#Mazarinettes

[girlboccaccio]

Jacob Ferdinand Voet - different portaits of the Mazarinettes, the collective name which indicated the seven nieces of Cardinal Jules Mazarin (Giulio Mazzarino), chief minister to the Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV of France.  

Their names were: Laura and Anna Maria, daughter of Laura Margherita Mazzarino; Laura, Olimpia, Maria, Ortensia and Maria Anna, daughter of Girolama Mazzarino.

Mazarin wished to establish a dynasty in France and secure his legacy through advantageous marriages, but could have no children of his own as a member of the Catholic clergy. He also wanted to surround himself with his family, in whom he could confide, as he had many enemies at court.

The French royal family supervised the education of the girls. The Queen Regent, Anne of Austria, allowed for the younger children to be educated with the future king Louis XIV and his younger brother, Monsieur Philippe, Duke of Anjou.

Cardinal Mazarin arranged advantageous marriages for his nieces with powerful French and Italian aristocrats, and gave large dowries to their husbands in order to overcome their reluctance to marry women of lower origins. Many of them, in any case, will live more adventurous lives, becoming estimated women of letters or abandoning violent husbands and becoming lovers of kings and other rulers.

[gogmstuff]

Late Louis XIV fashion: (from top to bottom) -

1690 Lady, three-quarter-length, in a blue dress with a red sash, with Cupid in a landscape by Claude Chapron (Bonhams -  6Jul01 auction Lot 143) 2652X3681 @150 2.4Mj.

ca. 1695 Marie Anne Mancini by Nicholas de Largillière (Musée du Louvre - Paris, France) photo - René-Gabriel Ojéda. From Base Joconde 1832X2316 @144 4.3Mj. She was one of the “Mazarinettes” that caused a sensation at Versailles a few decades earlier.

ca. 1718 Presumed portrait of Philippe, Duke of Orléans and Madame de Parabère by Pierre Gobert (attempted private auction by Sotheby's) 2867X2563 @72 1.4Mj.

Caroline of Ansbach, wife of George II by ? (location ?). From a-royal-obsession.tumblr.com/image/162994151687 1280X1539 @72 690kj. She was married to King George II and she worked with Horace Walpole to create the modern parliamentary form of government.

Lady, wearing a white and blue dress by Pierre Mignard (location ?). From tumblr.com/blog/view/roehenstart; erased spots & flaws w Pshop 966X1294 @72 275kj.

[child-of-hurin]

Dramatis personae:

Hortense, duchess of Mazarin Armand-Charles, her husband Marie, her sister Philippe-Jules, her brother Charles II, king of England Anne Lennard, countess of Sussex

From https://partylike1660.com/hortense-mancini-duchesse-mazarin/

In January 1666, as Hortense had just given birth to Paul Jules and was eager to rejoin court life, her husband took all her jewellery from her while she was dressing and forbade her to leave. Hortense, in tears, thus tried to flee to the neighbouring property of her brother Philippe-Jules, Duc de Nevers, but her husband had the connection door in the garden closed up with bricks. What followed was witnessed by many happening to pass by. Hortense fled to the street to reach the property of her brother, under the cries of her husband urging the servants to take her captive. Hortense was once again locked up in a cloister, but freed with the help of her brothers-in-law and Armand-Charles banished from the Palais Mazarin.

Hortense finally made a bid to escape from her hellish marriage on the night of 13 June 1668, with help from her brother. Disguised in men’s clothing and on horseback, she left Paris in the midst of the night and boarded a carriage at its outskirts, that brought her to Lorraine and from there to Rome, to her sister Marie, now Princesse Colonna. Philippe-Jules joined them there shortly after and the exiled Chevalier de Lorraine as well. The latter had an eye on Hortense, but she had no particular interest in him and thus turned him down.

Hortense returned to France in 1670* and that in a not less scandalous manner. This time it was Marie fleeing from her abusive husband, afraid he might plan to poison her. Philippe-Jules asked for permission to bring both her and Hortense to France with him. Louis XIV declared himself protector of both sisters and the plan went underway. Marie and Hortense left Rome, wearing men’s garments under their travelling garments. They went to Monaco, where a boat, chartered by their brother, was waiting for them. The voyage was delayed by Hortense giving birth to a child obviously not from her husband, which lead him thus to spread rumours of a incestual relationship between Hortense and Jules-Philippe. Louis XIV intervened again and ordered Armand-Charles to refrain from stating accusations like this, then granted Hortense an annual pension of 24000 livres. Her former suitor the Duc de Savoy also declared himself her protector and Hortense retired to Chambéry, in Haute-Savoie, where she establish her home as a meeting place for authors, philosophers, and artists.

After the death of her Savoyan protector in 1675, Hortense had no source of income anymore, since her husband froze all of her income, including the pension from Louis XIV. The English ambassador to France, Ralph Montagu, aware of Hortense’s desperate situation, enlisted her help in increasing his own standing with Charles II. He hoped she would replace the King’s current mistress, Louise de Kerouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth. Hortense was willed to try and disguised herself as a man again to travel to England, under the pretext of a visit to her young niece, Mary of Modena, the new wife of Charles’ younger brother, James, Duke of York.

It did not take long until the plan succeeded. Already by mid 1675, Hortense was a visitor of Charles’ bed and he provided her with a pension of £4,000, enabling her to live a comfortable life.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortense_Mancini:

This state of affairs might have continued had it not been for Hortense's promiscuity. She was dubbed 'the Italian Whore' in England.

Firstly, there was her almost certainly sexual relationship with Anne, Countess of Sussex, the king's illegitimate daughter by the Duchess of Cleveland. This culminated in a very public, friendly fencing match in St. James's Park, with the women clad in nightgowns, after which Anne's husband ordered his wife to the country. There she refused to do anything but lie in bed, repeatedly kissing a miniature of Hortense

[winterhalters]

The Mazarinettes, or Mancini sisters

[beyondmistland]

Do you have any headcannons or ideas of the beauty standard in westros? Like south vs northern? Or what Stormlands deem attractive vs westerlands? I can’t help but think there just be a difference in the beauty standards baratheons hold vs Lannister’s.

I don't have any particular thoughts on the matter but there absolutely should be changes over time. To give a RL example, James II was mocked for having mistresses that were not full-figured but a century later Marie Antoinette was ridiculed for having a slightly larger than average bust. Likewise, the thin, dark-skinned Mazarinettes were the talk of Paris precisely because the ideal of the time was pale skin and a full figure.

Thanks for the question, anon

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Hortense Mancini, I’d love to know more about this woman. One of Cardinal Jules Mazarin’s seven nieces. She and her sisters were known as the Mazarinettes.

She fled to England dressed as a man to escape her abusive aristocratic husband. She became Charles II’s mistress. She then established salons for women, by women. She loved to dress up as a man and was rumoured to be bisexual. Naturally, the historians aren’t comfortable about her.

“She created ‘the most celebrated salon in Europe’ in the late 17th century, Nicholson says. ‘She opened up a space in London for women, particularly, to learn about new ideas, hear scientific lectures, talk about the latest literature and engage in a museum-like culture, where you could handle all sorts of exotic objects and animals.’ ”

[hasty-touch]

Not FFXIV but last night I watched a movie that was basically Rosaire: La Reine et le Cardinal (2009), set in the French royal court from 1642-1661 and centered around Cardinal Mazarin and Anne of Austria.

La Reine et le Cardinal (English title The Queen and the Cardinal) is a two-part French TV movie that follows the career of Cardinal Mazarin, successor to the infamous Cardinal Richelieu, as Chief Minister of France. Louis XIII soon dies and his widow, the controversial Queen Anne, becomes Regent for the five-year-old Louis XIV in a court full of treachery and intrigue. The Queen chooses to trust Mazarin and together they weather the turbulent years of the Fronde, subdue the nobility and set the young Louis on the path to becoming the Sun King.

The (historically rumored but not confirmed) romance between the sly, intensely ambitious yet gentle and courteous Mazarin and the passionate, proud, self-sacrificing Queen is at the center of the film, but it’s just as much if not more about politics. In fact I’d say that a major theme is how much personal feelings are driven by politics and, equally, politics are driven by personal feelings in the 17th century French court. It moves very fast and there are many pieces on the chessboard, so it helped to glance over some Wikipedia articles beforehand to follow the story, but I greatly enjoyed it.

Obviously a big part of that for me was the characterization of Mazarin (played by Philippe Torreton). As Infamous Three Musketeers Villain Cardinal Richelieu’s successor, he immediately understands the tenuousness of his position, as Richelieu’s violent authoritarianism had alienated courtiers, Parlement, and the public alike. Mazarin takes a different path, using charm, courtesy, and the appearance of gentleness to assuage his enemies while manipulating them through alliances, rivalries, and coin. The film portrays him complexly: Mazarin is deceitful, greedy, and ruthlessly ambitious, yet not fully cold-hearted -- he is soft-mannered, thoughtful, and intensely and faithfully loyal to the King and Queen, he loves his family, and he clutches on to power because he believes he is needed to build and protect a strong and centralized State.

SO MANY ROSAIRE TROPES, and also expressions.

LOOK AT EM.

And also quotes.

I also quite liked Queen Anne (played by Alessandra Martines). And while I enjoyed that the central romance was between two people already middle-aged at the start of the film, there are also lots of beautiful young men and women embroiled in erotic intrigues if you’re into that, and Part 2 spends a lot of time on the romance between Louis XIV (Cyril Descours) and Mazarin's niece Marie Mancini (Carla Buttarazzi, who looks shockingly like Marie’s portait.)

If you’re interested in checking it out, it is currently included with Amazon Prime Video or can be watched completely free with Hoopla, a video streaming service you can access with a library card. Content note for vomit, icky skin conditions, explicit sex, and slight gore (unsanitized swordfighting).

You might also like to check out its frockflicks review!

[nellygwyn]

Could you share more about the story of Aphra & Hortense that you wrote? I love the latest posts about it

Ohhhhh, I’m glad you’re interested in it! I’m not finished it at all yet but I’m rather proud, especially since I’ve been working on it as like, a secondary task. Since you asked so nicely, I will share the excerpt that follows the part of it that I last posted (a.k.a Aphra pining after Hortense’s first kiss). Also, I can’t tag asks on mobile so I’m just saying that some of this is NSFW.

~~~~~~~~~~

The kiss shared at Newmarket, that full mouth that begged to be parted pressed on Aphra’s own, would continue to fill her head with cloudy “What ifs?” and just as she had been in a dreamy haze that night in Newmarket’s fields, when Sedley had mocked her mooning, so too she continued to pine for that moment in the days that suceeded. She felt insatiable, unsatisfied with just thoughts of it all. When she and her merry companions had drunk a little too much (which, Aphra was sorry to admit, was exceedingly often) and they would take it in turns to fuck one another, she would often imagine privately that the curling, bewigged head between her thighs was that of the Mazarinette angel. This pretense was easiest to keep up with Harry Savile, who was so gentle, even when drunk as a sailor, that he felt no need to remove his stark black periwig. The others were more vigorous, but Harry’s tongue moved like melting butter and Aphra’s cunt, like her mind, found the gratification in her imagination.

The Duchess, of course, showed no signs of thinking on what Aphra assumed she thought of as a trifle. A mere flirtation. And besides, the job of King’s mistress held no such time to openly dote on another. The Duchess was never without the King when Aphra caught a glimpse of her at court in those following weeks. Hortense was all grace and amusing company, laughing heartily at any old half-wit who joked in her direction, painted up from her head to her ankles, sweet-scented, and displaying a playful slither of skin whenever it seemed necessary. But it was all for His Majesty’s pleasure.

Aphra felt the pangs of jealousy. The Duchess didn’t even glance in her direction. Not that Aphra expected that, of course, such a woman would never deign to scrape so low when she had most of Europe’s courts on bended knee to her. But still, Aphra wondered if King Charles knew how lucky he was to possess such a pearl, a pearl that would satisfy any craving as soon as he beckoned for her. Did he quite grasp the fact that his “Puttana” was an age-old goddess? Or, more accurate yet, a sorceress, Aphra concluded, for there had to be some magic in that kiss to keep her mind captive so. Aphra had never hated the King. One couldn’t, he was too good-natured, too agreeable. And yet…..and yet, she envied him. And she was stricken dumbfounded at his passivity at having Hortense Mancini, the woman that every man, every woman, pined after, for his own. “Men” she contemplated quietly “even kings, dream of tender quim, but they hardly comprehend its lady’s worth.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It’s not perfect yet tbh but!!!! Yeah lmao

[felicedellarovere]

I feel like PART of me wants to say Felice Della Rovere for the sheer fact i associate you with her so strongly-- but ALSO i associate you with 17th century party girls, and my mind went straight to Hortense Mancini (i mean, what an #icon). But I ALSO have Isabella d'Este vibes because lbr you are very much The First Lady of the World.

i’m weepin i want to be a mazarinette so bad

andi ‘m thinking of maybe being isabella d’este for halloween?? if i get my shit together in time to sew a dress

[mogulinteriororlando]

Mazarinettes by attendthetale featuring a white lace evening gown ❤ liked on Polyvore

Saiid Kobeisy off the shoulder evening dress 827,965 INR - farfetch.com

Oscar de la Renta silk evening gown 511,990 INR - modaoperandi.com

Gina Bacconi satin evening dress 14,740 INR - johnlewis.com

Elizabeth Mason Couture couture evening dress 484,760 INR - 1stdibs.com

Chanel silk evening gown 82,085 INR - 1stdibs.com

Christian Dior white lace evening gown 243,500 INR - 1stdibs.com

Jean Paul Gaultier vintage corset top 59,815 INR - 1stdibs.com

Lisa Marie Fernandez white frilly top 4,805 INR - therealreal.com

Yves Saint Laurent shirred skirt 46,455 INR - 1stdibs.com

Embellished corset 1,390 INR - rosewe.com

Boohoo 515 INR - boohoo.com

Belt 545 INR - amazon.com

Alaïa 100 leather belt 1stdibs.com

[venicepearl]

Hortense Mancini by Jacob Ferdinand Voet - 1675

Hortense Mancini, Duchesse de Mazarin (6 June 1646 – 2 July 1699), was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister of France, and a mistress of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland. She was the fourth of the five famous Mancini sisters, who, along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes.

[thestuartkings]

Portrait of Hortense Mancini

By Jacob Ferdinand Voet