France of the era of Madame Pompadour

The fact that women sometimes ruled France was noticed by the philosopher and writer Bernard de Fontenelle, and he, who lived exactly 100 years and who has seen much in his lifetime, can be trusted. The most vivid ruler of the kingdom was Madame Pompadour (1721-1764), which at the same time provoked a storm of indignation for her waste, dissatisfied murmurs of courtiers and laudatory odes of saints. Who was this amazing woman, and what allowed her to twist the destinies of the inhabitants of the country?

Madame Pompadour treasured the secret of her origin, so it is difficult for historians to get to the bottom of her genealogical roots. Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson was born in the family of a former footman who became an intendant. Later, my father was fooled and hit on the run. However, the fate of little Jeanne was keenly interested in a certain Norman de Turnem - a nobleman and financier. Who was he, the master, whose father Jeanne, her godfather, or a real father, served as footmen, as detractors claimed, hinting that the king's favorite is the fruit of extramarital love? In this regard, the documents do not give an unambiguous answer.

However, the immutable fact that Madame Pompadour liked to tell herself was that the gypsy woman predicted a future relationship with the king for the 9-year-old girl. This prophecy gave the installation of Jeanne for life. Having passed a long and thorny path before acquaintance with Louis XV, elimination of all rivals and a solid foundation in Versailles, the favorite did not forget the gypsy and paid her rent until the end of her days. Having received an excellent education, Jeanne married a nephew of her patron. The groom was ugly, but rich, and most importantly, noble. The maiden Poisson happily transformed into Madame d'Etiolle.

But Madame Pompadour tried, of course, higher. Having access to the upper world, she learned all the gossip of the court, the habits and passions of the monarch. At that time, the ruler of France was carried away by the Duchess de Chateauroux. After waiting for her untimely death, Madame d'Etiol began to act. At the masquerade ball, she was fortunate enough to meet with 35-year-old Louis. Her young beauty did not make him a proper impression - love at first sight did not work. Then the enterprising Jeanne bought a place in the theater opposite the royal box. But the night in the royal apartments, which followed the performance, did not "hook" the king.

Then Jeanne went all-in: secretly sneaking into the bedchamber of the king, she played a melodramatic story, they say, she risks her head to see her lover and is ready to fall at the hands of a jealous wife. But this act attracted the satiated monarch: instead of driving out the impudent, he gave her the position of the court lady of his wife, and a little later, and the title of the marquise. Madame de Pompadour realized that her beauty alone was clearly not enough to tie Louis's heart to her, so she bumped into patronage, knowing the prince's penchant for fine arts. In her drawing room there were Moliere, Montesquieu, Bouchardon, Fragonard, and other figures of the Enlightenment.

What was the Marquis de Pompadour? Portraits of that epoch represent a peasantish red-cheeked blonde, although this is nothing more than a tribute to the fashion of the time. Verbal descriptions of contemporaries draw us the image of a woman of low stature with chestnut hair and an incomprehensible eye color. Not appearance allowed her to ban the Jesuit order in France, to remove the state from Prussia and to bring it closer to Austria. The mistress of the king, she stayed only 5 years, but the favorite was as long as 20!