fouquet tried to seduce her. This probably added to his resentment against Fouquet, whose vast fortune, probably embezzled , he envied. In September, Fouquet was arrested and imprisoned until his death in 1680. La Vallière grew isolated because of her relationship, as Madame resented her for it. The devotion of the King for La Vallière was strengthened in October 1661, when he had

8791-524: The King. Between 5 and 14 May 1664, Louis XIV hosted and personally planned a feast called Les Plaisirs de l’île enchantée (‘The Pleasures of the Enchanted Isle’) in Versailles (this was the first major event there). It was officially dedicated to Queen Maria Theresa and the Queen Mother, but secretly addressed to La Vallière. She was present and seated at the royal table, even though she

8940-485: The Marquis of La Vallière, married him to a wealthy heiress, and put him in charge of a cavalry unit despite his lack of experience. After this public show of favour, in July 1663, Soissons and Madame informed the Queen of the King's affair; Maria Theresa was devastated and the King furious. Fraser and Petitfils argue that Maria Theresa had to have already suspected her husband's infidelity: in 1662, while giving birth to her second child, she saw La Vallière pass through

9089-469: The Mercy of God’) in 1671, which was published anonymously in 1680. It became a popular devotional book among French Catholics, reprinted at least ten times, often under her name. Her authorship of Réflexions was later contested. In 1853, Jean-Joseph-Stanislas-Albert Damas-Hinard  [ fr ; es ] argued that the book had been conceived by Bossuet and merely written down by La Vallière. However,

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9238-542: The Palatinate recounts questioning La Vallière about why she remained a ‘suivante’ (a servant or companion) of Montespan. She replied that she wished to ‘do penance [...] suffer[ing] what was most painful for her, to share the King's heart [with another woman] and see herself despised by him [...], offer[ing] all her pains to God as atonement for her past sins; for, since her sins had been public, her penance had to be public too’. Courtiers saw her new religiousness as

9387-569: The Place Royale. In a dramatic scene, the four friends come close to fighting each other, yet stop, reconcile, and renew their vows of friendship, which they value higher than any political alliances. Raoul is travelling to join the army that wages a war again Spain under the command of Prince de Condé . On the road, he saves the life of a young nobleman, Comte de Guiche , and the two become friends. Two days later, de Guiche saves Raoul's life in

9536-487: The Queen's children) took him to a carriage with the Beauchamps who transported him to Saint-Leu . He was christened Charles, registered as the son of ‘Monsieur de Lincourt’ and ‘Élisabeth de Beux’, with Beauchamp and his wife as godparents. He died in infancy, within two years of his birth, probably of influenza . Despite precautions, the story spread. People speculated about La Vallière's disappearance and

9685-411: The Queen's household at La Fère on 20 June. Maria Theresa was upset by her coming, cried, did not sleep, felt ill, and had violent outbursts. She forbade her staff from giving food to La Vallière. When she went to church, she ordered the door of the royal gallery to be closed so that La Vallière could not go near her; when she greeted Maria Theresa in front of the church, the Queen ignored her. During

9834-655: The Spanish military's renewed success in its war against the French between 1647 and 1653, so much so that the year 1652 could be considered a Spanish annus mirabilis . However, following the end of the Fronde and an English intervention on the side of France, the course of the war largely changed in France's favour, and it ultimately achieved some territorial gains in the Peace of the Pyrenees . The French word fronde means "sling" ; Parisian crowds used slings to smash

9983-415: The action. The royal army did likewise. Condé invited the commander of Turenne's rearguard to supper, chaffed him unmercifully for allowing the prince's men to surprise him in the morning, and by way of farewell remarked to his guest, "Quel dommage que de braves gens comme nous se coupent la gorge pour un faquin" ("It's too bad decent people like us are cutting our throats for a scoundrel")—an incident and

10132-542: The ancient liberties from royal encroachments and to defend the established rights of the parlements – courts of appeal rather than legislative bodies like the English parliaments – and especially the right of the Parlement of Paris to limit the king 's power by refusing to register decrees that ran against custom. The liberties under attack were feudal, not of individuals but of chartered towns, where they defended

10281-570: The army of Prince de Condé, Raoul proves himself by assisting the Prince in interrogating a prisoner. The information that Conde acquires from the prisoner helps him to a decisive victory in the Battle of Lens. In a short time, 15-years old Raoul earns a reputation of a valiant soldier and becomes a Prince de Condé favorite. d´Artagnan and Porthos help Queen Anne of Austria , the young Louis XIV and Mazarin escape Paris after its citizens finally start

10430-516: The astute intriguer Jean François Paul de Gondi , the future Cardinal de Retz. The military operations fell into the hands of war-experienced mercenaries, led by two great, and many lesser, generals. The peace of Rueil lasted until the end of 1649. The princes, received at court once more, renewed their intrigues against Mazarin. On 14 January 1650, Cardinal Mazarin, having come to an understanding with Monsieur Gondi and Madame de Chevreuse, suddenly arrested Condé, Conti, and Longueville. This time, it

10579-517: The battle of the Faubourg St Antoine. Successes on one wing were compromised by failure on the other but in the end Condé drew off with many losses, the success of his cavalry charges subverted by the defeat of the Spanish right wing among the dunes. Here the " red-coats " made their first appearance on a continental battlefield, under the leadership of Sir William Lockhart , Cromwell's ambassador at Paris. They astonished both armies by

10728-427: The blast, and pleads with the Musketeers to let him into their boat. With the exception of Athos, they contemptuously reject his appeals. Athos insists on saving him, but as he helps him into the boat, Mordaunt deliberately drags him under the water where they struggle and Mordaunt is killed. Athos rejoins the others, stating: "I had a son. I wanted to live." This seems to confirm what d'Artagnan has long suspected, that

10877-424: The child of a masked woman. Courtiers said that this woman was La Vallière. After the birth, with Queen Maria Theresa aware of the affair, it was impossible to hide the relationship. La Vallière became isolated, as ladies who wanted to retain the favour of the queens did not associate with her. She continued living in the Palais Brion. As companion, she was assigned Claude-Marie du Guast d’Artigny who spied on her for

11026-584: The civil war ceased, but in the several other campaigns of the Franco-Spanish War that followed, the two great soldiers were opposed to one another, Turenne as the defender of France, Condé as a Spanish invader. The début of the new Frondeurs took place in Guyenne (February–March 1652), while their Spanish ally, the archduke Leopold Wilhelm, captured various northern fortresses. On the Loire , where

11175-544: The closed gates of Paris. The royalists attacked all along the line and won a signal victory in spite of the knightly prowess of the prince and his great lords, but at the critical moment Gaston's daughter persuaded the Parisians to open the gates and to admit Condé's army. She herself turned the guns of the Bastille on the pursuers. An insurrectionist government appeared in Paris and proclaimed Monsieur lieutenant-general of

11324-578: The constitutionality of the king's actions, and sought to check his powers. The Fronde was divided into two campaigns, the Parlementary Fronde and the Fronde of the Princes . The timing of the outbreak of the Parlementary Fronde, directly after the Peace of Westphalia (1648) that ended the Thirty Years' War , was significant. The nuclei of the armed bands that terrorized parts of France under aristocratic leaders during that period had been hardened in

11473-566: The convent, when her brother inherited it. Around 1668, she owned a pavilion in the rue de la Pompe in Versailles ; in 1672, the King bought its land to build new stables . In 1669, she was had a pavilion in the Tuileries; she owned a house in Saint-Germaine-en-Laye from March 1669 to December 1674, and had her own apartment in the palace there. After the end of her affair with Louis XIV, La Vallière settled into

11622-404: The course of a duel with d'Artagnan he escapes through a secret passage. The Frenchmen and their servants leave England by ship, but Mordaunt gets aboard and blows it up. Unfortunately for him, the Musketeers' servants had earlier discovered the explosives on board, roused their masters, and contrived to steal the only lifeboat before the ship can blow up, leaving Mordaunt aboard. Mordaunt escapes

11771-474: The court in Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, where the King visited her thrice a day. On 2 October, she gave birth to Louis , who was taken away in secrecy. The King, who loved his older children by La Vallière, showed no care for him. Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate claims that the King was ‘led to believe’ by Montespan and her supporters that La Vallière's youngest child had been fathered by

11920-426: The court. La Vallière returned to Paris, while the court stayed at Compiègne and Louis went on campaign. The Queen received a letter telling her that the King had taken Montespan as his mistress, but she did not believe it. When the King returned to Compiègne, La Vallière went there; Louis was noted to sometimes visit her. He then went on a tour of conquered towns, while La Vallière was in Versailles. She re-joined

12069-466: The debt the Queen owes to him. He is summoned by Mazarin, who requires an escort; the French people detest Mazarin, and are on the brink of rebellion ( La Fronde ). D'Artagnan is sent to the Bastille to retrieve a prisoner, who turns out to be his former adversary, and then a friend, the Comte de Rochefort . Rochefort is brought to an audience with Mazarin, where he learns that the cause for his imprisonment

12218-451: The debts and accept the furnishings of the family home in place of her dower. She rented the furniture back to her children with an interest. What happened to La Vallière at this time is unknown, but she may have been sent to her aunts’ convent. In March 1655, Françoise Le Provost married Jacques de Courtavel, Marquis of Saint-Rémy , maître d’hôtel ( butler ) of the exiled Gaston, Duke of Orléans (uncle of Louis XIV). Saint-Rémy had

12367-407: The decision. Louis later explained in his Mémoirs that he wanted to provide for his mistress and child in case he died in war. He considered it ‘just’ to grant Marie-Anne ‘the honour of her birth’ and reward La Vallière in a way ‘suited to [his] affection’. Her brother was promoted in the army and her uncle made a bishop . It seems that La Vallière was not aware that her lover's actions signalled

12516-413: The defeat of Arras by storming Turenne's circumvallation around Valenciennes (16 July) but Turenne drew off his forces in good order. The campaign of 1657 was uneventful and is only to be remembered because a body of 6,000 English infantry, sent by Oliver Cromwell in pursuance of his treaty of alliance with Mazarin, took part in it. The presence of the English contingent and its purpose of making Dunkirk

12665-457: The diamond to show d'Artagnan that he is once again to enter the Queen's service. He commissions d'Artagnan to go in search of his friends. D'Artagnan is at a loss; he has completely lost touch with his friends, who have resumed their real names. Athos , the Comte de la Fère, had returned to his estate near Blois; Porthos , Monsieur du Vallon, had married a rich lawyer's widow; and Aramis became

12814-557: The duo has been imprisoned by Mazarin in Rueil. Athos tries to persuade Queen Anne to free his friends, but is imprisoned as well. After this, d'Artagnan manages to escape with Porthos and capture Mazarin. Mazarin is taken to one of Porthos's castles and he makes some concessions to the four friends in exchange for his freedom. These include making Porthos a baron and making d'Artagnan a captain of Musketeers. Athos asks for nothing: Aramis asks for concessions towards himself and his friends in

12963-564: The education of girls in the Orléans court was neglected, while Conley claims that they were taught painting, music, etiquette , and equitation, as well as literature and philosophy by the Duke's almoner , Armand-Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé . La Vallière may have been introduced to neo-Aristotelian thought by Rancé. Huertas argues that La Vallière had to receive a good education based on her exceptional spelling . Petitfils sees her education as more rudimentary, being only in ‘reading, prayer, [...] sewing , and embroidery ’, but agrees that she

13112-465: The end of 1666, the King seems to have become bored with the La Vallière. Athénaïs, Marquise of Montespan started working to replace her. She was ‘high-spirited and amusing’, considered an extraordinary beauty; with her full figure, she was more in line with contemporary beauty ideals than the thinner La Vallière. She was a member of the salons of the précieuses . When her husband embarked on

13261-432: The end of the relationship. She was pregnant again, but her unborn child (and any later offspring) was not included in the succeession of her duchy. The military camp left for Compiègne on 24 May; from the ladies of the court, only the Queen and her ladies-in-waiting (including Montespan) were permitted to go. After a few weeks, La Vallière and her sister-in-law travelled to the camp without permission. She arrived at

13410-551: The family seat, the Castle of La Vallière . Their uncle , Gilles de La Vallière (born 1616) was responsible for their education. La Vallière was instructed by the Ursuline nuns in Tours  [ fr ] , where two of her aunts lived, in reading, grammar, musical composition , and public speaking . The family owned horses, and she may have gained her love of equitation then; her limping in later life may have been caused by

13559-405: The field until July. At one moment, near Péronne , Condé had Turenne at a serious disadvantage but could not galvanize Spanish General Count Fuensaldaña , who was more solicitous to preserve his master's soldiers than to establish Condé as mayor of the palace to the king of France and the armies drew apart again without fighting. In 1654 the principal incident was the siege and relief of Arras . On

13708-535: The following carriage ride, Montespan told Maria Theresa, ‘I admire [La Vallière's] boldness in daring to appear before the Queen’, adding, ‘God forbid that I should be the King's mistress! Yet if I were, I should be quite ashamed in front of the Queen’. Maria Theresa cried. We believe that we can no better express to the public the most particular esteem in which we hold the person of our dear and beloved and most loyal Louise de La Vallière than by conferring upon her

13857-488: The former Orléans household. She placed La Vallière and Montalais in the new Orléans household as filles d’honneur . La Vallière and her brother (who was embarking on a military career) had no money, but nobody was willing to lend to minors . They petitioned a judge who instructed their mother and stepfather to borrow money for them. La Vallière joined the Orléans household in the Tuileries Palace after

14006-400: The highest titles of honour which a most singular affection, aroused in our hearts by an abundance of rare perfections, has for some years inspired in us in her favour. [...] The affection we have for [La Vallière] and justice not allowing us [...] to deny to nature any longer the effects of our tenderness for Marie-Anne, our natural daughter, in the person of her mother we have provided her with

14155-430: The house and received guests in bed. She suffered from headaches and sometimes lost her sight. Colbert arranged for the child to be raised by his servants, Guy Focart Beauchamp and Clémence Pré (a married couple), who were told that it was an illegitimate child of Colbert's brother. On 19 December 1663, at around three in the morning, La Vallière gave birth to a son. At six, the physician, Dr Boucher (who also delivered

14304-538: The land of Vaujours, situated in Touraine , and the barony of Saint-Christophe in Anjou . Louis XIV, In Guise , La Vallière did not attend the Queen's coucher, probably sensing the hostility that surrounded her. On 22 June, the Queen reached the camp at Avesnes . When the approach of the King was announced, La Vallière commanded her carriage to cut the path through the fields at full speed. Upon reaching

14453-463: The latter, Turenne maneuvered past Condé and planted himself in front of the mercenaries, and their leader, not wishing to expend his men against the old French regiments, consented to depart with a money payment and the promise of two tiny Lorraine fortresses. A few more manœuvers, and the royal army was able to hem in the Frondeurs in the Faubourg St. Antoine (2 July 1652) with their backs to

14602-553: The leaders of the parlement, whereupon Paris broke into insurrection and barricaded the streets. The noble faction demanded the calling of an assembly of the Estates General , which had last been convoked in 1615. The nobles believed that in the Estates-General, they could continue to control the bourgeois element, as they had in the past. The royal faction, having no army at its immediate disposal, had to release

14751-457: The midst of the Franco-Spanish War , which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the noble regional court assemblies ( parlements ), as well as much of the French population, and managed to subdue them all. The dispute started when the government of France issued seven fiscal edicts, six of which were to increase taxation. The parlements resisted, questioned

14900-414: The musketeers are valiant and just in their efforts to save the doomed Charles I. The action begins during the regency of Queen Anne of Austria (term 1643–1651), with Cardinal Mazarin as First Minister. D'Artagnan , who seemed to have a promising career ahead of him at the end of The Three Musketeers , has for twenty years remained a lieutenant, and seems unlikely to progress despite his ambition and

15049-427: The nation’ and urged him to ‘correct himself’, claiming to be ‘speaking from God’. The King ridiculed him by touching his forehead and saying, ‘I have always suspected that you have some injury there’ (the exact words have been recorded differently in primary sources ). The Duke retired from public life. Many courtiers were offended by the King's open adultery, but the common people were singing about it and considered

15198-422: The night of 24/25 August the lines of circumvallation drawn round that place by the prince were brilliantly stormed by Turenne's army and Condé won equal credit for his safe withdrawal of the besieging corps under cover of a series of bold cavalry charges led by himself as usual, sword in hand. In 1655, Turenne captured the fortresses of Landrecies , Condé and St Ghislain . In 1656 the prince of Condé avenged

15347-483: The nobility of actual power was a result of those events in his childhood. The term frondeur was later used to refer to anyone who suggested that the power of the king should be limited and has now passed into conservative French usage to refer to anyone who shows insubordination or engages in criticism of the powers in place. In May 1648 a tax levied on judicial officers of the Parlement of Paris provoked not merely

15496-673: The noble party submitted to the government and received concessions. From then on the Fronde became a story of intrigues, half-hearted warfare in a scramble for power and control of patronage, losing all trace of its first constitutional phase. The leaders were discontented princes and nobles: Gaston, Duke of Orleans (the king's uncle); the great Louis II, Prince de Condé and his brother Armand, Prince of Conti ; Frédéric, Duke of Bouillon , and his brother Henri, Viscount of Turenne . To those must be added Gaston's daughter, Mademoiselle de Montpensier ( La grande Mademoiselle ) ; Condé's sister, Madame de Longueville ; Madame de Chevreuse ; and

15645-470: The place, fell back hurriedly. But he was a terrible opponent, and Plessis-Praslin and Mazarin himself, who accompanied the army, had many misgivings as to the result of a lost battle. The marshal chose nevertheless to force Turenne to a decision, and the Battle of Blanc-Champ (near Sommepy-Tahure ) or Rethel was the consequence. Both sides were at a standstill in strong positions, Plessis-Praslin doubtful of

15794-516: The ploy was Henrietta's idea to deceive the Queen Mother . Olympia Mancini, Countess of Soissons , assisted them. Henrietta may have chosen the decoys herself, including La Vallière and Bonne de Pons d’Heudicourt . The King fell in love with La Vallière. She reciprocated his feelings and probably believed them to have been sincere from the beginning. They exchanged letters through Jacques-Louis de Beringhen  [ fr ; de ] ,

15943-506: The policies of his predecessor, Cardinal Richelieu (in office 1624–1642), who had taken power for the crown from great territorial nobles, some of whom became leaders of the Fronde. When Louis XIV became king in 1643, he was only a child, so France was ruled by Anne of Austria and though Richelieu had died the year before, his policies continued to dominate French life under his successor Cardinal Mazarin. Most historians consider that Louis's later insistence on absolutist rule and depriving

16092-438: The popular books of the age and took painting and sculpture classes at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture . She was interested in philosophy, reading and discussing Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle and Discourse on Method by René Descartes . Queen Anne died on 20 January 1666, relieving Louis of the only person who could control him. He no longer saw a reason to act against his wishes in his personal life. On

16241-415: The position herself, is unknown. A contemporary observer noted that La Vallière had ‘never shown any pride’ when receiving the monarch's visits. The King lived with her openly, going on walks, hunts, and carriage rides in public. On 8 December 1664, Armand-Charles de La Porte, Duke of La Meilleraye , husband of Hortense Mancini and an extremely jealous person, publicly rebuked the King for ‘scandalising

16390-403: The prerogatives accorded to offices in the legal patchwork of local interests and provincial identities that was France. The Fronde in the end provided an incentive for the establishment of royalist absolutism , since the disorders eventually discredited the feudal concept of liberty. The pressure that saw the traditional liberties under threat came in the form of extended and increased taxes as

16539-431: The prince asked and obtained at Aix-en-Provence the forgiveness of Louis XIV. The later careers of Turenne and Condé were as obedient subjects of their sovereign. Louise de La Valli%C3%A8re Françoise-Louise de La Baume Le Blanc, Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours (6 August 1644 – 6 June 1710) was a French noblewoman and the mistress of King Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667. La Vallière joined

16688-634: The prisoners and to promise reforms; on the night of 22 October, it fled from Paris. However France's signing of the Peace of Westphalia (Treaty of Münster, 24 October 1648) allowed the French army to return from the frontiers, and by January 1649, Condé had put Paris under siege. The two warring parties signed the Peace of Rueil (11 March 1649) after little blood had been shed. The Parisians, though still and always anti-cardinalist, had refused to ask for Spanish aid, as proposed by their princely and noble adherents under Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti , and having no prospect of military success without such aid,

16837-482: The realm. Mazarin, feeling that public opinion was solidly against him, left France again, and the bourgeois of Paris, quarreling with the princes, permitted the king to enter the city on 21 October 1652. Mazarin returned unopposed in February 1653. The Fronde as a civil war was now over. Tired of the turmoil and disgusted with the princes, the country came to look to the king and his party as representing order. Thus,

16986-572: The reason Athos's ward, Raoul de Bragelonne whom he adopted after he was abandoned by his mother, bears such a resemblance to him is because he is Athos's natural son. Athos further states that "It was not me who killed him. It was fate." Once back in France, the four friends go separate ways. D'Artagnan and Porthos head to Paris through a different route from Athos and Aramis, knowing that Mazarin will not forgive their disobedience. Aramis and Athos reach Paris only to find out that their friends have not. After looking for D'Artagnan and Porthos, they learn

17135-498: The rebellion had everywhere collapsed. Then followed a few months of hollow peace and the court returned to Paris. Mazarin, an object of hatred to all the princes, had already retired into exile. His absence left the field free for mutual jealousies, and for the remainder of the year anarchy reigned in France. In December 1651, Cardinal Mazarin returned to France with a small army. The war began again, and this time, Turenne and Condé were pitted against each other. After that campaign,

17284-462: The rebellion in the south forcing the royal general to retire. Then Archduke Leopold Wilhelm decided that he had spent enough of King Philip IV of Spain 's money and men in the French quarrel. His regular army withdrew into winter quarters, and left Turenne to deliver the princes with a motley host of Frondeurs and Lorrainers. Plessis-Praslin by force and bribery secured the surrender of Rethel on 13 December 1650 and Turenne, who had advanced to relieve

17433-518: The room, and said in Spanish, ‘this maiden [...] is the one the King wants’. In summer 1663, La Vallière became pregnant. In late August, the King left on a military campaign , and his chief minister , Jean-Baptiste Colbert , transmitted letters between the couple. When Louis returned in October, La Vallière left Madame's service and the King bought her the small Palais Brion near the Palais-Royal . Anxious to hide her condition, she never left

17582-481: The royal household to escape from Paris anyway, bluffing his way past Planchet at the gates (the two men retain their friendship despite their differing allegiances in this conflict). Cardinal Mazarin sends d'Artagnan and Porthos to England with a message for Oliver Cromwell , the leader of the British Parliament's army fighting King Charles I's, and orders them to stay there under Cromwell's command. At

17731-411: The royal table. Maria Theresa remained angry with her; neither of them were aware that she had already been supplanted. Montespan and La Vallière were still friends. Many of La Valliére's early biographers, such as Charles Dreyss or Pierre Clément judged La Vallière harshly for this episode, describing her behaviour as ‘foolish haughtiness and cruel vanity ’. She was openly mocked by the ladies of

17880-565: The same time, Queen Henrietta of England meets the Musketeers' old English friend, Lord de Winter - a Royalist come to ask for French assistance for King Charles I of England, her husband, in the English Civil War and sends Athos and Aramis to England as well. So once again the two pairs of Musketeers find themselves on opposite sides. Departing for England, Mordaunt, who has been following Lord de Winter, sees him with Athos and Aramis and learns that they were participants of his mother's makeshift trial and execution twenty years ago. King Charles I

18029-413: The sovereign, La Vallière threw herself at his feet, but he received her coldly. He only paid her a formal visit to satisfy customs. She did not attend the cercle (royal reception) at night, probably to avoid rebukes By this time, Montespan was certainly Louis’ lover, but he insisted on following etiquette : as a duchess, La Vallière attended mass with the Queen, travelled in her carriage, and dined at

18178-564: The stubborn fierceness of their assaults. Dunkirk fell and was handed over to the English Protectorate , as promised, flying the St George's Cross until Charles II sold it to Louis XIV in 1662. One last half-hearted campaign followed in 1659—the twenty-fifth year of a conflict between France and Spain which had begun during the Thirty Years' War —then the peace of the Pyrenees was signed on 5 November. On 27 January 1660

18327-563: The style of Réflexions differs from that of Bossuet's own work and contains a woman's autobiographical notes. In 1928, Marcel Langlois , a literary critic claimed that La Vallière could not have written the book as its ‘rationalist tone’ cannot belong to a woman. He argued that no women of La Vallière's time had the knowledge of philosophy and theology demonstrated in the book, or read the Bible in Latin as its author had. However, La Vallière

18476-649: The suffering and think of God. Courtiers remained under the impression of Madame's sudden death and her repentance for a long time. In early spring 1671, La Vallière fled to the Visitation convent of the Filles de Sainte-Marie (‘Daughters of the Virgin Mary ’) in Chaillot . She took with her none of her belongings and only left a letter to the King. Whereas he had personally pursued La Vallière in 1662, this time Louis continued his planned activities; however, he

18625-661: The time of the festivities at Villers-Cotterêts. Courtiers now sought to be close to her. When they returned to Vincennes , the King took his mistress to the Queen Mother's salon to play cards with Monsieur and Madame. Neither queen was present, but hearing of the episode enraged them. Petitfils argues that the King made the decision to declare La Vallière maîtresse-en-titre (official royal mistress) out of love, despite his desire to avoid offending either public morals or his wife and mother. Seeing La Vallière's isolation, he wanted to legtimate her position as far as possible. Whether La Vallière asked him to do so, or whether she wanted

18774-542: The trustworthiness of his cavalry, but Turenne was too weak to attack, when a dispute for precedence arose between the French Guards Regiment and the Picardie regiment. The royal infantry had to be rearranged in order of regimental seniority, and Turenne, seeing and desiring to profit by the attendant disorder, came out of his stronghold and attacked with the greatest vigour. The battle (15 December 1650)

18923-489: The two arrange to meet again in Paris. Athos wishes to bring Raoul there to help him to become a gentleman, and also to separate him from Louise de la Vallière , a seven-years old girl living nearby, with whom Raoul is obsessively in love. In Paris, Athos visits Madame de Chevreuse , an influential court politician and a former mistress of Aramis, with whom, under the name Marie Michon, Aramis had much communication in The Three Musketeers . Athos reveals, discreetly, that Raoul

19072-411: The war. In a dispatch from 29 April 1666, a diplomat reported that La Vallière was ‘losing much of her beauty’, becoming ‘very thin’. ‘[A]lmost nobody’ visited her anymore. He found that she was behaving ‘arrogantly’ with courtiers and ‘boldly’ towards the King; public opinion held that she would soon be replaced for this. On 4 May, Louis and Madame de Montespan went on a carriage ride alone. On 13 May,

19221-426: The way to church. La Vallière told her that she was suffering from colic , and urged Dr Boucher to ensure that the birth was over by the end of mass. She masked the smell of blood with flowers to receive visitors. She was present at the medianoche (midnight meal) of the court. The Grande Mademoiselle claimed that even though she tried to keep her pregnancies and children hidden, courtiers were aware of them. By

19370-618: The wedding. On 19 April, they moved to the court in Fontainebleau . The King's attendants courted the maids-of-honour of Madame; La Vallière's suitor was Armand de Gramont, Count of Guiche . The King and Madame grew close. Louis’ wife Maria Theresa, his mother, Anne of Austria , and Monsieur all disapproved. Rumours spread that the King and his sister-in-law were in love. The King may have been advised to pretend to be in love with others, or they may have decided to do so together with Madame. Huertas and Petitfils suggest that

19519-692: The windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin. Jean François Paul de Gondi , Cardinal de Retz, attributes the usage to a witticism in Book II of his Memoirs : "Bachaumont once said, in jest, that the Parlement acted like the schoolboys in the Paris ditches, who fling stones [ frondent , that is, fling using slings], and run away when they see the constable, but meet again as soon as he turns his back." He goes on to state that emblems based on that nickname became quite popular and were placed on hats, fans and gloves and even were baked onto bread. The insurrection did not start with revolutionary goals but aimed to protect

19668-573: The ‘rest of her life’ to ensuring her own salvation . When hearing this, the King cried but sent Colbert to retrieve La Vallière, by force if necessary. Montespan opposed her potential return and quarrelled with the King. Colbert asked La Vallière to return so that the King ‘could speak to her further’. She agreed on the condition that Louis would permit her to enter a convent ‘if she persevered’. She had spent around twelve hours in Chaillot. Montespan ran to receive her with open arms and tearful eyes;

19817-490: Was Turenne, before and afterwards the most loyal soldier of his day, who headed the armed rebellion. Listening to the promptings of Madame de Longueville, he resolved to rescue her brothers, particularly Condé, his old comrade in the battles of Freiburg and Nördlingen . Turenne hoped to do that with Spanish assistance; a powerful Spanish army assembled in Artois under Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria , governor-general of

19966-441: Was authorised to use her mother's surname and soon afterwards given the courtesy title of Mademoiselle de Blois. The King lamented his mistake in committing adultery and promising that ‘he shall never return to it’ to his advisors and his wife. Legitimising the ‘natural’ children of French kings was regular practice, yet devout courtiers and those anxious for their privileges as ‘lawful’ descendants of aristocratic houses scorned

20115-425: Was conducting a sexual affair. In March 1662, Olympia Mancini, Countess of Soissons conspired with the Count of Guiche and François-René Crespin du Bec, Marquess of Vardes  [ fr ; de ] to replace La Vallière with someone she could control. They sent an anonymous letter to the Queen informing her of her husband's adultery and accusing La Vallière of trying to undermine her position. The message

20264-526: Was considered a grave sin by the church, and adulterous women could be imprisoned in a convent for life. Madame de Montespan had to be protected from the legal and personal attacks of her husband (who was known to be physically violent). Lair argues that La Vallière endured these humiliations to protect the interests of her son and because she had little income. Her son was acknowledged by the King in February 1669, created count of Vermandois , and made admiral of France , which ensured Louis’ personal control of

20413-417: Was described as ‘ innocent ’, ‘ submissive ’, ‘natural[ly] modest ’, ‘ sincere ’, even ‘ naïve ’, different from the women Louis had known, but fitting contemporary feminine ideals. She was not flirtatious and did not act out of self-interest , exhibiting an ‘absolute loyalty ’ to the King. She was described as tall, slim, and graceful despite her limp, with blue eyes, fine, silver- blond hair, and

20562-404: Was his refusal to serve Mazarin five years ago. When asked about reliable and resourceful men that Mazarin can employ, Rochefort tells Mazarin about the respect and awe d'Artagnan and his friends commanded in old times. Though Rochefort offers his services to Mazarin, he immediately refuses to watch over the imprisoned Duc de Beaufort, his personal friend. Mazarin orders the return of the prisoner to

20711-478: Was intercepted and given to the King, who exiled Guiche. In the summer of 1662, while he was in Saint-Germain-en-Laye , Soissons drew the King's attention to Anne-Lucie de La Mothe-Houdancourt. She was famous for her beauty and for not granting sexual favours to her admirers; the King pursued her for some time, but Soisson's attempt failed. In 1663, Louis gave a pension to La Vallière's brother,

20860-542: Was known in salons for her understanding of Aristotle and Descartes, and many women of her circles read religious texts in Latin, as Jean-Baptiste Ériau  [ fr ] defended. Her authorship has been asserted through textual analyses by Jean-Christian Petitfils and Monique de Huertas. After her conversion, a confessor wanted to allow her to take communion immediately, but she refused, finding herself ‘unworthy’. The second wife of Monsieur, Elizabeth Charlotte of

21009-495: Was no longer a member of the Orléans household. In June, Louis and his mother had an argument; the Queen Mother reminded her son of the ‘peril to his salvation ’. Crying, he told his mother that he was ‘sometimes’ ashamed but that his ‘passions had become stronger than his reason’ and he was no longer trying to end his affair. Louis moved La Vallière back to court. His relationship with his mother deteriorated, and they briefly stopped talking. In September, he took La Vallière to

21158-471: Was noted to have cried during a carriage ride. He sent Lauzun to persuade La Vallière to return, but he failed, as did Bernardin Gigault de Bellefonds , Marquis of Bellefonds, a good friend of La Vallière. To Bellefonds, La Vallière said that she ‘would have left the court sooner’ but she had felt unable to never see the King again. She added that her ‘weakness’ for Louis remained, but she wanted to dedicate

21307-400: Was painting La Vallière. Brienne complimented her appearance to him, which embarrassed her. Later, discovering Louis and La Vallière together, he understood the situation. Louis then questioned him about his feelings and asked for his painting of La Vallière; Brienne promised never to talk to her again. However, by the time this story supposedly happened, Brienne had probably already heard about

21456-484: Was permitted to stay. The King's affair became public when he did not take communion on Easter . His failure to participate in the Eucharist had already been noted, but when he did not receive the sacrament on Easter (which all Catholics were commanded to do), it caused a ‘scandal’. Since people who were ‘living in sin’, such as committing adultery , could not receive the Eucharist, courtiers became aware that Louis

21605-406: Was raised in the Tuileries by Colbert's wife, Marie Charron. The King visited him often and grew to love him. The child was ‘robust’, ‘promised much’, and resembled his father. He died of a cardiac arrest at the end of July 1666. Queen Maria Theresa, gravely ill at the time, asked her husband to arrange La Vallière's marriage; he agreed that she could wed if the queens found a match. Arranging

21754-407: Was released on DVD in 2016. The 1989 film The Return of the Musketeers is loosely based on Twenty Years After ; it was filmed 15 years after the films The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974), with the same director and main cast. The 1992 Russian musical film Musketeers Twenty Years After is a direct adaptation of Twenty Years After ; it was filmed 14 years after

21903-463: Was replaced as mistress by Madame de Montespan , but created a suo jure duchess and invested with lands. After an illness in 1670, La Vallière turned to religion, and wrote a popular devotional book . In 1674, she entered a Carmelite convent in Paris where she died in 1710. Françoise -Louise de La Baume Le Blanc  [ fr ] , Mademoiselle de La Vallière was born on 6 August 1644 at

22052-450: Was severe and for a time doubtful, but Turenne's Frondeurs gave way in the end, and his army, as an army, ceased to exist. Turenne himself, undeceived as to the part he was playing in the drama, asked and received the young king's pardon, and meantime the court, with the maison du roi and other loyal troops, had subdued the minor risings without difficulty (March–April 1651). Condé, Conti, and Longueville were released, and by April 1651

22201-510: Was well-trained in the necessary skills for a career at court (such as dancing and horse riding). King Louis XIV was an important topic of conversation among the girls due to plans that the eldest Orléans princess would marry him. In August 1659, the King visited Blois; this was the first time La Vallière saw him. Around the same time, Jacques de Bragenlonge, son of the Duke's intendant, fell in love with her. Their letters were discovered by her mother, who forbade her from writing to him. She had

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