Charlotte de Brézé
Charlotte de Brézé (ca. 1446-1477) was an illegitimate daughter of Charles VII of France by his mistress Agnès Sorel, one of three daughters born to the couple. Her sisters were Marie de Valois (1444–1473) and Jeanne de Valois (b. 1448), and she was a half-sibling of Louis XI of France.
Despite the circumstances of her birth, Charlotte was said to be a great favourite of Marie of Anjou, her father's wife.[1] On March 1, 1462, Charlotte married Jacques de Brézé, seneschal of Normandy and comte de Maulévrier, an arranged and politically expedient match. From this marriage were born five children, including Louis de Brézé, who would go on to marry as his second wife Diane de Poitiers, herself a mistress of Henri II of France.[2]
Charlotte was killed on the night of May 31/June 1, 1477, in the manor at Rouvres, by her husband. He suspected her of having an affair with one of his huntsmen, Pierre de Lavergne.[3] The details of the murder are known from letters of Charles VIII of France, written in 1486 when he pardoned Jacques de Brézé of his crime.[4] Charlotte was buried at the Benedictine abbey of Coulombs.
Further reading
- Charlotte de Valois et Jacques de Brézé, chronique du XVe siecle (1844)
References
- ↑ Hamel, Frank. The lady of beauty (Agnes Sorel). p. 204.
- ↑ Hamel, Frank. The lady of beauty (Agnes Sorel). p. 290.
- ↑ Doyen, Guillaume (1786). Histoire de la ville de Chartres, du pays chartrain et de Beauce. p. 285.
- ↑ Plomteux, Clément; Agasse, Henri (1804). Encyclopédie méthodique: Histoire. p. 251.