Anne De Pisseleu D'Heilly
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Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly (), Duchess of Étampes, (15081580) was chief mistress of
Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...
. She became Francis' mistress following his return from captivity in 1526. Anne enriched her family and friends through her courtly influence and after Francis' death was banished from court and temporarily imprisoned in her husband's castle. She would spend her later years ensuring the fortune of her family. Anne died in 1580.


King's mistress

Born in 1508, Anne was the daughter of Guillaume de Pisseleu, ''seigneur'' d'Heilly, a nobleman of
Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...
, and Anne Sanguin. She came to court before 1522 and was one of the
maids-of-honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen ...
of
Marie of Luxembourg Marie of Luxembourg (1304 – 26 March 1324) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Charles IV and I. She was the daughter of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Margaret of Brabant. Her two siblings were John of Luxembou ...
and later
Louise of Savoy Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess ''suo jure'' of Auvergne and Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours, and the mother of King Francis I. She was politically active and served as the regent of Fra ...
, Duchess of Angoulême, the mother of Francis I. Francis made Anne his mistress, probably upon his return from his captivity at
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
(1526), and soon gave up his long-term mistress,
Françoise de Foix Françoise de Foix, Comtesse de Châteaubriant (; c. 1495 – 16 October 1537) was a chief mistress of Francis I of France. Background Françoise was the daughter of Jean de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, and Jeanne d'Aydie. Her father was the son of ...
, for her. Anne was described as being sprightly, pretty, witty and cultured, "the most beautiful among the learned and the most learned among the beautiful". The liaison received some official recognition when Francis started wearing Anne's colors. Anne was appointed lady-in-waiting to the new queen,
Eleanor of Austria Eleanor of Austria (15 November 1498 – 25 February 1558), also called Eleanor of Castile, was born an Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg, and subsequently became Queen consort of Portugal (1518–152 ...
, and later became governess to Francis' two daughters. She used her influence with Francis to elevate and enrich her family; her brother, Adrien sieur d'Heilly, was made captain of the Picard legion, her uncle, Antoine Sanguin, being made
Bishop of Orléans A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in 1533 and a cardinal in 1539; her three other brothers were made bishops. In 1534, Francis gave her in marriage to
Jean IV de Brosse Jean IV de Brosse, duc d'Étampes et Chevreuse, comte de Penthièvre (1505 in Lamballe – 31 January 1565) was a French governor, military commander and courtier. The son of René de Brosse and member of a prominent Breton family that had been ...
, whom he created
Duke of Étampes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
.


Court influence

With the political fall of the
Duke of Montmorency Duke of Montmorency was a title of French nobility that was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, near Paris. History The first creation was in 1551 for Anne de Montmorency, Constable of ...
in 1540, Anne became all-powerful at court. Surrounded by those seeking royal favor, she dominated court functions. Foreign diplomats quickly learned they had to gain Anne's favor for their plans to have any chance in succeeding. In doing so, she usurped Queen Eleanor's position at court. Anne later illustrated her political influence by having Admiral Chabot released and returned to court, marrying her sister Louise to Chabot's
nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of an ...
in the process. Despite her capabilities, Anne was of a fickle nature. In 1545, she tried to discredit Admiral d'Annebault, despite him owing his advancement to her. When her intrigues were discouraged by Archbishop Tournon, Anne attempted to bring about his fall on a charge of dishonesty. The influence of Anne, especially in the last years of Francis' reign, continued to grow. A staunch Protestant, she counseled Francis on toleration for Huguenots. By October 1546, Anne, along with Cardinal du Bellay, was pressuring Francis to break with Rome. Due to her influence Francis was attending more council meetings, and according to an imperial envoy, Anne was "the real president of the king's most private and intimate council". Basking in her success at bringing peace between Francis and Charles at Crepy in 1544, Anne convinced Francis that his son the Dauphin Henry and
Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and prominent courtier. She wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position increased her wealth and famil ...
were working to reinstate Montmorency at court. Francis, so instructed, banished Diane from court. In response, Henry and his supporters retreated to the chateau of Anet; father and son would not reconcile until 1545.


Loss of position

Despite having influence at Francis' court, Anne had made many enemies:
Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
, his mistress,
Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and prominent courtier. She wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position increased her wealth and famil ...
, and
Anne de Montmorency Anne, Duke of Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter (15 March 1493, Chantilly, Oise12 November 1567, Paris) was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France and served five kings. Early lif ...
were among them. Following Francis' death in March 1547, Henry, now king, had Anne dismissed from the court and confiscated her possessions. By 1548, Anne was facing the threat of trial for heresy. Henry chose not to pursue this possibly out of respect for his father. Her husband accused her of theft of his governorship salary and disgracing his family, and had Anne confined temporarily to the castle of La Hardoinaye. Anne was still a wealthy woman, having properties in Paris and a capital of 47,615 livres in ''rentes''. By 1554-55 she was maintaining her niece Jossine de Pisseleu's rights to the Lenoncourt succession from the Guise family. In March 1560, she gave 114,000 livres for the marriage of her niece Diane de Barbancon to her husband Jean de Rohan, baron de Frontenay. Anne gave 30,000 livres for her nephew Jean d'Heilly's first marriage, and acted as the intermediary for Jean's second marriage, writing to the lady's ward. She continued to be involved in the lives of her nieces and nephews into her later years. Anne died in 1580.


References


Sources

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External links


Portrait of the duchesse d'Étampes
attributed to
Corneille de Lyon Corneille de Lyon (early 16th century – 8 November 1575 (buried)) was a Dutch painter of portraits who was active in Lyon, France, from 1533 until his death. In France and the Netherlands he is also still known as ''Corneille de La Haye'' ( n ...
(
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pisseleu d'Heilly, Anne French duchesses
Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
1508 births 1580 deaths Dukes of Étampes Mistresses of Francis I of France French ladies-in-waiting French maids of honour 16th-century French people 16th-century French women