Maîtresse-en-titre

Madame du Barry became a Maîtresse-en-titre despite her "low birth", which was considered scandalous.
Agnès Sorel
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Madame de Pompadour

The maîtresse-en-titre (French: [mɛtʁɛs ɑ̃ titʁ]) was the official royal mistress of the King of France.[1] The title was vaguely defined and used in the Middle Ages but finally became an acknowledged, if informal, position during the reign of Henry IV (r. 1589–1610), and continued through the reign of Louis XV (r. 1715–1774). It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartments, estates and a title if the woman did not have any.[2]

Some individuals having this position acquired significant power and more influence than the Queen of France, as some mistresses were known to advise the King of France in state affairs if he was so infatuated, broker favors for clients, elevate others in social mobility, forge alliances and negotiate with foreign diplomats.[3]

In contrast, the title Petite maîtresse was the title of a mistress who was not officially acknowledged.

French royal mistresses with the position of Maîtresse-en-titre

While the king may have had many mistresses, there was normally only one official Maîtresse-en-titre. Below are examples of those with this position. For a full list of all the mistresses of a French king, regardless of their position as official or not, please see List of French royal mistresses.

Charles V of France (1338 – 1380)

  • Biette de Cassinel (c. 1340 – c. 1380)

Charles VI of France (1368 – 1422)

  • Odette de Champdivers (c. 1384–1424)

Charles VII of France (1403 – 1461)

  • Agnès Sorel (c. 1422–1450)
  • Antoinette de Maignelais (c. 1430 – c. 1461)

Louis XI of France (1423 – 1483)

  • Phélise Regnard (1424–1474)
  • Marguerite de Sassenage (c. 1449–1471)

Francis I of France (1494 – 1547)

Henry II of France (1519 – 1559)

Henry III of France (1551 – 1589)

  • Louise de La Béraudière du Rouhet (1530–1611)
  • Renée de Rieux de Châteauneuf (fl. 16th C.)
  • Marie of Cleves, Princess of Condé (1553–1574)

Henry IV of France (1553 – 1610)

  • Diane d'Andoins "La Belle Corisandre" (1554–1621)
  • Françoise de Montmorency (1562–1614)
  • Esther Imbert (1570 – c. 1593)
  • Antoinette de Pons (1570–1632)
  • Gabrielle d'Estrées (c. 1571–1599)
  • Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues (1579–1633), marquise de Verneuil
  • Jacqueline de Bueil (c. 1580–1651)
  • Charlotte des Essarts (c. 1580–1651)

Louis XIV of France (1638 – 1715)

Louis XV of France (1710 – 1774)

Louis XVIII of France (1755 – 1824)

  • Zoé Talon, comtesse du Cayla (1785–1852)

See also

References

  1. ^ Lewis, Brenda Ralph (2016-07-15). The Untold History of the Kings and Queens of Europe. ISBN 9781502619099.
  2. ^ Hunter-Stiebel, Penelope; Leyzour, Philippe Le; Baumont, Olivier (2008). La volupté du goût: La peinture française au temps de madame de Pompadour. ISBN 9782757201695.
  3. ^ Adams, Tracy (2022), Monagle, Clare Frances (ed.), "The Invention of the French Royal Mistress", The Intellectual Dynamism of the High Middle Ages, Amsterdam University Press, pp. 317–336, doi:10.1017/9789048537174.016, ISBN 978-90-485-3717-4

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