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Marie Anne Mancini,
Duchess of Bouillon There have been duchesses of Bouillon, Belgium, Bouillon, in present-day Belgium, since the tenth century. Lady of Bouillon Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty, ?-1100 :''Sold to the Bishopric of Liège'' House of La Marck, ?-1588 House of La Tour ...
(1649 – 20 June 1714), was an Italian-French aristocrat and cultural patron, 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 , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of V ...
as the '' Mazarinettes'', because their uncle was the king's chief minister,
Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis ...
. She is known for her involvement in the famous Poison Affair, and as the patron of La Fontaine.


Life

Marie Anne's parents were Lorenzo Mancini, a Roman baron, necromancer and
astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
, and Geronima Mazzarini, sister of
Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis ...
. Her four famous sisters were: *
Laure Laure may refer to: * ''Laure'' (film), a 1976 Italian erotic film in the Emmanuelle universe * ''Doxocopa laure'', commonly known as the Laure, a butterfly People * Laura (given name) (French variant) * Laure (art model) (fl. 1859–1867), Fre ...
(1636–1657), the eldest, who married Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, grandson of King
Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...
and his mistress, Gabrielle d'Estrées, and became the mother of the famous French general
Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, often simply called Vendôme (1 July 165411 June 1712) was a French general and Marshal of France. One of the great generals of his era, he was one of Louis XIV's most successful commanders in the War of ...
, * Olympe (1638–1708), who married
Eugene Maurice, Count of Soissons Eugene Maurice of Savoy-Carignano (French: ''Eugène Maurice de Savoie-Carignan''; 2 March 1635 – 6 June 1673) was a Franco-Italian nobleman and general. A count of Soissons, he was the father of imperial field-marshal Prince Eugene of Savoy. ...
and became the mother of the famous Austrian general
Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...
, * Marie (1639–1715), the third sister, was considered the least beautiful of the sisters but was the one who snagged the biggest prize of all:
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...
. The young king was so besotted with her that he wanted to marry her. In the end, he was made to give her up, and she married Prince Lorenzo Colonna who remarked that he was surprised to find her a virgin as one does not expect to find 'innocence among the loves of kings'. (from
Antonia Fraser Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, (' Pakenham; born 27 August 1932) is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and ...
's book ''Love and Louis XIV'') *
Hortense Hortense is a French feminine given name that comes from Latin meaning ''gardener''. It may refer to: Persons * Hortense Allart (1801–1879), Italian-French feminist writer and essayist * Hortense de Beauharnais (1783–1837), stepdaughter of N ...
(1646–1699), the beauty of the family, who escaped from her abusive husband, Armand-Charles de la Porte, duc de La Meilleraye, and went to London, where she became the mistress of King Charles II. The Mancinis were not the only female family members that Cardinal Mazarin brought to the French court. The others were Marie Anne's first cousins, daughters of Mazarin's eldest sister. The elder, Laura Martinozzi, married Alfonso IV d'Este, duke of Modena and was the mother of
Mary of Modena Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the younge ...
, second wife of
James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
. The younger, Anne Marie Martinozzi, married
Armand, Prince de Conti Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti (11 October 162926 February 1666), was a French nobleman, the younger son of Henri II, Prince of Condé and Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency, daughter of Henri I, Duke of Montmorency. He was the brother of ...
. The Mancini also had three brothers: Paul, Philippe, and
Alphonse Alphonse may refer to: * Alphonse (given name) * Alphonse (surname) * Alphonse Atoll Alphonse Atoll is one of two atolls of the Alphonse Group, the other being St. François Atoll — both in the Outer Islands (Coralline Seychelles) coral arch ...
. Philippe Jules Mancini was a lover of Philippe de France, brother of
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...
.


Early life

Marie Anne reached
Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
much later than her sisters, in 1655, when she was a mere child of six. The last ''Mazarinette'' became the "spoiled darling" of the French
court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and carry out the administration of justice in Civil law (common law), civil, C ...
and of her uncle, who was greatly amused by the literary six-year-old's verses and ''bon mots''. She was considered a wit and a beauty. Even more than her older sister
Hortense Hortense is a French feminine given name that comes from Latin meaning ''gardener''. It may refer to: Persons * Hortense Allart (1801–1879), Italian-French feminist writer and essayist * Hortense de Beauharnais (1783–1837), stepdaughter of N ...
, Cardinal Mazarin's favorite niece, Marie Anne is often referred to as "the wittiest and most vivacious of the sisters." According to a contemporary, she was, "said to be quite divine, having infinite appeal." Self-possessed, she excelled at such courtly diversions as
dancing Dance is a performing art art form, form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolism (arts), symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its chor ...
and plays. In 1657, her eldest sister,
Laure Laure may refer to: * ''Laure'' (film), a 1976 Italian erotic film in the Emmanuelle universe * ''Doxocopa laure'', commonly known as the Laure, a butterfly People * Laura (given name) (French variant) * Laure (art model) (fl. 1859–1867), Fre ...
, died in childbirth. Marie Anne, despite her young age, was given her sister's three sons to raise. Marie Anne was only a few years older than her nephews. The youngest child, Jules César, died three years later in 1660. The two older boys, Louis Joseph and Philippe, however, survived. Both young men became soldiers, with Louis Joseph eventually gaining fame as a general.


Marriage and culture patronage

Her uncle died when she was thirteen, in 1661. The night before the cardinal's death, the famous field marshal Turenne came to his bedside to ask for the hand of Marie Anne in the name of his nephew
Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon (21 June 1636 – 26 July 1721) 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. He married Marie Anne Ma ...
, the
duc de Bouillon The Duchy of Bouillon (french: Duché de Bouillon) was a duchy comprising Bouillon, Belgium, Bouillon and adjacent towns and villages in present-day Belgium. The state originated in the 10th century as property of the Lords of Bouillon, owners ...
. About a year later, on 22 April 1662, Marie Anne wed the duke at the
Hôtel de Soissons The Hôtel de Soissons was a '' hôtel particulier'' (grand house) built in Paris, France, between 1574 and 1584 for Catherine de' Medici (1519–89) by the architect Jean Bullant (1515–78). It replaced a series of earlier buildings on the same ...
, in the presence of King
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...
, the queen and the queen dowager. Her husband was described as a good soldier, but a bad
courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...
and even worse literary man. As a result, the intelligent and ambitious fifteen-year-old duchess was left on her own to pursue her political and literary interests. She established a small
salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ...
at her new residence, the Hôtel de Bouillon. Marie Anne is best remembered for her literary pursuits, and for her patronage of the young La Fontaine. She and her spouse had a harmonious marriage. Her husband loved her and was tolerant of her love affairs, and refused to follow the wish of his family and have her incarcerated in a convent for adultery.The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV (St. Martin's Press (October 12, 2003) ) On one occasion, when she herself took refuge in a convent out of fear for his family after a particularly public love affair, her husband himself asked her to leave the convent and return to him.


The Affaire des Poisons

She was socially and politically compromised in the notorious ''Affaire des Poisons'', allegedly for planning to poison her husband in order to marry her nephew Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme. She was to have visited
Adam Lesage Adam Lesage (né Cœuret, also called ''Dubuisson''; fl. April 1683), was a French professional occultist and alleged sorcerer. He was one of the chief accused in the famous Poison Affair. Career Lesage came from Venoix near Caen and was original ...
and expressed this wish to him. Unlike her older sister, Olympe, comtesse de Soissons, who was forced to flee to Liège and later to Brussels, in order to escape arrest, Marie Anne was never formally convicted. The trial against her was conducted 29 January 1680, and she appeared escorted by her husband and her lover Vendôme holding each of her arms, and stated that she did not accept the authority of the court and had accepted to answer the court summon only out of respect for the king's rank. She claimed that she and Vendôme had merely expressed a wish of frivolity, a joke, harmless and not honestly intended, to Lesage, and that if they believed that she had the wish to murder her husband, they could ask him if he thought so, as he had accompanied her to the trial. She was freed in lack of evidence, but was still exiled to the provinces by the king. She spent some time in Nérac, and was able to return to Paris and the royal court in March 1681. She was greatly admired within the aristocracy because of her wit and lack of fear during her trial, but she was never again well seen by the king, and in 1685, he banished her to the provinces once more, this time for a period of five years. The king finally allowed her to return permanently in 1690, but after this, she preferred to avoid the royal court.


Issue

*
Louis Charles de La Tour d'Auvergne Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewi ...
, Prince of Turenne (14 January 1665–4 August 1692) died at
Enghien Enghien (; nl, Edingen ; pcd, Inguî; vls, Enge) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1January 2006, Enghien had a total population of 11,980. The total area is , which gives a population dens ...
, married Anne Geneviève de Lévis, daughter of Madame de Ventadour, no issue; *Marie Élisabeth de La Tour d'Auvergne, ''Mademoiselle de Bouillon'' (8 July 1666–24 December 1725) never married; * Emmanuel Theodose de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon (1668–17 April 1730) married first
Marie Armande Victoire de la Trémoïlle Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in T ...
(1677–1717), daughter of Charles Belgique Hollande de La Trémoille, and had issue; married second Louise Françoise Angélique Le Tellier, granddaughter of Louvois, and had issue; married third Anne Marie Christiane de Simiane (d.1722) and had issue; married fourth Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine, the daughter of the Count of Harcourt, and had issue; *Eugene Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, Prince of Château-Thierry (29 March 1669–23 November 1672) never married; * Frédéric Jules de La Tour d'Auvergne, Prince of Auvergne (2 May 1672–1733) married Olive Catherine de Trantes and had issue; * Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Count of Évreux (2 August 1674–23 January 1753) married Marie Anne Crozat, daughter of Antoine Crozat, no issue; *Louise Julie de La Tour d'Auvergne, ''Mademoiselle de Château-Thierry'' (26 November 1679–21 November 1750) married François Armand de Rohan and had a child who died aged 3.


References

* Pierre Combescot, ''Les Petites Mazarines'', 1999, Grasset/Livre de Poche. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mancini, Marie Anne 1649 births 1714 deaths 1679 crimes Nobility from Rome Italian emigrants to France La Tour d'Auvergne 17th-century French nobility 18th-century French nobility Duchesses of Bouillon Countesses of Évreux French salon-holders Affair of the Poisons