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Marie Angélique de Scorailles
Duchess of Fontanges
Full name	Marie Angélique de Scorailles
Born	1661 Auvergne, France
Died	28 June 1681 Abbaye de Port Royal, France

Marie Angélique de Scorailles (1661 – 28 June 1681) was a French noblewoman and one of the many mistresses of Louis XIV. A lady-in-waiting to his sister-in-law the Duchess of Orléans, she caught the attention of the Sun King and became his lover in 1679. She died as a result of childbirth.

Mistress to a king, untimely death

Marie Angélique de Scorailles was born in Auvergne in July 1661. Having noticed her great beauty, a cousin was responsible for bringing her to the court of Louis XIV in 1678 as maid of honor of the Duchess of Orléans, sister of the king. Louis XIV was, at this time, torn between the Marquise de Montespan and Madame de Maintenon. Athénaïs de Montespan saw Marie Angélique as a way of reclaiming her royal lover - seduced by the beauty of the young girl, the King would then abandon the Marquise de Maintenon. Knowing that despite her physical charm, Marie Angélique was, according to the Cour, "stupid as a basket", Athénaïs was sure that Louis XIV would then return to her. The arrangements were quickly made, and, a few weeks after the presentation of the young girl, the king made her his new favourite and presented entertainments in her honour.

Louis showed his great affection for Marie Angélique by wearing ribbons often matched to hers. This flattery spoiled her, and she began to believe herself queen; she passed Queen Marie Thérèse without greeting, and treated Athénaïs de Montespan ignominiously. The king gave her one hundred thousand crowns a month, twice as gifts, but he could not exhaust her extravagance, her coach was being driven by eight horses, it seemed to "eat her reign at a time." For Fontanges, Louis XIV had become young, wearing diamonds, ribbons and feathers. Every day a new party, hunts, ballet, comedy -- never had luxury been pushed so far.

Soon, it appeared that she was pregnant, causing the wrath of Madame de Montespan, who did not think the king so enamoured of his young conquest. She then said to the Marquise de Maintenon "the king has three pillars: my name, this girl and your heart." Marie-Angélique soon created the famous fashion of Fontanges: during a ride in the forest of Fontainebleau, her hair clinging to a branch and she appears before the king dishevelled, which Louis found charming. The next day, all the courtiers adopted this hairstyle, except the Marquise de Montespan, who thought it in "bad taste".

In December 1679, Marie Angélique gave birth prematurely to a son who died at birth. She was then said to have been "wounded in the service." In 1680, the favour of Marie Angélique declined, after the king bestowed on her the title of Duchess of Fontanges. Still sick (suffering from serious blood loss) since the birth, she retired to the Abbey of Chelles, and did not reappear before the court. While the Duchess remained in the Abbey of Chelles, her doctor prescribed mineral water, six vials of which were dispensed each evening. These bottles were filled with poison, with the identity of the attempted poisoner unknown. In late 1680, Madame de Montespan brought two tame bears after the king offered to permit sack the sumptuous apartment of Mademoiselle de Fontanges in Versailles. The event made Marie Angélique the laughingstock of the whole court.

In 1681, Marie Angélique suffered a high fever and was sent to the abbey of Port-Royal. According to some sources, Marie Angélique gave birth prematurely to a stillborn girl in March. The poor girl did not long survive her retirement. One day the court learned that Mademoiselle Fontanges was going to die and had asked for the king. Louis XIV surrendered to the wishes of the patient, and seemed touched by the suffering of the poor girl, and wept. "I thank your majesty," murmured Fontanges, I'm happy because in my death bed I saw my king cry." The Duchess died on the night of 27 to 28 June 1681.

Dead by poisoning?

Marie Angélique died in full Affaire des Poisons (Case of Poisons), and poisoning is evoked to explain the early death of the young duchess. During the interrogation of witches and wizards, some of them mention the name of Mademoiselle de Fontanges, referring to a plot to poison the young woman. Thus, Marie-Marguerite Monvoisin, daughter of the sorceress La Voisin, accused accomplices of his late mother, having planned the poisoning of the Duchess of Fontanges. A man named Romani and Bertrand were some of those arrested in 1680. The first was accused of trying to sell poisonous stuffs to Miss Fontanges; the second of attempting to deliver to her gloves impregnated with poison. Defendants pronounce the name of Miss Carnation, lady's maid to the Marquise de Montespan. However, be aware that prisoners were able to communicate them in prison and at first seen, they agreed to say the more often the names of Madame de Montespan and Miss Fontanges hoping to not having to undergo the ordeal of torture. Their testimonies can be fabricated. It also appears that Frances Filastre, poisoner and abortionist, sought to enter the service of Marie Angélique de Fontanges. When asked, the Filastre denies attempt on the life of the young Duchess: all she wanted was to enter as a domestic service to provide for his family. Under torture, she admits, however, have acted on behalf of Madame de Montespan: Marquise wished the death of his young rival and regain the love of the king. And yet, before being executed, the poisoner returns to his statements: "All I said is false. I did that for me free of pain and torment of pain and fear that I rappliquât question. I say all this because I do not want to kill the guilty conscience of a lie." Clearly, the Marquise de Montespan has never sought to poison Miss Fontanges. Moreover, all attempts at poisoning failed. If Madame de Montespan had been involved in these conspiracies, it would have been easy to penetrate the poisoners in the yard. In 1680, it is clear that although Marie Angélique escaped an attempted poisoning: when she was sick at the Abbey of Chelles, her doctor prescribed mineral water which is made the same evening at six vials. Marie Angélique eatetk fortunately not for tomorrow, we see that the bottles are filled with poison. We do not know who was the author of this attempted poisoning.

When he learned the death of the Duchess, Louis XIV asked that there be no autopsy. This request of the monarch did amplify the doubts of poisoning. At the request of the family of the deceased, the autopsy still occurred. Without really means medical doctors diagnose TB with "rot total lung lobes rights" and "water in the membrane surrounding the heart which results in increasing the volume of the liver, that the called fatty liver." Thus, we are given is the cause of death of the duchess but do not in any way connected with the blood loss which she suffered for months from 1680. And for good reason, although doctors try to see clearly at the time, they were quickly discouraged.

They had in mind to explain these losses simply by a missed abortion. So the doctors thought that the young mistress of Louis XIV was guilty of the crime of infanticide and abortion. This makes no sense because all the king's mistresses (and Marie Angélique was no exception) wanted more than anything to give children the King to consolidate their place at court. It was not until the late twentieth century that a medical specialist, Professor of Gynecology Yves Malinas, conducted a study of the autopsy. According to him, Marie Angélique died of cancer of the fetal membrane. After childbirth, a piece of placenta remained in the body of the Duchess and would have caused the loss of blood. However, the Duchess of Fontanges gave birth to a son in late December 1679.

Although it shows signs of weakness due to her confinement, she did not have the least glorious day of the year 1680. At that time, his losses have not yet begun. These signs of weakness, therefore only prove that the Duchess resents pregnancies, in contrast to the Marquise de Montespan. Blood loss to begin mid-1680. Madame de Caylus wrote about Miss Fontanges "this girl was killed for trying to Fontainebleau from 13 May (1680), the same day that though the king was in labor and give birth. It was from still languishing." According to Ernest Lavisse and Bernard Christmas "Two miscarriages caused her to lose favor with the king." Can we really speak of miscarriage for the first pregnancy in 1679, as Marie Angélique is good to a son (born prematurely and who does not live) in December? Although the child of Marie Angélique, born prematurely, died a natural death, Princess Palatine, who does not like Madame de Montespan, wrote that he was probably poisoned by the Marquise! Yves Malinas, these losses of blood flow of a second miscarriage (or confinement) which, logically, takes place in 1680 when the bleeding starts. This may challenge some sources speaking of a child (usually a girl) stillborn in March 1681 because at that time, their losses, which last for months, the Duchess of Fontanges can hardly be pregnant again especially if a piece of placenta is still in it.

Legend has it that in 1695, the ghost of Marie Angélique appeared to the king when he came to bed. The Duchess then asked him to dispose of the Marquise de Maintenon would have recalled that when she was still alive, he had vowed repeatedly that she was the woman he loved best and today she was very sorry to see that he had forgotten so quickly in the arms of another. The Duchess told him that the return of Madame de Maintenon was the only solution to ease his future punishment in purgatory for this was that it was and that the king would be after death. She also reportedly told Louis XIV that his years of rule were numbered and that soon he would join her, she was waiting. She finally confessed that it was Madame de Montespan, who had been poisoned and begged Louis to abandon for good Madame de Maintenon and look only to God. It is true that the Marquise de Montespan was accused of the death of the Duchess of Fontanges: it would have killed Maria Angelica by administering a poison to be delayed, which would explain the sudden flow of blood began in 1680. For eleven months, Athenais de Montespan would slowly passing away and her rival. Before dying, the Duchess of Fontanges had indeed been responsible for his death deprived the favorite and the Princess Palatine wrote about that "it is certain that the Fontanges died poisoned. A servant that had won Montespan was destroyed with milk." Although science innocent of this crime the marquise, for some, the death of Miss Fontanges still does not appear to be natural.

See also

• French royal mistresses
• 1650–1700 in fashion

External links

• The Fontange

Template:Persondata

• Mistresses of Louis XIV of France
• French nobility
• 1661 births
• 1681 deaths
• French ladies-in-waiting
• French duchesses
• French Suo jure nobility
• Deaths in childbirth