Claudine Françoise Mignot (20 January 1624 – 30 November 1711) was a French adventuress born near

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

, at

Meylan Meylan (; frp, Mèlan) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration). Population Misuse of public money In 2013, the newly reelected Mayor of Meylan Marie-Christine Tar ...

. She was commonly called "Marie".

Biography

At the age of sixteen, she attracted the notice of the secretary Pierre de Portes d'Amblérieu, treasurer of the province of

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

, and Pierre promised to promote their marriage. Instead, he married her himself on 29 July 1640 and left her his fortune. Immediately on her marriage with Pierre she had begun to educate herself, and her wealth and talents assured her a welcome in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. His will was disputed by his family, and Claudine went to Paris in 1653 to secure its fulfilment. She sought the protection of ,

marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

, then a man of seventy-five. He married her on 25 August 1653, within a week of their first meeting, and after seven years of marriage died on 20 April 1660, leaving her part of his estate.They had one son (c. 1654 – c. 1657). By a third and

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

on 14 September 1672 with John Casimir, former king of Poland. A few weeks before his sudden death, she received a third enormous fortune. In the testament, written on 12 December 1672 in Nevers, John Casimir called himself her debtor. They had one daughter named Marie Catherine, to whom her father left fifteen thousand

livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

, and asked her to join the

Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary , image = Salesas-escut.gif , size = 175px , abbreviation = V.S.M. , nickname = Visitandines , motto = , formation = , founder = Saint Bishop Francis de ...

. She retired in her old age to a Carmelite convent, where she died on 30 November 1711. Her history was the subject of a play by

Bayard Bayard may refer to: People * Bayard (given name) * Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places * Bayard, Delaware, an unincorporated community *Bayard (Jacksonville), Florida, a neighborhood * Bayard ...

and

Paul Duport Nicolas-Paul Duport (22 April 1798 – 26 December 1866) was a French dramatist and librettiste who also wrote under the pen names M. P. D., Paulin and Erbert. Theatre * 1824 : ''Le Beau-frère, ou la Veuve à 2 maris'', comédie-vaudeville in ...

: ''Marie Mignot'' (1829).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mignot, Claudine Francoise 1617 births 1711 deaths Mingnot, Claudine People from Grenoble Morganatic spouses