1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: I'm fair Dowdy and I'm delanea Trumper Bardy. And when 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: we left off with the Bourbon series last, Louis the 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: thirteenth and his chief advisor, Cardinal Rishilu, who is also 6 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: known as the Red Eminence, had passed away just within 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: a few months of each other in sixteen forty two 8 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: and sixteen forty three, making Louis the fourteenth King, and 9 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,560 Speaker 1: much like Rishilu, Louis the fourteenth, who's also known as 10 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: the Sun King or the Grand Monarch. You could probably 11 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: do an entire series just about him, his wars, his 12 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: expansion of French territory, and of course his mistresses. But 13 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: the truth is, since he's one of France's most famous monarchs, 14 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: you've probably come across at least some of that info before. 15 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: I mean, it probably is not something that you missed 16 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: into history class. Yeah, probably not. But as we mentioned 17 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: in the last episode, you can't you a series on 18 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,399 Speaker 1: the Bourbon family and leave out Louis the fourteenth because 19 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: I mean, he essentially defines the family. So in this 20 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: episode we're going to focus on his court at first side, 21 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: during the very height of his reign, and how it 22 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: reflects some of his contributions to French society. But we're 23 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: also going to focus on a dark scandal which I 24 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: guess sort of shows the underside of his reign of power, 25 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 1: and mystery of sorts called the Affair of the Poisons. 26 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: I don't if that doesn't make you intrigue, I don't 27 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,960 Speaker 1: know what will. And this little mystery completely shocked and 28 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: disturbed the French court at this time, and um also 29 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 1: marked a turning point for the king. So but before 30 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: we get there, as usual, we're gonna start at the beginning, 31 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: just give a little bit of background on Ali the fourteenth, 32 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: even though you may know some of this, we just 33 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: want to kind of set the scene for this Affair 34 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: of poisons so that you know maybe what led up 35 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: to and what was going on at the time. So 36 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: just a little recap from last episode. Louis the fourteenth 37 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: was born September five, six thirty eight, and at the 38 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: time he was called God Given. It was a really 39 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: big deal at the time because it came after a 40 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: pretty big dry spell for his mother, who was Anne 41 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,679 Speaker 1: of Austria. And Louis the thirteenth. They hadn't had any 42 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 1: children up to that point, so people considered Louis the 43 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: fourteenth a visible divinity, almost they thought that his his 44 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: birth was almost a miracle, and since he was only 45 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 1: five when his father died though, and ruled as regent 46 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: alongside Prime Minister Cardinal Jules Mazarin, who she had hand 47 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 1: picked to advise her. So it's interesting. It's kind of 48 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 1: the same setup that Louis the thirteenth had when he 49 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: became king, coming to the throne as a young boy, 50 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,799 Speaker 1: with his mother serving as regent, with an advisor who 51 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: had a whole lot of power. The big difference here, though, 52 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: is that unlike riche lu Mazarin wasn't falling in and 53 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: out of favor with the Queen um. He did have 54 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,519 Speaker 1: a lot of enemies though, and namely those enemies where 55 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 1: the French nobles. We know, the nobles, they're always stirring 56 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,079 Speaker 1: up trouble, we are, and a lot of this trouble 57 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: started under Richelieu, whose policies of the monarchy reduced the 58 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: influence of the nobility, you know, I mean he was 59 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: all about the absolute power of the king, so exactly 60 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: so some of the nobility and the judicial bodies, such 61 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: as the parliaments, we're feeling a little bit disenfranchised, like 62 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: they had sort of lost out, and they're ready to 63 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: get a little something back. So they decided to do 64 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: something about it, and they staged a series of civil 65 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: wars known as the Frond against the Crown. And though 66 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: the Frond was ultimately unsuccessful, Louis had to grow up 67 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: in the midst of all this. He grew up in 68 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: the midst of nobles rebelling against him, and this atmosphere 69 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: definitely made an impression on him. And by most accounts, 70 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: he was neglected also as a child, brought up mostly 71 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: by servants, so it definitely colored his vision. I think 72 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: of the few sure and how he wanted to rule. 73 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: He wanted to be secure and powerful in his future, 74 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: and that's definitely going to come into play. But Mazarina 75 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: continued to rule even after Louis the fourteenth came of age. 76 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: But after Mazarin died in sixteen sixty one, Louis shocked 77 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,799 Speaker 1: the country by telling everybody, all of his ministers, everyone, 78 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: that he intended to rule for himself. Um, this is 79 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: unheard of. The king was supposed to maybe dabble in 80 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: ruling or have certain strong suits if it's like economic stuff, 81 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: military stuff, but then spend a lot of his time 82 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 1: enjoying being king. To decide to take it all on 83 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: himself sounded ridiculous, right, But from his perspective, Louis the 84 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: fourteenth saw himself as God's representative here on earth, and 85 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 1: you know, maybe because he had heard similar things to 86 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,039 Speaker 1: that from a young age, but he basically thought that 87 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,680 Speaker 1: this gave him the right to rule as a dictator, 88 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: essentially an absolute monarch, and from that point on he 89 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 1: really set out to control every aspect of what was 90 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: going on in France, the military decisions, the economy, the 91 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 1: cultural life, and he does. You know, obviously he has 92 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: some advisers, he has a few ministers around him to 93 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: help him out, but he really works hard. He works 94 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 1: at it like a full time job, spending eight hours 95 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: a day just devoting himself to all the little details 96 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: of what's going on in the kingdom, right, and it 97 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: was really every little detail. So, as we mentioned, Louis 98 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: the fourteenth was known for a lot of things, including 99 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: going to war a lot, especially with the Netherlands, in 100 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: an attempt to expand his territories on his deathbed. In fact, 101 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: he was remembered as saying, I have loved war too much. 102 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:45,600 Speaker 1: But he's also credited with bringing a contemporary conception of luxury, 103 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: probably a lot of how we think of France, especially 104 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: Paris today, I think to the country. I saw it 105 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: described in one source as actually elevating lifestyle to fine arts, 106 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: which I thought was a nice way to put it. 107 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: So he brought some fanciness into it. Yeah, there's there's 108 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:04,159 Speaker 1: a store down the road on Peachtree that sells like 109 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: lifestyle goods, and I just I'm somebody who has no 110 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:12,279 Speaker 1: conception of what that even means. I think Louis would know. Though, Um, 111 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,480 Speaker 1: he's interesting though you know this this you mentioned. He 112 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 1: he thought he could rule like a dictator that extended 113 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: to all sorts of things, not just control of the country. 114 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: But he imposed his artistic taste on all of France. 115 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: He nurtured talents of the writer Moliere and made him 116 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: right all this stuff that was supporting the monarchy and 117 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: supporting the king. Um, he supported the painter Wegou. And 118 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: in doing this, A lot of people say that Louis 119 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: helped French culture attain the same level of respect that 120 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,599 Speaker 1: the Italians had. It it elevated the country. True, and 121 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: it seems that he wasn't just a dilettante and doing 122 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:54,039 Speaker 1: all this either. He seems to have actually had a 123 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: true love for the arts. Fun fact, he himself was 124 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,720 Speaker 1: an accomplished ballet dancer and even performed at written costume 125 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: and everything, which I mean just imagining this king who 126 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,479 Speaker 1: participates in wars and fights and on the side, he's 127 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: also a very elegant artist. I've actually seen a picture 128 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: of him as a teenager dressed in his son king costume, 129 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: which is like a gold flaming costume with points radiating 130 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: out from it. I wonder if it was ballet costume 131 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: could have been so again, he had control over every 132 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: little detail. He decides, not only when they go to 133 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: war and economic things, but he decides what's beautiful and 134 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: what etiquette should be, and he imposes these tastes on everybody, 135 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: and he also uses it in a way to get 136 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: what he wants politically. Yeah, so we're going to go 137 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 1: back to those nobles who rose up when he was 138 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: a young boy against the monarchy, and Louis didn't forget 139 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: these guys, and he didn't forget the circumstances that created 140 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: a problem like that. So he drew the nobleman into court, 141 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: and he tried to keep them there, and he tried 142 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:59,080 Speaker 1: to keep them occupied with frivolous things like gambling, and 143 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: he really took note careful note of who was there 144 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: and who wasn't. So if you were usually there and 145 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: then one day you were missing, Louis demanded to know 146 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: why you had been gone. If you were in and 147 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: out all the time, he needed a good excuse from you. 148 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:19,160 Speaker 1: And if you weren't around it all, you were in 149 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: trouble that was really really bad. There was probably no 150 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: good excuse for being constantly absent from court. Yeah, and 151 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: if you were one of those people who was never there, 152 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 1: you would have a really hard time getting what you wanted, 153 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 1: because that's kind of how the king decided things. He 154 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: would if you approached him, for example, and you said 155 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:42,080 Speaker 1: I need more land or something. But if you were 156 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: one of those people who weren't around a lot, he 157 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: was known to say things like he is a man 158 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:48,680 Speaker 1: I never see, and that would sort of be the 159 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:50,440 Speaker 1: end of it. You wouldn't get what you wanted because 160 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: you hadn't been in the favor of the king, might 161 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: as well just stay at your castle at that point. Um, 162 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 1: So being at court and sticking to the king's rules 163 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: of etiquette became really a essential for nobles who wanted 164 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 1: to get anywhere in life. You you couldn't essentially be 165 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: your own king anymore, with your own vassals and your 166 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: castle and your land and your army. You had to 167 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: be at court watching Louis eat right, So it just 168 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: basically made nobles less of a presence in politics. All 169 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: of this becomes even more complicated when he moves the 170 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: court from Paris to Versailles. In Versailles, it was easier 171 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: for him to keep track of people there, and it 172 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,559 Speaker 1: made the court more isolated too. Yeah. So he started 173 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: going to Versie originally to carry out a love affair 174 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: with his mistress, Mademoiselle de la Valliere. And uh, I 175 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: mean he was quite the womanizer. I think that's one thing. 176 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: Even though he was already married. He was married, um 177 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 1: to the daughter of the King of Spain. Um. But 178 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 1: at that point when he was visiting Versailles, the structure 179 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: was basically a hunting lodge. That sounds more rustic than 180 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: it is. It's still a fabulous country house, but still 181 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: it's not like the Versailles you might give his it today. 182 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: And so in the sixteen sixties Louise starts transforming it 183 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: into this enormous palace and architectural wonder, and you have 184 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:10,439 Speaker 1: to think, you know, part of it is to bring 185 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:13,679 Speaker 1: the nobles there, but also so he has his own stronghold, 186 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: he's not in danger like he was as a child 187 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: in Paris. Yeah, he feels a bit uncomfortable there, so 188 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 1: Versailla is sort of an escape for him. But he's 189 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:26,440 Speaker 1: often criticized for this because Versailla was so extravagant, the 190 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: palace at Versailla, that is, and it cost so incredibly much. 191 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:33,719 Speaker 1: Some say that it practically ruined the nation. It was 192 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 1: somewhere around the price of a modern airport, so just 193 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: imagine that for a second. But actually nobody knows for 194 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: sure how much it costs, because the king is rumored 195 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: to have destroyed the bill after he saw how much 196 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: it was and realized that, oh my gosh, I spent 197 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: way too much on this thing. I feel like that 198 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:53,560 Speaker 1: something Blondie would do. Um. But even even so, you think, 199 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 1: if it costs as much as a modern airport. All 200 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: of the nobles who were staying there would be in 201 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 1: pretty nice quarters. At least that wasn't the case. I 202 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: mean it was the lap of luxury for the royal family, 203 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: but the other guests and sometimes there were as many 204 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: as one thousand people there, uh, were put into these 205 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: really small, cramped rooms that were too hot or too 206 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: cold for the season. I mean, this is not the 207 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 1: servants were talking about. These are people who are used 208 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:22,880 Speaker 1: to living in palaces themselves. Yeah, and it almost seems 209 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: I'm sure it wasn't that bad, but it almost seems 210 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,600 Speaker 1: like a slum to live right on top of each other. 211 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 1: Remember your place, definitely. So this is just all to 212 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: set up the scene for the king at the height 213 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 1: of his rule by the sixteen seventies, round sixteen eighty 214 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: or so. He's been doing well in wars, he's adored 215 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:42,960 Speaker 1: by his court, and he's just generally living large out 216 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:46,200 Speaker 1: in Versailles Um. But we're going to backtrack just a 217 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: little bit to explain sort of his situation with his 218 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: mistresses and everything that's going on. So back in sixteen 219 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: sixty seven, he'd taken on a new mistress, the Marquise 220 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:58,079 Speaker 1: de Montespam, and they've been together for years, and they 221 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: even had seven kids together, one of whom died, so 222 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: the remaining six kids they are legitimized. And she had 223 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:07,679 Speaker 1: been a lady in waiting to the Queen and she 224 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 1: was married to the Marquis de Montespan, with whom she 225 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: had two kids. Also, her husband didn't really like what 226 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 1: was going on between her and the king and apparently 227 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 1: expressed that somehow, because he was exiled to Guyan in 228 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,960 Speaker 1: sixteen sixty eight and legally separated from her shortly after that. 229 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 1: The King and the Marquise de Montespan go on to 230 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: be together for about thirteen years, but it really doesn't 231 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 1: last when Montespan is implicated in a scandal, one of 232 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: the most notorious criminal cases of the seventeenth century, in fact, 233 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: the Affair of the Poisons. So this whole scandalous episode 234 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 1: actually starts back in sixteen seventy three, when the contess 235 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 1: lesson who's the husband of olymp Mansigni, who's the former 236 00:12:49,679 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 1: favorite of Louis the fourteenth, And if you're really going 237 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 1: to keep track of everything, the niece of Cardinal mazarin Um. 238 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: So when the contess Lesson dies in these strange circumstances, 239 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:05,480 Speaker 1: circumstances that suggested poisoning. People start talking. You know, it's 240 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: it's interesting news. So right around the same time as 241 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 1: this Contes Sisson story, another big case was going down 242 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,520 Speaker 1: in Paris. The Marquise de brun Viller, who was an aristocrat, 243 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:20,640 Speaker 1: had been found to have poisoned her father and her brothers, 244 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 1: and to have made attempts on other members of her family, 245 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: including her husband. Essentially, it seemed like she was trying 246 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: to kill every male family member and get their money. Um. 247 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:34,160 Speaker 1: And there was a lover who left behind evidence incriminating 248 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: both of them, and Bronvillier had also knocked off a 249 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: few inmates in the charity hospital, testing out her poisons 250 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: on them. You know, poising is this do good or 251 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: noble woman walking through the of the charity hospital really 252 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 1: seeing if her if her stuff was potent enough to 253 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 1: kill her own family. Um. So those are two big 254 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:01,839 Speaker 1: story these guy. You can imagine today they'd be on 255 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,080 Speaker 1: the cover of all the tabloids that people are obsessed 256 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: with at the time. And just so you understand the 257 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:09,680 Speaker 1: situation a little better, there are a couple of things 258 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:13,000 Speaker 1: that are going on around this time. Also that sort 259 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,319 Speaker 1: of set up the scene a little bit. Poisons, for one, 260 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: are more readily available, especially arsenic, and these poisons are 261 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: also very hard to detect because there's no really, there's 262 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: no pathology around at the time. There's no C. S. I, 263 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:29,680 Speaker 1: there's no bones, and so nobody really um it's very 264 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 1: easy to both use it as a way to kill 265 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 1: somebody and also just use it as a possible accusation 266 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 1: against somebody. For example, somebody dies and you could just say, oh, 267 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: I think they were poisoned, because there's no really way 268 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: to prove whether or not they were. Um. So there's 269 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: a lot of this going on, So it's an upgrade 270 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 1: from the tutor pushing them down the stairs method. And 271 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 1: also the other thing going on is that these nobles 272 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 1: we mentioned whose fates were so closely tied to the 273 00:14:55,560 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 1: king's favor, they started turning to fortune teller's magician, renegade priests, conjurors, 274 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: basically the occult in general to try to improve their 275 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: fortunes and also thwart their enemies at court. And this 276 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,040 Speaker 1: was probably especially true for women at the time, just 277 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 1: because for a lot of them this was the only 278 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: way for them to be free and wealthy becoming a widow. Yeah, 279 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: so getting rid of your husband or other male family members. 280 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: So Bronviller is caught in sixteen seventy six and she's 281 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 1: tried and executed, but before she dies, she said to 282 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 1: have said something kind of interesting and kind of scary 283 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: to a lot of people in France. She said, quote 284 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 1: half the nobility are at it as well. If I 285 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: wanted to speak out, I could destroy them, yeah, exactly. 286 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:51,600 Speaker 1: So suddenly people are suspicious, who is she talking about? 287 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 1: Who else is at it? Right? So a couple of 288 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 1: sort of shady situations happened in the meantime. I think 289 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: that after that there's an attempt on the king and 290 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: nothing really comes of it. But then this situation, the 291 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: affair of the poisons, erupts into a full blown scandal 292 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 1: in sixteen seventy nine when the police apprehend a couple 293 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: of working class women who claimed to have been selling 294 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: poisons to duchesses, marquises, princes and lords, and they immediately 295 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 1: begin to implicate other people in their class, including a 296 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: fortune teller known as love Voissance. She was a fortune 297 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: teller to some of the most illustrious names in France, 298 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: so this was a problem. Yeah, and these three ladies 299 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: start mentioning some other very important names. This, this story 300 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 1: keeps spreading, so basically, Louis and his people decide they 301 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: need to do something about it. So, with Louie's approval, 302 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 1: one of his ministers sets up a secret investigative tribunal 303 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: known as the Commission of the Arsenal, and the goal 304 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 1: there is to look into and try some of the 305 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:53,440 Speaker 1: cases involving the more important names involved. And this was 306 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:56,640 Speaker 1: both to preserve discretion in these situations and also to 307 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: prevent the guilty from escaping justice because they were so 308 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,200 Speaker 1: close to they can't. So essentially, you don't want this 309 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 1: to get out to just everybody and their brother in 310 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: Paris because it's just going to cause a lot of 311 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: commotion and terribly embarrassing, right, So they want to keep 312 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 1: it on a down low. They set up this tribunal 313 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:18,919 Speaker 1: and start trying people, but they also don't want somebody 314 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 1: to get away with poisoning their whole family just because 315 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: they happened to be the king's friend. But then in 316 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 1: September sixty nine, the Marquis de mon Spahn's name starts 317 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: being thrown around in connection with this whole affair. So 318 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,160 Speaker 1: this has gotten very serious all of a sudden, very 319 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: close to Yeah, the woman who is just about the 320 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 1: closest person in the world to the king is linked 321 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 1: to this shady underworld of poisons and alchemy and all 322 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: sorts of things, and her accusations go pretty deep. She's 323 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:58,160 Speaker 1: accused of four things. She's accused of buying love potions 324 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 1: from love as to retain her hold over the king. 325 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,560 Speaker 1: She's also accused of participating in black masses, which were 326 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:11,200 Speaker 1: basically blasphemous burlesque type masses performed by Satanic cults. And 327 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:14,840 Speaker 1: in those black masses, she was accused of having a 328 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 1: priest cut the throats of children over her, basically using 329 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: her naked belly as an altar, and the purpose was 330 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:25,240 Speaker 1: the same to retain the king's favor. The third accusation 331 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:26,879 Speaker 1: was that she had attempted to kill one of her 332 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,160 Speaker 1: rivals using a pair of poisoned gloves. Some reports also 333 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,440 Speaker 1: reported that it was with poisoned milk that she attempted 334 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 1: to poison arrival. And the fourth accusation was that she 335 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: had attempted to kill the king himself. So that was 336 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,400 Speaker 1: kind of the most serious one, and I still can't 337 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,840 Speaker 1: get over the black math of one. Yeah, that's pretty 338 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 1: pretty serious and gross. But now I suspected that the 339 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,880 Speaker 1: accusers cooked up a lot of this because they knew 340 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: that Louis wouldn't let anything happen to the mother of 341 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:57,480 Speaker 1: his kids, this woman who was so publicly linked to him, 342 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,040 Speaker 1: And I mean they might have been right to a 343 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 1: certain extent. He he didn't want her name to get 344 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: out so much with say, a public execution of some 345 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,520 Speaker 1: of these serving class women who were involved. So I 346 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: guess they played their cards. They definitely did, and and 347 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 1: I think you were right. I think they were absolutely 348 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,119 Speaker 1: correct on what they did. Louis had everything covered up. 349 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:23,919 Speaker 1: He had notes from interrogations that were kept on separate 350 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: sheets instead of a ledger. He specifically ordered for that 351 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: to be that way, and of course most people suspect, 352 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 1: and I think this actually happened or supposed to happen, 353 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:36,200 Speaker 1: that he destroyed the sheets later on to destroy the evidence. 354 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,720 Speaker 1: And on October one, six eighty, following the execution of 355 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: a Madame Philostra, Louis decided to suspend sessions of the 356 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:48,399 Speaker 1: Commission of the Arsenal and many believe this is because 357 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:52,440 Speaker 1: Philostra made damaging allegations against montes Baugh. So yeah, it 358 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:56,119 Speaker 1: wasn't just love with talking about her anymore. It was 359 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: a noble woman and things were getting out of Louis 360 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,399 Speaker 1: control role. Um. By then, the Commission of the Arsenal 361 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:06,919 Speaker 1: had already judged a hundred and four cases, and thirty 362 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,959 Speaker 1: four if the accused were executed, two were condemned in absentia, 363 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:14,520 Speaker 1: and four were sent to the galleys. Thirty four sentences 364 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:18,720 Speaker 1: involved banishment or financial amends, and thirty were acquitted. So 365 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 1: pretty serious results from this tribunal. But it takes a 366 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: couple of years to wind down. It takes a while 367 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 1: to finish up all the executions and the sentencing of 368 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: people who were guilty and send them to their various 369 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:35,640 Speaker 1: prisons and places that they need to go. But by 370 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,160 Speaker 1: six eighty two there was also a sort of positive 371 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: result of this affair of the poisons. It led to 372 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 1: the first legal restrictions on the sale of poisons in France, 373 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:50,120 Speaker 1: so something good got to come out of it anyway. Yeah, 374 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,439 Speaker 1: I couldn't go poisoned the people in the poor hospital anymore, 375 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:57,040 Speaker 1: quite so easily. Um, it's still a mystery how guilty 376 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,400 Speaker 1: the Marquise de Montpa really was. I mean, most people 377 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:03,520 Speaker 1: now think that she probably didn't have any designs on 378 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,879 Speaker 1: killing the king. That sounds extremely reactionary. I mean, she 379 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:09,480 Speaker 1: would have nothing to gain from killing the king. In fact, 380 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:12,240 Speaker 1: she would probably lose most of what she had as 381 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:16,520 Speaker 1: mistress is often did. But she probably did drink love 382 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:20,680 Speaker 1: potions and participate in some of these black masses. A 383 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:22,920 Speaker 1: lot of people think that. Lot of people think yeah. 384 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: But either way, her relationship with the king definitely ended 385 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:32,000 Speaker 1: shortly after this whole thing blew up. I guess perhaps 386 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: he couldn't trust her anymore, or he lost interest after 387 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:39,840 Speaker 1: finding out about all of the blood and the altars. Well, 388 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:41,480 Speaker 1: I think he just needed to change his image a 389 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:43,680 Speaker 1: little bit. He was getting get away from that bad 390 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 1: reputation and he was a devout Catholic and really needed 391 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 1: to kind of rein it back in. Yeah, and his 392 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:55,240 Speaker 1: reputation definitely did change. In fact, the way court ran 393 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,560 Speaker 1: started to change a lot too. Gambling and entertainment up 394 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,159 Speaker 1: still took place, but they took place underneath this veneer 395 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:07,200 Speaker 1: of propriety. Um. It's a little hypocritical, but Louis himself 396 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:11,560 Speaker 1: was getting older too, and yeah, just trying to change 397 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:15,119 Speaker 1: his image and reform publicly at least. Yeah, so I've 398 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:19,360 Speaker 1: seen it described. He actually renounced his pleasure but kind 399 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 1: of funny if you think of it. At the same time, 400 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 1: he took up a new mistress, so I don't know 401 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 1: how that works, but Katie and I talked about her 402 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:30,000 Speaker 1: in an earlier episode, um Madame de montinal and it's interesting. 403 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:32,680 Speaker 1: They're not quite sure if if he took up a 404 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,400 Speaker 1: mistress or if they were secretly married before anything started happening. 405 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:43,920 Speaker 1: But um, anyways, they they lived together until until his death. Yep. 406 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:47,520 Speaker 1: But he dies in seventeen fifteen at the age of 407 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,199 Speaker 1: seventy seven, and he actually lives so long. He's been 408 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 1: on the throne for so long that he's outlived his 409 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 1: son and his grandson. Um. So leaving the question of 410 00:22:56,359 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 1: who will become air and that takes us good to 411 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:03,159 Speaker 1: a good stopping place, I think for our next installment, 412 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:06,720 Speaker 1: which may or may not have something to do with Louie. 413 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 1: Their keep going on, these numbers who just keep trucking along. 414 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:12,160 Speaker 1: I mean, there's so much you can do. We could 415 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: probably turn this into a year long series. Don't worry, 416 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:18,879 Speaker 1: we probably won't, but there just seems to be a 417 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 1: lot of good ideas, Like talking about the royals in 418 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:25,200 Speaker 1: the winter. For some reason, it just feels right knowing 419 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:28,919 Speaker 1: they're probably all cold and firs side shivering in their 420 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:34,920 Speaker 1: rooms without heat, were cold and cold in Atlanta. But um, yeah, 421 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:37,959 Speaker 1: I guess that about wraps it up for the sun King. Um. 422 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,280 Speaker 1: We've recommended how Royalty works so many times now, so 423 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:43,919 Speaker 1: I don't know. You can just just how front how 424 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 1: the French Revolution works. Yeah, that's good. Okay, Okay, So 425 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: I guess that about wraps it up for the Sun 426 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 1: King and the affair of the poison. Um. But you 427 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,960 Speaker 1: can always suggest more Louie topics or more Bourbon topics 428 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 1: to us on Twitter at Miston History on Facebook, or 429 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 1: by emailing us at History Podcast at how stuff works 430 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: dot com. And if you want to jump ahead see 431 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 1: what happens a little bit, we do have an article 432 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:12,200 Speaker 1: called how the French Revolution Worked. You can find it 433 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:16,600 Speaker 1: by searching for French Revolution on our homepage at www 434 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:23,159 Speaker 1: dot how stuff works dot com. For more on this 435 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:25,840 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot 436 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: com to learn more about the podcast, click on the 437 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,359 Speaker 1: podcast icon in the upper right corner of our homepage. 438 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:34,720 Speaker 1: The How Stuff Works iPhone app has a rise. Download 439 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:36,160 Speaker 1: it today on iTunes.