She was called the most beautiful woman of the 15th century, she was wasteful, but helped the poor, dressed defiantly, but looked innocent. And Agnes Sorel went down in history as the first officially recognized mistress of the King of France, who was able to become not only the constant mistress of Charles VII, but also a friend of his wife, Queen Mary of Anjou.

The meeting of Agnes Sorel with the king was organized, oddly enough, by his mother-in-law. She often arranged for ladies-in-waiting at court, and when they became mistresses of noble nobles, Iolanthe received the necessary information and kept everything under her control. She did not succeed in influencing the king with the help of her daughter, and she found a more sophisticated way - she found a mistress for this purpose.

Agnes Sorel and Charles VII

Charles VII, seeing the girl, immediately went on the attack, but she ran away from him. The king was carried away in earnest, and his perseverance was soon rewarded. Within a few months, everyone at court was saying that the king was in love.

Mistress of the French King Agnes Sorel

Charles VII lost his head so much that he was ready to fulfill any desire of Agnes Sorel. To prove the seriousness of his feelings, he proclaimed her the official favorite. From now on, the vassals were obliged to render her royal honors, she took part in the political life of the court, the royal treasurer paid her the necessary amounts, and their children with the king received the family titles of Valois. As a gift from the king, Agnes received the castle of Bote-sur-Marne and the title of Dame de Beaute.

Jean Fouquet portrayed Agnes as Madonna and Child

Agnes quickly got used to living in a big way. She allowed herself bold experiments with appearance for those times. The trains of her dresses reached 5 meters, the priests called them "devil's tails". She began to wear diamonds, although until then wearing them by the uncrowned was unacceptable. The courtiers were shocked by her extravagant, figure-hugging dresses with an asymmetrical neckline that completely exposed one breast. The queen was angry, but quickly changed her anger to mercy, deciding to become a friend for her husband's mistress. Maria gave jewelry and outfits to her rival, they walked together and went hunting.

King of France Charles VII

The daring behavior of the favorite and her official status aroused indignation among many. So, the Archbishop des Ursen pointed out to the king the extravagance of his mistress and her frank outfits, he said that the ladies at court began to resemble “painted donkeys put up for sale.” In response, Karl defiantly declared: “If the Beautiful Lady has dresses embroidered with gold, she will be in a good mood. If she is in a good mood, I will also be in a good mood. If I am in a good mood, the whole of France will be in a good mood. Therefore, France has a direct need for beautiful dresses.

The first official mistress of the king in the history of France

Agnes could not help noticing the growing resentment against her. She began to help the sick and crippled, to donate huge sums to the poor. Constant poverty, the British who ruled the French lands and the inaction of the king aroused the indignation of the people. And then Agnes, not without the influence of Iolanthe, persuaded Charles VII to resume the war against the British. The cowardly and weak-willed king, nicknamed “the gosling” by his mother in childhood, the favorite was able to inspire the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhis courage. So Karl became the Winner. The victorious end of the Hundred Years' War was already celebrated without her - Agnes died 3 years before.

Tomb of Agnes Sorel

Karl was convinced that Agnes had been poisoned, and he was right. An examination carried out today confirmed the high content of mercury in the remains of the favorite. Perhaps it was unintentional poisoning - in those days, mercury was added to cosmetics and medicines.

Tomb of Agnes Sorel

Agnes Sorel, as a model of concern for the interests of the country, was later set as an example to all the influential mistresses of the French kings, including Francoise d'Aubigne, the favorite and secret wife of Louis XIV.

Official favorite - the status that the King of France could give one of his beloved. The difference between the official favorite and all the others was that she had the opportunity to influence the course of political events, actively intervene in the life of the royal court and even in the intra-family relationships of the ruling family.

Medieval France was a country with patriarchal foundations, in which a woman was assigned the modest role of the guardian of the hearth. Until the 15th century, the king's entourage consisted mainly of knights, to satisfy the sexual needs of which a brothel was kept at the court. Only under Anne of Brittany did the institution of ladies-in-waiting arise, under subsequent queens the ladies' court increased in size and there was an increasing feminization of the royal court.

From now on, the king and his courtiers were content not with corrupt girls from the lower strata of the population, but with a society of sophisticated ladies. Not least of all for sanitary reasons (at that time an epidemic of syphilis broke out in France), the courtiers chose the king's only beloved from among the ladies of the court.

In the era of absolutism, the marriages of members of the royal family were a purely state affair, designed to strengthen the alliance between the two countries. Often a marriage contract was concluded long before the age of majority of the heir to the throne, there was usually no talk of any personal sympathies. The main function of the queen was, in addition to strengthening interstate ties, the continuation of the royal dynasty. With the exception of a few brilliant rulers like Mary Stuart and Marie Antoinette, who left a noticeable mark on the history of France, the king's wife usually remained in the background, not interfering in political affairs, and often devoted herself to religion.

Agnès Sorel - the first official favorite

"The most beautiful in the world of all beauties," considered her chronicler Jean Chartier. Olivier de La Marche admitted: "She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen" - and even Pope Pius II could not help mentioning that "she has the most beautiful face that you can see."

She was destined to remain in history as the first officially recognized royal favorite, benefactor of the unfortunate and disadvantaged, and, finally, an example of tragic sacrificial love.

Guided by personal preferences, the king usually chose attractive and educated ladies from his circle, including among the queen's ladies-in-waiting, as his mistresses. In addition to satisfying the sexual needs of the sovereign, the favorite often played an important role in governing the country. Since the favorites were usually ladies of noble birth, who received an excellent education and upbringing, they were distinguished by progressive views on many things that they, with the support of the king, sought to embody in society.

Portrait by Jean Fouquet

They were not only trendsetters of fashion and cultural traditions at court, but were also actively involved in politics, often actually taking over the reins of government in their own hands. Sometimes the favorites were only an elegant tool in the hands of the powerful people of France, with the help of which they could influence the decisions of the king.

Jean Fouquet. Beautiful Agnes

However, the favorite could just as quickly fall into disfavor with the king, how quickly she won his favor. Her position was unstable, since the king often changed his mistresses, so the most conceited of them tried by all means to strengthen their power at court and marry the king to themselves. Although there were decent women among the royal mistresses, almost all of them had a bad reputation, and at the same time many enemies and rivals.

When Agnes Sorel, an outstanding woman of her era, was born exactly, it is not known exactly. Some call the year of her birth 1409, others argue that she was born much later, in 1422. Her father, close to the noble Count of Clermont, tried to make his daughter a maid of honor at the court, first of the Duchess Isabella of Lorraine, and then of Queen Mary of Anjou herself, wife of King Charles VII of France. Agnes was in her early twenties. Her beauty was legendary. Even the Pope admitted many years later: "She had the most beautiful face that can only be seen in this world."

Charles VII the Winner - King of France (proclaimed in 1422, crowned in 1429) from the Valois dynasty, the fifth son of Charles VI the Mad and Isabella of Bavaria.

Many noble persons, high-ranking officials fell in love with the girl, and even the king himself was no exception. Before meeting with Agnes, the king had favorites. It was noted that Maria of Anjou knew about the passionate and temperamental nature of her husband. Her husband was reputed to be a windy, immoral, cowardly and cruel person, but he was quite well-read, educated and insightful.

Seeing once the fair-haired, blue-eyed Agnes, Karl was struck by her charm, that same evening he took the maid of honor to his bedroom and confessed his feelings to her. Not expecting such frankness, the embarrassed girl ran out of the royal chambers. But a few days later she returned, and a month later Agnes became the favorite of Charles VII.

Agnes Sorel - estampe - 1754

Everyone knew about it, and only the Queen, it seemed, did not even know about her husband's love affair with the charming Agnes. Until one day, in the halls of the royal palace, Maria of Anjou saw her rival walking bare-chested. The immodest behavior of the court lady outraged the well-behaved queen.

But no matter how Mary watched the king, Charles did not give the slightest reason for jealousy. The queen's guesses were confirmed only when Agnes became pregnant, and on the day of the birth, the king was so worried that there could be no more doubts - adultery was evident. The angry and offended queen spent several days in tears, and then decided to calm down and ... become the girlfriend of the mistress of the reigning husband. The queen became so close to her rival that she soon trusted her with her most secret secrets, gave Agnes jewelry and outfits. Women began to walk together, go hunting, and discuss affairs in the country.

Madame Sorel gave birth to four daughters to the king, whom her lover, despite the persuasion of those close to her, gave the family titles of Valois. And Agnes, even after giving birth, continued to captivate Karl with elegance and endless imagination.

It was Agnes Sorel who made it possible to wear diamonds not only for male royalty, but also for all women who could only purchase gemstone jewelry. Agnes first brought into fashion long trains, which the church called the "devil's tail" and forbade noble ladies to wear them. And the neckline, very frivolously exposing the female breast, completely aroused the indignation of others. The brave favorite was called a reckless woman and a lady of leftist behavior, the court maids of honor hissed with envy, and married ladies, noticing the curious glances of their spouses towards Madame Sorel, demanded to restore order, refusing to be present in the company of the immodest and depraved royal mistress.

But Karl did not seem to notice the antics of his mistress. He awarded her the titles of ladies of Bote-sur-Marne, Vernoy, Rukesez-er. And one title went down in history and became inextricably linked with Agnes - the title of Madame Bothe (Ladies of Beauty). In 1448, when Agnes already had three children, Charles decided to present his adored mistress with a castle near Paris.

Beloved by the king, showered with his generous gifts, Agnes did not feel completely happy. The poverty of ordinary Frenchmen, the unending Hundred Years' War, the inaction of the king - all this caused discontent among the people. But for some reason, the royal favorite was considered guilty of everything. And Madame Sorel decided to act. The king, in love with her, was ready for anything for the sake of her favor and love. It was then, in 1429, that the name of the brave girl Joan of Arc, who was introduced to the king by Madame Sorel, became known.

Young Carl

Once, when the king was in Normandy, Madame Sorel came to him. Her condition was horrendous: Agnes went into labor. Before that, she told the king about the conspiracy being prepared against him, but Karl considered her words to be the delirium of an excited woman in labor. Whether this plot took place or not, it is now impossible to say. However, those close to him believed that even if the conspirators wanted to kill the king, they were frightened when they learned that the brave favorite brought this message to Charles.

A few days later, when Madame Sorel returned to Paris, she became ill. She died on February 9, 1450, and before her death, she regretted only one thing, that in the last minutes she could not see her beloved man. The king was not shown the deceased. Her face was disfigured by death throes.

Karl could not come to his senses for a long time: he was sure that the lady of his heart had been poisoned. At first, suspicion fell on the Minister of Finance, over whom a speedy trial took place. Due to insufficient evidence, the charge of murdering the royal maid of honor was removed from him, and he was imprisoned for embezzlement of the treasury. Then the king became suspicious of his own son. Louis really did not like his father's favorite, and he did not have the best relationship with Karl. However, as the courtiers said, he could hardly take such a step. One way or another, the cause of death of the royal lover remained unclear. The king gradually calmed down and ... preferred to forget about the deceased mistress.

Gravestone Sorel

The Hundred Years' War ended in 1453. The reforms that Sorel so dreamed of were also completed. Everyone understood that they owed this to the beautiful Madame Botha, the blond Agnes, the woman who changed the kingdom and inspired the king to bold decisions.

But Charles VII was already having fun with another lady: Agnes's cousin Antoinette became the favorite. She did not have such an influence on Karl as her cousin, but she turned out to be an excellent lover and organizer of entertainment, parties, balls.

Having fallen in love with Antoinette and not wanting to part with her even for a minute, the king married her to his friend and settled the spouses in the palace. Andre de Villequier knew about the intimate relationship between his wife and the king, but chose not to pay attention to his wife's infidelities.

Carl spent all his time with his favorite. Soon, Antoinette alone was no longer enough for him, and the shrewd lover gathered around her adored friend several dozen of the most beautiful girls in Paris. The monarch indulged in love pleasures, and a rumor spread throughout France that Charles VII had gone mad and indulged in terrible debauchery. The courtiers were indignant and indignant, and the king traveled around the country and gathered new mistresses into his "harem". The queen looked with bitterness at her husband's debauchery.

The bad example of the sovereign seduced his subjects. High-ranking officials, noble husbands, even confessors also fell into debauchery and considered it an honor to have at least a couple of concubines with them. Paris collapsed into a pool of passion and lust.

The love exploits of the king, his wild life led to the fact that Card VII came down with a serious illness. In the last months of his life, remembering the terrible death of Agnes, he refused food for fear of being poisoned. In the summer of 1461, the king died of exhaustion.

After the death of his father, his son Louis XI, the great unifier of France, ascended the throne. On the contrary, he was afraid of women, which is why he treated them with gross contempt. Deep in his heart, the king was afraid of female charms and never allowed women to control him, as Agnes Sorel, the beautiful and charming Madame Bothet, did with his father.

- (Sorel or Soreau, 1409 1450) beloved of the French king Charles XII, was born into a noble family in the village of Fromento in Touraine (which is why it was called demoiselle de Fromenteau), was the maid of honor of Isabella of Lorraine, Duchess of Anjou, in 1431 ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

- ... Wikipedia

Sorel, Stanislav French inventor of magnesian cement (1867); Sorel, Agnes courtesan of the 15th century; mistress of the French king Charles VII; Sorel, Gustav Belgian painter (1905 1981); Sorel, Georges ... ... Wikipedia

- ... Wikipedia

This list lists unsolved murders, as well as deaths whose naturalness is being questioned by researchers. The list is built in chronological order. Contents 1 Unsolved murders 1.1 1700 1800 1.2 1800 1900 ... Wikipedia

Agnes Sorel the first official favorite A kept woman who is fully supported, who is (usually secretly) provided by a man, most often married ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Maid of Orleans. Opera Maid of Orleans Composer P. I. Tchaikovsky Libretto author(s) P. I. Tchaikovsky East ... Wikipedia

- “Heritage Floor” (Eng. Heritage Floor) a composition that forms a single object with the installation “Dinner Party” by Judy Chicago, which pays tribute to the achievements and hardships of women's work and has the shape of a triangular banquet table for 39 ... ... Wikipedia

The Marquise de Pompadour was the famous mistress of Louis XV. Pastel Latour, 1755 (Louvre) The list of favorites of the kings of France proposed here is more with ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Charles VII. Charles VII Winner Charles VII le Victorieux ... Wikipedia

Books

• Great mistresses, Claude Dufresne. Agnes Sorel, Francoise de Chateaubriand, Anna de Pisslet, Diane de Poitiers, Gabriella d'Estre, Louise de Lavaliere, Antoinette de Pompadour, Jeanne Dubarry, Zoë Ducayla, Maria Valevskaya - here they are, ...
• Great mistresses, Dufresne K.. Agnes Sorel, Francoise de Chateaubriand, Anna de Pisslet, Diane de Poitiers, Gabriella d'Estre, Louise de Lavaliere, Antoinette de Pompadour, Jeanne Dubarry, Zoë Ducayla, Maria Valevskaya - here they are, ...

Agnès Sorel's death mystery solved

Was Jacques Coeur guilty? Certainly not. For the simple reason that Agnès Sorel was not poisoned. For a long time, at least the fact that her daughter managed to live for half a year served as irrefutable proof of this. By the way, among physicians who paid attention to the symptoms of the disease described by the doctor who performed the autopsy, there was an opinion for a very long time that the beauty of the beauties died as a result of dysentery, and the weakening of the body associated with the hardships of the exhausting journey from Loches to Jumièges prevented her from gaining the upper hand over her own. disease. Thus, Agnès Sorel died of natural causes, wishing to save her lover. It is a completely normal, noble and quite convenient version for everyone.

It would seem that everything. You can put an end to this. But in history, as you know, a period can very quickly turn into a comma ...

This is what happened in 2004, when French scientists nevertheless managed to remove the veil of secrecy from the circumstances of the death of Agnès Sorel. In any case, now the causes of her death have become quite clear. To do this, a group of experts led by Philippe Charlier, a pathologist from the Lille University Hospital, had to exhume the body of the famous Frenchwoman. This operation took place in the town of Sainte-Urs-de-Loches, where the body of the former favorite of the king rested in the local church. The ceremony was held in the presence of numerous eminent descendants of Agnès Sorel, in particular the Duke of Orleans, Prince Jacques de France and Prince Charles-Emmanuel de Bourbon-Parma.

On September 28, 2004, the tomb of Agnès Sorel was opened, and at the disposal of the researchers were her hair, seven teeth, skull and skin fragments. For about six months they were studied by twenty-two specialists in eighteen laboratories: in Lille, Strasbourg, Paris and Reims. The unique experiment was led by Philip Charlier himself.

The analysis clearly showed the presence in the remains of Agnès Sorel of a large amount of mercury, which has been used as a poison since ancient times. Philippe Charlier stated that it was mercury that caused the quick death that struck this woman in less than three days.

However, Philippe Charlier himself had no doubts about deliberate poisoning with a deadly poison: its content exceeded reasonable doses by ten thousand times, and there could be no mistake in the dosage of drugs.

Having had the opportunity to study in detail, within six months, the remains of Agnès Sorel, scientists have made many clarifications to the biography of this woman. First of all, it became clear that the year of her birth is between 1422 and 1426 (1409 has definitely disappeared). Consequently, the death of the king's favorite followed in the age interval between twenty-three years nine months and twenty-seven years nine months.

Criminologists tried to recreate the face of Agnes, whose captivating beauty, as even her enemies noted, has become a legend. Research confirmed that she was indeed a blonde and had four children. The reconstruction of the face, carried out on a well-preserved skull, also revealed a clear similarity with existing images of a woman, in particular with the image created by the 16th-century artist Jean Fouquet.

The fate of the burial of Agnès Sorel was also restored. Her body was taken to Loches, where he was buried without any decorations (the king soon indulged in love affairs and preferred to give them to others). Despite the fact that Agnes was a believer and made many donations, the clergy did not want to lead a prayer service in honor of the scandalous person, and they decided to move the tomb away from the altar.

Oddly enough, Louis XI, who hated Agnes, did not allow her to touch her tomb. Louis XV was just as categorical, but Louis XVI, who replaced him, granted the petition of the Church. The worst thing happened after the Revolution: in 1793, the tomb was broken, and the urn was thrown into the cemetery. A certain Poshol collected and preserved its contents. Then the prefect of the region, General Pommerel, sent the monument for restoration, and then placed it in a dungeon at the foot of the donjon in Loches. By his order, very bold words from Voltaire's poems then decorated the pediment: “I am Agnes. Long live France and love!” In 1970, for the sake of safety, the tombstone was placed in the royal castle of Loches.

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1 Agnes Sorel, the first of these ladies Some of the royal favorites had to be the first to make this "position" official. This is a long, almost historical tradition - forty French kings had favorites! - this chain of women for pleasure,

A woman in a blue dress and a white ermine robe looks at the baby sitting on her lap with an expression of some sad bewilderment. Despite the fact that the main thing in the picture should be the divine child, the viewer does not leave the feeling that this fat, severe child is the same “decorative entourage” as the angels boldly flooded with red and blue light surrounding the golden throne of the Mother of God, and only she is really important here. - a fragile woman with an incredibly thin waist, snow-white shoulders and perfect hemispheres of widely spaced breasts, one of which is completely peeking out of her laced bodice. Some art historians call this painting a "blasphemous Madonna". However, they also call it “a magnificent example of the combination of secular and religious painting”.

This two-part painting was commissioned by the royal treasurer, Étienne Chevalier, to the painter Jean Fouquet. The left wing of the diptych, now stored in Berlin, is absolutely clear to researchers - it depicts the customer, Etienne Chevalier, with his hands folded in prayer, he kneels next to his heavenly patron, Saint Stephen. Neither the hero (his name is written in gold on one of the columns), nor the time of creation (c. 1450), nor the authorship (Fouquet's style is very recognizable), nor even what kind of book St. Stephen holds - this is the Gospel from the customer's library has been preserved to this day.

A completely different impression is produced by the right side of the picture, which is now in Antwerp - incredibly courageous in color, extremely stylized and absolutely not conducive to peace and piety.

In fact, there are no documents that accurately report who became the prototype for the Madonna on the right wing. According to some researchers, the face of the Blessed Virgin was written from the wife of the treasurer - Catherine Bude, but much more often the Melun diptych is associated with the name of the favorite of the king and patroness of Etienne Chevalier - Agnès Sorel (Agnes Sorel).

Supporters of the second version have better arguments - there is not a single reliable portrait of Catherine Bude, and many images of the royal lover have been preserved: portraits by unknown artists, an excellent pencil sketch made by the same Fouquet, a portrait by Francois Clouet (born after the death of Agnès Sorel), undoubtedly made according to portraits of earlier masters, a sculptural portrait on the grave and even ... a playing card (because it is believed that on the familiar classic playing deck, the Queen of Hearts (“Lady of Hearts”) symbolizes Agnes Sorel). In addition, the clothes of the Madonna correspond to the fashion established at the court of Agnès Sorel, and the red and blue colors that paint the faces of angels are a clear reference to the colors of the king.

If the supporters of the “Sorel version” are right, then they have changed a lot since the 15th century - the face of the “Melun Madonna” can be called pretty, but by no means “the most beautiful one you can see” (as Pope Pius II said about her) - smooth, semi-childish a little face with a long nose, a small plump mouth and a high, fashionably shaved forehead, which is crowned with a high golden crown studded with large pearls.

New old fairy tale

Although it is better to forget the squabbles of scientists for a while and start history anew. So, a long time ago, around 1421, a girl was born in bad old France... Why in "bad"? Because "good" old France does not exist even in fairy tales. In any case, in versions that are not adapted for children, either the prince’s mother from Sleeping Beauty turns out to be an evil giantess, or her own mother cuts the legs of the Cinderella sisters so that they fit into the shoe. But at least it’s clear here - if you fit into a shoe, you will marry a prince.

Our heroine did not have to make such sacrifices for the sake of the prince. However, she did not marry him either, because he was already married, and not a prince, but a whole king. The life of King Charles before meeting Agnes was very interesting, but not too happy - for starters, he was a frail, ugly and unloved son of a mad king and an extremely loving mother. Then he was a pawn in the political games of his mother and mother-in-law (during which his mother declared him illegitimate), then - a sudden (and completely unprepared for this) contender for the throne, then - the very ungrateful king who allowed the British to burn down, which literally mined with a sword him a throne.

Have you already noticed that from early youth, the fate of this man was constantly decided by strong women?

Love and espionage

When the king met Agnès Sorel, he was 41 years old (for the middle of the 15th century, the age was more than respectable), and she ... strictly speaking, also a lot - as much as 22 years old (note that in those days they got married at 15, or even at 13, and by 22 they managed to give birth to three or four children and lose half of their beauty in childbirth). By what miracle the recognized beauty lived to such a respectable age without getting married, we do not know - probably the reason is that from the age of 15 she served as a maid of honor at the court of Isabella of Lorraine, Queen of Sicily. It is believed that the daughter of not very noble nobles, who owned a vast but low-income estate, was added to this place by an aunt. For several years spent at the court of Isabella, young Agnes learned to play the lute and harp, recite, dance and use cosmetics to perfection.

Leaving on a trip, Queen Isabella "handed over" the talented maid of honor to Queen Yolande of Aragon - her mother-in-law and mother-in-law of Charles VII.

The new patroness Agnes - "a woman with a man's heart" and "one of the women who made France" - was a great lover of political games. By the way, it is she who is credited with the creation of the "flying squadron of love" - ​​a whole spy squad of charming girls. It is believed that it was Yolanda who organized the meeting of her son-in-law with the future favorite - not so much for surveillance, but for influence. It was difficult for the queen to influence Charles through her daughter - according to contemporaries, Maria of Anjou, who gave birth to many children to Charles, was not distinguished by either grace or pleasantness of treatment and had an appearance capable (according to the sarcastic remark of a certain Chastelier) "even the English to catch fear."

Beautiful Agnes

Carla Agnes rejected the first courtship, demonstrating frightened modesty - given the specific appearance of the king, it is unlikely that she had to play reluctance especially strongly. Karl was not stupid and well educated, but, having been born an “ugly duckling” (his own mother called him “gosling”), he never turned into a swan. However, after a while, the modest woman still gave up. By the way, the word "modest" in relation to Agnes Sorel can be safely used without quotes - despite the fact that in the five years of communication she gave birth to the king of three daughters, according to the courtiers, "no one has ever seen the sovereign touch Agnes below the chin." If you think about it, this is an absolutely incredible situation, given the publicity of the life of the then monarchs and the number of prying eyes in any palace. But, without publicly demonstrating physical intimacy with the king, the favorite showed herself with magnificent courage. Chronicler Georges Chatelain wrote: She wore trains a full third longer than the trains of the princesses of this royal house, and her headdresses were one and a half times higher than allowed, while her dresses were prohibitively expensive.". And another contemporary - Archbishop Jean Jouvenel des Yursin - reported that, covering his face with a veil, " she came up with slits on the dress, through which the nipples or the entire breast are visible". It was thanks to the “beautiful Agnes” that dresses with an incredibly low neckline and the manner of loosening the lacing of the corsage, exposing one breast, came into fashion.

This is how poets wrote about the “style a la Sorele”:

If a woman is pretty

Her skin is white and soft

Let her say that her tailor

I made a cutout for her like this,

What boldly opens the shoulders,

The chest is bare to the limit.

After all, if the chest is bare,

She's more attractive.

In addition to a more than bold neckline, the beloved of the king allowed herself to wear a six-meter train (one meter longer than that of the queen) and diamonds (also the former royal stone).

Gold embroidery for the needs of France

It is clear that all of the above did not arouse special love for her either from the courtiers or the people, and both of them reproached her for “humiliating the queen” (although Mary herself and Agnes were always quite kind), ruining the treasury (not without justice - the king made her beloved many gifts, from ornaments to lands, and granted her the lordship of Bothe-sur-Marne with the right to bear this name, and then other possessions - Issoudun Castle in Berry and the possession of Vernon in Normandy).

A separate irritation among the nobility and the church caused the desire of noble ladies to imitate the favorite in outfits - the priests were depressed by the parishioners, discharged with sinful vanity, the nobles - the need for extra spending on the wardrobe and jewelry of wives, brides and lovers. The changes brought into fashion by Agnes concerned mainly the details - the depth of the neckline, the tightness of the lacing, the length of the train, the height and pretentiousness of the headdress, the value of fabric, lace and fur, the subtlety of the veil ... Many of these vain things - thin, silk, gold-woven - brought from abroad and cost a lot of money. The beauties shone, their husbands paid, and the above-mentioned Archbishop Junevil des Yursin wrote to His Majesty that the ladies of his court now resemble with their appearance “ painted donkeys for sale". The indignation of the holy father was also aroused " hellish windows through which their breasts look out", and long trains, which take a lot of precious matter, and the fact that" all these extravagances, now instituted at court, affect the increase by the lords of taxes and taxes from the poor". Appealing to the mind of the king, des Yursin quoted to him excerpts from the Royal Book of Expenses, in which every demand for the treasurer ended with a postscript: "For the needs of France." — What need does France have for undershirts embroidered with gold? the archbishop reproached the king. — If the Beautiful Lady has dresses embroidered with gold, she will be in a good mood. If she is in a good mood, I will also be in a good mood. If I am in a good mood, the whole of France will be in a good mood. Therefore, France has a direct need for beautiful dresses., replied the king.

Another reason for France's dislike for the favorite was that she distracts the king from public affairs. The last accusation was more than unfair - it was Agnes who prompted Charles to resume the abandoned war with England, saying that only a real knight capable of great deeds could win her heart. However, from the funds inherited by the beautiful Agnes from the "ruin of the treasury", considerable sums went to charity and as a gift to the church.

Natural ending

It is difficult to say, at his own request or at the word of Agnes, but in July 1449, Charles resumed hostilities, and in 1450 he won a victory near Formigny, returning the Norman lands to France. Three years later, without the formal signing of any treaties, the Hundred Years War ended.

However, beloved Carla did not see this victory. According to legend, in January 1450, she, deeply pregnant, came to the Abbey of Jumièges to warn the king who was there about the conspiracy. Shortly thereafter, she gave birth to a premature daughter and died herself in February.

Of course, childbirth in those days was a common cause of the death of young women, but the death of the beautiful Agnes caused a lot of suspicion and gossip, and the word "poisoning" sounded the loudest of all. The first suspect was the king's son, the dauphin Louis, whose hatred of the favorite was well known, but almost two years later an official charge was brought against Jacques Coeur, the royal treasurer and supplier. He had a business relationship with Agnès Sorel - he supplied her with rare furs and expensive imported fabrics. The charge against the merchant was put forward by Jeanne de Vendome, one of the court ladies who owed him money. After Jacques Coeur was arrested, there were many courtiers willing to testify against him (and all of them, as you can probably guess, owed him too). In the end, Jacques was found guilty, but not of poisoning, but, in modern terms, of "financial fraud", and imprisoned, from which, however, he successfully escaped.

Agnès Sorel was buried in the Notre Dame Chapel at Jumiège with honors befitting only members of the royal family. The king bought back from the heirs the jewelry that he gave to his beloved - they cost him about a hundred kilograms of gold.

Later, the body of Agnes Sorel was transferred to the castle of Loches, in the collegiate church of Notre-Dame de Loches, known today as the church of Saint-Urs, to which Agnes bequeathed 2000 ecu.

The king, grieving over the deceased beloved, brought her cousin close to him - according to rumors, she is extremely similar to Agnes. Soon this favorite was replaced by another one, and another - in a word, Karl set off in search of "one of many" who never succeeded.

Tomb of the Dead Beauty

When, after the death of Charles VII, Louis XI, known for his dislike for his father's favorite, ascended the throne, the monks of the Saint-Urs church tried to get permission from him to transfer the burial of Agnes to the castle, so as not to "desecrate the sanctity of the place with the body of a sinner." They were probably quite surprised when Louis replied that he did not mind if they first returned all the funds donated by the sinner to the church. Naturally, after that, the body of the beautiful Agnes was left alone - in a black marble sarcophagus, under a slab on which she herself was depicted, lying surrounded by angels, with two lambs at her feet.

In this tomb, the dead beauty remained until the Revolution itself, when her tombstone, taken for the grave of a saint, was broken. However, a certain Mr. Poshol did not allow her remains to be destroyed, and in 1806 they returned under the restored monument. In November 2004, the remains of Agnès Sorel were examined by a group of scientists, confirming the identity of the appearance of the preserved lifetime images, and the undoubted traces of mercury poisoning. However, mercury in those days was also used as a medicine - in particular, to facilitate childbirth.

Surprisingly, the "most beautiful woman of France" did not even receive a mention in Viyon's "Ballad of the Ladies of Bygone Times" (unlike her contemporary Joan of Arc, whom Francois Villon did not forget). But even without a direct mention, this ballad is the best illustrates her short and magnificent life.