Romani (floruit 1714) was a French adventurer involved in the

Affair of the Poisons An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of ...

. Romani was described as a person credited with great abilities in disguise and persuasion. He was the intended son-in-law of

Catherine Monvoisin Catherine Monvoisin, or Montvoisin, née ''Deshayes'', known as "La Voisin" (c. 1640 – 22 February 1680), was a French fortune teller, commissioned poisoner, and professional provider of alleged sorcery. She was the head of a network of fo ...

, who had him engaged to her daughter

Marguerite Monvoisin Marie Marguerite Mon(t)voisin (born c. 1658, died after 1682) was the daughter of La Voisin and a main witness in the famous Poison Affair. It was her statement, made after the execution of her mother, that implicated the royal mistress Madame de Mo ...

. He did, however, break the engagement after it became known to him that she had been pregnant by another man shortly before their engagement. He was accused of having conspired with his lover

to assassinate

Angélique de Fontanges Angelique or Angélique may refer to: * Angélique (given name), a French feminine name Arts and entertainment Music * Angélique (instrument), a string instrument of the lute family * ''Angélique'', a 1927 opéra bouffe by Jacques Ibert * ...

with poisoned gloves, while he was ''valet-de-chambre'' to a lady of the court. It was further claimed that he planned to assassinate

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 Vers ...

by handing him a petition impregnated with poison. He was pointed out for his participation in this affair by Marguerite Monvoisin, who described him as a poisoner and a master of disguises. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and sequestration in 1682. The date of his death is not known. He was chained to the wall during his imprisonment, and he is last mentioned in 1714, when one of his fellow prisoners removed his chains out of pity, and was punished for this act.

References

* Anne Somerset - ''The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV'' (St. Martin's Press (October 12, 2003) ) * Jay Robert Nash - ''Look for the woman: a narrative encyclopedia of female poisoners, kidnappers, thieves, extortionists, terrorists, swindlers, and spies, from Elizabethan times to the present'' (M. Evans, 1981, ) * H Noel Williams - ''Madame de Montespan and Louis XIV'' (Wildside Press, 2009, ) *

Montague Summers Augustus Montague Summers (10 April 1880 – 10 August 1948) was an English author, clergyman, and teacher. He initially prepared for a career in the Church of England at Oxford and Lichfield, and was ordained as an Anglican deacon in 1908. He ...

-- ''Geography of Witchcraft'' (Kessinger Publishing, reprinted 2003, ) 17th-century births Year of death unknown French occultists Prisoners and detainees of France French people who died in prison custody Poisoners 17th-century occultists Affair of the Poisons {{France-bio-stub