Royal Romances: Titillating Tales of Passion and Power in the Palaces of Europe by Leslie Carroll Page B
Authors: Leslie Carroll
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France? Well, Madame, cease your scandals and come and throw yourself at the feet of Jesus Christ!”
The local priest also refused to hear her confession, which meant that she could not receive Holy Communion at Easter Mass, a devastating blow to any devout Catholic. The king himself went to the court cleric, Bishop Jacques Bossuet, to arbitrate the matter, but received a rebuke and a lecture on the perils of adultery instead. The bishop so terrorized Louis that he ultimately agreed to dump his mistress.
His decision, predictably, did not sit well with Athénaïs, who flew into a rage, closeted herself in her boudoir for two days, and allegedly shredded the bed linens with her teeth in her sleep.
But there was more to the story. Bishop Bossuet had been coached by the babysitter. He had become close friends with the pious Madame Scarron, who had taken it upon herself to save the king’s soul by turning Louis away from his mistress and sending him back into the arms of his lonely queen, even though she owed her position at court to Madame de Montespan. By this time, Françoise Scarron was so sick of arguing with Athénaïs over the upbringing of the légitimés that she was ready to leave the court. Nothing substantive remained of the women’s friendship, and the only reason the governess could be persuaded to remain was the prospect of persuading His Majesty to embark on a straight and narrow path to heaven. Consequently, in 1675 a plot was hatched to frighten Louis into abandoning Athénaïs de Montespan.
At Lent, Père Louis Bourdaloue preached—for the third time—his forceful sermon against adultery, condemning the monarch’s practice of it and encouraging him to set an example for his subjects by returning to a pious life.
Then, at Easter, when Athénaïs was twice refused absolution by the confessors at Versailles, Bishop Bossuet managed to convince the superstitious king that God’s hand was at work and that he shouldbreak with her. However, Louis couldn’t abandon his mistress cold turkey. After all, he was used to making love with her three times a day, and he was a man of routines.
“I do not require, Sire, that you should extinguish in a single moment a flame so violent, but, Sire, try, little by little, to diminish it; beware of entertaining it,” Bossuet advised.
The clergy came down harshly on the genuinely pious Athénaïs because they couldn’t do so on the king of France. He was never refused communion; on the other hand, he wasn’t hypocritical enough to attend confession. And yet the marquise sincerely wished to repent and continually struggled between her devotion to her religion and her devotion to the king.
After emerging from her two-day tantrum, Athénaïs accused Bishop Bossuet of using Louis’ soul as a political football and a path to controlling the king himself. But the cleric held his ground. Increasingly desperate to hang on to her lover and her position, Madame de Montespan began to forfeit her dignity and her kindness. She tried to smear Bossuet’s reputation, but could find no dirt to dig up. Then she tried to bribe him with the promise of a cardinal’s hat, but the bishop could not be bought with a biretta.
Tongues wagged at court about the favorite’s failure to corrupt Bishop Bossuet. Athénaïs went to Clagny to regroup her thoughts, which gave rise to further gossip. Mademoiselle de Scudéry exulted, “The King and Mme. de Montespan have left one another, loving one another more than life, purely on a principle of religion. It is said that she will return to court without being lodged there, never seeing the King except in the presence of the Queen.”
Meanwhile, Louis kept to himself, rarely visiting Athénaïs, and allowing Bossuet to lecture him daily on his religious obligations. Torn between love and duty, the king requested a final meeting with Madame de Montespan, after promising to lead a blameless life from then on, but the bishop scolded him, saying
The local priest also refused to hear her confession, which meant that she could not receive Holy Communion at Easter Mass, a devastating blow to any devout Catholic. The king himself went to the court cleric, Bishop Jacques Bossuet, to arbitrate the matter, but received a rebuke and a lecture on the perils of adultery instead. The bishop so terrorized Louis that he ultimately agreed to dump his mistress.
His decision, predictably, did not sit well with Athénaïs, who flew into a rage, closeted herself in her boudoir for two days, and allegedly shredded the bed linens with her teeth in her sleep.
But there was more to the story. Bishop Bossuet had been coached by the babysitter. He had become close friends with the pious Madame Scarron, who had taken it upon herself to save the king’s soul by turning Louis away from his mistress and sending him back into the arms of his lonely queen, even though she owed her position at court to Madame de Montespan. By this time, Françoise Scarron was so sick of arguing with Athénaïs over the upbringing of the légitimés that she was ready to leave the court. Nothing substantive remained of the women’s friendship, and the only reason the governess could be persuaded to remain was the prospect of persuading His Majesty to embark on a straight and narrow path to heaven. Consequently, in 1675 a plot was hatched to frighten Louis into abandoning Athénaïs de Montespan.
At Lent, Père Louis Bourdaloue preached—for the third time—his forceful sermon against adultery, condemning the monarch’s practice of it and encouraging him to set an example for his subjects by returning to a pious life.
Then, at Easter, when Athénaïs was twice refused absolution by the confessors at Versailles, Bishop Bossuet managed to convince the superstitious king that God’s hand was at work and that he shouldbreak with her. However, Louis couldn’t abandon his mistress cold turkey. After all, he was used to making love with her three times a day, and he was a man of routines.
“I do not require, Sire, that you should extinguish in a single moment a flame so violent, but, Sire, try, little by little, to diminish it; beware of entertaining it,” Bossuet advised.
The clergy came down harshly on the genuinely pious Athénaïs because they couldn’t do so on the king of France. He was never refused communion; on the other hand, he wasn’t hypocritical enough to attend confession. And yet the marquise sincerely wished to repent and continually struggled between her devotion to her religion and her devotion to the king.
After emerging from her two-day tantrum, Athénaïs accused Bishop Bossuet of using Louis’ soul as a political football and a path to controlling the king himself. But the cleric held his ground. Increasingly desperate to hang on to her lover and her position, Madame de Montespan began to forfeit her dignity and her kindness. She tried to smear Bossuet’s reputation, but could find no dirt to dig up. Then she tried to bribe him with the promise of a cardinal’s hat, but the bishop could not be bought with a biretta.
Tongues wagged at court about the favorite’s failure to corrupt Bishop Bossuet. Athénaïs went to Clagny to regroup her thoughts, which gave rise to further gossip. Mademoiselle de Scudéry exulted, “The King and Mme. de Montespan have left one another, loving one another more than life, purely on a principle of religion. It is said that she will return to court without being lodged there, never seeing the King except in the presence of the Queen.”
Meanwhile, Louis kept to himself, rarely visiting Athénaïs, and allowing Bossuet to lecture him daily on his religious obligations. Torn between love and duty, the king requested a final meeting with Madame de Montespan, after promising to lead a blameless life from then on, but the bishop scolded him, saying
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