Béatrice d'Hirson (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

14th century) was a

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 ...

to the French noblewoman

Mahaut, Countess of Artois Mahaut of Artois also known as Mathilda (1268 27 November 1329), ruled as Countess of Artois from 1302 to 1329. She was furthermore regent of the County of Burgundy from 1303 to 1315 during the minority and the absence of her daughter, Joan II, ...

In fiction

Although an obscure historical figure, Béatrice is an important character in

Maurice Druon Maurice Druon (; 23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Française, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999. Life and career Born in Paris, France, Druon was the ...

's series of French

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

s, '' Les Rois maudits'' (''The Accursed Kings)''. In the novels, she practices

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

and is adept with poisons; she is claimed to have helped her mistress Mahaut poison two French kings, and then gone on to poison Mahaut herself. ''Les Rois maudits'' was adapted into two French television miniseries in 1972 and 2005, and Béatrice was played by Catherine Rouvel in the 1972, and by

Jeanne Balibar Jeanne Balibar (born 13 April 1968) is a French actress and singer. Life and career Balibar was born in Paris, the daughter of Marxist philosopher Étienne Balibar and physicist Françoise Balibar. She started her career as a student in th ...

in 2005.

References

French ladies-in-waiting 14th-century French women Fiction about poisonings {{France-noble-stub