Maria-Angelica de Scorail de Roussilles, Duchess de Fontanges (born 1661 - died June 28, 1681) is one of the many mistresses of King Louis XIV of France.
Among the significant hobbies of Louis, there is one that briefly flared up and remained in the memory of contemporaries, because the object of passion - the young Angelica de Scorail de Roussil, better known as the Duchess de Fontanges - was simply breathtaking, fantastically beautiful … And because she is so early and died mysteriously.
Yes, her name was Angelica, like the heroine of the famous book series by Anne and Serge Golon about Angelique de Peyrac, who shone at the court of Louis XIV, but did not yield to him. Between these two Angelica in common, except for the name, except that the color of the hair: they were both blonde. Otherwise, they have completely different characters and fates, and Angelica de Skorai cannot be the prototype of Angelica de Peyrac, although there is a similar version.
It turned out that Angelica de Fontanges "wedged herself" between two great favorites: between the period when the king's life was ruled by the Marquis de Montespan, and the period when he fell in love with Madame de Maintenon. The Marquis de Montespan is even credited with a statement supposedly addressed to Madame de Maintenon: "The king has three women: I am the official favorite, this girl owns his nights, and you own his heart."
However, this can hardly be true, because Montespan never had such sympathy for Mentenon and was too egocentric to admit that the monarch's heart could belong to someone else besides herself. As for the position of the official favorite, there was a period, albeit a short one, when the young beauty Angelica de Fontange ousted Montespan on her "throne".
Angelica and the king
Angelica de Fontanges's father, Jean de Schoray, was the governor of Auvergne. She was 16 when her cousin came to visit her father. An experienced courtier, he was shocked by the beauty of Angelica and immediately understood what benefits the family could get if they present a girl at court: at least she will make a brilliant party, and ideally, she will become one of the king's favorites! Uncle achieved for Angelica a place of maid of honor in the retinue of Elizabeth Charlotte of Palatinate, Monsieur's wife.
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One of the ambassadors at the French court recalled that Angelica was “a blonde of stunning beauty, the likes of which had not been seen in Versailles for many years. The figure, boldness, her whole appearance shook and bewitched even such a gallant and refined court."
"Lovely like an angel," wrote another contemporary about her, "but stupid as a cork." He was probably wrong. Angelica was not that stupid. She was simply a quiet and unambitious girl. She would like to marry some middle class nobleman, go to his estate, give birth to his children and live a leisurely, blissful life. She did not even enjoy the court atmosphere and her position as the recognized first beauty. And she didn't really want to become the king's favorite. Of course, she was flattered by the universal admiration. But the excessive vanity of court life was depressing. She seemed like a creature out of this world: white-skinned, very fair-haired, tender, like a porcelain doll or a sugar lamb.
Louis drew attention to her beauty right away, but at first he mockingly called the meek Angelica "a wolf that will not eat me": all the beautiful women at court were "wolves" for the king, who hunted him, wanting to get at least a little attention from the king. Sated, the monarch did not want to hunt for anyone himself. But the indifference of this gentle beauty, constantly pensive, as if immersed in her own invisible world, at first touched him, then provoked him. He began to seek the location of Angelica, and achieved quickly enough: the relatives literally pushed the girl into the arms of the sovereign, and she was obedient, and maybe she even liked the king. However, nothing is known about her feelings for Louis. Even if she loathed the king, she still dutifully lay down in his bed.
Was the monarch in love with Angelica? Perhaps not as in his main favorites, but, without a doubt, his passion for the young beauty was very stormy. 1678 - their romance began. The king seemed to look younger, the society of the young creature breathed energy into him, he again began to dress up, again carried away by masquerades and performances, because Angelica loved them. They often went hunting together, Angelica was a wonderful rider. The king showered Angelica with gifts and literally enjoyed her squandering. Unlike other ladies, Angelica de Fontanges spent huge sums not on outfits and jewelry, but on thoroughbred horses.
1679 - Louis announced that Angelica de Scorai is the official favorite of the king.
At that time she was already pregnant with Louis.
The Marquise de Montespan, who at first took part in the fate of the girl, who invited her to her chosen circle, who was looking for a groom for Angelica and who was sure that nothing threatened her from the side of this quiet girl, was furious. She began to fear that Angelica would take her place. And she did everything possible to get rid of her rival. At first, Angelica's pregnancy was easy, and suddenly a young, healthy, blooming woman began to fall ill, could not eat anything, lost weight, walked with difficulty, choked … Perhaps the reasons were natural, the course of pregnancy can change to dysfunctional. But contemporaries were convinced that Mademoiselle de Scorail was trying to poison the Marquis.
1679, December - Angelica de Fontange gave birth to a dead boy. And no longer recovered from childbirth. She did not stop being ill. Her bleeding and pain did not stop. Her beauty faded, the fresh whiteness of her face replaced by an unhealthy pallor. Strange spots appeared on the skin, which she camouflaged with flies. The fashion for flies in the neckline was immediately taken over by the whole yard, and the favorite was getting worse and worse.
And then it became clear: the monarch did not love Angelica, but only her beauty. One lady of the court wrote: “The king, in truth, was attracted only by her face. Her silly chatter irritated him. You can get used to beauty, but not to stupidity. When the beauty was gone, the king began to feel burdened by the company of the weakened favorite, who was no longer able to share cheerful fun with him and even delight him in bed. When Angelica asked to let her go to the monastery, where she could improve her health, Louis let her go with a light heart, bestowing the title of Duchess de Fontanges in parting.
It seems that Mademoiselle de Scaray realized that she would not return to Versailles. She left in deep anguish. Madame de Sevigne wrote: “Angelique de Fontanges is leaving. She has 4 carriages drawn by six horses, she is accompanied by all her sisters, but everything looks so sad that it is unbearable to look at it - this stunning beauty has lost all her blood, turned pale, changed, she is overwhelmed with sadness, despite the granted 40,000 livres of annual income … All she wants is to regain the health and heart of the king."
She was unable to restore either the health or the heart of the king. The bleeding continued, she was completely exhausted, and although in the abbey of Schelle, where Angelica came for treatment, the nuns were famous for their medicinal skills, they could not help her.
1681, spring - the Duchess de Fontanges took to her bed and hardly got up. In May, she asked the king to visit her. Louis arrived, spent several hours at the bedside of the former favorite. At the sight of how this 20-year-old beauty melted away, Louis did not hold back his tears, and they claim that Angelica whispered: “Now I can die happy, I know that my king grieves for me, I believe that he will not forget me.
Death of a royal mistress
1681, June 28 - Angelica de Fontange dies. Contemporaries believed that poison was the cause of her death. Nowadays, having studied the autopsy protocol, scientists have passed the verdict that pleurisy finished off the duchess, probably due to the fact that Angelica spent most of her time lying in bed. However, what put her to bed - poison or natural causes - is unknown.
The young favorite made history
And yet, despite the fragility of her radiance, the young beauty went down in history. And at least in the history of fashion: thanks to the "fountain" hairstyle, which she allegedly invented by accident. “Legend has it that once, while hunting in Fontainebleau, the horse on which she was galloping rushed into the thicket, and the complex hairstyle of many curls, to which the branches clung, fell apart and disheveled. The resourceful young lady tied her hair with a ribbon (there is a version that it was a garter for a stocking), and the monarch liked the sight of a cascade of golden hair, scattered down the back and carelessly gathered, that he asked the favorite not to change her hairstyle until the evening.
The very next day, the fountain hairstyle became fashionable at the court,”says fashion historian Maryana Skuratovskaya. - At first, the hair was simply decorated in a special way with lace, but over time, the hairstyle became more complicated, and in the end it turned into a complex tall structure of hair, a wire frame and several rows of rigidly starched lace. But the name will remain. The fashion for "fountain" will last for several decades, but then, when it disappears, forever, nevertheless, it will retain the name of the young favorite …"
Cause of death … poisoning?
Suspicions that the beautiful Angelica de Fontanges did not die a natural death did not appear from scratch. The strange symptoms of her illness openly hinted that the poor thing was being treated with poison. And who else benefits from it if not the Marquis de Montespan? In addition, just at that time, ominous rumors spread about the Marquis - allegedly she was engaged in black magic …
The king's passion for young Angelica de Fontanges actually made Madame de Montespan worried, and her pregnancy, apparently, completely drove her to despair. Otherwise, why did she think that she had no other choice but to trust the mystical powers? However, perhaps she simply decided to take the easy path. It's so simple: one small ritual, a few drops of magic potion - and no intrigues are needed, rivals will be eliminated, Louis will no longer look at any of the women and will love only her. What a temptation!
How else to explain the participation of the Marquise de Montespan in satanic rituals? After all, the fact that she was very pious is pure truth, and, committing godly lewd practices, she could not but know that she was destroying her soul. Was ambition, power and wealth more important to her? Or perhaps the Marquise hoped that sometime later she would be able to ask the Lord for forgiveness? Who knows … At that time, piety did not prevent anyone from sinning.
E. Prokofieva