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Agnès Sorel

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For the 1836 opera, seeAgnes Sorel (opera).

Agnès Sorel
Agnès Sorel asMadonna Lactans
Born1422
Fromenteau (Yzeures sur Creuse),Touraine,France
Died9 February 1450 (aged 28)
Jumièges,Normandy,France
OccupationMaid of honour
Known forRoyal mistress
PartnerCharles VII of France
Children
Parents
  • Jean Soreau
  • Catherine de Maignelais

Agnès Sorel(French pronunciation:[aɲɛssɔʁɛl];1422 – 9 February 1450), known by the sobriquetDame de beauté(Lady of Beauty), was afavouriteandchief mistressof KingCharles VII of France,by whom she bore four daughters.[1]She is considered the first officially recognizedroyal mistressof a French king. She was the subject of several contemporary paintings and works of art, includingJean Fouquet'sVirgin and Child Surrounded by Angels.

Life in the royal court[edit]

Right wing of theMelun Diptych:Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels
(depiction of Sorel byJean Fouquet)

Born in 1422, Agnes was the daughter of Jean Soreau,ChâtelainofCoudun,and his wife Catherine de Maignelais,[2]She was 20 or 21 years old when she was introduced to King Charles. At that time, Agnes was holding a position in the household ofRene I of Naples,as amaid of honourto his consortIsabella, Duchess of Lorraine.She then went on to serve as thelady-in-waitingforMarie d'Anjou,Charles VII of France's wife and Isabella's sister in law. Agnes would soon become his mistress.[3]The King gave her theChâteau de Loches(where he had been persuaded byJoan of Arcto be crowned King of France) as her private residence.

Soon, Agnes' presence was felt at the royal court inChinonwhere her company was alleged to have brought the king out of a protracted depression. Her influence on the court was first felt when she succeeded in convincing the poor king to rally his troops and drive English invaders from French soil. Agnes had a very strong influence on the king, and that, in addition to her extravagant tastes, earned her powerful enemies at court. She would become the first officially recognizedroyal mistressof a French king.[4]

Agnes generated scandal at court, particularly for popularizing the fashion oflow-cutgowns. This behavior was both imitated and scorned.Jean Juvénal des Ursins,the archbishop of Reims, counseled the king to correct such fashions as "front openings through which one sees the teats, nipples, and breasts of women" (ouvertures de par devant, par lesquelles on voit les tetins, tettes et seing des femmes).[5]

Further scandal was brought to court when painterJean Fouquetused her in his painting, theMelun Diptych,which depicted Agnes as the Mother of God. Courtiers were appalled that the king's mistress and the mother of Charles' illegitimate children was likened to Mary when her status was much less than holy.[6]

Children and death[edit]

Agnès gave birth to four daughters fathered by the king:

While pregnant with their fourth child, she journeyed fromChinonin midwinter to join Charles on the campaign of 1450 inJumièges,wanting to be with him as moral support. There, she suddenly became ill, and after giving birth, she and her daughter died on 9 February 1450.[9]She was 28 years old.[10]While the cause of death was originally thought to bedysentery,French forensic scientistPhilippe Charliersuggested in 2005 that Agnès died ofmercurypoisoning.[11]He offered no opinion about whether she was murdered.[11]Mercury was sometimes used in cosmetic preparations or to treat worms, and such use might have brought about her death. She was interred in the Church of St. Ours, inLoches.Her heart was buried in the Benedictine Abbey ofJumièges.[12]

Charles' son, the futureKing Louis XI,had been in open revolt against his father for the previous four years. It has been speculated that he had Agnès poisoned in order to remove what he may have considered her undue influence over the king. It was also speculated that French financier, noble and ministerJacques Cœurpoisoned her, though that theory is widely discredited as having been an attempt to remove Coeur from the French court.

Her cousinAntoinette de Maignelaistook her place as mistress to the king after her death.

Legacy[edit]

A 16th-century portrait afterJean Fouquet's 'Virgin and Child'

Sorel plays a main part inVoltaire's poemLa Pucelle.[13]She is the subject of an1836 operanamed after her. Two Russian operas from the late 19th century also portray her, along with Charles VII:Pyotr Tchaikovsky'sThe Maid of OrleansandCésar Cui'sThe Saracen.[14][15]

She is also a featured figure onJudy Chicago's installation pieceThe Dinner Party,being represented as one of the 999 names on theHeritage Floor.[16]Two garments use Sorel's name in their descriptors, Agnes Sorelbodice,Agnes Sorelcorsageand a fashion style named after her as well, Agnes Sorel style, which is described as a "princess" style of dressing.[17]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Wellman 2013,p. 44.
  2. ^Wellman 2013,p. 39.
  3. ^Wellman 2013,p. 40.
  4. ^Wellman 2013,p. 25.
  5. ^Delany 1998,pp. 108–109.
  6. ^Herman, Eleanor (2004).Sex With Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge(1st ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins. pp. 2–3.ISBN978-0-06-058544-0.
  7. ^Vale 1974,p. 92.
  8. ^Wellman 2013,p. 191.
  9. ^Wellman 2013,p. 46.
  10. ^Monks 1990,p. 10.
  11. ^abCharlier 2006.
  12. ^Le Maho 2012,p. 22.
  13. ^Severin, Nelly H. (1976). "Voltaire's Saint Joan: A Burlesque on Saints and Chastity".The South Central Bulletin.36(4): 150–152.doi:10.2307/3188316.JSTOR3188316.
  14. ^Haegeman, Marc (2013)."Tchaikovsky - The Maid of Orleans".Classical Net.Retrieved6 February2020.
  15. ^Neff, Lyle (July 1996)."The Saracen".Opera Glass.Stanford University.Retrieved6 February2020.
  16. ^Sackler 2007.
  17. ^Cumming, Cunnington & Cunnington 2010,p. 2.

Sources[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAgnès Sorel.
  • Henry Gardiner Adams, ed. (1857). "Agnes Sorel".A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography:14–15.WikidataQ115376488.
  • Autheman, Marc. (2008).Agnès Sorel: l'inspiratrice.ISBN978-2-84114-952-0
  • Desmondes, Tim. (2009).Agnes Sorel: The Breast And Crotch That Changed History.Austin: The Nazca Plains Corporation.ISBN1-934625-71-X
  • D'Orliac, Jehanne.(1931).The Lady of Beauty: Agnes Sorel. First Royal Favourite of France.J.B. Lippincott Company. Translated by M.C. Darnton
  • Duquesne. (1909).Vie et Aventures galantes de la belle Sorel.Paris
  • Goldsmid, Edmund. (2010).A King's Mistress: Or, Charles Vii. & Agnes Sorel and Chivalry in the Xv. Century, Volumes 1–2.Charleston: Nabu Press.ISBN1-146-95205-8
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