Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans
Encyclopedia
Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans (Marie Louise Adélaïde; 13 August 1698 – 10 February 1743) was the third daughter of Philippe d'Orléans
, and Françoise Marie de Bourbon, a legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France
and his mistress, Madame de Montespan
. She was Abbess of Chelles.
on 13 August 1698. After the marriage of her aunt Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, Louise Adélaïde was known at court as Mademoiselle de Chartres; she assumed the style of Mademoiselle d'Orléans in 1710 after her older sister Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans
married Charles, Duke of Berry.
Her siblings were:
Character
Very close to her sisters Marie Louise Élisabeth and Charlotte Aglaé, Louise Adélaïde was considered to have been the most beautiful of the Orléans daughters. Her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
, described her in the following manner:
Also according to her grandmother, Louise Adélaïde was very passionate about music and showed an interest in both theology
and the sciences. In particular, she was intrigued with the science of surgery
which was then going through an era of change and improvement.
On her entrance into a convent, Louis Racine
composed a verse about her:
Louise Adélaïde and her sister Charlotte Aglaé were both placed in the Abbey of Chelles from a young age. Their education was briefly interrupted as the two were called back for the wedding of their oldest sister Marie Louise Élisabeth (1710). Louise Adélaïde and Charlotte Aglaé held her train.
Initially, young Louise Adélaïde was considered as a possible bride for her cousin, Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Prince of Dombes
. He was the eldest son of her uncle, the Duke of Maine
and his wife, Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon. As the eldest son, he was the heir to his father's immense fortune. The young Louise Adélaïde, very pious by nature, though, refused his hand in marriage. The young prince then turned to her younger sister, Charlotte Aglaé, who also refused his hand. Both the Prince of Dombes and Louise Adélaïde eventually died unmarried.
Another possible candidate was James Francis Edward Stuart
.
By 1716 Louise Adélaïde had wanted to marry the Chevalier de Saint-Maixent; he was one of the King's pages, who had saved her from an accident during a hunt at the cost of an injury which nearly proved fatal. Louise Adélaïde tried as much as she could to try and get her parents permission to marry the young Chevalier but both refused outright; The Duchess of Orléans was horrified at the suggestion of such a mesalliance
and reportedly treated Louise Adélaïde so harshly due to the subject that it is what encouraged her taking of the veil.
It was on 31 March 1717 that she took the veil officially; the ceremony was held in front of her parents.
Abbesse de Chelles
As a result of the scandalous life led by her older sister, the Dowager Duchess of Berry
, Louise Adélaïde decided to become a nun. Her parents, as well as her paternal grandmother, were opposed to it, but she became a nun anyway. As a nun, she took the name of Sœur Sainte-Bathilde (Sister Saint Bathilde) in 1717. She held that name until the next year. While at Chelles, Louise Adélaïde showed a slight interest in Jansenism
.
During the Regency of Louis XV
, Louise Adélaïde was seen as the main "religious" figure in the country.
In 1719, she became the Abbess of Chelles
, a post she held until her death. She was also the Abbess of Val-de-Grâce
, a church built under the auspices of her maternal and paternal great-grandmother, Anne of Austria
, the wife of King Louis XIII
. In 1720, when Charlotte Aglaé had to leave France to meet her husband in Modena
; Charlotte Aglaé insisted on seeing her sister before she left. According to their grandmother, it was a sad scene.
While at Chelles Louise Adélaïde greatly embellished the Abbey; she ordered the repaving of the cloister
s; the restoration of the Chapter Room
; had an infirmary constructed and even had a system where drinkable water could be accessed by the Abbey members as well as the town. Louise Adélaïde also allowed the Sisters of the Abbey of Nevers
to build a house in the town in order to help educate the local girls.
She was known as Madame d'Orléans while at Chelles from 1719 till 1734. She died at the age of forty-four from smallpox
at the Convent
de la Madeleine de Traisnel in Paris.
|-
! style="background:#ccccff;"|Titles and Succession
|-
|
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
, and Françoise Marie de Bourbon, a legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France
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...
and his mistress, Madame de Montespan
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise of Montespan , better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children....
. She was Abbess of Chelles.
Biography
Marie Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans was born at the Palace of VersaillesPalace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
on 13 August 1698. After the marriage of her aunt Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, Louise Adélaïde was known at court as Mademoiselle de Chartres; she assumed the style of Mademoiselle d'Orléans in 1710 after her older sister Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orléans
Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, Duchess of Berry , was a member of the House of Orléans who married Charles, Duke of Berry.-Biography:...
married Charles, Duke of Berry.
Her siblings were:
- Mademoiselle de Valois (17 December 1693 – 17 October 1694)
- Marie Louise Élisabeth d'OrléansMarie Louise Elisabeth d'OrléansMarie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, Duchess of Berry , was a member of the House of Orléans who married Charles, Duke of Berry.-Biography:...
, Duchess of Berry (20 August 1695 – 21 July 1719) - Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans, Duchess of Modena and Reggio (20 October 1700 – 19 January 1761
- Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Chartres, later Duke of Orléans (4 August 1703 – 4 February 1752).
- Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, Queen of Spain (11 December 1709 – 16 June 1742)
- Philippine Élisabeth d'Orléans, Mademoiselle de Beaujolais (18 December 1714 – 21 May 1734)
- Louise Diane d'OrléansLouise Diane d'OrléansLouise d'Orléans was the sixth daughter and last child of Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans and his wife, Françoise Marie de Bourbon, the youngest legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress, Madame de Montespan...
, Princess of Conti (27 June 1716 – 26 September 1736).
Character
Very close to her sisters Marie Louise Élisabeth and Charlotte Aglaé, Louise Adélaïde was considered to have been the most beautiful of the Orléans daughters. Her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine was a German princess and the wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Her vast correspondence provides a detailed account of the personalities and activities at the court of her brother-in-law, Louis XIV...
, described her in the following manner:
...[She is] well made, and is the handsomest of my granddaughters. She has a fine skin, a superb complexion, very white teeth, good eyes, and a faultless shape. Her hands are extremely delicate, the red and white are beautifully and naturally mingled in her skin. I never saw finer teeth; they are like a row of pearls.
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and the sciences. In particular, she was intrigued with the science of surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
which was then going through an era of change and improvement.
On her entrance into a convent, Louis Racine
Louis Racine
Louis Racine was a French poet.The second son of the dramatist Jean Racine, he was born in Paris. Interested in poetry from childhood, he had been dissuaded from trying to make it his career by Boileau on the grounds that the gift never existed in two successive generations...
composed a verse about her:
- Plaisir, beauté, jeunesse, honneurs, gloire, puissance,
- Ambitieux espoir que permet la naissance,
- Tout au pied de l'Agneau fut par elle immolé.
Louise Adélaïde and her sister Charlotte Aglaé were both placed in the Abbey of Chelles from a young age. Their education was briefly interrupted as the two were called back for the wedding of their oldest sister Marie Louise Élisabeth (1710). Louise Adélaïde and Charlotte Aglaé held her train.
Initially, young Louise Adélaïde was considered as a possible bride for her cousin, Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Prince of Dombes
Louis-Auguste, Prince of Dombes
Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Prince of Dombes was a grandson of Louis XIV of France and of his maîtresse-en-titre Françoise-Athénaïs de Montespan...
. He was the eldest son of her uncle, the Duke of Maine
Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine
Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Legitimé de France was the eldest legitimised son of the Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan...
and his wife, Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon. As the eldest son, he was the heir to his father's immense fortune. The young Louise Adélaïde, very pious by nature, though, refused his hand in marriage. The young prince then turned to her younger sister, Charlotte Aglaé, who also refused his hand. Both the Prince of Dombes and Louise Adélaïde eventually died unmarried.
Another possible candidate was James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
.
By 1716 Louise Adélaïde had wanted to marry the Chevalier de Saint-Maixent; he was one of the King's pages, who had saved her from an accident during a hunt at the cost of an injury which nearly proved fatal. Louise Adélaïde tried as much as she could to try and get her parents permission to marry the young Chevalier but both refused outright; The Duchess of Orléans was horrified at the suggestion of such a mesalliance
Mesalliance
A mesalliance is a marriage with a person of inferior social position....
and reportedly treated Louise Adélaïde so harshly due to the subject that it is what encouraged her taking of the veil.
It was on 31 March 1717 that she took the veil officially; the ceremony was held in front of her parents.
Abbesse de Chelles
As a result of the scandalous life led by her older sister, the Dowager Duchess of Berry
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orléans
Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, Duchess of Berry , was a member of the House of Orléans who married Charles, Duke of Berry.-Biography:...
, Louise Adélaïde decided to become a nun. Her parents, as well as her paternal grandmother, were opposed to it, but she became a nun anyway. As a nun, she took the name of Sœur Sainte-Bathilde (Sister Saint Bathilde) in 1717. She held that name until the next year. While at Chelles, Louise Adélaïde showed a slight interest in Jansenism
Jansenism
Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...
.
During the Regency of Louis XV
Régence
The Régence is the period in French history between 1715 and 1723, when King Louis XV was a minor and the land was governed by a Regent, Philippe d'Orléans, the nephew of Louis XIV of France....
, Louise Adélaïde was seen as the main "religious" figure in the country.
In 1719, she became the Abbess of Chelles
Chelles, Seine-et-Marne
Chelles is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region from the center of Paris....
, a post she held until her death. She was also the Abbess of Val-de-Grâce
Val-de-Grâce
This article describes the hospital and former abbey. For the main article on Mansart and Lemercier's central church, see Church of the Val-de-Grâce....
, a church built under the auspices of her maternal and paternal great-grandmother, Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
, the wife of King Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
. In 1720, when Charlotte Aglaé had to leave France to meet her husband in Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
; Charlotte Aglaé insisted on seeing her sister before she left. According to their grandmother, it was a sad scene.
While at Chelles Louise Adélaïde greatly embellished the Abbey; she ordered the repaving of the cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
s; the restoration of the Chapter Room
Chapter (religion)
Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
; had an infirmary constructed and even had a system where drinkable water could be accessed by the Abbey members as well as the town. Louise Adélaïde also allowed the Sisters of the Abbey of Nevers
Nevers
Nevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...
to build a house in the town in order to help educate the local girls.
She was known as Madame d'Orléans while at Chelles from 1719 till 1734. She died at the age of forty-four from smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
at the Convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
de la Madeleine de Traisnel in Paris.
Ancestors
Titles and styles
- 13 August 1698 – 6 July 1710 Her Serene HighnessSerene HighnessHis/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
Mademoiselle de Chartres - 6 July 1710–1719 Her Serene HighnessSerene HighnessHis/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
Mademoiselle d'Orléans- She took on this style due to the marriage of her older sister to the Duke of Berry. She was then the eldest unmarried Orléans daughter;
- 1719 - 10 February 1743 Her Serene HighnessSerene HighnessHis/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
Madame d'Orléans.
Sources
- Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. Burke's Royal Families of the World, Volume 1: Europe & Latin America. London, U.K.: Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1977.
Titles
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% align="center"|-
! style="background:#ccccff;"|Titles and Succession
|-
|