Marguerite de Valois, ''la demoiselle de Belleville'', also known as Marguerite, bâtarde de France (1407 – January 1458), was the

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

daughter of King Charles the Mad and his beloved

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...

Odette de Champdivers Odette de Champdivers (; also known as ''Oudine'' or ''Odinette''; c. 1390 – c. 1425) was the chief mistress of Charles VI of France (the Mad). She was called ''la petite reine'' ("the little queen") by Charles and contemporaries. According to ...

. Marguerite was legitimated in January 1428 by Charles VII of France, her half-brother. He gave her a very ample

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

and married her on 3 May 1428 in

Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...

to Jean III de Harpedenne (also spelled ''Harpedanne'', ''Harpedane'', ''Harpedène'', etc.), Seigneur of Belleville and Montaigu, son of Jean II de Harpedenne and his wife Jeanne de Mussidan. Some sources claim that she was married under the name of ''Marguerite de Falots''.

Descendants

Claude de Belleville, the last known of their descendants, was killed in the

Battle of Coutras The Battle of Coutras, fought on 20 October 1587, was a major engagement in the French Religious Wars between a Huguenot (Protestant) army under Henry of Navarre (the future Henry IV) and a royalist army led by Anne, Duke of Joyeuse. Henry of Na ...

on 20 October 1587 during the reign of Henry III of France. The poet Jacques Bereau wrote his

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

. His father was Charles Harpedenne, lord of Belleville, Chantonnay, Sigournais, Puybelliard, Beaulieu, Saint-Flayve, La Roche-sur-Yon, etc., knight of the order of the King, and captain of 50 men in arms.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marguerite Batarde De France 1407 births 1458 deaths Valois, Marguerite de House of Valois Medieval French nobility 15th-century French people 15th-century French women Daughters of kings