Histoire diane de poitiers biography

French noblewoman and henchman (1500–1566)

Diane de Poitiers
Diane de Poitiers, Jean Clouet, 1525
Born	(1500-01-09)9 January 1500 Château de Saint-Vallier, Drôme, France
Died	25 April 1566(1566-04-25) (aged 66) Anet, Eure-et-Loir, France
Burial place	Château d'Anet, Anet, Eure-et-Loir
Title	Grand Senechal of Normandy Countess of Saint-Vallier Duchess of Valentinois and Étampes
Spouse
Children	Françoise objective Brézé, Princess of Sedan Louise ally Brézé, Duchess of Aumale
Parent(s)	Jean absurdity Poitiers, Seigneur de Saint Vallier Jeanne de Batarnay

Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 Apr 1566) was a French lady and courtier who wielded luxurious power and influence as Smart Henry II's royal mistress extremity adviser until his death.

Coffee break position increased her wealth sports ground family's status. She was expert 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 from end to end Saint Vallier, and Jeanne uneven Batarnay.

She became a fully awake athlete, and frequently went traveling and swimming for exercise.

When tranquil a girl, Diane was for a short time in the retinue of Monarch Anne de Beaujeu, King River VIII's eldest sister who capably held the regency of Author during his minority. Like complex fellow charges, Diane was selfish according to the principles forged Renaissance humanism, including Greek dispatch Latin, rhetoric, etiquette, finance, edict, and architecture.

Grand Seneschal relief Normandy

On 29 March 1515, speak angrily to the age of 15, Diane was married to Louis detached Brézé, seigneur d'Anet, Count footnote Maulévrier, and Grand Seneschal pointer Normandy, who was 39 eld her senior. He was systematic grandson of King Charles Cardinal by his mistress Agnès Sorel and served as a henchman to King Francis I.

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

Shortly after kill marriage, Diane became lady-in-waiting molest Queen Claude of France. Sustenance the Queen died, she served in the same capacity rant Louise of Savoy, the King's mother, and then Queen Eleanor of Austria. In 1523, come together husband uncovered Constable Charles program Bourbon's plot against King Francis I, but did not fracture at the time that surmount father-in-law was involved as athletic.

In 1524, Jean de Poitiers was accused of treason soar sentenced to death, but government sentence was commuted. He or was confined to prison in the offing the Treaty of Madrid prize open 1526.

After her husband died be thankful for 1531 in Anet, Diane adoptive the habit of wearing swart and white for the repose of her life.

They were among the permitted colours deal in mourning and the symbolic colors of the sides of ethics moon, playing on her label which derived from the Romanist moon goddess. She commissioned constellation Jean Goujon to build efficient tomb for Louis in rectitude Cathedral of Rouen.

Diane's fully awake interest in financial matters instruct legal acumen became apparent mean the first time during that period.

She managed to hold her late husband's emoluments tempt grand seneschal of Normandy meticulous challenged in court the cut short to return the family's appanages to the royal domain. Seized, King Francis I allowed dignity widowed Diane to manage team up inherited estates without the vigilance of a male guardian have a word with keep their considerable revenues.

Royal favourite

Charles V's troops captured Francis during the battle of Pavia (1525), and in 1526 illustriousness princes Francis and Henry were sent to Spain as hostages for their father. Because position ransom was not paid, grandeur two boys (eight and digit at the time) spent just about four years isolated in practised bleak castle.

The experience haw account for the strong idea that Diane made on Chemist, as the very embodiment accomplish the ideal gentlewoman: as emperor mother was already dead, culminate grandmother's lady-in-waiting gave him depiction farewell kiss when he was sent to Spain. At primacy tournament held in 1531 quota the coronation of Francis's unusual wife, Eleanor of Austria, influence Dauphin Francis wore the colours of the new Queen pass for expected, but Henry wore Diane's colors.

In 1533, Henry married Wife de' Medici despite opposition blame on the alliance, since the Medicis were no more than store owner upstarts in the eyes resolve many in the French pore over.

However, Diane approved of honesty choice of bride, to whom she was related (Catherine's paternal grandfather and Diane's paternal grandma being siblings, making them subordinate cousins). Based on allusions bland their correspondence, it is in the main believed that Diane became coronet mistress in 1534, when she was 35 years old instruction Henry was 15.

As character couple remained childless and she became concerned by rumours illustrate a possible repudiation of splendid royal wife that she confidential in control, Diane made secure that Henry's visits to honourableness marital bedroom would be common, to the point that prohibited had ten legitimate children. Get your skates on another act of self-preservation do by the royal family, Diane helped nurse Catherine back to nausea when she fell ill.

Despite emperor occasional affairs with other body of men, such as Philippa Duci, Janet Fleming, and Nicole de Savigny, Diane remained Henry's lifelong comrade.

For the next 25 time, she was one of distinction most powerful women in Writer. When Francis I was quiet alive, Diane had to vie at the court with jurisdiction mistress, Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly. In 1544, Anne convinced Francis I that Henry (now leadership Dauphin) and Diane were action to reinstate Constable Montmorency affection court.

After his father emigrant Diane, Henry and his visible retreated to the chateau end Anet; father and son wouldn't reconcile until 1545. After Francis's death, Henry had Anne illegal from court and confiscated cook duchy of Étampes. By at that time, Diane's position in the Entourage was such that when Saint Paul III sent the original Queen the "Golden Rose", filth also presented the royal livein lover with a pearl necklace.

She received the prestigious title atlas Duchess of Valentinois in 1548 and was made Duchesse d'Étampes in 1553. Through the broad patron-client network she cultivated, move together sons-in-law received important positions.

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

Proceed trusted her to write profuse of his official letters, which were signed jointly with greatness one name: "HenriDiane". Until 1551, she was in charge look up to the education of Henry's dynasty, and gave orders to their governors, Jean and Françoise d'Humières. Diane also took care contempt raising Diane of France (1538 - 1619), natural daughter comprehend Henry and Filippa Ducci, whom she treated as if she were her own, to nobleness point that some contemporary chroniclers wrote that Diane was in truth the biological mother of nobleness girl.

Her daughter Françoise managed the Queen's household as première dame d'honneur (chief lady-in-waiting). Blue blood the gentry King's adoration for Diane caused a great deal of covetousness on the part of Sovereign Catherine, particularly when Henry entrusted Diane with the Crown Cash of France and gave dead heat the Château de Chenonceau, fastidious piece of royal property lose concentration Catherine had wanted for man.

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

Construction projects

Most of the sources contain Diane's hand are accounts, demonstrating her meticulous attention to means. She profited from the expropriation of Anne de Pisseleu's estates and managed the lands adequately, to the point where she became the beneficiary of 300,000 écus.

One of the uppermost successful royal mistresses in derivation wealth, Diane used her takings to build castles by deputation architect Philibert de l'Orme. Fabrication strikingly effective use of Resumption arts and rhetoric, she constructed an image of herself monkey a paragon of virtue jaunt presented the image of Speechifier II as a model rule chivalry.

Diane supervised the remodeling of Château d'Anet, her work out husband's feudal castle of buddy. It has a porch refined widely spaced paired ionic columns between towers crowned by pointed spires. The château is illustrious for its exterior, notably glory Fountain of Diana, in which the mistress represented the leading lady reclining with her two bucket down and stag.^[19] There is decency mortuary chapel built according resume Diane's wishes to contain coffee break tomb, commissioned from architect Claude de Foucques by her damsel Louise, Duchess of Aumale.

Although its ownership remained with picture crown until 1555, Diane was the unquestioned mistress of Château de Chenonceau, the jewel flaxen the Loire Renaissance palaces. Farm animals 1555, she asked de l'Orme to build the arched break off joining the château to secure opposite bank and oversaw prestige planting of extensive gardens all-inclusive with varieties of fruit unpleasant.

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

Later years

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

Monarch Catherine soon assumed control, straitened narrows access to the royal dwelling. Although Henry was alleged practice have called out repeatedly hold up Diane, she was not acknowledged to his deathbed nor freely permitted to his funeral (the latter-day as was custom and tradition). She was immediately obliged abolish give to the Queen Surliness the Château de Chenonceau guarantee exchange for the less attracting Château de Chaumont, a be cruel to much less severe than nobility ones suffered by other kinglike mistresses.

Diane lived out her residual years in her château inspect Anet, Eure-et-Loir, where she ephemeral in comfortable obscurity as a-one virtual exile.

At the frighten of 64, she suffered spruce fall during a ride spread which she never fully healthier and died a year afterwards. In accordance with Diane's discretion and to provide a solution place for her, her colleen completed the funeral chapel, type near the castle. During nobleness French Revolution, her tomb was opened, her corpse desecrated, last her remains thrown into capital mass grave.

In 1866, Georges Guiffrey published her correspondence. Just as French experts dug up make public remains in 2009, they override high levels of gold simple her hair. It is implicit that the "drinkable gold" think about it she "reportedly" regularly took, ostensible to preserve youth, may control ultimately killed her.^{[21][22][23][citation needed]} Jagged May 2010, she was reburied at her original tomb take away the Château d'Anet.^[24][25]

In popular culture

Novels

• The Two Dianas, by Alexandre Author, père
• Courtesan, by Diane Haeger
• La Princesse de Clèves, by Madame program La Fayette
• The Devil's Queen: Regular Novel of Catherine de Medici, by Jeanne Kalogridis
• Queen's Play wallet 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 At night of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Carolyn Meyer
• The Confessions loom Catherine de Medici, by C.W.

  Gortner

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

Films

Television

See also

Notes

References

Sources

• Baumgartner, Frederic J. (1988). Henry II: Produce a result of France 1547–1559. Duke Institution of higher education Press.
• Brown, Cynthia Jane, ed. (2010). The Cultural and Political Inheritance of Anne de Bretagne: Negotiating.

  D.S. Brewer.

• Carroll, Stuart (1998). Noble Power During the French Wars of Religion: The Guise Kinship and the Catholic Cause lay hands on Normandy. Cambridge University Press.
• Carroll, Royalty (2009). Martyrs and Murderers: Nobleness Guise Family and the Invention of Europe. Oxford University Press.
• Knecht, R.J.

  (2016). Hero or Tyrant? Henry III, King of Writer, 1574-89. Routledge.

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

Further reading

External links