Claudine Françoise Mignot
Encyclopedia
Claudine Françoise Mignot [commonly called Marie] (January 20, 1624 – November 30, 1711), French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 adventuress, was born near Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...

, at Meylan
Meylan
Meylan is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-Twin towns: Didcot, United Kingdom, since 1985 Gonzales, USA, since 1985 Planegg, Germany, since 1985...

.

At the age of sixteen she attracted the notice of the secretary of Pierre des Portes d'Amblerieux, treasurer of the province of Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....

, and Amblerieux promised to promote their marriage. He married the girl himself, however, and left her his fortune.

His will was disputed by his family, and Claudine went to Paris in 1653 to secure its fulfilment. She sought the protection of François de l'Hôpital, marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...

, then a man of seventy-five. He married her within a week of their first meeting, and after seven years of marriage died leaving her part of his estate. They had one son (c. 1654 - c. 1657).

By a third and morganatic marriage
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...

 in 1672 with John Casimir, ex-king of Poland, a few weeks before his death, she received a third fortune. Immediately on her marriage with Amblerieux she had begun to educate herself, and her wealth and talents assured her a welcome in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. They had one daughter Marie Catherine (1670 - after 1672)
Marie Catherine (1670 - after 1672)
Marie Catherine - illegitimate daughter of Polish king John II Casimir of Poland with his mistress and morganatic wife Claudine Françoise Mignot....



She retired in her old age to a Carmelite convent in the city, where she died on the 30 November 1711. Her history, very much modified, was the subject of a play by Bayard
Jean-François Bayard
Jean-François Alfred Bayard was a French playwright.-Life:As a law student and a lawyer's clerk, Bayard wrote with passion for the theatre and, after several attempts, had a great success at the Gymnase theatre, with la Reine de seize ans...

 and Paul Duport, Marie Mignot (1829).
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