Marie de Rohan-Montbazon, duchesse de Chevreuse
Encyclopedia
Marie de Rohan was a French aristocrat, famed for being the center of many of the intrigues of the first half of the 17th century in France
. In various sources, she is often known simply as Madame de Chevreuse.
In September 1617, she married the Grand Constable
(supreme commander of the French armies) Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes
, a favourite of King Louis XIII
. He formed her taste for unscrupulous political intrigue, introducing her at court, where she gained the confidence of both the king and queen. In December 1618, Louis XIII named her surintendante of the queen's household, ousting the connétable de Montmorency. Her influence with the queen consort
, Anne of Austria
, was unrivaled.
In 1620, she gave birth to Louis Charles d'Albert, for whom Louis XIII stood godfather
. Louis-Charles became the second Duke of Luynes and married his mother's sister, Anne de Rohan. His daughter Jeanne Baptiste
, simultaneously Marie's granddaughter and niece, was the mistress of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
.
Her youngest half brother was Francois de Rohan, Prince of Soubise, founder of the Soubise line of the House of Rohan. His wife was Anne de Rohan-Chabot
, Madame de Soubise, who was one time mistress of Louis XIV
.
on 21 April 1622. From this second marriage, she had three daughters. Two of them were religious, Anne-Marie of Lorraine (1625–1652), abbess of Pont-aux-Dames, and Henriette of Lorraine (1631–1693), abbess of Jouarre and later at Port-Royal. The third daughter, Charlotte-Marie of Lorraine (1627–1652), having failed to wed Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti
, became the mistress of Cardinal de Retz and played a role in the Fronde
, but never married.
In her attempts to regain her lost position, she provoked or encouraged the conspiracies of the court, such as the Buckingham affair (1623–24) that compromised the Queen, which she instigated with the connivance of her English lover, Henry Rich, later created Earl of Holland
, and of the highest-ranking aristocrats against Richelieu, such as her complicity in the conspiracy of her lover, the comte de Chalais
, that she set up in 1626, with the unlikely intention of replacing Louis XIII with his brother, Gaston d'Orléans
. Chalais, deeply embroiled, lost his head on 19 August 1626, while the duchesse de Chevreuse fled to Lorraine, where she soon carried on an affair with Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine
, who intervened on her behalf to have her allowed to return to France; once she was reestablished at Dampierre
, her subversion of royal power continued.
She was at the center of all the intrigues that involved foreign powers against France: negotiations with the duchy of Lorraine and with Spain
conducted by Charles de l'Aubespine, marquis de Châteauneuf
, keeper of the seals, who ruined himself on her behalf, revealing to her the councils of the king (1633). Secret exchanges of correspondence with Spain carried out by Anne of Austria were unmasked in 1637, requiring de Chevreuse to flee to Spain, then to England and finally to Flanders. She was involved in the conspiracy of the comte de Soissons
(1641) and at the death of the king, a clause in the testament of succession forbade the return to France of the duchesse; a decision of the Parlement of Paris
was required to break the will.
After the death of Richelieu, once again in France, she conspired at the center of the cabale des Importants led by Chateauneuf against Mazarin, in 1643; with the arrest and exile of César de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme
, she fled once again. During the Fronde, she came closer to Mazarin for a time (1649–1650), but then she switched back to the aristocratic party when the parliamentary Fronde and the aristocratic Fronde joined forces in 1651.
She died in retirement in the convent of Gagny
(Seine-Saint-Denis
département) in 1679.
entangles her in the plots of The Three Musketeers
and Twenty Years After
, in which Raoul, the hero of the third novel of Dumas' trilogy, is the secret son of de Chevreuse and the musketeer Athos. Gaetano Donizetti
's tragic opera Maria di Rohan
, which debuted at the Kärntnertor theater in Vienna on 5 June 1843, followed by a success in Paris in November, was freely based on the conspiracy of Chalais. Victor Cousin
published a more serious biography in 1856. Modern biographies are by Denis Tillinac (L'Ange du désordre, (Paris: Robert Laffont) 1985, by Christian Bouyer, La Duchesse de Chevreuse : L'Indomptable et voluptueuse adversaire de Louis XIII (Paris: Pygmalion-Gérard Watelet) 2002, and by Georges Poisson (Paris:Librairie Académique Perrin) 1999. The most recent biography in English is H. Noel Williams, A Fair Conspirator: Marie de Rohan, Duchesse de Chevreuse 2005.
In 2002, she was portrayed by Wendy Albiston
in the Doctor Who
audio drama The Church and the Crown
.
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
. In various sources, she is often known simply as Madame de Chevreuse.
Early life
Marie de Rohan, styled Mademoiselle de Montbazon, was the daughter of Hercule de Rohan of the House of Rohan, possessed of great estates in Brittany and Anjou. Her mother was Madeleine de Lenoncourt.In September 1617, she married the Grand Constable
Constable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
(supreme commander of the French armies) Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes
Charles de Luynes
Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes , was constable of France.He was the first son of Honoré d'Albert , seigneur de Luynes, who was in the service of the three last Valois kings and of Henry IV of France.Charles was brought up at court and attended the dauphin, later Louis XIII...
, a favourite 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...
. He formed her taste for unscrupulous political intrigue, introducing her at court, where she gained the confidence of both the king and queen. In December 1618, Louis XIII named her surintendante of the queen's household, ousting the connétable de Montmorency. Her influence with the queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
, 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...
, was unrivaled.
In 1620, she gave birth to Louis Charles d'Albert, for whom Louis XIII stood godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
. Louis-Charles became the second Duke of Luynes and married his mother's sister, Anne de Rohan. His daughter Jeanne Baptiste
Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes
Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes, comtesse de Verrue was a French noblewoman and the mistress of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia.-Biography:...
, simultaneously Marie's granddaughter and niece, was the mistress of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus II was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of marquis of Saluzzo, duke of Montferrat, prince of Piedmont, count of Aosta, Moriana and Nizza. Louis XIV organised his marriage in order to maintain French influence in the Duchy but Victor Amadeus soon broke away...
.
Her youngest half brother was Francois de Rohan, Prince of Soubise, founder of the Soubise line of the House of Rohan. His wife was Anne de Rohan-Chabot
Anne de Rohan-Chabot
Anne de Rohan-Chabot was a French noble. A member of the House of Rohan, she was wife of the Prince of Soubise. It was she would bought the lordship of Soubise into the junior line of the Rohans. She was a short term mistress of Louis XIV...
, Madame de Soubise, who was one time 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...
.
Second marriage
After Luynes died in combat in 1621, she married Claude of Lorraine, Duke of ChevreuseClaude, Duke of Chevreuse
Claude de Lorraine , also called Claude de Guise, was a French noble and husband of Marie de Rohan. He was the Duke of Chevreuse, a title which is today used by the Duke of Luynes.-Biography:...
on 21 April 1622. From this second marriage, she had three daughters. Two of them were religious, Anne-Marie of Lorraine (1625–1652), abbess of Pont-aux-Dames, and Henriette of Lorraine (1631–1693), abbess of Jouarre and later at Port-Royal. The third daughter, Charlotte-Marie of Lorraine (1627–1652), having failed to wed Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti
Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti
Armand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti was a French nobleman, the second son of Henry II, Prince of Condé and brother of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and Anne Genevieve, Duchess of Longueville. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince du Sang.The title of Prince de Conti...
, became the mistress of Cardinal de Retz and played a role in the Fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
, but never married.
Fall from favor, conspiracies
Friend and confidante of the queen, she was banished from court after an incident in which she had encouraged the pregnant queen in boisterous games in the corridors of the Louvre, resulting in a miscarriage. The duc de Chevreuse used all his influence to have her restored to court.Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland was an English aristocrat, courtier and soldier.-Life:He was the son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and of Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and the younger brother of Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick...
, and of the highest-ranking aristocrats against Richelieu, such as her complicity in the conspiracy of her lover, the comte de Chalais
Henri de Talleyrand-Périgord, comte de Chalais
Henri de Talleyrand-Périgord, comte de Chalais was a favorite of Louis XIII of France.He was born in 1599 and served in the military. He was at the Battle of Montauban in 1621...
, that she set up in 1626, with the unlikely intention of replacing Louis XIII with his brother, Gaston d'Orléans
Gaston, Duke of Orléans
Gaston of France, , also known as Gaston d'Orléans, was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his wife Marie de Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a Fils de France. He later acquired the title Duke of Orléans, by which he was generally known during his adulthood...
. Chalais, deeply embroiled, lost his head on 19 August 1626, while the duchesse de Chevreuse fled to Lorraine, where she soon carried on an affair with Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine
Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine
Charles IV was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 to 1634, when he abdicated under French pressure in favor of his younger brother, and again from 1661 until 1675.- Biography :...
, who intervened on her behalf to have her allowed to return to France; once she was reestablished at Dampierre
Dampierre
Dampierre is the name of several communes in France:*Dampierre, Aube, in the Aube département*Dampierre, Calvados, in the Calvados département*Dampierre, Haute-Marne, in the Haute-Marne département*Dampierre, Jura, in the Jura département...
, her subversion of royal power continued.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
conducted by Charles de l'Aubespine, marquis de Châteauneuf
Charles de l'Aubespine, marquis de Châteauneuf
Charles de l'Aubespine, marquis de Châteauneuf was a French diplomat and government official.The marquis de Châteauneuf was the grandson of Claude de l'Aubespine, baron de Châteauneuf. He was made an abbé...
, keeper of the seals, who ruined himself on her behalf, revealing to her the councils of the king (1633). Secret exchanges of correspondence with Spain carried out by Anne of Austria were unmasked in 1637, requiring de Chevreuse to flee to Spain, then to England and finally to Flanders. She was involved in the conspiracy of the comte de Soissons
Louis de Bourbon, comte de Soissons
Louis de Bourbon, Count of Soissons , was a French nobleman, the son of Charles de Bourbon, Count of Soissons and Anne de Montafié...
(1641) and at the death of the king, a clause in the testament of succession forbade the return to France of the duchesse; a decision of the Parlement of Paris
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
was required to break the will.
After the death of Richelieu, once again in France, she conspired at the center of the cabale des Importants led by Chateauneuf against Mazarin, in 1643; with the arrest and exile of César de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme
César de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme
César de Bourbon, Légitimé de France , Duke of Vendôme, was the son of Henry IV of France and his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées. Sometimes simply known as César de Vendôme. Through his daughter, Élisabeth de Bourbon, César was a great-great-great-grandfather of Louis XV of France, merging thereafter...
, she fled once again. During the Fronde, she came closer to Mazarin for a time (1649–1650), but then she switched back to the aristocratic party when the parliamentary Fronde and the aristocratic Fronde joined forces in 1651.
She died in retirement in the convent of Gagny
Gagny
Gagny is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 20 May 1869, a small part of the territory of Gagny was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Livry-Gargan and a part of the territory of Clichy-sous-Bois to create the...
(Seine-Saint-Denis
Seine-Saint-Denis
- Culture :A number of hip hop artists come from the Seine-Saint-Denis, including one of the first major hip-hop groups in France, NTM, as well as Lord Kossity, or more recent acts such as Tandem or Sefyu.- Miscellaneous topics :...
département) in 1679.
Biographies
She was a tempting subject for colorful biography in the Romantic era: Alexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
entangles her in the plots of The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
and Twenty Years After
Twenty Years After
Twenty Years After is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père, first serialized from January to August, 1845. A book of the D'Artagnan Romances, it is a sequel to The Three Musketeers and precedes The Vicomte de Bragelonne .The novel follows events in France during La Fronde, during the childhood reign...
, in which Raoul, the hero of the third novel of Dumas' trilogy, is the secret son of de Chevreuse and the musketeer Athos. Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
's tragic opera Maria di Rohan
Maria di Rohan
Maria di Rohan is a melodramma tragico, or tragic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Salvadore Cammarano, after Lockroy and Edmond Badon's Un duel sous le cardinal de Richelieu, which had played in Paris in 1832.- Roles :- Synopsis :The comte de...
, which debuted at the Kärntnertor theater in Vienna on 5 June 1843, followed by a success in Paris in November, was freely based on the conspiracy of Chalais. Victor Cousin
Victor Cousin
Victor Cousin was a French philosopher. He was a proponent of Scottish Common Sense Realism and had an important influence on French educational policy.-Early life:...
published a more serious biography in 1856. Modern biographies are by Denis Tillinac (L'Ange du désordre, (Paris: Robert Laffont) 1985, by Christian Bouyer, La Duchesse de Chevreuse : L'Indomptable et voluptueuse adversaire de Louis XIII (Paris: Pygmalion-Gérard Watelet) 2002, and by Georges Poisson (Paris:Librairie Académique Perrin) 1999. The most recent biography in English is H. Noel Williams, A Fair Conspirator: Marie de Rohan, Duchesse de Chevreuse 2005.
In 2002, she was portrayed by Wendy Albiston
Wendy Albiston
Wendy Albiston is a Welsh actress.In 2002, she played De Chevreuse in the Doctor Who audio drama The Church and the Crown and guest starred in the Sarah Jane Smith adventure The TAO Connection....
in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
audio drama The Church and the Crown
The Church and the Crown
The Church and the Crown is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Plot:...
.
Issue and marriages
- Married Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes in Paris on 13 September 1617; had one son;
- Louis Charles d'Albert de Luynes, Duke of Luynes (25 December 1620 - 20 October 1690) married three times;
- Louise Marie Seguier, Marquise d'O in 1641, had issue
- Anne de Rohan (daughter of Hercule, Duke of MontbazonHercule, Duke of MontbazonHercule de Rohan was a member of the princely House of Rohan. The second Duke of Montbazon, he is an ancestor of the present Princes of Guéméné. His daughter was the famous Frondeur the duchesse de Chevreuse...
) in 1661 and had issue including Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de LuynesJeanne Baptiste d'Albert de LuynesJeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes, comtesse de Verrue was a French noblewoman and the mistress of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia.-Biography:...
; - Marguerite d'Aligre in 1685, no issue;
- Married again to Claude de Lorraine, Duke of Chevreuse in Paris on 20 April 1622 and had three daughters;
- Anne Marie de Lorraine (1624 - 5 August 1652) never married; Abbess of Remiremont and Pont-aux-Dames;
- Charlotte Marie de Lorraine, Mademoiselle de Chevreuse (1626 - 7 November 1652) never married;
- Henriette de Lorraine (1631 - 25 January 1694) never married; Abbess of Notre Dame, Jouarre.
Titles and styles
- December 1600 – 13 September 1617 Her Highness Mademoiselle de Montbazon
- 13 September 1617 – 15 December 1621 Her Highness the Duchess of Luynes
- 15 December 1621 – 20 April 1622 Her Highness the Dowager Duchess of Luynes
- 20 April 1622 – 24 January 1657 Her Highness the Duchess of Chevreuse
- 24 January 1657 – 12 August 1679 Her Highness the Dowager Duchess of Chevreuse