Official favorite - the status that the King of France could give one of his beloved. The difference between the official favorite and all the others was that she had the opportunity to influence the course political events actively intervene in life royal court and even in intra-family relationships of the ruling family

Medieval France was a country with patriarchal foundations, in which a woman was assigned the modest role of the guardian of the hearth. Until the 15th century, the king's entourage consisted mainly of knights, to satisfy the sexual needs of which a brothel was kept at the court. Only under Anne of Brittany did the institution of ladies-in-waiting arise, under subsequent queens the ladies' court increased in size and there was an increasing feminization of the royal court.

From now on, the king and his courtiers were content not with corrupt girls from the lower strata of the population, but with a society of sophisticated ladies. Not least of all for sanitary reasons (at that time an epidemic of syphilis broke out in France), the courtiers chose the king's only beloved from among the ladies of the court.

In the era of absolutism, the marriages of members of the royal family were a purely state affair, designed to strengthen the alliance between the two countries. Often a marriage contract was concluded long before the age of majority of the heir to the throne, there was usually no talk of any personal sympathies. The main function of the queen was, in addition to strengthening interstate ties, the continuation of the royal dynasty. With the exception of a few brilliant rulers like Mary Stuart and Marie Antoinette, who left a noticeable mark on the history of France, the king's wife usually remained in the background, not interfering in political affairs, and often devoted herself to religion.

Agnès Sorel - the first official favorite

She was destined to remain in history as the first officially recognized royal favorite, benefactor of the unfortunate and disadvantaged, and, finally, an example of tragic sacrificial love.

Guided by personal preferences, the king usually chose attractive and educated ladies from his circle, including from among the queen's ladies-in-waiting, as his mistresses. In addition to satisfying the sexual needs of the sovereign, the favorite often played important role in governing the country. Since the favorites were usually ladies of noble birth, who received an excellent education and upbringing, they were distinguished by progressive views on many things that they, with the support of the king, sought to embody in society.

Portrait by Jean Fouquet

They were not only the trendsetters of fashion and cultural traditions at court, but also actively engaged in politics, often actually taking over the reins of government in their own hands. Sometimes the favorites were only an elegant tool in the hands of the powerful people of France, with which they could influence the decisions of the king.

Jean Fouquet. Beautiful Agnes

However, the favorite could just as quickly fall into disfavor with the king, how quickly she won his favor. Her position was unstable, since the king often changed his mistresses, so the most conceited of them tried by all means to strengthen their power at court and marry the king to themselves. Although there were decent women among the royal mistresses, almost all of them had a bad reputation, and at the same time many enemies and rivals.

When Agnes Sorel, an outstanding woman of her era, was born exactly, it is not known exactly. Some call the year of her birth 1409, others argue that she was born much later, in 1422. Her father, close to the noble Count of Clermont, tried to make his daughter a maid of honor at the court, first of the Duchess Isabella of Lorraine, and then of Queen Mary of Anjou herself, wife of King Charles VII of France. Agnes was in her early twenties. Her beauty was legendary. Even the Pope admitted many years later: "She had the most beautiful face that can only be seen in this world."

Charles VII the Winner - King of France (proclaimed in 1422, crowned in 1429) from the Valois dynasty, the fifth son of Charles VI the Mad and Isabella of Bavaria.

Many noble persons, high-ranking officials fell in love with the girl, and even the king himself was no exception. Before meeting with Agnes, the king had favorites. It was noted that Maria of Anjou knew about the passionate and temperamental nature of her husband. Her husband was reputed to be a windy, immoral, cowardly and cruel person, but he was quite well-read, educated and insightful.

Seeing once the fair-haired, blue-eyed Agnes, Karl was struck by her charm, that same evening he took the maid of honor to his bedroom and confessed his feelings to her. Not expecting such frankness, the embarrassed girl ran out of the royal chambers. But a few days later she returned, and a month later Agnes became the favorite of Charles VII.

Agnes Sorel - estampe - 1754

Everyone knew about it, and only the Queen, it seemed, did not even know about her husband's love affair with the charming Agnes. Until one day, in the halls of the royal palace, Maria of Anjou saw her rival walking bare-chested. The immodest behavior of the court lady outraged the well-behaved queen.

But no matter how Mary watched the king, Charles did not give the slightest reason for jealousy. The queen's guesses were confirmed only when Agnes became pregnant, and on the day of the birth, the king was so worried that there could be no more doubts - adultery was evident. The angry and offended queen spent several days in tears, and then decided to calm down and ... become the girlfriend of the mistress of the reigning husband. The queen became so close to her rival that she soon trusted her with her most secret secrets, gave Agnes jewelry and outfits. Women began to walk together, go hunting, and discuss affairs in the country.

Madame Sorel gave birth to four daughters to the king, whom her lover, despite the persuasion of those close to her, gave the family titles of Valois. And Agnes, even after giving birth, continued to captivate Karl with elegance and endless imagination.

It was Agnes Sorel who made it possible to wear diamonds not only for male royalty, but also for all women who could only purchase gemstone jewelry. Agnes first brought into fashion long trains, which the church called the "devil's tail" and forbade noble ladies to wear them. And the neckline, very frivolously exposing the female breast, completely aroused the indignation of others. The brave favorite was called a reckless woman and a lady of leftist behavior, the court maids of honor hissed with envy, and married ladies, noticing the curious glances of their spouses towards Madame Sorel, demanded to restore order, refusing to be present in the company of the immodest and depraved royal mistress.

But Karl did not seem to notice the antics of his mistress. He awarded her the titles of ladies of Bote-sur-Marne, Vernoy, Rukesez-er. And one title went down in history and became inextricably linked with Agnes - the title of Madame Bothe (Ladies of Beauty). In 1448, when Agnes already had three children, Charles decided to present his adored mistress with a castle near Paris.

Beloved by the king, showered with his generous gifts, Agnes did not feel completely happy. The poverty of ordinary Frenchmen, the unending Hundred Years' War, the inaction of the king - all this caused discontent among the people. But for some reason, the royal favorite was considered guilty of everything. And Madame Sorel decided to act. The king, in love with her, was ready for anything for the sake of her favor and love. It was then, in 1429, that the name of the brave girl Joan of Arc, who was introduced to the king by Madame Sorel, became known.

Young Carl

Once, when the king was in Normandy, Madame Sorel came to him. Her condition was horrendous: Agnes went into labor. Before that, she told the king about the conspiracy being prepared against him, but Karl considered her words to be the delirium of an excited woman in labor. Whether this plot took place or not, it is now impossible to say. However, those close to him believed that even if the conspirators wanted to kill the king, they were frightened when they learned that the brave favorite brought this message to Charles.

A few days later, when Madame Sorel returned to Paris, she became ill. She died on February 9, 1450, and before her death, she regretted only one thing, that in the last minutes she could not see her beloved man. The king was not shown the deceased. Her face was disfigured by death throes.

Karl could not come to his senses for a long time: he was sure that the lady of his heart had been poisoned. At first, suspicion fell on the Minister of Finance, over whom a speedy trial took place. Due to insufficient evidence, the charge of murdering the royal maid of honor was removed from him, and he was imprisoned for embezzlement of the treasury. Then the king became suspicious of his own son. Louis really did not like his father's favorite, and with Karl he did not have the most best relationship. However, as the courtiers said, he could hardly take such a step. One way or another, the cause of death of the royal lover remained unclear. The king gradually calmed down and ... preferred to forget about the deceased mistress.

Gravestone Sorel

The Hundred Years' War ended in 1453. The reforms that Sorel so dreamed of were also completed. Everyone understood that they owed this to the beautiful Madame Botha, the blond Agnes, the woman who changed the kingdom and inspired the king to bold decisions.

But Charles VII was already having fun with another lady: Agnes's cousin Antoinette became the favorite. She did not have such an influence on Karl as her cousin, but she turned out to be an excellent lover and organizer of entertainment, parties, balls.

Having fallen in love with Antoinette and not wanting to part with her even for a minute, the king married her to his friend and settled the spouses in the palace. Andre de Villequier knew about the intimate relationship between his wife and the king, but chose not to pay attention to his wife's infidelities.

Carl spent all his time with his favorite. Soon, Antoinette alone was no longer enough for him, and the shrewd lover gathered around her adored friend several dozen of the most beautiful girls in Paris. The monarch indulged in love pleasures, and a rumor spread throughout France that Charles VII had gone mad and indulged in terrible debauchery. The courtiers were indignant and indignant, and the king traveled around the country and gathered new mistresses into his "harem". The queen looked with bitterness at her husband's debauchery.

The bad example of the sovereign seduced his subjects. High-ranking officials, noble husbands, even confessors also fell into debauchery and considered it an honor to have at least a couple of concubines with them. Paris collapsed into a pool of passion and lust.

The love exploits of the king, his wild life led to the fact that Card VII came down with a serious illness. In the last months of his life, remembering the terrible death of Agnes, he refused food for fear of being poisoned. In the summer of 1461, the king died of exhaustion.

After the death of his father, his son Louis XI, the great unifier of France, ascended the throne. On the contrary, he was afraid of women, which is why he treated them with gross contempt. Deep in his heart, the king was afraid of female charms and never allowed women to control him, as Agnes Sorel, the beautiful and charming Madame Bothet, did with his father.

Today we will talk about the mistress of Charles VII, King of France, successor and son of Charles the Mad. Her name is Agnes Sorel.

She was called the most beautiful woman of the 15th century, she was wasteful, but helped the poor, dressed defiantly, but looked innocent. And Agnes Sorel went down in history as the first officially recognized mistress of the King of France, who was able to become not only the constant mistress of Charles VII, but also a friend of his wife, Queen Mary of Anjou.

Charles VII easily spoke about the power of a woman over herself, and this recognition, which is impossible, derogatory for any man, and even more so royal dignity, did not cause a scandal for only one reason. The entire male half of the court, from the archbishop to the huntsman, agreed that the graces of the beautiful Agnes, if not superior, are quite comparable in importance to the royal regalia. Her chest is more weighty than a royal bowl, the camp is more majestic than a scepter, her curls are softer and softer than an ermine mantle. And the possession of all this splendor together is capable of filling anyone with sovereign power and greatness. To the credit of the beauty, it should be noted that none of the courtiers was honored to personally verify the validity of their assumptions. Surely only Carl knew. The goose Charles, by the grace of the beautiful Agnes, realized himself as Charles VII the Conqueror.

His mother called him Gosling. Isabella of Bavaria, a woman not stupid, witty, but, alas, completely devoid of maternal instinct. For nothing that she gave birth to 12 children. Karl had a hopeless lot to be born the eleventh child in the family. The Royal Genealogical Book dates this event to February 22, 1403.

The child was born frail, with an exorbitantly long bluish neck and the Valois family nose, which looks rather strange on an infant's face. From weakness, the child could not scream, only made some strange hissing sounds in his throat. “Gosling,” Isabella typed, and this nickname remained with Karl for many, many years.

As for his father, we talked about him in a previous post dedicated to Charles the Mad and his favorite Odette de Chamdiver. In short, he was insane and, in fact, Queen Isabella ruled the state.

Isabella of Bavaria

For this reason, the acquaintance of the father with the son was postponed for quite a considerable period. It took place when the younger Valois was already four years old. And although the doctors gave a conclusion that the king was in a state of enlightenment, the meeting with him scared the kid to hysterics. The gosling was taken away and since then kept away from parental eyes. The frail, ugly, gloomy boy did not amuse his parent's heart, and the king and queen had no other reasons to take care of his development and upbringing. The likelihood that the child would become a dauphin, that is, the heir to the throne, was negligible - here Charles was ahead of his older brothers. In a word, our hero had a difficult childhood and a very modest prospects for the future. The title of Duke of Poitiers given to him did not promise either glory or great wealth ...

Unexpectedly for everyone, Iolanta of Aragon showed interest in the boy. The nominal queen of the four kingdoms - Aragon, Sicily, Jerusalem and Naples - the Duchess of Anjou was Charles a distant relative, it seems, the great-niece of his grandfather Charles V. Perhaps this woman, whom the chronicler of the royal house of Bodigny called nothing more than "the wisest and most beautiful of all Christian princesses," indeed, she had extraordinary insight, or maybe she just took pity on the boy. But in 1413, when Charles was only 10 years old, Iolanthe met with Isabella of Bavaria, whom, by the way, she could not stand, and signed an agreement with her, according to which their children, that is, Charles and Mary of Anjou, should marry . Until marriageable age, the boy was placed under the care of Iolanta.
Isabeau was only too glad for this turn of events. By that time, her husband had completely lost his mind, and for Isabella a very difficult, but at the same time unusually fascinating life began. To understand how difficult and to what extent fascinating, you need to have an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe political situation of that time. Against the backdrop of a permanent war with England, the origins of which go as far back as the 11th-12th centuries, the French kingdom broke out Civil War: the Bourgognon party against the Art Maniac party. Both sides wanted the same thing - power, that is, real power under a nominal and inactive king. Both were roughly equal in strength. Both were looking for an ally capable of providing them with an advantage. And both found it in the face of the English court. The British meanwhile had their own calculation. England, which at that time had significant possessions in France, dreamed of uniting both states under its crown. Therefore, the British alternately flirted with the Bourgognons, then with the Armagnacs.
Isabella, as the person closest to the reigning king, was interesting to everyone. And she was interested in both those and others, and third. Moreover, she was fond of not only political intrigues, but also love joys. Is it up to the children here!
In a word, Karl moved to Anjou, to Iolanthe. The future mother-in-law, unlike her own mother, paid much attention to the development and upbringing of the boy. Finding in him a penchant for the humanities and music, Iolanthe did everything to develop his talents. With the eradication of shortcomings, things were worse. The fact is that Karl was, as they would say this hour, an absolutely unsportsmanlike boy. He was clumsy in the saddle, fenced not gracefully, and even then walked sideways. But Iolanthe did not back down. She seemed to foresee that very soon all this would be useful to him.
Although how could she know that in 1415 the elder brother of Charles would suddenly die, and a year later the second dauphin would follow him - both blooming young men. And now Isabella calls the heir to the court. But a 14-year-old teenager, even by the standards of the Middle Ages, is still not quite a man, he still does not make independent decisions. Iolanthe made the decision and expressed it directly and simply, ignoring the etiquette that befits the correspondence of two noble persons. “A woman who has so many lovers does not need children. I did not feed and raise the boy for you to now kill him under your care, as you killed his older brothers, or make him an Englishman, as you yourself did, or drive him mad, like his poor father. Try to take him away from me and you will not be in trouble, you shameless person.

Iolanthe of Aragon and little Charles VII

Isabella was even more shameless than Iolanthe could have imagined. So much so that she was not afraid to publicly declare that the Dauphin is not the king's son. Therefore, he has no right to the throne. Few then believed Isabella. It was obvious that she was lying in the interests of the British, who had already finally decided on their sympathies and acted in concert with the Bourguignons. As for Charles, he seemed to be decidedly indifferent to whether he became king or not. But the betrayal of the mother offended, once again reminded that he was unloved, unnecessary.

Aunt Iolanthe, meanwhile, sent the young man to Poitiers and ordered him to declare himself regent. On his behalf, she drew up an ardent appeal to the French people, which said that the ruling king was out of his mind, that Isabella, who had sold out to the British, was leading his hand, and that the mission of the legitimate regent of Valois was to liberate the fatherland from foreigners, restore order in the kingdom and provide his subjects with a decent life. The excesses of the English on French soil were so bloody and ruinous that the conversion had an effect. Armagnacs unanimously went over to the side of Charles.
However, eleven years passed before the legal coronation in Reims. A lot has happened over the years. The enemy king Henry V died, the insane father Charles died, the leader of the Bourguignons died, Mary of Anjou became the wife of Charles, and, finally, most importantly, God sent him Joan of Arc.

The girl insisted that it was God who sent her, and he did this as if so that she, Jeanne, would help him do justice, that is, defeat the British and lead Charles to Reims for a legal coronation. There is a version according to which this whole performance was directed by mother-in-law Iolanta. It is likely, if only because the nomadic court of Charles and his army were supported by her money. There is also an assumption that the legendary Joan of Arc is Marguerite Valois, the illegitimate daughter of Charles the Mad and his mistress Odette de Chamdiver.

But this is not the main thing. The main thing is that Jeanne succeeded. On July 17, 1429, Charles was crowned in Reims. And the archbishop publicly called him “anointed of the Lord”, “son of the Most High”, “shepherd of nations”, “ right hand church”, “the first of all the kings of the Earth, surpassing in nobility and holiness all the kings of the Old and New Testaments”, and so on and so forth. And all the nobles and commoners, the princes of the church and the noble people of the kingdom, bowed their knees before him. What must Karl have felt at that moment? A boy betrayed by his mother, who had just ascended the throne with a battle, did he feel triumphant? Or maybe relief? Who knows. But, according to the chroniclers, Karl looked like a person who is uncomfortable. And, according to an indelible childhood habit, every now and then he stretched his neck like a goose. He had a large, foreheady head, but it seemed that the crown was too big for him. In a word, he did not correspond much to the epithets that, according to the ceremonial, “given the archbishop. The goose Charles turned into Charles VII the Victorious, but, it seems, did not realize himself as such.

Ten years later, in the life of the monarch appeared true love. Karl, by the standards of the time, was already an elderly man. He already had five or six children born to Mary of Anjou. The wife was not distinguished by either beauty, or intelligence, or pleasantness of character, and Karl visited her bedroom, presumably, solely out of gratitude to his mother-in-law. Of course, there were many lovely women at court. But Karl, even though he was a king, was awkward in dealing with ladies. It is known that he was very shy of his appearance, not without reason believing that the family features of the Valois in his appearance took on some kind of completely caricature incarnation. At the same time, his aesthetic criteria regarding women were too strict and were determined by the cult of “bel dam san merci”, traditional for medieval chivalry, that is, “a lady who does not know condescension”. The medieval allegorical poem "The Romance of the Rose" gave quite clear instructions on how this very lady should look. The eyes are blue or green, the pupils are excitedly dilated, a high forehead, golden hair, hip-length, skin the color of lily petals, a small, straight nose, a mouth also small and plump, a thin figure, a chest small but high. For the sake of such a woman, it was worth breaking spears, composing sonnets and doing other crazy things. But there was no such woman in Karl's entourage. At the very least, none of them met the knightly standard exactly. There was something missing from her register of charms.

The beauty ideal of the 15th century.

The fateful meeting took place under unknown circumstances. But it is known for certain that its organizer was the mother-in-law Iolanta. It is she who is credited with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bcreating a "flying detachment", which was subsequently adopted by other august persons. The idea turned out to be as simple as it is effective. Iolanthe formed a brigade of beautiful, intelligent, and most importantly - undividedly devoted to her benefactress girls, arranged them at court, and sooner or later they all ended up in the beds of noble nobles. The girls thus got the opportunity to arrange their fate, and Iolanta - operational information. The women proved to be excellent spies, even better than the Franciscan friars. Agnes Sorel stood out especially among them. Iolanthe noticed her in the retinue of her daughter-in-law Isabella of Lorraine, under whom Agnes was a maid of honor. The girl's parents had neither a significant position at court nor wealth. His father, Jean Sorel, held a modest position as an adviser at the court of the Count of Clermont, his mother, Catherine de Meignelay, owned a vast but low-income de Verneuil estate. The main capital of the family was the daughter. The lovely Agnes would surely make a decent match, and in view of this prospect, the status of a lady-in-waiting can be seen as a great start for a 15-year-old girl. However, Agnes disposed of the opportunities given to her in her own way. She was in no hurry to get married. The four years spent in Isabella's palace became her universities. Agnes learned to speak expressively, sing, play the lute and harp, inflame the male imagination with graceful poses and gestures. Possessing a naturally developed imagination and good taste, she knew how to dress in such a way that much more noble ladies in their luxurious outfits seemed simple compared to her. In those days, the knights had already brought powder, blush and carmine from the Arab East. But few of the ladies of the world knew how to use it delicately. Agnes knew how and, according to the chronicler Jean Chartier, even gave lessons to her patroness. By the age of twenty, she had taken shape in a perfect beauty with an incredibly thin waist and a high neck, on which, like a cup of a flower on a stem, sat a lovely head with high golden curls, trimmed on her forehead and temples in the fashion of that time. Her face, with its childishly rounded cheeks, seemed angelically innocent and at the same time vicious. So the artist Jean Fouquet, who captured Agnes as Madonna, managed to convey this salient feature her face was even accused of a dangerous combination of religious feeling with erotic.

In a word, Agnes was an ideal example of "la belle dames sans merci." And Karl, of course, could not help but pay attention to her. This is what Iolanthe was counting on. She had no need to spy on her son-in-law. But she wanted to influence the king. And her clumsy daughter was decidedly unfit for such a delicate mission.

So, Iolanthe arranged a meeting between the king and Agnes. Karl was so impressed that, contrary to his custom, he immediately went on the attack. But clever Agnes skillfully portrayed fear and, turning her disarmed femininity to Karl in the most spectacular pose, appealed to his knightly honor. I had to retreat. For almost a month, the court discussed the swollen veins on the king's temples - a sign of extraordinary excitement. And then one day the king went out to the morning mass joyful. He smiled all day and all evening. He generously gave jesters. I ordered several new outfits from the royal tailor. In a word, he behaved so unusually that his state was recorded by the court chronicler. Perhaps the chronicler thought that Charles had gone mad like his father. And Karl just fell in love. Very soon, this connection became obvious to everyone. Karl, previously indifferent to luxury, suddenly became a real dandy. The royal treasurer, Jacques Coeur, ordered precious Utrecht velvet and Venetian purple silk for him. In those days, men wore short clothes. So - Karl's outfit almost did not cover his hips, which, as contemporaries noted more than once, with thin, crooked legs, definitely did not suit his figure. But with the advent of Agnes Karl seemed to have ceased to experience any complexes about his appearance. And in general I felt a taste for life and all kinds of entertainment for the soul and body. Every day, a new fun. Either a jousting tournament, or feasts with troubadours and minstrels. And the main decoration, the center of any meeting, was invariably the beautiful Agnes. By the way, Agnes managed to make friends with Queen Mary: Yolande of Anjou advised her daughter to come to terms with the existing state of affairs ...

Maria of Anjou

The kind and condescending queen listened to the advice and tried to establish friendly relations with her mistress. They even walked together, listened to music, and had small talk at dinner, which greatly pleased Charles VII, for whom there was no greater pleasure than to see the complete harmony that reigned around ...

Agnes adored outfits and conceived the styles of her dresses herself. One of them, with an asymmetrical neckline that completely exposed the left breast, went down in history under the name "Agnes' beautiful contrition for her sins."

And although the concept of fashion as such did not exist in the Middle Ages, Agnes, by her example, inspired ladies to imitate, and minstrels to create poetic introductions glorifying new styles:

If a woman is pretty
Her skin is white and soft
Let her say that her tailor
I made a cutout for her like this,
What boldly opens the shoulders,
The chest is bare to the limit.
After all, if the chest is bare,
She's more attractive.

Agnes wore trains six meters long, although the queen herself was content with five. She adorned herself with diamonds, despite the fact that the palace protocol allowed such luxuries only to the queen. But the protocol was revised due to the fact that, by the will of Karl, Agnes Sorel received the official status of a favorite. A favorite is more than a mistress. Vassals are obliged to give her royal honors, she takes part in the political life of the court, has the right to independently apply to the royal treasurer to cover her needs, and children born by her from communication with the king receive the king's family name. Indeed, all three daughters born to Agnes from Karl received the name Valois. And Agnes herself received the royal castle of Bote-sur-Marne (“Beauty on the Marne”) and the title of Dame de Beaute, which is consistent with her captivating appearance, about which the Pope himself said that “this is the most beautiful face that you can imagine” .
However, there were people on whom the spell of the beautiful Agnes did not work. For example, Archbishop Jean Junevel des Orsin. As the spiritual mentor of the king, he repeatedly appealed to him, pointing out the extravagance and extravagance of his favorite and the courtiers who imitated her. The pious des Orsins found that the ladies of the court, although of noble birth, now resemble in their appearance "painted donkeys put up for sale." He severely condemned the “hellish windows through which their breasts look out” and long trains, which take a lot of precious matter, and rightly remarked that “all these excesses, now instituted at court, affect the increase by the lords of taxes and taxes from the poor.” For clarity, the archbishop cited excerpts from the Royal Book of Expenditure, in which any claim to the treasurer ended with a postscript "for the needs of France." A crystal service with gold leaves - for the needs of France, bandages of marten and ermine - for the needs of France, undershirts embroidered with gold - for the needs of France ... "What need does France have for undershirts embroidered with gold?" - Vladyka reasonably asked. In response, Karl, not without a challenge, wrote to his spiritual guide: "If beautiful lady there will be dresses embroidered with gold, she will have good mood. If she is in a good mood, I will also be in a good mood. If I am in a good mood, the whole of France will be in a good mood. Therefore, France has a direct need for beautiful dresses. Of course, Agnes got dresses with gold, and everything she wanted, but meanwhile France was not in a very good mood.

The British still dominated French soil. Quite extensive, strategically significant territories remained under their control. The people catastrophically impoverished under the yoke of unbearable taxes. And the generous alms distributed by Agnes for the needs of the church and the poor did not diminish the people's hatred for the royal favorite, who seduced the "most Christian king" from the true path. It is unlikely that Agnes was overwhelmed by worries about the future of France, most likely, she acted at the instigation of Iolanthe, but it was Agnes who forced Karl to change the surcoat embroidered with gold to armor and resume the war against the British. To do this, she used some kind of trick, as reported by Brant in his book "The Life of Gallant Ladies": predicted to me that one of the bravest and most courageous kings would fall in love with me. When we met, I thought you were that brave king: But it looks like I was wrong: You are too pampered and hardly attend to the affairs of your poor kingdom. It seems to me that this courageous king is not you, but English king, which creates such strong armies and captures such beautiful cities from you. Farewell! I go to him, apparently, the astrologer told me about him.

The reliability of this legend can be questioned, but it is known for certain that the king nevertheless went to damned Normandy in order to launch an offensive against the British from there. And he did it solely for the sake of the beautiful eyes of Agnes. For a ruler of the Middle Ages, Charles was surprisingly non-belligerent and preferred the harp to the sword. But Agnes had amazing power over him. She could inspire him to any deed, to any feat. And not because she had any special qualities. It was just his woman. For every man in this world there is a woman who is able to elevate his spirit, make him stronger. You just need to find her. Carl was lucky - he found.

Reminds me of Bella Hadid, doesn't it?

Agnes didn't get to celebrate the victorious conclusion of the Hundred Years' War. She died three years before this significant event for France. Death came a few days after Agnes gave birth to her fourth child. The girl was born weak - and did not live a day, but as for her mother, it looked like she did not die a natural death. Perhaps she was poisoned. At least Karl was convinced that this was the case. Why would a healthy, flowering 28-year-old woman, who had successfully given birth three times before, take and die like this. And after all, there is evidence that before her death, the poor thing complained about a terrible fire that devoured her from the inside, and her beautiful golden hair fell off her head like the petals of a disturbed rose ... The royal treasurer Jacques Coeur and the eldest son of the king, the Dauphin Louis, the future Louis XI. The first was considered her friend, the second - the enemy. But their guilt has not been proven.

Agnes Sorel was buried with honors worthy of a royal person. The heart was buried in the Notre Dame Chapel in Jumiège, with a luxurious black marble tombstone and a white marble statue depicting Agnes with her hands folded in prayer, in which her heart is enclosed. The body rested in the collegiate church at the royal castle of Loches.

Shortly after the funeral, Charles brought Agnes' cousin Antoinette de Meunier-lay close to him. She was very similar to his late lover, but could not replace her. According to the chroniclers, very soon another half a dozen beauties appeared, "ready to try for the king, who tried so hard for France." So, little by little, Karl gathered a harem, which the Sultan himself could envy. The maintenance of a crowd of young harlots was costly to the treasury. Charles was condemned for debauchery and extravagance. It is impossible to say for sure, but it seems that Carl was not driven by an irrepressible thirst for pleasure. He hoped in vain that beautiful women give him that feeling of power, that greatness of spirit that Agnes had once bestowed upon him.

Computer modeling of the appearance of Agnes Sorel:

Updated on 12/01/20 23:36:

She was called the most beautiful woman of the 15th century, she was wasteful, but helped the poor, dressed defiantly, but looked innocent. And Agnes Sorel went down in history as the first officially recognized mistress of the King of France, who was able to become not only the constant mistress of Charles VII, but also a friend of his wife, Queen Mary of Anjou.

The meeting of Agnes Sorel with the king was organized, oddly enough, by his mother-in-law. She often arranged for ladies-in-waiting at court, and when they became mistresses of noble nobles, Iolanthe received the necessary information and kept everything under her control. She did not succeed in influencing the king with the help of her daughter, and she found a more sophisticated way - she found a mistress for this purpose.

Agnes Sorel and Charles VII

Charles VII, seeing the girl, immediately went on the attack, but she ran away from him. The king was carried away in earnest, and his perseverance was soon rewarded. Within a few months, everyone at court was saying that the king was in love.

Mistress of the French King Agnes Sorel

Charles VII lost his head so much that he was ready to fulfill any desire of Agnes Sorel. To prove the seriousness of his feelings, he proclaimed her the official favorite. From now on, the vassals were obliged to render her royal honors, she took part in the political life of the court, the royal treasurer paid her the necessary amounts, and their children with the king received the family titles of Valois. As a gift from the king, Agnes received the castle of Bote-sur-Marne and the title of Dame de Beaute.

Jean Fouquet portrayed Agnes as Madonna and Child

Agnes quickly got used to living in a big way. She allowed herself bold experiments for those times with appearance. The trains of her dresses reached 5 meters, the priests called them "devil's tails". She began to wear diamonds, although until then wearing them by the uncrowned was unacceptable. The courtiers were shocked by her extravagant, figure-hugging dresses with an asymmetrical neckline that completely exposed one breast. The queen was angry, but quickly changed her anger to mercy, deciding to become a friend for her husband's mistress. Maria gave jewelry and outfits to her rival, they walked together and went hunting.

King of France Charles VII

The daring behavior of the favorite and her official status aroused indignation among many. Thus, the Archbishop des Ursins pointed out to the king the extravagance of his mistress and her revealing outfits, he said that the ladies at court began to resemble "painted donkeys put up for sale." In response, Karl defiantly declared: “If the Beautiful Lady has dresses embroidered with gold, she will be in a good mood. If she is in a good mood, I will also be in a good mood. If I am in a good mood, the whole of France will be in a good mood. Therefore, France has a direct need for beautiful dresses.

The first official mistress of the king in the history of France

Agnes could not help noticing the growing resentment against her. She began to help the sick and crippled, to donate huge sums to the poor. Constant poverty, the British who ruled the French lands and the inaction of the king aroused the indignation of the people. And then Agnes, not without the influence of Iolanthe, persuaded Charles VII to resume the war against the British. The cowardly and weak-willed king, nicknamed "the gosling" by his mother in childhood, the favorite was able to inspire the idea of ​​​​his courage. So Karl became the Winner. The victorious end of the Hundred Years' War was already celebrated without her - Agnes died 3 years before.

Tomb of Agnes Sorel

Karl was convinced that Agnes had been poisoned, and he was right. An examination carried out today confirmed the high content of mercury in the remains of the favorite. Perhaps it was unintentional poisoning - in those days, mercury was added to cosmetics and medicines.

Tomb of Agnes Sorel

Agnes Sorel, as a model of concern for the interests of the country, was later set as an example to all the influential mistresses of the French kings, including Francoise d'Aubigne, the favorite and secret wife of Louis XIV.

FIRST LOVE OF FRANCE

Magazine "Gala Biography"

Charles VII from childhood was a sickly and frail child and became king by pure chance. He received the nickname of the winner and felt his own power only after meeting Agnes Sorel, who became the first official mistress of the monarch in the history of France. "I ascended the throne by the grace of God, but I realized myself as a king by the grace of the beautiful Agnes," said Charles VII.

Charles VII easily spoke about the power of a woman over herself, and this recognition, which is impossible, derogatory for any man, and even more so for royal dignity, did not cause a scandal for only one reason. The entire male half of the court, from the archbishop to the huntsman, agreed that the graces of the beautiful Agnes, if not superior, are quite comparable in importance to the royal regalia. Her chest is more weighty than a royal bowl, the camp is more majestic than a scepter, her curls are softer and softer than an ermine mantle. And the possession of all this splendor together is capable of filling anyone with sovereign power and greatness. To the credit of the beauty, it should be noted that none of the courtiers was honored to personally verify the validity of their assumptions. Surely only Carl knew. The goose Charles, by the grace of the beautiful Agnes, realized himself as Charles VII the Conqueror.
His mother called him Gosling. Isabella of Bavaria, a woman not stupid, witty, but, alas, completely devoid of maternal instinct. For nothing that she gave birth to 12 children. Isabeau brought children into the world in the same way as any commoner baked pies or knitted stockings, or was engaged in any other routine female labor, imputed to her as a duty. Exactly with the same degree of inspiration and interest. Karl had a hopeless lot to be born the eleventh child in the family. The Royal Genealogical Book dates this event to February 22, 1403.
The child was born frail, with an exorbitantly long bluish neck and the Valois family nose, which looks rather strange on an infant's face. From weakness, the child could not scream, only made some strange hissing sounds in his throat. “Gosling,” Isabella typed, and this nickname remained with Karl for many, many years. Such is the tradition - all the men of the royal family certainly had nicknames, and not always these nicknames flattered their pride.
For example, Charles's father, Charles VI, was nicknamed the Mad. Alas. it was not a metaphor, but a diagnosis. At the age of thirty, Charles VI awkwardly fell off his horse, hit his head, and since then periodically fell into a state of insanity, namely: he imagined himself to be a fragile precious vessel and was terribly afraid that he would be dropped. For this reason, the acquaintance of the father with the son was postponed for quite a considerable period. It took place when the younger Valois was already four years old. And although the doctors gave a conclusion that the king was in a state of enlightenment, the meeting with him scared the kid to hysterics. The gosling was taken away and since then kept away from parental eyes. The frail, ugly, gloomy boy did not amuse his parent's heart, and the king and queen had no other reasons to take care of his development and upbringing. The likelihood that the child would become a dauphin, that is, the heir to the throne, was negligible - here Charles was ahead of his older brothers. In a word, our hero had a difficult childhood and very modest prospects for the future. The title of Duke of Poitiers given to him did not promise either glory or great wealth ...

Unexpectedly for everyone, Iolanta of Aragon showed interest in the boy. The nominal queen of the four kingdoms - Aragon, Sicily, Jerusalem and Naples - the Duchess of Anjou was Charles a distant relative, it seems, the great-niece of his grandfather Charles V. Perhaps this woman, whom the chronicler of the royal house of Bodigny called nothing more than "the wisest and most beautiful of all Christian princesses," indeed, she had extraordinary insight, or maybe she just took pity on the boy. But in 1413, when Charles was only 10 years old, Iolanthe met with Isabella of Bavaria, whom, by the way, she could not stand, and signed an agreement with her, according to which their children, that is, Charles and Mary of Anjou, should marry . Until marriageable age, the boy was placed under the care of Iolanta.
Isabeau was only too glad for this turn of events. By that time, her husband had completely lost his mind, and for Isabella a very difficult, but at the same time unusually fascinating life began. To understand how difficult and to what extent fascinating, you need to have an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe political situation of that time. Against the backdrop of a permanent war with England, the origins of which go as far back as the 11th-11th centuries, a civil war broke out in the French kingdom: the Bourgognon party against the Art Maniac party. Both sides wanted the same thing - power, that is, real power under a nominal and inactive king. Both were roughly equal in strength. Both were looking for an ally capable of providing them with an advantage. And both found it in the face of the English court. The British meanwhile had their own calculation. England, which at that time had significant possessions in France, dreamed of uniting both states under its crown. Therefore, the British alternately flirted with the Bourgognons, then with the Armagnacs.
Isabella, as the person closest to the reigning king, was interesting to everyone. And she was interested in both those and others, and third. Moreover, she was fond of not only political intrigues, but also love joys. Is it up to the children here!
In a word, Karl moved to Anjou, to Iolanthe. The future mother-in-law, unlike her own mother, paid much attention to the development and upbringing of the boy. Finding in him a penchant for the humanities and music, Iolanthe did everything to develop his talents. With the eradication of shortcomings, things were worse. The fact is that Karl was, as they would say this hour, an absolutely unsportsmanlike boy. He was clumsy in the saddle, fenced not gracefully, and even then walked sideways. But Iolanthe did not back down. She seemed to foresee that very soon all this would be useful to him.
Although how could she know that in 1415 the elder brother of Charles would suddenly die, and a year later the second dauphin would follow him - both blooming young men. And now Isabella calls the heir to the court. But a 14-year-old teenager, even by the standards of the Middle Ages, is still not quite a man, he still does not make independent decisions. Iolanthe made the decision and expressed it directly and simply, ignoring the etiquette that befits the correspondence of two noble persons. “A woman who has so many lovers does not need children. I did not feed and raise the boy for you to now kill him under your care, as you killed his older brothers, or make him an Englishman, as you yourself did, or drive him mad, like his poor father. Try to take him away from me and you will not be in trouble, you shameless person.

And zabella turned out to be even more shameless than Iolanthe could have imagined. So much so that she was not afraid to publicly declare that the Dauphin is not the king's son. Therefore, he has no right to the throne. Few then believed Isabella. It was obvious that she was lying in the interests of the British, who had already finally decided on their sympathies and acted in concert with the Bourguignons. As for Charles, he seemed to be decidedly indifferent to whether he became king or not. But the betrayal of the mother offended, once again reminded that he was unloved, unnecessary.
Aunt Iolanthe, meanwhile, sent the young man to Poitiers and ordered him to declare himself regent. On his behalf, she drew up an ardent appeal to the French people, which said that the ruling king was out of his mind, that Isabella, who had sold out to the British, was leading his hand, and that the mission of the legitimate regent of Valois was to liberate the fatherland from foreigners, restore order in the kingdom and provide his subjects with a decent life. The excesses of the English on French soil were so bloody and ruinous that the conversion had an effect. Armagnacs unanimously went over to the side of Charles.
However, eleven years passed before the legal coronation in Reims. A lot has happened over the years. The enemy king Henry V died, the insane father Charles died, the leader of the Bourguignons died, Mary of Anjou became the wife of Charles, and, finally, most importantly, God sent him Joan of Arc. The girl insisted that it was God who sent her, and he did this as if so that she, Jeanne, would help him do justice, that is, defeat the British and lead Charles to Reims for a legal coronation. There is a version according to which this whole performance was directed by mother-in-law Iolanta. It is likely, if only because the nomadic court of Charles and his army were supported by her money. But that's not the point. The main thing is that Jeanne succeeded. On July 17, 1429, Charles was crowned in Reims. And the archbishop publicly called him "the anointed of the Lord", "the son of the Most High", "the shepherd of the nations", "the right hand of the church", "the first of all the kings of the Earth, surpassing in nobility and holiness all the kings of the Old and New Testaments" and so on, etc. And all the nobles and commoners, the princes of the church and the noble people of the kingdom, bowed their knees before him. What must Karl have felt at that moment? A boy betrayed by his mother, who had just ascended the throne with a battle, did he feel triumphant? Or maybe relief? Who knows. But, according to the chroniclers, Karl looked like a person who is uncomfortable. And, according to an indelible childhood habit, every now and then he stretched his neck like a goose. He had a large, foreheady head, but it seemed that the crown was too big for him. In a word, he did not correspond much to the epithets that, according to the ceremonial, “given the archbishop. The goose Charles turned into Charles VII the Victorious, but, it seems, did not realize himself as such.

Ten years later, true love appeared in the life of the monarch. Karl, by the standards of the time, was already an elderly man. He already had five or six children born to Mary of Anjou. The wife was not distinguished by either beauty, or intelligence, or pleasantness of character, and Karl visited her bedroom, presumably, solely out of gratitude to his mother-in-law. Of course, there were many lovely women at court. But Karl, even though he was a king, was awkward in dealing with ladies. It is known that he was very shy of his appearance, not without reason believing that the family features of the Valois in his appearance took on some kind of completely caricature incarnation. At the same time, his aesthetic criteria regarding women were too strict and were determined by the cult of “bel dam san merci”, traditional for medieval chivalry, that is, “a lady who does not know condescension”. The medieval allegorical poem "The Romance of the Rose" gave quite clear instructions on how this very lady should look. The eyes are blue or green, the pupils are excitedly dilated, the hair is golden, hip-length, the skin is the color of lily petals, the nose is small, straight, the mouth is also small and plump, the figure is thin, the chest is small but high. For the sake of such a woman, it was worth breaking spears, composing sonnets and doing other crazy things. But there was no such woman in Karl's entourage. At the very least, none of them met the knightly standard exactly. There was something missing from her register of charms.

The fateful meeting took place under unknown circumstances. But it is known for certain that its organizer was the mother-in-law Iolanta. It is she who is credited with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bcreating a "flying detachment", which was subsequently adopted by other august persons. The idea turned out to be as simple as it is effective. Iolanthe formed a brigade of beautiful, intelligent, and most importantly - undividedly devoted to her benefactress girls, arranged them at court, and sooner or later they all ended up in the beds of noble nobles. The girls thus got the opportunity to arrange their fate, and Iolanta - operational information. The women proved to be excellent spies, even better than the Franciscan friars. Agnes Sorel stood out especially among them. Iolanthe noticed her in the retinue of her daughter-in-law Isabella of Lorraine, under whom Agnes was a maid of honor. The girl's parents had neither a significant position at court nor wealth. His father, Jean Sorel, held a modest position as an adviser at the court of the Count of Clermont, his mother, Catherine de Meignelay, owned a vast but low-income de Verneuil estate. The main capital of the family was the daughter. The lovely Agnes would surely make a decent match, and in view of this prospect, the status of a lady-in-waiting can be seen as a great start for a 15-year-old girl. However, Agnes disposed of the opportunities given to her in her own way. She was in no hurry to get married. The four years spent in Isabella's palace became her universities. Agnes learned to expressively speak, sing, play the lute and harp, inflame the male imagination with graceful postures and gestures. Possessing a naturally developed imagination and good taste, she knew how to dress in such a way that much more noble ladies in their luxurious outfits seemed simple compared to her. In those days, the knights had already brought powder, blush and carmine from the Arab East. But few of the ladies of the world knew how to use it delicately. Agnes knew how and, according to the chronicler Jean Chartier, even gave lessons to her patroness. By the age of twenty, she had taken shape in a perfect beauty with an incredibly thin waist and a high neck, on which, like a cup of a flower on a stem, sat a lovely head with high golden curls, trimmed on her forehead and temples in the fashion of that time. Her face, with its childishly rounded cheeks, seemed angelically innocent and at the same time vicious. So the artist Jean Fouquet, who captured Agnes as the Madonna, managed to convey this characteristic feature of her face, was even accused of dangerously combining religious feelings with erotic ones. In a word, Agnes was an ideal example of "la belle dames sans merci." And Karl, of course, could not help but pay attention to her. This is what Iolanthe was counting on. She had no need to spy on her son-in-law. But she wanted to influence the king. And her clumsy daughter was decidedly unfit for such a delicate mission.

And so, Iolanthe arranged a meeting between the king and Agnes. Karl was so impressed that, contrary to his custom, he immediately went on the attack. But clever Agnes skillfully portrayed fear and, turning her disarmed femininity to Karl in the most spectacular pose, appealed to his knightly honor. I had to retreat. For almost a month, the court discussed the swollen veins on the king's temples - a sign of extraordinary excitement. And then one day the king went out to the morning mass joyful. He smiled all day and all evening. He generously gave jesters. I ordered several new outfits from the royal tailor. In a word, he behaved so unusually that his state was recorded by the court chronicler. Perhaps the chronicler thought that Charles had gone mad like his father. And Karl just fell in love. Very soon, this connection became obvious to everyone. Karl, previously indifferent to luxury, suddenly became a real dandy. The royal treasurer, Jacques Coeur, ordered precious Utrecht velvet and Venetian purple silk for him. In those days, men wore short clothes. So - Karl's outfit almost did not cover his hips, which, as contemporaries noted more than once, with thin, crooked legs, definitely did not suit his figure. But with the advent of Agnes Karl seemed to have ceased to experience any complexes about his appearance. And in general I felt a taste for life and all kinds of entertainment for the soul and body. Every day, a new fun. Either a jousting tournament, or feasts with troubadours and minstrels. And the main decoration, the center of any meeting, was invariably the beautiful Agnes.
She adored outfits and conceived the styles of her dresses herself. One of them, with an asymmetrical neckline that completely exposed the left breast, went down in history under the name "Agnes' beautiful contrition for her sins." And although the concept of fashion as such did not exist in the Middle Ages, Agnes, by her example, inspired ladies to imitate, and minstrels to create poetic introductions glorifying new styles:

If a woman is pretty
Her skin is white and soft
Let her say that her tailor
I made a cutout for her like this,
What boldly opens the shoulders,
The chest is bare to the limit.
After all, if the chest is bare,
She's more attractive.

And Gnes wore trains six meters long, although the queen herself was content with five. She adorned herself with diamonds, despite the fact that the palace protocol allowed such luxuries only to the queen. But the protocol was revised due to the fact that, by the will of Karl, Agnes Sorel received the official status of a favorite. A favorite is more than a mistress. Vassals are obliged to give her royal honors, she takes part in political life of the court, has the right to independently apply to the royal treasurer to cover their needs, and children born from her connection with the king receive the family name of the king. Indeed, all three daughters born to Agnes from Karl received the name Valois. And Agnes herself received the royal castle of Bote-sur-Marne (“Beauty on the Marne”) and the title of Dame de Beaute, which is consistent with her captivating appearance, about which the Pope himself said that “this is the most beautiful face that you can imagine” .
However, there were people on whom the spell of the beautiful Agnes did not work. For example, Archbishop Jean Junevel des Orsin. As the spiritual mentor of the king, he repeatedly appealed to him, pointing out the extravagance and extravagance of his favorite and the courtiers who imitated her. The pious des Orsins found that the ladies of the court, although of noble birth, now resemble in their appearance "painted donkeys put up for sale." He severely condemned the “hellish windows through which their breasts look out” and long trains, which take a lot of precious matter, and rightly remarked that “all these excesses, now instituted at court, affect the increase by the lords of taxes and taxes from the poor.” For clarity, the archbishop cited excerpts from the Royal Book of Expenditure, in which any claim to the treasurer ended with a postscript "for the needs of France." A crystal service with gold leaves - for the needs of France, bandages of marten and ermine - for the needs of France, undershirts embroidered with gold - for the needs of France ... "What need does France have for undershirts embroidered with gold?" - Vladyka reasonably asked. In response, Karl, not without a challenge, wrote to his spiritual mentor: “If the Beautiful Lady has dresses embroidered with gold, she will be in a good mood. If she is in a good mood, I will also be in a good mood. If I am in a good mood, the whole of France will be in a good mood. Therefore, France has a direct need for beautiful dresses. Of course, Agnes got dresses with gold, and everything she wanted, but meanwhile France was not in a very good mood.

And the British still ruled on French soil. Quite extensive, strategically significant territories remained under their control. The people catastrophically impoverished under the yoke of unbearable taxes. And the generous alms distributed by Agnes for the needs of the church and the poor did not diminish the people's hatred for the royal favorite, who seduced the "most Christian king" from the true path. It is unlikely that Agnes was overwhelmed by worries about the future of France, most likely, she acted at the instigation of Iolanthe, but it was Agnes who forced Karl to change the surcoat embroidered with gold to armor and resume the war against the British. Historians support the legend, according to which Agnes allegedly told the king a dream in which the brave Charles acted as the liberator of France. But when she woke up, she supposedly remembered that Rouen, Caen and Cherbourg were still in the power of the damned English, and this filled her with inexpressible sadness. The reliability of this legend can be questioned, but it is known for certain that the king nevertheless went to damned Normandy in order to launch an offensive against the British from there. And he did it solely for the sake of the beautiful eyes of Agnes. For a ruler of the Middle Ages, Charles was surprisingly non-belligerent and preferred the harp to the sword. But Agnes had amazing power over him. She could inspire him to any deed, to any feat. And not because she had any special qualities. It was just his woman. For every man in this world there is a woman who is able to elevate his spirit, make him stronger. You just need to find her. Carl was lucky - he found.

Agnes didn't get to celebrate the victorious conclusion of the Hundred Years' War. She died three years before this significant event for France. Death came a few days after Agnes gave birth to her fourth child. The girl was born weak - and did not live a day, but as for her mother, it looked like she did not die a natural death. Perhaps she was poisoned. At least Karl was convinced that this was the case. Why would it take and die like this for a healthy blooming woman who had safely given birth three times before. And after all, there is evidence that before her death, the poor thing complained on a terrible fire that devoured her from the inside, and her beautiful golden hair fell off her head like the petals of a disturbed rose ... The royal treasurer Jacques Coeur and the eldest son of the king, the Dauphin Louis, the future Louis XI, immediately fell under suspicion. The first was considered her friend, the second - the enemy. But their guilt has not been proven.
Agnes Sorel was buried with honors worthy of a royal person. The heart was buried in the Notre Dame Chapel in Jumiège, with a luxurious black marble tombstone and a white marble statue depicting Agnes with her hands folded in prayer, in which her heart is enclosed. The body rested in the collegiate church at the royal castle of Loches.
Shortly after the funeral, Charles brought Agnes' cousin Antoinette de Meunier-lay close to him. She was very similar to his late lover, but could not replace her. According to the chroniclers, very soon another half a dozen beauties appeared, "ready to try for the king, who tried so hard for France." So, little by little, Karl gathered a harem, which the Sultan himself could envy. The maintenance of a crowd of young harlots was costly to the treasury. Charles was condemned for debauchery and extravagance. It is impossible to say for sure, but it seems that Carl was not driven by an irrepressible thirst for pleasure. He vainly hoped that many beautiful women would give him that feeling of strength, that greatness of spirit that Agnes had once bestowed on him.

She has about this woman with absolutely wonderful portraits. I have never seen such quality images on the Internet.
But I still have the audacity to touch on this topic again.

Agnes Sorel went down in history as the mistress and favorite of Charles VII. Karl is very good not only for connoisseurs of history, but also for fans of the rock opera Joan of Arc. True, judging by the portraits, he was not such a nice boy as in the musical;))

Source of material: "Daily life in the castles of the Loire during the Renaissance", a well-known sananahead :)

In 1444, King Charles VII introduced his favorite Agnès Sorel into the circle of the queen's ladies. He met her when she was a court lady with Isabella of Lorraine, husband of Rene of Anjou. For five whole years, the young beauty ruled over the king. He gave her the seigneury of Bothe-sur-Marne with the right to bear this name, then other possessions.

Her brothers were also related to the royal court. Two of them were on the staff of the residence of the king, the other two served in the royal guard.
Agnes occupied a far from paramount place at the royal court: contrary to etiquette, she was served like a princess, and she led a truly royal lifestyle. Her outfits were magnificent, and the trains of her dresses were longer than those of any other lady in the kingdom. She was supplied with marten furs, silks from the East, gold-woven fabrics from Egypt.
Wanting to shine not only with outfits, but also with beauty, Agnes bared her chest and shoulders. Because of her, fashion became even more frank, and this outraged Archbishop Jean Jouvenel des Yursin. Addressing the king, he cited the facts of reckless spending on trains and combs, gold chains, gems and outfits, calling it a luxury of bad taste, which is imitated by the bourgeois. “In order to dress up the ladies,” complained the prelate, “the king increased payments to the lords from the taxes collected from the poor. God will punish for this, because a woman, the less discharged, the more beautiful. And those who wear hairstyles and trains are real donkeys painted for sale! Such ladies expose their nipples to excite men and sell more profitably.

In vain, the beautiful Agnes spent a fortune on alms and alms to the poor and churches, she was seen only as an avid royal mistress. She was reproached for the fact that, because of her, the king abandoned the pregnant queen in order to shine in tournaments. So, in June 1446, Charles VII, located in the small estate of Raziyi, away from the queen, who lived secluded in the castles of Monti and Chinon, led the knightly tournament "Dangerous Rock" together with Rene of Anjou.
Charles stayed there for eight whole months, while in Chinon Castle the queen was alone awaiting the birth of a child. The king expressed his gratitude to his wife only by congratulating her in December 1446 on the birth of another son, sent 3 thousand livres and a dress for a thanksgiving service. And they also say something about the mores of the royal court of the times of FJ and Elizabeth :)

Gradually, the favorite began to play a political role. Her influential friend was the son of the royal secretary, Étienne Chevalier, who in 1449 was appointed secretary of finance. He commissioned a book of hours from Jean Fouquet, which is now kept in Chantilly: it depicts the courtiers and Agnes, who served as a prototype for the Madonna and Child in the picture for the church in Melun. This canvas depicts a beautiful young woman with pearls on her head, wearing a princess surcoat and a large royal speckled robe, with her left breast bare.

The apotheosis of Agnes was her placement in the royal residence in Loches. Louis, who tried to intercede for the queen of the Dauphin, was rudely expelled by his father; the favorite took part in all ceremonies and feasts.
Agnes gave birth to the king of three daughters: Mary, Charlotte and Jeanne, they were brought up at court. She died on February 11, 1450 from premature birth, but there is an opinion that she was poisoned.

The remains of Agnes were buried royally. Above the burial place of her heart and internal organs, in the Chapel of Notre Dame in Jumienne, rises a magnificent tombstone of black marble, above it is a white marble statue depicting Agnes praying with her own heart in her hands. Her body was transferred to the collegiate church of Notre Dame at Loches and buried in the middle of the choir in a black marble sarcophagus. But the body of Agnes was not left alone: ​​the first exhumation in 1777 was followed by the desecration and almost complete destruction of the grave during the revolution in 1794. In 1806, everything that could be restored and placed in the tower of the royal chambers, where the marble tombstone is kept today.