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Escadron Volant
Escadron volant (" heFlying squadron") was a term used in the propaganda against the queen-regent of France, Catherine de' Medici. It was a part of the Black Legend around Catherine de' Medici, alongside her alleged use of poison, witchcraft and political conspiracies. The term stood for the beautiful ladies-in-waiting of the queen dowager, whom she is claimed to have specifically employed in order to use them as spies to further her political agenda by exploiting their beauty and sexuality. History The French Huguenot Protestants referred to these ladies-in-waiting as "a stable of whores", who where prostituted by the queen-regent to further her political goals, and used it as an example of the decadence of the Catholic House of Valois. The historical truth of the term is dubious. Queen Catherine de' Medici is known to have employed a famously large number of ladies-in-waiting; a larger number than most French queens. It was not uncommon for women of the royal court to have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catherine De' Medici
Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. She was the mother of French kings Francis II of France, Francis II, Charles IX of France, Charles IX, and Henry III of France, Henry III. She was a cousin of Pope Clement VII. The years during which her sons reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici" since she had extensive, albeit at times varying, influence on the political life of France. Catherine was born in Florence to Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne. In 1533, at the age of 14, Catherine married Henry, the second son of King Francis I of France, Francis I and Queen Claude of France, who would become Dauphin of France (heir to the throne) upon the death of his elder brother Francis III, Duke of Brittany, F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Valois
The Capetian House of Valois ( , also , ) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the List of French monarchs, French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the family founded cadet branches in House of Valois#Dukes of Orléans, Orléans, House of Valois-Anjou, Anjou, House of Valois-Burgundy, Burgundy, and Counts and dukes of Alençon, Alençon. The Valois descended from Charles, Count of Valois (1270–1325), the second surviving son of King Philip III of France (reigned 1270–1285). Their title to the throne was based on a precedent in 1316 (later retroactively attributed to the Merovingian dynasty, Merovingian Salic law) which excluded females (Joan II of Navarre), as well as male descendants through the wikt:distaff side#English, distaff side (Edward III of England), from the succession to the French throne. After holding the throne for several centuries the Valois ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlotte De Sauve
Charlotte de Beaune Semblançay, Viscountess of Tours, Baroness de Sauve, Marquise de Noirmoutier (26 October 1551 – 30 September 1617) was a French noblewoman and a mistress of King Henry of Navarre, who later ruled as King Henry IV of France. She was a member of queen mother Catherine de' Medici's notorious " Flying Squadron" (''L'escadron volant'' in French), a group of beautiful female spies and informants recruited to seduce important men at court, and thereby extract information to pass on to the Queen Mother.Strage, Mark (1976). ''Women of Power: The Life and Times of Catherine de Medici''. New York and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. p.185. Biography Charlotte was born in France on 26 October 1551, the daughter and only child of Jacques de Beaune, Baron Semblançay, Viscount of Tours, and Gabrielle de Sade, a descendant of Provençal nobility. The family seat was in the former province of Touraine. Her great-grandfather, Jacques de Beaune was a superintendent o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry IV Of France
Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. He pragmatically balanced the interests of the Catholic and Protestant parties in France, as well as among the European states. He was assassinated in Paris in 1610 by a Catholic zealot, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII. Henry was baptised a Catholic but raised as a Huguenot in the Protestant faith by his mother, Queen Jeanne III of Navarre. He inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on his mother's death. As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the French Wars of Religion, barely escaping assassination in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. He later led Protestant forces against the French royal army. Henry inherited the thro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isabelle De Limeuil
Isabelle de la Tour, Lady of Limeuil (c. 1535 – 25 March 1609) was a French noblewoman and a Maid of Honour to the Queen Mother Catherine de' Medici. She also formed part of Catherine's notorious " flying squadron" (''L'escadron volant''), a group of beautiful female spies she used for the purpose of forming sexual liaisons with various powerful men at the French court thereby extracting information which would then be passed on to her. In about 1562 at Catherine's instigation, she became the mistress of Louis, Prince of Condé, brother of King Antoine of Navarre and one of the leading Huguenots in France. Two years later when Isabelle created a scandal by giving birth to his son whilst the court was on a royal progress, she was banished to a convent. She later married wealthy Tuscan banker Scipion Sardini, a favoured protégé of Catherine de' Medici. Family Isabelle was born in Limeuil, France in about 1535, a daughter of Gilles de la Tour, Viscount of Turenne, Baron of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Mignons
Les Mignons (from ''mignon'', French language, French for "the darlings" or "the dainty ones") was a term used by polemicists in the contentious atmosphere of the French Wars of Religion and taken up by the people of Paris, to designate the favourites of Henry III of France, from his return from Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland to reign in France in 1574, to his assassination in 1589, a disastrous end to which the perception of effeminate weakness contributed. The ''mignons'' were frivolous and fashionable young men, to whom public malignity attributed heterodox sexuality, rumors that some historians have found to be a factor in the disintegration of the late House of Valois, Valois monarchy. History According to the contemporary chronicler Pierre de l'Estoile, they made themselves "exceedingly odious, as much by their foolish and haughty demeanour, as by their effeminate and immodest dress, but above all by the immense gifts the king made to them." The Joyeuse wedding in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catherine De' Medici's Court Festivals
Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christian era it came to be associated with the Greek adjective (), meaning 'pure'. This influenced the name's English spelling, giving rise to variants ''Katharine'' and ''Catharine''. The spelling with a middle 'a' was more common in the past. ''Katherine'', with a middle 'e', was first recorded in England in 1196 after being brought back from the Crusades. Popularity and variations Anglophone use In Britain and America, ''Catherine'' and its variants have been among the 100 most popular names since 1880. Amongst the most common variants are ''Katherine'' and ''Kathryn''. The spelling ''Catherine'' is common in both English and French. Less-common variants in English include ''Katharine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Royal Court
French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), a British rock band * "French" (episode), a live-action episode of ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' * ''Française'' (film), a 2008 film * French Stewart (born 1964), American actor Other uses * French (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * French (tunic), a type of military jacket or tunic * French's, an American brand of mustard condiment * French (catheter scale), a unit of measurement * French Defence, a chess opening * French kiss, a type of kiss See also * France (other) * Franch, a surname * French Revolution (other) * French River (other), several rivers and other places * Frenching (other) * Justice French (other) Justice French may refer to: * C. G. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
