Odette de Champdivers
Encyclopedia
Odette de Champdivers was the mistress
of Charles VI of France
(the Mad). She was called la petite reine ("the little queen") by Charles and contemporaries.
According to Georges Bordonove
, Odette was the daughter of a maître d'hôtel of the King's Household, certain Guyot de Champdivers, who in fact was her brother. The messages of Père Anselme
established her as a daughter of Odin or Oudin de Champdivers, who around 1387 was equerry stableman
(Latin: marescallus equorum) at the court of King Charles VI.
The nineteenth-century French novelist Balzac
wrote a historical novel
inspired by her life titled Odette de Champdivers.
and Saint-Jean-de-Losne
in Burgundy. Rousset, in his study of the Municipalities of Jura stated that the old house of Champdivers probably descended from a younger branch of the House of Lorraine
. Also, was noted that the Lords of Champdivers exist since 1160. On 20 April 1154, the name is mentioned in a bull of Pope Urban IV
. In the Middle Ages
, the Champdivers were vassals of the Dukes of Burgundy, and they lived in a mansion who was destroyed in 1477 by King Louis XI.
One of Odette's siblings was Henry de Champdivers, who married Joan of Toulongeon, widow of Tristan de Montholon —commander of the cavalry of the Dukes of Brabant and Burgundy on 25 October 1415 at the Battle of Agincourt
, where he was killed— and sister of two marshals of Burgundy and an equerry of a French one Grand Squire of France
. It also known that Henry was knighted and in 1394 followed Duke Philip II the Bold
during his trip to Brittany
.
Guyot de Champdivers, another of her brothers, is mentioned in September 1391 in the royal accounts as one of the pages and squires who served in the household of Queen Isabeau of Bavaria
. In 1407, Guyot de Champdivers reappears as a squire baker of the Duke of Burgundy with a pension of 200 pounds. The same Guyot (or Guillaume) de Champdivers therefore remained a staunch partisan of both Burgundian Dukes, John the Fearless and later Philip III the Good. He served this two princes as an advisor of the King and the Duke in the most important cases including approximately between 1413-1425.
(i.e., supporters of the Duke of Burgundy), in early 1407 the seventeen-year-old Odette became the mistress of King Charles VI after the death of his brother Louis I, Duke of Orléans, Burgundy's rival.
Queen Isabeau, the victim of beatings and abuse from her violent, schizophrenic
husband, allowed Odette to substitute for her without difficulty. Isabeau feared and loathed the king. By some accounts, she herself arranged for Odette to take her place in the mentally ill king's bed; by others it is believed that Duke John the Fearless offered the young Odette to the King, in order to ensure the influence of the Burgundian party. Odette and Charles VI had only one daughter together, called Marguerite
, who was born by the end of 1407.
Called la petite reine — "the little queen" — by Charles's court, Odette was described as a lively, beautiful young woman with a gentle disposition. Apparently she loved and cared for her unhappy sovereign with the utmost patience and devotion. She is credited with introducing playing card
s into France, "for the amusement of [Charles VI] during his paroxysms of insanity."
According to some authors, Odette wore the clothes of the Queen in the royal bed each night, and Charles didn't notice the substitution. Honoré de Balzac
refers to her selflessness in one of his earlier novels, La Dernière fée:
During the almost fifteen years of their relationship, the King gave Odette rich gifts as a reward for her dedication to him; she also received two fine manors in Créteil
and Bagnolet
(the latter probably located in Malassis), and the estate of Belleville in Poitou
.
Odette was at the King's side on his deathbed (21 October 1422); it is said that the last words of Charles VI were her name: "Odette, Odette". Queen Isabeau was absent from her husband's funeral.
. The pension given to her from the royal treasure by the King was no longer paid; for this, in October and December of that year, Odette received some monetary help from Duke Philip III the Good. After the King's death, the royal treasure was taken by the English, and in consequence, Odette and her teenage daughter were reduced to poverty.
Odette took refuge in her homeland, under the protection of the Duke of Burgundy. In April 1424 she lived in the hotel of La Croix de Fer in Dijon
. Étienne Chariot, native of Bourbonnais
and monk in the convent of Beuvray-lès-Autun, visited Dijon at that time. The little queen (a nickname by which she was called by all) sent his squire, a son of Jean Trestelet, from Saint-Jean-de-Losne, with a message to the monk, who visited and talked with her. This monk Étienne was an envoy of the Dauphin Charles
, with orders to spy on the movements of Duke Philip III.
Through the monk Étienne, Odette could warn the Dauphin about the imminent massacre of his supporters in Lyon
by Burgundian and English forces. As soon as he learned this, the Dauphin sent instructions to the seneschal
in Lyon to avoid the planned attack. Soon after, the monk received orders from the Dauphin: the little queen must be taken to Châlons
during Holy Week
, probably for her own safety.
However, monk Étienne was captured by the Burgundians and forced to talk. Odette and her daughter were called to court; the former royal mistress was interrogated with a certain solemnity at the request of the chancellor Rolin in the presence of the High Council of the Duke. Odette defended herself and her daughter with great skill and determination.
Odette de Champdivers disappears from records after 6 September 1424. There is some indication that she died in great poverty. She probably died in the Dauphiné
in 1425, actually in poverty.
A breed of French rose
has been named for her. Its color is pink with white spots.
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
of Charles VI of France
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
(the Mad). She was called la petite reine ("the little queen") by Charles and contemporaries.
According to Georges Bordonove
Georges Bordonove
Georges Bordonove was a French historian and writer.- Biography :Georges Bordonove was a member of the jury of the Prix Hugues Capet....
, Odette was the daughter of a maître d'hôtel of the King's Household, certain Guyot de Champdivers, who in fact was her brother. The messages of Père Anselme
Père Anselme
Père Anselme was a French genealogist.He was born in Paris in 1625. As a layman his name was Pierre Guibours...
established her as a daughter of Odin or Oudin de Champdivers, who around 1387 was equerry stableman
Equerry
An equerry , and related to the French word "écuyer" ) is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a Sovereign, a member of a Royal Family, or a national...
(Latin: marescallus equorum) at the court of King Charles VI.
The nineteenth-century French novelist Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
wrote a historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
inspired by her life titled Odette de Champdivers.
Family
Odette's family took their name after a fief that belonged to them, located near DoleDole, Jura
Dole is a commune in the Jura department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France, of which it is a subprefecture ....
and Saint-Jean-de-Losne
Saint-Jean-de-Losne
Saint-Jean-de-Losne is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. It is about southeast of Dijon.-Population:-References:*...
in Burgundy. Rousset, in his study of the Municipalities of Jura stated that the old house of Champdivers probably descended from a younger branch of the House of Lorraine
House of Lorraine
The House of Lorraine, the main and now only remaining line known as Habsburg-Lorraine, is one of the most important and was one of the longest-reigning royal houses in the history of Europe...
. Also, was noted that the Lords of Champdivers exist since 1160. On 20 April 1154, the name is mentioned in a bull of Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.-Biography:...
. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the Champdivers were vassals of the Dukes of Burgundy, and they lived in a mansion who was destroyed in 1477 by King Louis XI.
One of Odette's siblings was Henry de Champdivers, who married Joan of Toulongeon, widow of Tristan de Montholon —commander of the cavalry of the Dukes of Brabant and Burgundy on 25 October 1415 at the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
, where he was killed— and sister of two marshals of Burgundy and an equerry of a French one Grand Squire of France
Grand Squire of France
The Grand Écuyer de France or Grand Squire of France or Grand Equerry of France was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France and a member of the Maison du Roi during the Ancien Régime. The name "écuyer", the French word for squire, is the origin for the French word "écurie" and the...
. It also known that Henry was knighted and in 1394 followed Duke Philip II the Bold
Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV...
during his trip to Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
Guyot de Champdivers, another of her brothers, is mentioned in September 1391 in the royal accounts as one of the pages and squires who served in the household of Queen Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria was Queen consort of France as spouse of King Charles VI of France, a member of the Valois Dynasty...
. In 1407, Guyot de Champdivers reappears as a squire baker of the Duke of Burgundy with a pension of 200 pounds. The same Guyot (or Guillaume) de Champdivers therefore remained a staunch partisan of both Burgundian Dukes, John the Fearless and later Philip III the Good. He served this two princes as an advisor of the King and the Duke in the most important cases including approximately between 1413-1425.
Royal Mistress (1407-1422)
Although her family was BurgundianBurgundian (party)
The Burgundian party was a political allegiance in France that formed during the reign of Charles VI during the latter half of the Hundred Years' War...
(i.e., supporters of the Duke of Burgundy), in early 1407 the seventeen-year-old Odette became the mistress of King Charles VI after the death of his brother Louis I, Duke of Orléans, Burgundy's rival.
Queen Isabeau, the victim of beatings and abuse from her violent, schizophrenic
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
husband, allowed Odette to substitute for her without difficulty. Isabeau feared and loathed the king. By some accounts, she herself arranged for Odette to take her place in the mentally ill king's bed; by others it is believed that Duke John the Fearless offered the young Odette to the King, in order to ensure the influence of the Burgundian party. Odette and Charles VI had only one daughter together, called Marguerite
Marguerite bâtarde de France
Marguerite de Valois, la demoiselle de Belleville, also known as Marguerite bâtarde de France was the illegitimate daughter of King Charles the Mad and his beloved mistress Odette de Champdivers. She was their only child....
, who was born by the end of 1407.
Called la petite reine — "the little queen" — by Charles's court, Odette was described as a lively, beautiful young woman with a gentle disposition. Apparently she loved and cared for her unhappy sovereign with the utmost patience and devotion. She is credited with introducing playing card
Playing card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...
s into France, "for the amusement of [Charles VI] during his paroxysms of insanity."
According to some authors, Odette wore the clothes of the Queen in the royal bed each night, and Charles didn't notice the substitution. Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
refers to her selflessness in one of his earlier novels, La Dernière fée:
-
- "So Abel was like the King Charles VI, that the little queen Odette de Champdivers consoled him while his Queen Isabeau danced with the Duke of Orléans in the palace where her husband was suffering".
During the almost fifteen years of their relationship, the King gave Odette rich gifts as a reward for her dedication to him; she also received two fine manors in Créteil
Créteil
-Health:As of 1 January 2006, 27 pharmacies, about 60 dentists, about 60 general practitioners, 10 pediatricians, and a half-dozen ophthalmologists and dermatologists constitute the general medical staff of the city.Health facilities include:...
and Bagnolet
Bagnolet
Bagnolet is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Its inhabitants are called Bagnoletais.-History:...
(the latter probably located in Malassis), and the estate of Belleville in Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
.
Odette was at the King's side on his deathbed (21 October 1422); it is said that the last words of Charles VI were her name: "Odette, Odette". Queen Isabeau was absent from her husband's funeral.
After the death of King Charles VI (1422-1425)
In 1423 Odette took refuge in Saint-Jean-de-LosneSaint-Jean-de-Losne
Saint-Jean-de-Losne is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. It is about southeast of Dijon.-Population:-References:*...
. The pension given to her from the royal treasure by the King was no longer paid; for this, in October and December of that year, Odette received some monetary help from Duke Philip III the Good. After the King's death, the royal treasure was taken by the English, and in consequence, Odette and her teenage daughter were reduced to poverty.
Odette took refuge in her homeland, under the protection of the Duke of Burgundy. In April 1424 she lived in the hotel of La Croix de Fer in Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
. Étienne Chariot, native of Bourbonnais
Bourbonnais
Bourbonnais was a historic province in the centre of France that corresponded to the modern département of Allier, along with part of the département of Cher. Its capital was Moulins.-History:...
and monk in the convent of Beuvray-lès-Autun, visited Dijon at that time. The little queen (a nickname by which she was called by all) sent his squire, a son of Jean Trestelet, from Saint-Jean-de-Losne, with a message to the monk, who visited and talked with her. This monk Étienne was an envoy of the Dauphin Charles
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
, with orders to spy on the movements of Duke Philip III.
Through the monk Étienne, Odette could warn the Dauphin about the imminent massacre of his supporters in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
by Burgundian and English forces. As soon as he learned this, the Dauphin sent instructions to the seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
in Lyon to avoid the planned attack. Soon after, the monk received orders from the Dauphin: the little queen must be taken to Châlons
Chalons
Chalons may refer to:Places* Châlons, in France's Isère département* Châlons-en-Champagne, formerly Châlons-sur-Marne, in the Marne département* Chalon-sur-Saône, in the Saône-et-Loire département* Roman Catholic Diocese of Châlons...
during Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
, probably for her own safety.
However, monk Étienne was captured by the Burgundians and forced to talk. Odette and her daughter were called to court; the former royal mistress was interrogated with a certain solemnity at the request of the chancellor Rolin in the presence of the High Council of the Duke. Odette defended herself and her daughter with great skill and determination.
Odette de Champdivers disappears from records after 6 September 1424. There is some indication that she died in great poverty. She probably died in the Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
in 1425, actually in poverty.
A breed of French rose
Rosa gallica
Rosa gallica is a species of rose native to southern and central Europe eastwards to Turkey and the Caucasus....
has been named for her. Its color is pink with white spots.