Charlotte de Sauve
Encyclopedia
Charlotte de Beaune Semblançay, Viscountess of Tours, Baroness de Sauve, Marquise de Noirmoutier (c. 1551 – 30 September 1617) was a French noblewoman and a mistress of King Henry of Navarre, who later ruled as King Henry IV of France
. She was a member of Queen Mother
Catherine de' Medici
's notorious Flying Squadron (Escadron Volant in French), a group of beautiful female spies and informants recruited to seduce important men at Court, and thereby extract information to pass on to the Queen Mother.
was in the former province of Touraine
. Her great-grandfather, Jacques de Beaune was a superindendent of finance to King Francis I
who ordered his execution in 1527 at the instigation of his mother, Louise of Savoy
. Charlotte later succeeded her father to the barony of Semblançay and the viscounty of Tours.
Charlotte was sent to court where she was educated in the household of Catherine de' Medici. Described as having been "beautiful, intelligent, and immoral", she was married to Simon de Fizes, Baron de Sauve
, secretary of state first to King Charles IX
and afterwards King Henry III
, in 1569 when she was eighteen years old. In the words of historian Jean Heritier, her background meant that "at twenty-one, she knew all there was to be known about politics".
She was appointed maid-of-honour to Marguerite de Valois
. She is recorded as taking part in some of the pageants and ballets which Catherine de' Medici produced. She helped Catherine mount a lavish show depicting the Apotheosis of Woman on 9 June 1577 at the château of Chenonceau
. On 27 November 1579 her husband died. Charlotte married secondly on 18 October 1584, Francois de La Tremoille
, Marquis de Noirmoutier, by whom she had a son, Louis de La Tremoille, in 1586. In 1608, Louis would succeed his father as Marquis de Noirmoutier. On 13 March 1610, he married Lucrèce Bouhier, by whom he had a son, Louis de La Tremoille, 1st Duke of Noirmoutier (25 December 1612- 12 October 1666). A notable descendant of Charlotte was Marie-Anne de la Trémoille, Princesse des Ursins
.
, in 1572, Catherine recruited Charlotte to her squadron, her purpose being that Charlotte was to seduce Navarre, become his confidante as well as mistress, and thus extract information which she would duly pass on to Catherine. The squadron had a male counterpart in "Les Mignons
". Charlotte quickly became Navarre's mistress and exerted a strong influence over him. His wife Marguerite recorded in her memoirs: "Mme de Sauve so completely ensnared my husband that we no longer slept together, not even conversed". She accused de Sauve ("that Circe") of persuading Henry that she was jealous of de Sauve, with the result that Henry, whose affairs Marguerite had allowed, stopped confiding in her.
Charlotte de Sauve has been credited as a source of the information that led to the execution of Marguerite de Valois's lover Joseph Boniface de La Môle
and Annibal de Coconnas for conspiracy in 1574. In 1575, Catherine de' Medici, abetted by her son Henry III
, instructed Charlotte to seduce the king's brother, her youngest son, François, Duke of Alençon
, with the aim of provoking hostility between the two young men, so that they would not conspire together in the future. Charlotte subsequently became the duke's mistress, creating a rift between the former close friends, as Navarre and Alençon became rivals over Charlotte. According to Marguerite's memoirs: "Charlotte de Sauve treated both of them [Navarre and Alençon] in such a way that they became extremely jealous of each other, to such a point that they forgot their ambitions, their duties and their plans and thought of nothing but chasing after this woman". Henry of Navarre wrote to a friend: "The court is the strangest I have ever known. We are nearly always ready to cut each other's throat ... All the band you know wants my death on account of my love for Monsieur [Alençon] and they have forbidden for the third time my mistress [Charlotte de Sauve] to speak to me. They have such a hold on her that she does not dare look at me. I am waiting for a minor battle, for they say they will kill me, and I want to be one jump ahead of them". On one occasion, Henry III had Alençon's papers searched for evidence of political plotting but turned up only a declaration of love from Madame de Sauve.
Charlotte de Sauve later became the mistress of Henry I, Duke of Guise
, with whom she spent the evening at Blois
on 22/23 December 1588, before his assassination by King Henry III of France the following morning. She had other lovers, including the Duc d'Épernon and the Seigneur d'Avrilly.
Charlotte de Sauve died on 30 September 1617 at about sixty-six years of age.
in the 1994 film La Reine Margot
starring Isabelle Adjani
in the title role. In the film the character dies while unknowingly trying to poison Henry of Navarre.
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
. She was a member of Queen Mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
's notorious Flying Squadron (Escadron Volant in French), a group of beautiful female spies and informants recruited to seduce important men at Court, and thereby extract information to pass on to the Queen Mother.
Biography
Charlotte was born in France on an unknown date in about 1551, the daughter and only child of Jacques de Beaune, Baron Semblançay, Viscount of Tours, and Gabrielle de Sade. The family seatFamily seat
A seat or family seat is the principal residence of a family. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families took their dynasty name from their family seat , or named their family seat after their own dynasty...
was in the former province of Touraine
Touraine
The Touraine is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, the Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher and Indre.-Geography:...
. Her great-grandfather, Jacques de Beaune was a superindendent of finance to King Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
who ordered his execution in 1527 at the instigation of his mother, Louise of Savoy
Louise of Savoy
Louise of Savoy was a French noble, Duchess regnant of Auvergne and Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours, the mother of King Francis I of France...
. Charlotte later succeeded her father to the barony of Semblançay and the viscounty of Tours.
Charlotte was sent to court where she was educated in the household of Catherine de' Medici. Described as having been "beautiful, intelligent, and immoral", she was married to Simon de Fizes, Baron de Sauve
Simon Fizes, baron de Sauves
Simon Fizes, baron de Sauves was a Secretary of State under Charles IX of France, and Henry III of France.-Life:Originally from the region of Pézenas, he was the son of peasants taught by the church clerk , Jean de Rocoles; he became secretary to the Keeper, Jean Bertrand.In 1553, he became a...
, secretary of state first to King Charles IX
Charles IX of France
Charles IX was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. His reign was dominated by the Wars of Religion. He is best known as king at the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Childhood:...
and afterwards King Henry III
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
, in 1569 when she was eighteen years old. In the words of historian Jean Heritier, her background meant that "at twenty-one, she knew all there was to be known about politics".
She was appointed maid-of-honour to Marguerite de Valois
Marguerite de Valois
Margaret of Valois was Queen of France and of Navarre during the late sixteenth century...
. She is recorded as taking part in some of the pageants and ballets which Catherine de' Medici produced. She helped Catherine mount a lavish show depicting the Apotheosis of Woman on 9 June 1577 at the château of Chenonceau
Château de Chenonceau
The Château de Chenonceau is a manor house near the small village of Chenonceaux, in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. It was built on the site of an old mill on the River Cher, sometime before its first mention in writing in the 11th century...
. On 27 November 1579 her husband died. Charlotte married secondly on 18 October 1584, Francois de La Tremoille
La Trémoille
Members of the House of La Trémoille, were part of an old French family which derives its name from a village in the department of Vienne....
, Marquis de Noirmoutier, by whom she had a son, Louis de La Tremoille, in 1586. In 1608, Louis would succeed his father as Marquis de Noirmoutier. On 13 March 1610, he married Lucrèce Bouhier, by whom he had a son, Louis de La Tremoille, 1st Duke of Noirmoutier (25 December 1612- 12 October 1666). A notable descendant of Charlotte was Marie-Anne de la Trémoille, Princesse des Ursins
Marie-Anne de la Trémoille, princesse des Ursins
Marie Anne de La Trémoille, princesse des Ursins , lady of the Spanish court, was the daughter of the duc de Noirmoutier and his wife Renée Julie Aubri...
.
Flying squadron
Shortly after Henry of Navarre's marriage to Catherine's daughter Marguerite de ValoisMarguerite de Valois
Margaret of Valois was Queen of France and of Navarre during the late sixteenth century...
, in 1572, Catherine recruited Charlotte to her squadron, her purpose being that Charlotte was to seduce Navarre, become his confidante as well as mistress, and thus extract information which she would duly pass on to Catherine. The squadron had a male counterpart in "Les Mignons
Les Mignons
Les Mignons was a term used by polemicists in the toxic atmosphere of the French Wars of Religion and taken up by the people of Paris, to designate the favourites of Henry III of France, from his return from Poland to reign in France in 1574, to his assassination in 1589, a disastrous end to which...
". Charlotte quickly became Navarre's mistress and exerted a strong influence over him. His wife Marguerite recorded in her memoirs: "Mme de Sauve so completely ensnared my husband that we no longer slept together, not even conversed". She accused de Sauve ("that Circe") of persuading Henry that she was jealous of de Sauve, with the result that Henry, whose affairs Marguerite had allowed, stopped confiding in her.
Charlotte de Sauve has been credited as a source of the information that led to the execution of Marguerite de Valois's lover Joseph Boniface de La Môle
Joseph Boniface de La Môle
Joseph Boniface de La Môle was a French nobleman. He was the son of Jacques Boniface, seigneur de la Môle et de Colobrières, of Marseille....
and Annibal de Coconnas for conspiracy in 1574. In 1575, Catherine de' Medici, abetted by her son Henry III
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
, instructed Charlotte to seduce the king's brother, her youngest son, François, Duke of Alençon
François, Duke of Anjou
Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alençon was the youngest son of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici.-Early years:...
, with the aim of provoking hostility between the two young men, so that they would not conspire together in the future. Charlotte subsequently became the duke's mistress, creating a rift between the former close friends, as Navarre and Alençon became rivals over Charlotte. According to Marguerite's memoirs: "Charlotte de Sauve treated both of them [Navarre and Alençon] in such a way that they became extremely jealous of each other, to such a point that they forgot their ambitions, their duties and their plans and thought of nothing but chasing after this woman". Henry of Navarre wrote to a friend: "The court is the strangest I have ever known. We are nearly always ready to cut each other's throat ... All the band you know wants my death on account of my love for Monsieur [Alençon] and they have forbidden for the third time my mistress [Charlotte de Sauve] to speak to me. They have such a hold on her that she does not dare look at me. I am waiting for a minor battle, for they say they will kill me, and I want to be one jump ahead of them". On one occasion, Henry III had Alençon's papers searched for evidence of political plotting but turned up only a declaration of love from Madame de Sauve.
Charlotte de Sauve later became the mistress of Henry I, Duke of Guise
Henry I, Duke of Guise
Henry I, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Count of Eu , sometimes called Le Balafré, "the scarred", was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Guise, and Anna d'Este...
, with whom she spent the evening at Blois
Blois
Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...
on 22/23 December 1588, before his assassination by King Henry III of France the following morning. She had other lovers, including the Duc d'Épernon and the Seigneur d'Avrilly.
Charlotte de Sauve died on 30 September 1617 at about sixty-six years of age.
In film
The role of Charlotte de Sauve was played by Italian actress Asia ArgentoAsia Argento
Aria Asia Anna Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento is an Italian actress, singer, model and director.-Family and early life:...
in the 1994 film La Reine Margot
La Reine Margot (1994 film)
La Reine Margot is a 1994 French period film directed by Patrice Chéreau, based on the 1845 historical novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas, père. It stars Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Virna Lisi and Vincent Pérez...
starring Isabelle Adjani
Isabelle Adjani
Isabelle Yasmine Adjani is a French film actress and singer. Adjani has appeared in 30 films since 1970. She holds the record for most César Awards for Best Actress with five, for Possession , One Deadly Summer , Camille Claudel , Queen Margot and Skirt Day...
in the title role. In the film the character dies while unknowingly trying to poison Henry of Navarre.