Mme de Hautefort's castle, from the Tourism Office of Vallée Vézère.
Scarron
Richelieu identified Marie de Hautefort as an incorruptible enemy. He feared her influence on the King and succeeded in banning her from the Court. To the King's great displeasure, she went to Le Mans where only a handful of friends would visit her, including La Porte, recently freed from La Bastille. “La Porte knew her as so intrepid, so pure, and so caring a lady,” writes Cousin, “that he had given himself out to her as much as to the Queen.” When in Le Mans, Marie de Hautefort heard of Scarron, the burlesque poet. She became his protector and even obtained a pension for him when she came back to the Court, three years later. The poet, who was suffering from physical disability, portrayed himself as the illustrious sick of the Queen. He dedicated many works to Marie—they are to be found in Tom. VII of his works (Amsterdam, 1752). Here is one of them, entitled Travel of the Queen to La Barre:
Is it so? Such a wreck,
Of the Dukes challenged the courage?
And the Duke of Ventadour
Lost everything, but the love he had;
That love that left him the strength
To walk like a Sarabande,
Notwithstanding his limping,
To offer himself, humble and subdued,
To your heart, my so good and so beautiful,
My incomparable Hautefort,
The only mistress of his fortune.
In 1643, Louis XIII died, and the Queen, and mother of the young Louis XIV, became the regent of the kingdom. La Porte and Mme de Hautefort came back triumphantly to the Court. But the Queen was in charge and her political decisions soon hurt her former friends. Cardinal Mazarin, who had succeeded his mentor, Cardinal Richelieu, won the heart of the Queen—some say he won more than that—and tried to bribe Mme de Hautefort. He did not succeed, and had her disgraced again. This was a very troubled time in France and Marie was no politician. She suffered as a friend from the political decisions of the Queen and retired from the Court. In 1646, she married the powerful Maréchal de Schomberg, and became Mme de Schomberg. Her husband died a few years later and Mme de Hautefort led a confortable life, exchanging letters with various authors, especially Benserade. She died in 1691, aged 75, leaving no children.
The biography of Victor Cousin is quite interesting as he added a previously unpublished manuscript biography of Mme de Hautefort, as well a two important indexes: the story of the house of Hautefort, and a portrayal of Mme de Chevreuse, whose life was closely linked to Mme de Hautefort’s. Marie did not spend a lot of time in the castle that bears her name but the old and dignified stones of the monument keep on reminding of her life, her beauty and her determination.
Thibault Ehrengardt
Victor Cousin: Madame de Hautefort et Madame de Chevreuse (Paris, 1856).
La Porte: Mémoires (Genève, 1755).
La Rochefoucauld: Mémoires de M.D.L.R (Cologne, 1669—first edition 1662).
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.
DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
Freeman’s | Hindman Western Manuscripts and Miniatures July 8, 2025
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.