Claudine Françoise Mignot (20 January 1624 – 30 November 1711) was a French adventuress born near

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, at

Meylan Meylan (; ) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration). Population Misuse of public money In 2013, the newly reelected Mayor of Meylan Marie-Christine Tardy was bro ...

. She was commonly called "Marie".

Biography

At the age of sixteen, she attracted the notice of the secretary Pierre de Portes d'Amblérieu, treasurer of the province of

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

, and Pierre promised to promote their marriage. Instead, he married her himself on 29 July 1640 and left her his fortune. Immediately on her marriage with Pierre she had begun to educate herself, and her wealth and talents assured her a welcome in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. His will was disputed by his family, and Claudine went to Paris in 1653 to secure its fulfilment. She sought the protection of ,

marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

, then a man of seventy-five. He married her on 25 August 1653, within a week of their first meeting, and after seven years of marriage died on 20 April 1660, leaving her part of his estate. They had one son (c. 1654 – c. 1657). By a third and

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

on 14 September 1672 with John Casimir, former

king of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

. A few weeks before his sudden death, she received a third enormous fortune. In the testament, written on 12 December 1672 in Nevers, John Casimir called himself her debtor. They had one daughter named Marie Catherine, to whom her father left fifteen thousand

livres Livre may refer to: Currency * French livre, one of a number of obsolete units of currency of France * Livre tournois, one particular obsolete unit of currency of France * Livre parisis, another particular obsolete unit of currency of France * F ...

, and asked her to join the

Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (), abbreviated VSM and also known as the Visitandines, is a Catholic Church, Catholic religious order of Pontifical Right for women. Members of the order are also known as the Salesian Sisters (not to be ...

. She retired in her old age to a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

convent, where she died on 30 November 1711. Her history was the subject of a play by

Bayard Bayard may refer to: People *Bayard (given name) * Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places Antarctica * Bayard Islands, off the coast of Graham Land, Antarctica Canada * Bayard, Saskatch ...

and

Paul Duport Nicolas-Paul Duport (22 April 1798 – 26 December 1866) was a French dramatist and librettiste who also wrote under the pen names M. P. D., Paulin and Erbert. Theatre * 1824 : ''Le Beau-frère, ou la Veuve à 2 maris'', comédie-vaudeville in ...

: ''Marie Mignot'' (1829).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mignot, Claudine Francoise 1624 births 1711 deaths Mingnot, Claudine People from Grenoble Morganatic spouses