Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin
Encyclopedia
Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin (1640 – 1 December 1691), marquis of Montespan, was a French nobleman. He is most notable as the husband of Louis XIV's mistress Madame de Montespan.
However, for Madamoiselle de Mortemart, an alliance with a quite obscure noble family from south-western France was not enough and her husband (always short of money) was always away on his judicial duties. She thus became the mistress of Louis XIV
in 1667. When her husband found out, instead of accepting it as was usual to cuckolded husbands of the era (especially when it was the king doing the cuckolding), he raised a scandal at court, challenged the king one day at Saint-Germain-en-Laye
and decorated his carriage with antler
s (like horns, these were traditional symbols of the cuckolded husband). He was promptly imprisoned in the For-l'Évêque
, then exiled to his lands. This did not stop his agitation, and he not only came to Paris nearly every year between 1670 and 1686 but also commanded an annual requiem mass to be sung for his wife during her lifetime.
Life
He was the son of Roger Hector de Pardaillan de Gondrin, marquis of Antin, and of Marie-Christine Zamet. In February 1663 he married Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart. They had two children :- Marie-Christine de Pardaillan de Gondrin (1663–1675),
- Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de GondrinLouis Antoine de Pardaillan de GondrinLouis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin , marquis of Antin, Gondrin and Montespan , then 1st Duke of Antin was a French nobleman...
(1665–1736), the future duke of Antin.
However, for Madamoiselle de Mortemart, an alliance with a quite obscure noble family from south-western France was not enough and her husband (always short of money) was always away on his judicial duties. She thus became the mistress of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
in 1667. When her husband found out, instead of accepting it as was usual to cuckolded husbands of the era (especially when it was the king doing the cuckolding), he raised a scandal at court, challenged the king one day at Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
and decorated his carriage with antler
Antler
Antlers are the usually large, branching bony appendages on the heads of most deer species.-Etymology:Antler originally meant the lowest tine, the "brow tine"...
s (like horns, these were traditional symbols of the cuckolded husband). He was promptly imprisoned in the For-l'Évêque
For-l'Évêque
The For-l’Évêque was a prison in Paris. It was in operation from 1674 until 1780, and demolished at the start of the 19th century.-History:- Sources :* Jules Édouard Alboise du Pujol, Auguste Maquet, Les Prisons de l’Europe, t...
, then exiled to his lands. This did not stop his agitation, and he not only came to Paris nearly every year between 1670 and 1686 but also commanded an annual requiem mass to be sung for his wife during her lifetime.