Agnès Sorel (; 1422 – 9 February 1450), known by the sobriquet ''Dame de beauté'' (Lady of Beauty), was a
favourite and
chief mistress of King
Charles VII of France
Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...
, by whom she bore four daughters. She is considered the first officially recognized
royal mistress of a French king. She was the subject of several contemporary paintings and works of art, including
Jean Fouquet's ''Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels''.
Life in the royal court

Born in 1422, Agnes was the daughter of Jean Soreau, ''
Châtelain'' of
Coudun, and his wife Catherine de Maignelais, She was 20 or 21 years old when she was introduced to King Charles. At that time, Agnes was holding a position in the household of
Rene I of Naples, as a
maid of honour to his consort
Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. She then went on to serve as the
lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...
for
Marie d'Anjou,
Charles VII of France
Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...
's wife and Isabella's sister in law. Agnes would soon become his mistress. The King gave her the
Château de Loches (where he had been persuaded by
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...
to be crowned King of France) as her private residence.
Soon, Agnes' presence was felt at the royal court in
Chinon where her company was alleged to have brought the king out of a protracted depression. Her influence on the court was first felt when she succeeded in convincing the poor king to rally his troops and drive English invaders from French soil. Agnes had a very strong influence on the king, and that, in addition to her extravagant tastes, earned her powerful enemies at court. She would become the first officially recognized
royal mistress of a French king.
Agnes generated scandal at court, particularly for popularizing the fashion of
low-cut gowns. This behavior was both imitated and scorned.
Jean Juvénal des Ursins, the archbishop of Reims, counseled the king to correct such fashions as "front openings through which one sees the teats, nipples, and breasts of women" (''ouvertures de par devant, par lesquelles on voit les tetins, tettes et seing des femmes'').
Further scandal was brought to court when painter
Jean Fouquet used her in his painting, the
Melun Diptych, which depicted Agnes as the Mother of God. Courtiers were appalled that the king's mistress and the mother of Charles' illegitimate children was likened to
Mary when her status was much less than holy.
Children and death
Agnès gave birth to four daughters fathered by the king:
*
Marie, possibly born the summer of 1444
*
Charlotte, who married Jacques de Brézé (their son,
Louis de Brézé, seigneur d'Anet, in turn married
Diane de Poitiers, a future royal mistress)
* Jeanne
While pregnant with their fourth child, she journeyed from
Chinon in midwinter to join Charles on the campaign of 1450 in
Jumièges, wanting to be with him as moral support. There, she suddenly became ill, and after giving birth, she and her daughter died on 9 February 1450. She was 28 years old. While the cause of death was originally thought to be
dysentery
Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
, French forensic scientist
Philippe Charlier suggested in 2005 that Agnès died of
mercury poisoning. He offered no opinion about whether she was murdered. Mercury was sometimes used in cosmetic preparations or to treat worms, and such use might have brought about her death. She was interred in the Church of St. Ours, in
Loches. Her heart was buried in the Benedictine
Abbey of Jumièges.
Charles' son, the future
King Louis XI, had been in open revolt against his father for the previous four years. It has been speculated that he had Agnès poisoned in order to remove what he may have considered her undue influence over the king. It was also speculated that French financier, noble and minister
Jacques Cœur poisoned her, though that theory is widely discredited as having been an attempt to remove Coeur from the French court.
Her cousin
Antoinette de Maignelais took her place as mistress to the king after her death.
Legacy
Sorel plays a main part in
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
's poem ''
La Pucelle''. She is the subject of an
1836 opera named after her. Two Russian operas from the late 19th century also portray her, along with Charles VII:
Pyotr Tchaikovsky's ''
The Maid of Orleans'' and
César Cui's ''
The Saracen''.
She is also a featured figure on
Judy Chicago's installation piece ''
The Dinner Party'', being represented as one of the 999 names on the ''
Heritage Floor.'' Two garments use Sorel's name in their descriptors, Agnes Sorel
bodice, Agnes Sorel
corsage and a fashion style named after her as well, Agnes Sorel style, which is described as a "princess" style of dressing.
See also
*
List of unsolved deaths
References
Sources
*
*
*
* Herman, Eleanor (2004). ''Sex With Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge'' (1st ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins. pp. 2–3. .
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
* Autheman, Marc. (2008). ''Agnès Sorel: l'inspiratrice''.
* Desmondes, Tim. (2009). ''Agnes Sorel: The Breast And Crotch That Changed History''. Austin: The Nazca Plains Corporation.
*
D'Orliac, Jehanne. (1931). ''The Lady of Beauty: Agnes Sorel. First Royal Favourite of France''. J.B. Lippincott Company. Translated by M.C. Darnton
* Duquesne. (1909). ''Vie et Aventures galantes de la belle Sorel''. Paris
* Goldsmid, Edmund. (2010). ''A King's Mistress: Or, Charles Vii. & Agnes Sorel and Chivalry in the Xv. Century, Volumes 1–2''. Charleston: Nabu Press.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorel, Agnes
1422 births
1450 deaths
15th-century French women
15th-century French people
Deaths in childbirth
French artists' models
French ladies-in-waiting
French maids of honour
Agnes
Mistresses of French royalty
People from Indre-et-Loire
Unsolved deaths in France