Marie-Élisabeth "Isabelle" de Ludres, Marquess of Ludres (1647 – 28 January 1726) was a French

noblewoman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteri ...

and lady-in-waiting, known for being the

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

, King of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

between 1675 and 1676.

Early life

Marie-Élisabeth de Ludres was born in 1647 in Ludres,

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following th ...

as the daughter of Jean de Ludres and his wife, born Claude des Salles. She was sent to the '' Chapitre des dames nobles de Poussay'' ( Chapter of the Noble Ladies of

Poussay Poussay () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Inhabitants are called ''Porsuavitains'' (from the Latin version of Poussay, ''Portus Suavis''). Geography The commune is positioned on the plain that adjoins ...

), where she was raised as a secular canoness among other daughters of the local

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

.https://livre.fnac.com/a5038/Michel-Parisse-Les-chapitres-de-dames-nobles-entre-France-et-Empire Charles IV de Lorraine

Relationship with Charles IV of Lorraine

In 1662, Charles IV, the 58-year-old Duke of

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

and Bar (1604–1675) visited the chapter and met the 15-year-old Ludres, promptly deciding to marry her because of her great beauty. He had abandoned his wife, Duchess Nicole (1608–1657), marrying bigamously his

Béatrix de Cusance Béatrix de Cusance (27 December 1614 – 5 June 1663), Baroness of Belvoir, was the second wife of Charles IV, former reigning Duke of Lorraine. She was a correspondent of Constantijn Huygens. Early life She was the second child and first dau ...

, Baroness of Belvoir and Saint-Julien (1614–1663), and was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

for this. By 1662, however, he had also abandoned the baroness and the children they had together, then returned to them when his legal wife died in 1657, only to leave them again for Ludres. Their engagement lasted a year before the duke decided to marry the baroness instead on 20 May 1663. When the new duchess died a few weeks after the marriage on 5 June, Ludres expected the duke to return to her. Instead, he chose Marie-Louise d'Aspremont (1651/1652–1692), a 14-year-old noble girl. Ludres actively opposed their marriage, having the support of the Lorraine

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. Charles threatened to prosecute her for

lèse-majesté Lèse-majesté () or lese-majesty () is an offence against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from the French, w ...

and married Aspremont.

In the French court

In 1664, Ludres left

for the French

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

, retaining her title of

canoness Canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic Rule of St. Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and Rule are common to both. As with the ...

. She was presented to the King

on 6 May of that year in the presence of her parents, her brother, and her ex-fiancé. She was appointed lady-in-waiting to the Duchess Henrietta of Orléans (1644–1670), the king's sister-in-law, known at the court as "Madame". Upon Madame's death in 1670, Ludres was sent to serve Queen (consort) Maria Theresa (1638–1683). When Duke Philippe I of Orléans remarried to

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

Elizabeth Charlotte "Liselotte" of the Palatinate in 1673, known as "Madame Palatine", Ludres was re-appointed to her court. Louis XIV by Robert Nanteuil 1670

Relationship with Louis XIV

Ludres' beauty and her Lorraince accent attracted many

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official ...

s, whom she all resisted. Around

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

1675, during a conflict with her ''

maîtresse-en-titre ''maîtresse-en-titre'' () was the chief royal mistress of the King of France. The title came into use during the reign of Henry IV and continued through the reign of Louis XV. It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartme ...

'' (official mistress)

Madame de Montespan Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

(1640–1707), the king himself,

(1638–1715) took an interest in her. They started a discreet affair, but Montespan became jealous. She started a rumour that Ludres suffered of scabies,

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

, and all imaginable diseases. The king falsified the allegations by keeping Ludres with him. However, when the king and Montespan made peace, he was forced to at least pretend to break up with Ludres. Montespan continued to mock and criticise Ludres in front of Louis, calling her an ''haillon'' (rag), and imitating her Lorraine accent and her

naivety Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...

. Still, when she had to leave the court in 1676 to give birth to the king's sixth

illegitimate child Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

, she could not prevent Louis and Ludres from reuniting.

Fall from grace

Follower Pierre Mignard - Portrait of a Lady, said to be Madame de Montespan

While the king was away fighting against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, Ludres spread the word about their affair, even saying that she was pregnant by him. The ladies who had the privilege of sitting on a stool in the queen's presence stood up when Ludres arrived. She boasted that she had beaten Madame de Montespan and already saw herself as the new royal

favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated s ...

. She even wrote a letter to the king, which irritated him as he wanted their relationship to remain secret. He broke off all relations with her. After the king and Madame de Montespan had both returned, one day the court was hearing

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

. The king greeted Ludres, for which Montespand reproached both of them, signaling her rival's final fall.

Later life

In early 1678, Ludres left the service of the

Duchess of Orléans Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

and retired to the ''couvent de la Visitation de Sainte-Marie'' in Paris (

Convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

of the Visitation of Holy

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

), which belonged to the

Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary , image = Salesas-escut.gif , size = 175px , abbreviation = V.S.M. , nickname = Visitandines , motto = , formation = , founder = Saint Bishop Francis de ...

. The king was indifferent to her departure, but offered her a generous sum of money, which she refused. She lived for several years in the convent, but had to ask for a pension from the king to repay her

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

s. She then returned to Lorraine and lived in the Castle of Vaucouleurs. Here, her cook was Fabien Bécu (de Cantigny), who met his second wife, Anne Husson, a chambermaid, there. Their granddaughter, Jeanne Bécu, born in

Vaucouleurs Vaucouleurs () is a commune in the Meuse department, northeastern France. It is situated on the river Meuse, approximately from Toul and Commercy. History Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville (1225/33 – 21 October 1314) also known as ...

in 1743, would go on to become Madame du Barry, mistress of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

, the great-grandson and successor of Ludres' former lover. In 1720, Ludres was created Marquess of Ludres by Louis XV. She died in Nancy, Lorraine on 28 January 1726, aged almost 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isabelle De Ludres 1647 births 1726 deaths 1680 crimes French ladies-in-waiting Mistresses of Louis XIV Household of Maria Theresa of Spain