On this day, Mme de Maintenon writes to the Abbess of Fontevrault, among other things, about a portrait that the latter previously requested:
“I admit to you in all simplicity, Madame, that I forgot that I had promised you a portrait of our princess. Since I have already made you wait for it, have the further goodness to let me know which size and which pose you would like it to be and I will repair my fault.”
Commentary:
The princess in question is the Duchesse de Bourgogne, who is the apple of the King’s eye and Mme de Maintenon’s. To be frank, they seem much fonder of her than of her husband, the King’s eldest grandson. Still only 16, she has been at Versailles for three and a half years at this date. Since her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law are both long dead, she is the first lady of the land.
Pictured: Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie (1685-1712), Princess of Savoy and Duchesse de Bourgogne, later Dauphine de France, by Gobert. Public domain.
There were 38 abbesses of the vast and vastly rich abbey of Fontevrault, also spelled Fontevraud or Fontevrauld, between its foundation in 1115 and its dissolution in 1792. Mme de Maintenon’s correspondent is the 33rd abbess, Gabrielle de Rochechouart, who has been in office since 1670. Alert readers will recognize her family name. She is a sister of Mme de Montespan. A woman of great learning as well as great faith and great ability, she finds time amid her administrative duties and devotions to translate Homer and Plato. She is called ‘the Queen of Abbesses.’ Her sister’s fall from royal favour has not impaired the King’s esteem for her.
Pictured: Marie-Madeleine-Gabrielle de Rochechouart (1645-1704), Abbess of Fontevraud from 1670 until her death.
As for Madame de Montespan, the former royal mistress is still alive at this date but she left the court a decade ago and is all but forgotten. The King is never heard to mention her name, and her children with him, the Duchesse d’Orléans, the Duchesse de Bourbon, the Duc du Maine, and the Comte de Toulouse, never speak of her, either.
If you have questions that I have not addressed in the commentary, please ask in the comments.
Hi David, how was Marie-Adelaïde de Savoie related to Louise-Gabrielle de Savoie, Philippe V of Spain's first wife?