The Marquise de Maintenon-unofficial Queen of France, founder of the first girls ' school
Madame de Maintenon is known as one of the favorites of the" sun King " Louis XIV. Very few people know that this woman was also the founder of the secular women's education in France. The woman put a lot of effort to ensure that the girls could learn and was not afraid to enter into conflict with the powerful Catholic Church for this.
Introduction of Louis XIV de Bourbon to Madame de Maintenon happened thanks to another favorite of the monarch-Madame de Montespan. The mistress, who had great influence over the king, could not even imagine that the not particularly beautiful 25-year-old young widow d'Aubigne, whom she recommended as a nanny for the princes, would take her place.
Francoise d'Aubigne
D'Aubigne came from a poor noble family, which was also in disgrace because of its participation in the Protestant riots. The woman tried not to stand out among the other ladies, but she was always courteous and friendly. Perhaps it was the gentle nature that attracted the attention of Louis, who was fed up with the pretentious and noisy ladies of the royal court.
Despite the fact that the king from the first days of communication with d'Aubigne felt a craving for her, it took him almost ten years to understand that this is true love. Louis came to see the children, but he spent most of his time talking to their nanny, and these visits became longer and longer.
Castle de Maintenon
It is difficult to say at what point the relationship between the governess and the king became serious, but 15 years after the first acquaintance ,the "sun king" granted the woman the title of Marquise de Maintenon and the estate near Chartres, not far from Paris. Five years later, the new Marchioness was accepted into the court staff of the king's daughter and could be in the royal palaces legally, as a lady-in-waiting.
The Marquise de Montespan lost its former influence on the monarch and came out on top ... the queen. De Maintenon, brought up on the strict moral principles of Protestantism, did not tire of pointing out to the king his wrong attitude towards his lawful spouse, and this worked.
The greater the influence of the new favorite on the king, the more despondent the royal court became. Once cheerful, prone to feasts and enchanting balls, the monarch was not recognized — Louis turned into a strict champion of morality and chastity. Because of this change, the courtiers hated de Maintenon, but there was nothing they could do. When the queen died, the king secretly married the 48-year-old nanny of his children and she became the unofficial queen of France.
Before d'Aubigne was accepted at the court of the king, fate did not spoil her. Francoise was born, and this is the name the girl received at birth, in prison, in the fortress of Niort, where her parents were imprisoned by Cardinal Richelieu after the Huguenot uprising. Her father was one of the leaders of the rebels and he miraculously managed to escape the death that befell many of his comrades.
The fortress of Niort, where the Marquise de la Vie was born Maintenon
After being imprisoned in the fortress, d'Aubigne was exiled to the New World, to the island of Martinique in the Caribbean. Francoise lived there until the age of 10, when her father died and she and her mother were allowed to return to France. Later, because of this period of life, the king's favorite was often called "the beautiful Indian".
The d'Aubigne family was not rich, and after the death of Francoise's father, it became completely impoverished. The grown-up girl had to be brought up in the Ursuline convent, which was promoted by Queen Anne of Austria herself. In the monastery, Francoise experienced all the "charms" of ecclesiastical education, which, most likely, prompted her to organize a secular school many years later.
Paul Scarron
When the girl was 15 years old, her mother died and it was decided to marry the orphan. As a bridegroom, Francoise's aunt picked up an elderly and partially paralyzed writer, Scarron. At the age of 17, the girl became the legal wife of the elder, who, by the way, treated her very well.
Paul Scarron was a very gentle and kind man, and it was this attitude that the young d'Aubigne lacked from early childhood. The husband indulged his young wife in everything, and most importantly, encouraged her craving for knowledge. In the house of the poet there was a huge library, books from which the young d'Aubigne began to devour one by one.
Poets, writers, musicians, and scientists gathered at Scarron's house, so Francoise never lacked for intelligent conversationalists. All her life, the woman remembered her first marriage as the happiest years of her life. She was loved, not restricted in her freedom, and encouraged by all means in the pursuit of self-development.
But the elderly and ill Paul Scarron died, and the young widow was again left without means of support. It was at this difficult moment for her that she received a tempting offer from the Marquise de Montespan to become a nanny for the royal offspring.
Becoming the unofficial queen, the Marquise de Maintenon did not confine herself to "educating" the restless king in the spirit of Christian virtue. The woman decided to use her influence to realize a long-standing dream — to create a school for girls, independent of the church.
The King and his new queen, the Marquise de Maintenon
Despite the vast opportunities and unlimited influence on Louis, the solution of organizational issues took a long three years, but in the end, the first boarding school for girls in Europe, Saint-Cyr, received 250 of its first pupils.
It was not easy to get into this school, as the selection was carried out by the "patron" of the educational institution — Louis XIV. The boarding school accepted girls from impoverished noble families, such as the d'Aubigne family. At the same time, the monarch himself made sure that all the students had impeccable origins and were noblewomen of at least 4 generations.
The advantage was given to the daughters of the military, who died on the battlefield, defending the king and France. Students were not only residents of France — in the first batch there were even two girls from overseas colonies-from Canada.
The Saint-Cyr full-board school has become very innovative in many ways. It was the first secular educational institution for children, the first school for girls, and the first place where school uniforms were officially adopted. Dresses for the pupils were personally designed by the king's favorite and the monarch himself, who loved to participate in design work wherever possible.
The "Sun King" patronized the enlightenment
The first school dresses were absolutely not similar to the uniform, as they were made of brocade and muslin in accordance with the court fashion of the XVII century. From the usual clothes of ladies of high society, they were distinguished by a modest brown color, which was somewhat brightened up by colored ribbons. By these accessories, it was possible to determine which class the child was studying in.
Fancy hairstyles, fashionable at the time, were strictly forbidden, and the heads of the first schoolgirls were decorated with strict white caps. The teachers were much less fortunate — they were dressed in mourning black dresses of strict cut and forbidden to use any jewelry that was not provided for by the regulations approved by the king.
The last, final class introduced the grown-up girls to more applied things. They were told how to behave with their future husband, how to raise children and manage the household. The graduates were also taught heraldry and church history.
All of Saint-Cyr's students were trained in sewing in specially created workshops, preparing meals in the canteen, and caring for the wounded in the infirmaries. It can be said that the boarding school provided itself with everything necessary, since the older girls dressed the younger ones, and the surplus dresses and underwear made in the workshops of the school were sold in shops and were a good source of income.
Needless to say, most of these disciplines at that time were considered completely unnecessary, even for girls of noble blood. But few people dared to criticize what the king's wife did, so the school enjoyed serious authority.
So that education and life at school were not as hopeless as in monasteries, the pupil was allowed to play chess and checkers, read secular literature, walk in the garden of the boarding house and even play in the performances of the improvised school theater.
The popularity of the Saint-Cyr school was also due to the fact that the girls were there on full state support, and when they graduated, they also received a very good allowance of 3 thousand livres from the royal treasury. The graduates could use this money at their own discretion — as a dowry for marriage or as a contribution to join a monastery, if the girl decided to devote her life to religion.
Despite the diversity of academic disciplines and the freedom of study within the walls of the school, Saint-Cyr remained a closed educational institution, like any monastic school. The girls could not leave the walls of the educational institution on their own. Thus, teachers and educators had the opportunity to control the dating and moral character of the students.
Despite the obvious benefits of the Saint-Cyr school and the enthusiastic attitude of the king, this educational institution lasted only 6 years. All these years, the favorite of Louis defended her offspring in front of the Catholic Church, which the first secular school for girls became a real bone in the throat.
The pressure of the church on the boarding house and the Marchioness herself. Maintenon was so strong that the woman still had to give it to the clergy, with the tacit consent of the monarch, who was tired of church intrigues. All the teachers were invited to become nuns and stay or leave the school. Of course, most of the women, who had an excellent education for that time, immediately left the boarding house.
It can be said that on the day of the transfer of the church, the school of Saint-Cyr ceased to exist and turned into a dull monastic orphanage, one of many that existed at that time in the kingdom. But despite this setback, the Saint-Cyr School has done much to advance education in Europe.
In 1717, Tsar Peter I visited the school and talked with its founder. What the tsar-reformer saw and heard amazed him and gave birth to many ideas in his head. Similar schools soon appeared in In Russia, as well as in many other European countries. According to the principle of the boarding house for girls Saint-Cyr, the Smolny Institute, the most famous in the Russian Empire, was arranged, which supplied the best brides to the Russian nobles.
The founder of the school, the Marchioness de Maintenon, died in 1719 in the walls of her offspring, having survived its decline, but not its complete destruction. The first girls ' school was abolished during the French Revolution. The pupils and their teachers were dispersed, and a military hospital was set up in spacious rooms.
Later, the Emperor Napoleon decided to return the Saint-Cyr school to its profile, but a boarding school for girls was out of the question. The monarch, who loved war and dreamed of owning the whole world, turned the school for noble girls into a military academy, which still exists today.
Keywords: Catholics | King | Boarding school | Protestants | Favorite | France | School | School uniform