#Leszczynska

[oldsardens]

Danuta Leszczynska - Lacuna. 2023

[adelaide-of-versailles]

Is there a reason why Louis XVI family treated him so shitty during his childhood???

To be honest, I don't really think so, other than that he was the second(ish) son and he took after his father more than his mother personality wise (i.e quiet, didn't like parties as much as education)

I know he was close-ish with his grandmother, Maria Leszczynska, or at least liked her enough to commission an engraving commemorating her death. I don't really know how close they were but it's more than he showed to others!

[roehenstart]

Portrait of Marie Leszczynska by Franz Bernhard Frey.

[tiny-librarian]

Royal Birthdays for today, June 23rd:

Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar, Pharaoh of Egypt, 47 B.C.

Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland, 1456

Charles II, Duke of Savoy, 1489

Shah Shuja, Mughal Prince, 1616

Marie Leszczyńska, Queen of France, 1703

Joséphine de Beauharnais, Empress of the French, 1763

Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom, 1894

Tribhuhvan Bir Bikram Shah, King of Nepal, 1906

Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Parma, Marchioness of Sala, 1974

Maria-Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Palermo, 2003

[catholic-saint-tournament]

I would like to submit Stanisława Leszczyńska, a Servant of God, for the Beatified category :)

She was sent to the Auschwitz camp and helped deliver the babies of pregnant women in there

She is SO amazing and I admire her so much !!

Here’s an article about her:

https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/servant-of-god-stanisawa-leszczynska-the-midwife-of-auschwitz-who-delivered-thousands-of-babies-and-saved-thousands-of-lives/

WOOHOO another nomination for the beatified bracket!!!!

With how few nominations there are, it will probably be a smaller bracket, so she'll need more nominations and votes! Only the top 16 will be taken!

[wittyvitale]

Little Treats (A Slice-of-Life Castlevania Nocturne Fanfic)

Summary: Maria, Alucard, and Juste walk by a Parisian Pâtisserie. Maria experiences childlike wonder from looking at all of the colorful and delicious pastries. Alucard treats Maria (and Juste) to coffee and dessert. Slice of Life Fluff, focus on the Maria/Alucard/Juste Found Family. Some Season 2 spoilers

Author's Notes: I actually did research for this one! And got very hungry for pastries lol. As a disclaimer, I’ve never been to Paris or Stohrer. I’m going by what I found in my research, saw in photos, and I added a few creative liberties. Also, I love writing Alucard as the dapper gentleman he is. Enjoy!

***

Maria walked down the streets of Paris, Alucard and Juste a few steps behind her. They tried to walk in the city as much as possible, studying the local geography and identifying key locations.

A window caught Maria’s eye and she stopped dead in her tracks. She fully faced the display and discovered that she had arrived at a pâtisserie. Rows of luscious confections stared back at her and her eyes sparkled.

“Wow…” she said in awe, jaw dropping.

Alucard and Juste stopped next to Maria and looked through the window as well. Alucard hummed.

“Quite impressive,” Alucard remarked as his eyes darted around. “They have quite the selection.”

Juste looked up at the sign. “Stohrer… why does that name sound familiar?”

“Ah, Nicolas Stohrer,” Alucard said in recognition. “I heard about him years ago during my travels. He was the pastry chef for Stanislas Leszczynski, Duke of Lorraine and the former king of Poland. Stanislas’ daughter, Marie Leszczynska, married King Louis XV. At least I think it was Louis XV, there have been so many bloody King Louis’ in this country. Either way, Stohrer eventually became the king’s pastry chef.”

Maria frowned. “Then it’s probably far too expensive to eat anything here. I guess we wandered into the rich part of town. It’s cruel in a way; the aristocrats teasing the commoners with sweets they’ll never be able to afford.”

Alucard glanced his eyes upward in thought. “Did you have a chance to eat many sweetmeats when you were growing up, Maria?”

Maria shook her head. “Machecoul didn’t have a pâtisserie like this one. We had a bakery that mainly sold bread, but we barely used it because my mother baked all of our bread. And ingredients to make sweets are expensive. Mum would make apple tarts if she was able to afford all of the ingredients. And on the rare occasion she’d make Russian Tea Cakes. Those were a favorite of hers from her Speaker days, and Richter and I loved them. It was… really special when she was able to make those kinds of things for us.” Maria grew wistful at the memory.

Alucard nodded in acknowledgement. “And when was the last time you were able to eat such confections?”

Maria tried to do the math in her head. “Months really. Before the whole debacle with the vampires.”

Alucard gave Maria a small smile. “Well, that’s no good at all. It’s important to indulge in little treats from time to time. I guess the only thing for me to do is escort you inside and buy you a pastry.”

Both Maria and Juste’s eyes widened at Alucard’s declaration.

“You… really? You can afford to buy things here?” Maria asked, eyes starting to brighten again.

Alucard nodded. “Yes. My treat. And I’ll help you find something that strikes your fancy. I’ve been around for a long time. I’ve tasted many of these desserts.”

“I… I don’t know what to say. That’s so nice of you, Alucard!” Maria replied, growing excited about trying new sweets.

“I’m surprised that you’d want to try something here, Maria,” Juste started, raising an eyebrow at the girl. “Being the revolutionary you are, I didn’t think you’d want to eat in a place that was founded by the former king’s pastry chef.”

“Well, the former king’s pastry chef isn’t the king, now is he?” Maria responded, mildly annoyed. “And it’s not like we’ll be eating here every day. Alucard’s right; everybody should have an occasional treat.”

“Juste, if this is your roundabout way of asking for sweets, I’ll gladly treat you as well,” Alucard interrupted. “I’ll make up for the candy I wasn’t able to buy you when you were a boy.”

Juste waved his hands dismissively. “No, no, I’m not one for sweets. But do you think there’s any chance they have alcohol here?”

“I believe the rum baba is soaked in, well, rum.”

Juste grimaced. “That still sounds too sweet. I’ll just get a coffee. Black.”

***

Maria was filled with childlike glee when she entered the pâtisserie, feeling like she was much younger than 16. She walked back and forth between the rows of freshly-baked, delicious confections, all of which were beckoning to her. She was practically a kid in a candy store.

“What’s this?” she asked Alucard enthusiastically, pointing to a pastry.

“That’s a fruit financier,” answered Alucard. “A ground almond and browned butter sponge cake with seasonal fruits. It looks like this one has apples.”

“And this one?”

“A religieuse. It’s made from choux dough, a delicate pastry dough. It’s typically topped and filled with pastry cream. There’s chocolate in this one.”

Maria looked like she was in a trance. “Chocolate…” she whispered.

Maria asked Alucard about several more pastries and Alucard answered her patiently and in great detail. Juste stood behind them, feeling a bit out of his element. He still planned to get a black coffee, but he couldn’t help but notice a bottle of rum behind the counter.

“Ah, it looks like they don’t just specialize in French pastries here,” Alucard said, eyeing a latticed pastry. “That’s a Linzer torte. It’s an Austrian pastry, a shortbread topped with nuts and a jam inside. I believe the jam in this one is…” Alucard sniffed once, his vampiric sense of smell identifying the fruit immediately. “raspberry.”

“That one!” Maria said definitively. “I want to try the Linzer torte! It’s been years since I’ve had raspberry jam, and that combination sounds delicious!”

Alucard smiled. “Very well, milady. Juste, are you sure you just want coffee?”

“Yeah, yeah, I can’t abide anything else in here.” Juste answered, still surreptitiously staring at the bottle of rum.

“What are you going to get, Alucard?” Maria asked.

“Hmmm, let’s see,” Alucard approached the clerk standing behind the counter. “Good afternoon, my good sir. A Linzer torte for the lady, a black coffee for the young man…”

Alucard turned to look at Juste’s reaction. Juste looked at him questioningly and Alucard smirked. “What? You’re young to me.”

Juste just rolled his eyes.

“And for me… I’ll have one of your lemon currant scones, please.”

“Very good, sir, right away.” The clerk answered as he started gathering the requested items.

“Out of all the things in here, you’re seriously getting a scone?” Maria asked Alucard incredulously. “They’re so boring! Not to mention hard as rocks.”

“Now, now, scones are very versatile,” Alucard gently retorted. “Depending on the flavors, they can be quite tasty. And when baked just right, they’re hard on the outside and soft on the inside. It stimulates all the senses. I remember eating an almond scone when I visited Scotland about 150 years ago, and it was one of the most delightful culinary experiences of my life.”

Maria just shrugged. “If you say so.”

When the pastries were ready, Alucard carried them to a table outside as if he was an experienced waiter. Juste stayed behind to get his coffee.

When Alucard and Maria were seated outside, Maria took a fork and dug into her dessert. The tartness of the raspberry jam and the sweetness of the shortbread danced along her tastebuds. She closed her eyes with a satisfied smile, a small squeal escaping her lips. “Mmmmm!”

“So, what’s the verdict?” Alucard asked, already intuiting the answer.

“I’ve never tasted anything quite like this,” Maria gushed, taking another bite. “I’m having trouble finding words to describe it. This… This is amazing!”

Alucard chuckled. “I’m so glad it’s to your liking.”

Juste joined the two of them and sat at the table with his cup of coffee, a grin on his face. Maria raised an eyebrow.

“You look awfully happy for someone who just wanted a black coffee.” she teased.

“Yeah, well, when you get to be my age, it’s the little pleasures that make life worthwhile.” Juste answered, taking a sip of coffee. He sighed in contentment. “Oh yeah, that’s the good stuff.”

Alucard stared at Juste without expression. “You put rum in the coffee, didn’t you?”

Juste feigned shock. “What? Me? No, of course not.”

“I can smell it from here, Belmont.”

“The kid behind the counter said I could do it,” Juste said defensively. “Well, he said I could after I slid him a few extra coins. Rum and coffee are a good combination; the bitterness of the coffee keeps the rum from making it too sweet, and I still get a bit of alcohol. Best of both worlds I say.”

Alucard facepalmed. “All of you Belmonts are incorrigible.”

Maria started laughing, a deep, joyous laugh that Alucard and Juste had never heard from her.  Considering what Maria had endured in recent months, it delighted and relieved both of the men when Maria was genuinely happy. They both looked at each other and smiled. They were committed to giving Maria as many positive experiences as possible, hoping to excise the bit of darkness that was still lingering inside of her heart.

Maria eyed Juste’s cup of rum coffee, a mischievous smirk on her face.

“Can I have a sip of that?” she asked innocently (which was intentional on her part.)

“Absolutely not.” “You’re too young.” Alucard and Juste said concurrently.

Maria pouted, but didn’t really mind. She still had a delectable Linzer torte to finish. She ate another forkful and looked back and forth between Alucard and Juste. As the days went by, she felt closer to both of them, these men who had taken her in during the lowest moment of her life. She hoped to continue having more experiences like these with her surrogate grandpas.

***

End Notes: We all know Alucard's flush with cash, he can easily afford pastries in a fancy bakery. And Maria deserves all the sweetness, both physically and emotionally. My poor traumatized homicidal girl deserves to have all the experiences a teenager should have.

[classic-art-favourites]

Marie Leszczynska by Jean-Marc Nattier, 1748.

[apho-sappho]

🌼💌🙃🦋 for the ask game? 👀(the eyes aren’t a question)

🌼 What’s the last thing you said out loud?

"How weird do you think he'll look?" (Asking my ma how weird my brother's kitten will look bc he just got neutered yesterday)

💌 Do you talk to yourself?

When I'm alone sometimes but most of the time no

🙃 What’s a weird fact that you know?

There's a book full of textile squares from dresses of Maria Leszczynska, a Queen of France (the Queen of France before Marie Antoinette)

🦋 Describe yourself in three words.

Pink. Pony. Club. /j

[milenapetrofig]

Louis XV

King of France 1715-1774

Married Marie Leszczynska (1725-1768) and children Louis Dauphin of France, Louise Élisabeth, Madame Adélaïde

[winterhalters]

no one will ever top charlotte de turckheim as marie leszczynska but maria doyle kennedy would be a close second tbh

[ousontlesfemmes]

Isabelle de Bourbon-Parme (1741-1763)

Des histoires de princesses mortes trop jeunes et tombées dans l’oubli, ce n’est pas cela qui manque dans l’Histoire de l’Humanité. Mais l’histoire d’une princesse morte trop jeune, oubliée dans l’Histoire et potentiellement bisexuelle voire lesbienne ? Venez découvrir une brève biographie d’Isabelle de Bourbon-Parme, première épouse de Joseph II, le frère aîné de Marie-Antoinette !

Ou la princesse qui a épousé un prince mais a crush sur sa belle-sœur !

Isabelle de Bourbon-Parme est une figure relativement connue en France, notamment grâce à la sortie, il y a déjà quelques années, de sa correspondance à Marie-Christine, sœur aînée de Marie-Antoinette, laquelle dépeint un véritable attachement à la jeune femme. Certains disent amitié forte, d’autres répondent « et elles furent colocataires » comme le veut la fameuse blague concernant le manque de visibilité lesbien dans l’Histoire en général.

Mais résumer Isabelle à sa potentielle orientation sexuelle serait injuste et réducteur.

Isabelle naît le 31 décembre 1741 à Madrid. Son père est Philippe I de Parme, fils Philippe V (lui-même petit-fils de Louis XIV) et de la puissante Elisabeth, dernière descendante de la famille italienne des Farnese. Sa mère est la princesse Louise-Elisabeth, fille aînée de Louis XV et de Marie Leszczynska.

Que du beau monde, donc.

Quand Isabelle naît, sa mère n’a que quatorze ans ! D’ailleurs, le mariage entre ses parents n’est pas des plus heureux et Elisabeth trouve tous les prétextes possibles pour quitter la Cour d’Espagne et rejoindre son Versailles natal, de telle sorte que quand naîtra son second enfant, un fils, Ferdinand, il y aura un écart de dix ans entre le frère et la sœur !

A la Cour de son grand-père maternel, Isabelle est très appréciée.

Isabelle reçoit une éducation soignée et c’est une âme érudite : elle apprend le violon, lit des livres de philosophie, d’histoire et de théologie. Elle aime particulièrement les écrits de Bossuet et de Law.

Ses parents sont très stricts : son père est pour les punitions corporelles et sa mère fait en sorte qu’elle les reçoive. Selon les propres mots de la princesse, elle était une enfant malicieuse avec un besoin de bouger. Elle aimait chasser les papillons, monter à cheval et effectuer des acrobaties avec une corde (peut-être l’ancêtre de la corde à sauter) mais cela a été assez vite brimé.

Une éducation stricte, peu de compagnon de jeu, une mère qui jalouse sa nounou…

Rien d’étonnant que cela vrille pour notre héroïne du jour.

Dès ses seize ans, Isabelle a des pensées morbides et vit avec l’idée qu’elle mourra jeune, ce qui est terriblement proph��tique. Aujourd’hui, nous savons que la pauvre adolescente souffrait de dépression. Certains évoquent la possibilité d’une bipolarité héréditaire.

La vie d’Isabelle prend un terrible tournant : le 06 décembre 1759, sa mère meurt à Versailles de la variole et sa fille de dix-huit ans se retrouve à devoir prendre soin de son frère Ferdinand (1751-1802) et de sa petite sœur Marie-Louise (1751-1819). Je vous précise que Ferdinand et Marie-Louise ne sont pas jumeaux, c’est juste que le fils est né en janvier et la fille en décembre de la même année.

Le 06 octobre 1760, alors qu’elle va avoir 19 ans, elle épouse le futur Joseph II (1741-1790), le frère de Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793)

Joseph est enchanté par son épouse et en tombe follement amoureux. D’ailleurs, Isabelle est assez bien accueillie par sa belle-famille, laquelle loue sa beauté, son intelligence et son sens politique. Isabelle dira de son beau-père, François, qu’il est un homme bon, honorable, un vrai ami, même s’il a tendance à écouter les mauvais conseils.

Le 20 mars 1762, Isabelle donne naissance à sa fille, une petite Marie-Thérèse qui sera la prunelle des yeux de son père. D’ailleurs, il assiste à l’accouchement.

Si on pourrait croire à une vie heureuse, la réalité est toute autre : Isabelle, malgré l’amour de Joseph, ne parvient pas à aimer cet homme et ne le voit que comme un époux envers qui elle a des devoirs.

Son coeur bat ailleurs…

Il bat pour sa belle-sœur, Marie-Christine, dite Mimi, la propre sœur de Joseph !

Marie-Christine et Isabelle se sont très vite entendues et ont lié une véritable amitié. La vie de cour et les obligations les séparent, donc elles s’écrivent énormément.

Elisabeth Badinter a sorti cette correspondance dans Je meurs d'amour pour toi et pense qu’Isabelle et sa belle-sœur entretenaient une relation saphique. D’autres historiens, comme Antonia Fraser, pensent que si Isabelle était en effet amoureuse, Marie-Christine n’a jamais vu Isabelle autrement que comme une amie.

Le mystère reste donc entier.

Mais je vous copie, ici, quelques extraits des 194 lettres qui sont sorties dans le recueil de Badinter.

« Je vous aime à l'adoration et mon bonheur est de vous aimer et d'être assurée de vous. »

« Vous me faites tourner la tête […] Je suis dans l'état le plus violent, la sueur me coule sur le front, je suis sans haleine… »

« Je baise votre adorable cul en me gardant bien de vous offrir le mien qui est un peu foireux. »

Isabelle étant une femme dévote et de devoir, cette passion interdite la fait souffrir, d’autant plus qu’elle se sait espionnée.

En effet, Marie-Anne, l’une des sœurs aînées de Joseph avec laquelle elle ne s’entend pas, est réputée pour suspecter cette passion adultérine, au point qu’Isabelle aurait conseillé à Marie-Christine de protéger leurs lettres des yeux de son adelphe.

Joseph ignore l’histoire entre sa femme et Marie-Christine mais il n’accepte pas le comportement de Marie-Anne à son égard. Il ne ne lui pardonnera jamais et le lui fera payer, même bien après le décès de son épouse.

Isabelle ne se contente pas d’être archiduchesse : elle prend également la plume et rédige des traités, notamment Réflexion sur l’éducation dans lequel elle fustige l’éducation qu’elle a reçue de ses propres parents et explique que l’éducation et l’instruction d’un enfant incombent totalement aux auteurs de ses jours et que reléguer cette tâche à d’autres est faire preuve de paresse.

Elle dénonce également les punitions corporelles et les conséquences qu’elles ont sur un enfant : loin de les corriger, elle exacerbe les défauts et peut en créer des bien plus graves. Faire preuve de violence envers un enfant était un abus de pouvoir alors que la meilleure façon d’élever un enfant était au contraire de faire preuve de compassion et de bienveillance.

Ses pensées la rendent populaires puisque dans l’air du temps.

Mais elles sont aussi terriblement visionnaires puisque ces questions sont encore d’actualité en 2024, où le débat sur l’utilité de la fessée fait encore rage.

Dans son traité sur le Sort des princesses, elle dénonce également le fait que des pauvres jeunes filles comme elles servent pour forger des alliances entre les pays et que cette méthode n’est pas la meilleure.

Elle rédige Le Traité sur les hommes dans lequel elle dit que la femme est l’égale de l’homme : elle est aussi capable que lui, peut-être meilleure sur certains points. Elle fait aussi preuve d’une bonne dose de misandrie en les décrivant, sous couvert de l’humour, comme des créatures inutiles qui n’existent que pour semer le chaos et la confusion. Pour elle, l’asservissement des femmes aux hommes existe parce que les hommes ont conscience que les femmes leur seraient supérieures.

En août 1762 et en janvier 1763, Isabelle fait une fausse couche, avant de retomber enceinte dans l’année 1763.

Durant l’été, la famille impériale se repose à Schönbrunn et Isabelle, alors enceinte, ne veut pas retourner à la Hofbourg, fatiguée et se pensant enceinte de jumeaux. Cependant, en novembre, elle est contrainte de revenir.

La fin est proche.

Le 18 novembre, Isabelle, malade, est diagnostiquée : c’est la vérole !

Sa fièvre provoque le travail et elle accouche le 22 novembre d’une petite Marie-Christine, laquelle mourra le même jour.

Epuisée, elle meurt le 27 novembre 1763, à un mois de ses 21 ans.

On l’enterre à la hâte avec son bébé, son corps étant encore contagieux.

Joseph est dévasté et ne se remettra jamais de la mort d’Isabelle. Son second mariage à Marie-Josèphe de Bavière sera bref et terriblement froid.

Quant à leur petite Marie-Thérèse, elle meurt à l’âge de 7 ans en 1770 d’une pleurésie.

Cette nouvelle perte plonge l’homme un peu plus dans la douleur et il écrira à la gouvernante de son enfant :

«Si la décence le permettait, ce serait avec vous seule que je déverserais le chagrin qui transperce mon âme. J'ai cessé d'être père : c'est plus que je ne peux supporter. Malgré ma résignation, je ne peux m'empêcher de penser et de dire à chaque instant : « Ô mon Dieu, restaure-moi ma fille, restaure-la-moi. ». J'entends sa voix, je la vois. J'étais étourdi quand le terrible coup est tombé. Ce n'est qu'après être rentré dans ma chambre que j'en ai ressenti l'horreur totale, et je continuerai à la ressentir tout le reste de ma vie puisqu'elle me manquera en tout... En tant qu'unique héritier de ma fille, je viens de donner l'ordre de ne garder que ses diamants. Vous devez avoir tout le reste. Une chose que je vous demanderais de me donner est sa robe de chambre blanche brodée de fleurs, et certains de ses écrits... »

- Marina Ka-Fai

Si toi aussi tu veux en lire plus sur Isabelle, tu peux aller regarder ces sources :

-Ernest Sanger, Isabelle de Bourbon-Parme : La Princesse et la Mort, Bruxelles, Racine, 2002.

-Isabelle de Bourbon-Parme : « Je meurs d'amour pour toi » - Lettres à l'archiduchesse Marie-Christine 1760-1763, éditées par Elisabeth Badinter, Paris, Tallandier, 2008.

[adelaide-of-versailles]

How badly did Louis xv treat his wife???

Tbh he was more just... Neglectful and ignored her throughout their marriage.

At first, it was very idyllic and they loved each other, but after giving birth the first time to Louise Elisabeth and Anne Henriette, Cardinal Fleury (who absolutely hated her) decided that until she gave birth to a boy, she wouldn't be allowed to leave Versailles. Louis XV did nothing, and it took 3 years for Maria to have a son. Also, what the hell is up with that? She had twin daughters and suddenly she *needs* to have a boy?? Have some patience, she's working on it!

She was very shy, I mean who wouldn't be when faced with the King of France. She wasn't really raised as a Princess- she was raised in a small house with very few servants with her parents, grandmother, and I'm not sure if her sister Anna was dead yet.

Louis XV cheated on her quite a lot, which I know is normal for monarchy but it is worth mentioning. After the birth of Princess Louise (her last child) she almost died, and she was advised to not have anymore children, and after that she refused access to her bedchamber for the King.

One book says,

At certain times, vigils, feasts and days consecrated to the memory of illustrious saints, she demanded- well, let us call it a "respite" from the King's attentions. But gradually new saints of minor importance were invoked, and Louis XV became impatient. He did not chafe at the great elect, but he drew the line at all these petty saintlings. At first he was content with such a device as breathing on a mirror and writing on the fleeting mist, "Your Majesty is a proud minx"; but one night, pleading that it was a saint's day, the Queen refused to admit him to her bedchamber. "Madame," he shouted at her, you shall pay for this," and immediately commanded Lebel to go and fetch a woman, no matter whom. Lebel sped away, and soon returned with an amiable and tantalizing maid of the Princesse de Rohan, who undertook these supplementary duties with the most charming alacrity.

Also after Princess Louise's birth, Cardinal Fleury decided that the budget of Versailles was just too small to handle the extra daughters they had laying around, so obviously something had to be done to them, and not yknow, the king using so much of the budget for frivolous stuff. Adelaide, aged 6, Victoire, 5, Sophie, 4, Felicite, 2, and Louise, under a year old were chosen to leave.

Maria, who had a particular attachment to Adelaide, guided her into running to her father after mass and begging him to let her stay. It worked, but none of her other children were allowed to stay. Despite this, she often sent them gifts, and once they were old enough to yknow, read and write, sent them letters.

One letter from Sophie, which I believe was after Sophie properly met her later on in life, says:

My Dear Mamma, we have been this morning to the Carmelites : they have prayed to God for you, that nothing may happen to you on the road. I am very im- patient to arrive at Versailles ; for I assure you that it concerns me very much not to see you, since I love you, my dear Mamma, with all my heart. Be convinced of this I beg of you.

She loved her children, and they adored her too. Henriette, Louis, Adelaide, and Louis's first wife, Raphaelle particularly defended her against the growing faction of Madame de Pompadour, although their distaste didn't do anything in the eyes of Louis XV. Louis Ferdinand, the Dauphin of France, particularly wasn't very close with his father, seemingly mostly due to Louis XV's treatment of Maria and personality differences.

Louis Ferdinand was a mostly kind-hearted soul who enjoyed gardening, and didn't like hunting or cheating on his wife, which were two things that Louis XV enjoyed very much.

Louis XV comments:

My son is of an indolent disposition, and his temper, like that of most people with Polish blood in their veins, is quick and variable; he has no taste; he cares nothing for hunting, women, or good living. Perhaps he thinks that if he were in my position he would be happy. At first he would change everything, appear to make a fresh start in every particular, and would soon be tired of the position of King as he is now of his own. He is made to live like a philosophe with men of intellect; he likes to do good, he is really virtuous and intelligent.

Unlike what Louis XV thought his son thinks, Louis Ferdinand truly had no desire to reign. Apparently, on a lot of writings to his children, he begins, "If I ever have the misfortune to reign–"

I know this is an abrupt end but I have to leave my house rn- if I have more to add I will reblog!

[roehenstart]

Marie Leszczynska par Jean-Marc Nattier.

[k00287482]

Artist research

For my artist research I've decided to choose actual tattoo artists as that is where I got my inspiration for this project. Amy Leszczynska, the first artist I've chosen is a tattoo artist I have been to multiple times. What first drew me to her was her style. I love how free and flowing her style is and how she tends to only use a pop of color to accent her work. I draw most of my tattoo designs so finding artists whos styles I like or fit my own in a way is very important to me and that was another reason I was drawn to her.

Artist Instagram: bluepumpkintattoos

[catholic-saint-tournament]

Submitting Bl Sandra Sabattini, Bl Carlo Acutis, Bl Stanisława Leszczyńska, Venerable Matt Talbot, Bl Bartolo Longo, Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati, Bl Franz Jägerstätter, Bl Fra Angelico, aaaaand Bl Solanus Casey!!!!!!! *air-horns* (also sorry for the long list lol)

new beatifieds added to the list and more votes added for the rest!!!! ahhhhhhh i am so happy to be getting more beatified folks into tthe tournament!!!!!