#And when she *is* noticed she's demonized (and thus dismissed) as capricious/duplicitous/vengeful/selfish etc | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wonder-worker · 1 year ago

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"We therefore need to separate out the 'facets' of [Anne de Pisseleu's] life, the way she was perceived by different groups and individuals. According to these, she could be viewed as an ornament to the court, a grasping favorite, a desired patroness, an able businesswoman, later on as a pillar of the reformed church and cantankerous old woman. At different times and over a long life, Anne de Pisseleu played all these roles."

David Potter, "The Life and After-Life of a Royal Mistress: Anne de Pisseleu, Duchess of Étampes"

#historicwomendaily #I wanted this to be my first post on this blog for this new year because I love her! So much!#She's absolutely captivating and had such a colourful and unapologetic life #anne de pisseleu #french history #Francis I #16th century #my post #queue #I can't believe I haven't posted anything about her before - she's probably one my top 10 most interesting historical women #She's ridiculously overlooked & underrated which is bizarre considering how infamous and wildly important she was during her life #But instead her vital impact on Francis's reign and on the informal 'institution' of the French royal mistress is often completely erased #or trivialized in historical accounts - both general and academic #And when she *is* noticed she's demonized (and thus dismissed) as capricious/duplicitous/vengeful/selfish etc #as Kathleen Wellman* points out: a lot of this is due to her ties to Francis I - who's considered the most important French Renaissance Kin #So Anne's power and impact is diminished and downplayed in order to preserve and lionize his reputation #but she's simultaneously viewed as the villainous who's responsible for his mistakes. It's inherently contradictory :/#(not to say that she was pristine or faultless or anything - ofc not - but I think you get what I'm saying)#and of course she was seen as 'the epitome of the deleterious effects of giving women too much authority' during her time so that probably #plays a key role in how she's currently perceived #she's also sometimes viewed as a sort of 'prelude' to Diane de Poitiers - which is ridiculous because it's *Anne* who set the precedent #for a lot of things Diane and later royal mistresses are now renowned for. But her spearheading role and immense impact is never #highlighted or credited as much as it should be.#Oh well. At least David Potter and Tracy Adams are doing a great job with her. Props to them they're fantastic :)#(btw I genuinely think that people who are interested in Anne Boleyn should look her up I think y'all will really like her)#(Both Annes were direct contemporaries and I think they had a very similar style)#*Wellman's book had lots of errors and assumptions but eh

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