Claudine Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin, Baroness of

Saint-Martin-de-Ré Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, "St Martin of Île de Ré, Ré"; Saintongeais dialect, Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'', before 1962: ''Saint-Martin'') is a Communes of France, commune in the western French Departments of France, department of Char ...

(27 April 1682 – 4 December 1749) was a French salonist and author. She was the mother of

Jean le Rond d'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert ( ; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the ''Encyclopé ...

, who later became a prominent

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

, ''

philosophe The were the intellectuals of the 18th-century European Enlightenment.Kishlansky, Mark, ''et al.'' ''A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy, volume II: Since 1555.'' (5th ed. 2007). Few were primarily philosophers; rathe ...

'' and contributor to the ''

Encyclopédie , better known as ''Encyclopédie'' (), was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. It was edited by Denis ...

, ''though she left him on the steps of the Church of Saint-Jean-le-Rond on the north side of Notre Dame cathedral a few days after his birth in November 1717.

Early life

Claudine was born in

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, France where her father, Antoine Guérin, sieur de Tencin, was president of the

parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

. Claudine was brought up at a convent near Grenoble and, at the wish of her parents, took the

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the human head, head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has be ...

but broke her vows and succeeded, in 1712, in gaining formal permission from

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

for her secularisation. She is reputed to have had a liaison, while still formally a nun, with the Irish exile soldier Arthur Dillon.

Life as a socialite

She joined her sister Mme. de Ferriol in Paris, where she soon established a salon, frequented by wits and roués. Among her numerous lovers and benefactors was the Chevalier Louis-Camus Destouches, by whom she had an illegitimate son,

Guillaume Dubois Guillaume Dubois (; 6 September 1656 – 10 August 1723) was a French cardinal and statesman. Life and government Early years Dubois, the third of the four great Cardinal-Ministers ( Richelieu, Mazarin, Dubois, and Fleury), was born in Brive-l ...

, the future First Minister was reportedly another of her lovers, even after he became

Archbishop of Cambrai This is a List of bishops and archbishops of Cambrai, that is, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai. Bishops For the first bishops of Arras and Cambrai, who resided at the former place, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras. On the death ...

; but the affair, if it existed, was conducted with discretion. One of her liaisons did have a tragic ending. In 1726 a former lover Charles-Joseph de la Fresnaye committed suicide in her house, and Mme. de Tencin spent some time in the Châtelet and then in the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

in consequence, but was soon liberated as the result of a declaration of her innocence by the

Grand Conseil The term Grand Conseil () or Great Council refers two different institutions during the Ancien Régime in France. It also is the name of parliaments in several Swiss cantons. Ancien Régime France Part of the King's Council Starting in the 13th ...

. From this time she devoted herself to political intrigue, especially for the preferment of her brother the abbé Tencin, who became

archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called Primate o ...

and received a cardinal's hat. The nature of her relationship with her brother was a subject of much speculation, but although she never troubled to deny the rumours, there seems to be no evidence that their affection was more than fraternal. She also was involved with King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

's best friend, the Maréchal de Richelieu, over whom she allegedly exercised considerable control. The correspondence between Claudine, her brother and Richelieu shows a deep involvement in the behind-the-scenes intrigues at

's court at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

.'Correspondance du Cardinal de Tencin; Ministre d'État, et de Madame de Tencin sa Soeur, avec le Duc de Richelieu', 1790 https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Correspondance_du_Cardinal_de_Tencin_et.html?id=zG5OAAAAcAAJ&redir_esc=y Eventually, she formed a literary salon, which had among its habitués

Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (; ; 11 February 1657 – 9 January 1757), also called Bernard Le Bouyer de Fontenelle, was a French author and an influential member of three of the academies of the Institut de France, noted especially for his ...

Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal sou ...

Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre Charles-Irénée Castel, abbé de Saint-Pierre (18 February 1658 – 29 April 1743) was a French writer. Biography In 1718, Saint-Pierre published ''Discours sur la polysynodie'', where he proposed that appointed ministers be replaced by ...

Pierre de Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (; ; 4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. Marivaux is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, w ...

Alexis Piron Alexis Piron (9 July 1689 – 21 January 1773) was a French epigrammatist and dramatist. Life Alexis Piron was born in Dijon, where his father, Aimé Piron, was an apothecary. Piron senior wrote verse in the Burgundian language. Alexis began ...

and others. Hers was the first of the Parisian literary salons which admitted distinguished foreigners. Among her English guests were

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (; 16 September 1678 – 12 December 1751) was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tory (British political party), Tories, and supported the ...

and

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (22 September 169424 March 1773) was a British statesman, diplomat, man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time. Early life He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Chesterfie ...

Novels

She was a novelist of considerable merit. Her novels have been highly praised for their simplicity and charm, the last qualities the circumstances of the writer's life would lead one to expect in her work. The best of them is ''Mémoires du comte de Comminge'' (1735), which was believed to have been written, as were the other two, by her nephews, MM. d'Argental and Pont de Veyle, the real authorship being carefully concealed. Her works, with those of Marie-Madeleine de La Fayette, were edited by Etienne and Jay (Paris, 1825); her novels were reprinted, with introductory matter by Lescure, in 1885; and her correspondence in the ''Lettres de Mmes. de Villars, de La Fayette et de Tencin'' (Paris, 1805–1832).

References

Attribution: *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerin de Tencin, Claudine 1682 births 1749 deaths Writers from Grenoble 18th-century French nuns Former Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns French salon-holders French baronesses French women novelists 18th-century French writers 18th-century French women writers 18th-century French letter writers Courtesans from Paris