Mazarinettes
Encyclopedia
The Mazarinettes were the seven nieces of Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the Chief Minister of France during the youth of King Louis XIV. He brought them, together with three of his nephews, from Italy to France in the years 1647 and 1653. Afterwards, he arranged advantageous marriages for them to powerful and influential French and Italian princes. To overcome aristocratic resistance to the matches, the cardinal generously granted huge dowries to the fiancés.
The girls were daughters of Mazarin's sisters, Laura Margherita
and Geronima
:
Arriving in France at different times, the girls were aged between seven and thirteen years old at the time of their arrival. Their uncle, Cardinal Mazarin, had requested their presence at the French court for several reasons. First, he was tired of being surrounded by French nobles and courtiers he could not trust. He wanted to be able to relax around and confide in members of his own family. Second, he wished to use his nieces and nephews to consolidate his legacy in French society and history. As a cleric, he had no legitimate children with which to do that.
Upon their arrival in Paris, Anne of Austria
, the mother of the young king, Louis XIV
, took the children under her wing. She even allowed the younger ones to be educated together with the king and his younger brother, Philippe
, in the Palais-Royal. With this mark of favour, she placed the young ladies on the same level as the princesses of the blood
.
When the girls were first officially presented at court, Marshal
Villeroy
said to the king's uncle, Gaston, Duke of Orléans
:
In Paris, the Mazarinettes caused quite a stir because of their appearance. In a milieu where pale skin and a full figure were regarded as the established ideal of beauty, the girls' darker Italian complexions and slight builds were much remarked upon.
One of the so-called Mazarinades, satires and pamphlets against Mazarin that were very numerously published in France between 1648 and 1653, described the cardinal's nieces as follows:
Other Mazarinades called them "dirt princesses" and "stinking snakes".
As protegées of their uncle, the girls' lives often reflected the cardinal's variable fortunes. During the Fronde
, they twice were forced to leave Paris and go into exile. After the revolt was crushed, though, Cardinal Mazarin secured for them all a life of carefree prosperity by finding them suitable husbands and showering lavish wedding gifts upon them.
The girls were daughters of Mazarin's sisters, Laura Margherita
Laura Margherita Mazzarini
Laura Margherita Mazzarini was the daughter of Pietro Mazzarini and Ortensia Buffalini.On July 9, 1634, she was married to Count Girolamo Martinozzi...
and Geronima
Girolama Mazzarini
Girolama or Geronima Mazzarini was the sister of Cardinal Mazarin, the chief minister of France at the start of the reign of King Louis XIV of France...
:
- Laura MartinozziLaura MartinozziLaura Martinozzi was a Duchess consort of Modena. On the death of her husband, she became the regent of the Duchy in the name of her son, Francesco.-Biography:...
(1635–1687), by marriage with Alfonso IV d'Este, Duchess of Modena and Reggio since 1658 - Laura ManciniLaura ManciniLaura Mancini, duchess of Mercœur and Vendôme was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin. She was the eldest of the five famous Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes...
(1636–1657), by marriage with Louis de Bourbon, Duchess of Mercœur since 1651 - Anne Marie MartinozziAnne Marie MartinozziAnne Marie Martinozzi, Princess of Conti was a niece of King Louis XIV of France's chief minister Cardinal Mazarin, and the wife of Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti. She became the mother of the libertine François Louis, Prince of Conti, le Grand Conti...
(1637–1672), by marriage with Armand de Bourbon, Princess of ContiPrincess of Conti-First Creation:-Second Creation:...
since 1654 - Marie ManciniMarie ManciniAnna Maria Mancini was the third of the five Mancini sisters; nieces to Cardinal Mazarin who were brought to France to marry advantageously...
(1639–1715), by marriage with Lorenzo Onofrio ColonnaColonna familyThe Colonna family is an Italian noble family; it was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one Pope and many other Church and political leaders...
, Princess Colonna since 1661 - Olympia Mancini (1640–1708), by marriage with Eugène Maurice of Savoy, Countess of SoissonsCount of SoissonsThis is a list of those who bore the title Count of Soissons and ruled Soissons and its civitas or diocese as a county in the Middle Ages. The title continued in use into modern times, but without ties to the actual Soissonnais.-Carolingians:...
since 1657 - Hortense ManciniHortense ManciniHortense Mancini, duchesse Mazarin , was the favourite niece of Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister of France, and a mistress of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland...
(1646–1699), by marriage with Armand Charles de La Porte de La Meilleraye, Duchess Mazarin since 1661 - Marie Anne ManciniMarie Anne ManciniMarie Anne Mancini, duchesse de Bouillon , was the youngest of the five famous Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes because their uncle was the king's chief minister, Cardinal...
(1649–1717), by marriage with Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'AuvergneGodefroy Maurice de La Tour d'AuvergneGodefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French nobleman and member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne, one of the most important families in France at the time...
, Duchess of BouillonDuchess of Bouillon-Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty, ?-1100:-House of La Marck, ?-1588 :-House of La Tour d'Auvergne, 1594-1794 :-House of La Tour d'Auvergne, 1794-1802 :-House of Rohan, since 1816 :...
since 1662
Arriving in France at different times, the girls were aged between seven and thirteen years old at the time of their arrival. Their uncle, Cardinal Mazarin, had requested their presence at the French court for several reasons. First, he was tired of being surrounded by French nobles and courtiers he could not trust. He wanted to be able to relax around and confide in members of his own family. Second, he wished to use his nieces and nephews to consolidate his legacy in French society and history. As a cleric, he had no legitimate children with which to do that.
Upon their arrival in Paris, 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 mother of the young king, 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...
, took the children under her wing. She even allowed the younger ones to be educated together with the king and his younger brother, Philippe
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
, in the Palais-Royal. With this mark of favour, she placed the young ladies on the same level as the princesses of the blood
Prince du Sang
A prince of the blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
.
When the girls were first officially presented at court, Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Villeroy
Nicolas de Neufville de Villeroy
Nicolas V de Neufville de Villeroy was a French nobleman and marshal of France. He was marquis then 1st duke of Villeroy and peer of France, marquis d'Alincourt and lord of Magny, and acted as governor of the young Louis XIV. His son François succeeded him as duke...
said to the king's uncle, Gaston, Duke of 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...
:
"Here are young ladies who just at present are not rich at all, but who soon shall have beautiful castles, good incomes, precious stones, substantial silver plate, and per chance great rank […]").
In Paris, the Mazarinettes caused quite a stir because of their appearance. In a milieu where pale skin and a full figure were regarded as the established ideal of beauty, the girls' darker Italian complexions and slight builds were much remarked upon.
One of the so-called Mazarinades, satires and pamphlets against Mazarin that were very numerously published in France between 1648 and 1653, described the cardinal's nieces as follows:
| French original | | English translation |
|---|---|
Elles ont les yeux d'un hibou, L'écorce blanche comme un chou, Les sourcils d'une âme damnée, Et le teint d'un cheminée. |
They possess the eyes of an owl, The bark as white as a cabbage, The eyebrows of a damned soul, And a complexion of a chimney. |
Other Mazarinades called them "dirt princesses" and "stinking snakes".
As protegées of their uncle, the girls' lives often reflected the cardinal's variable fortunes. During 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....
, they twice were forced to leave Paris and go into exile. After the revolt was crushed, though, Cardinal Mazarin secured for them all a life of carefree prosperity by finding them suitable husbands and showering lavish wedding gifts upon them.