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 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Dowdy and I'm debling a chalk reporting And 4 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,600 Speaker 1: a while back we got a letter from Sam also 5 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: known as Sam Tonight. It was one of my favorite 6 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: letters ever we've got an email to and both were 7 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: begging for an episode on the quote fabulous Madame du Pompadour, 8 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 1: and she was pretty fabulous. I mean, we can come 9 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: out and say that right at the beginning of the podcast. 10 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,919 Speaker 1: She is, of course the famous mistress of Louis, and 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 1: she was a patron of the arts, builder of many chateau, 12 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: friend of Voltaire, a champion of the French porcelain industry, 13 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: and she was considered by many people at least to 14 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: be an arbitrator of taste in France, much as Louis was. 15 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: As we discussed in our previous episode, Madame da Pompadour 16 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: also had some less fabulous aspects about her as well, 17 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: including her reputation for disastrous diplomacy, overspending and spy fueled paranoia. Yeah, 18 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: and the first thing I looked at when I started 19 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: looking into Madame da Pompadour for this episode where all 20 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: of these reviews of an art show that took place 21 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: a few years back, and the reviews we're pretty critical 22 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: of the show, or most of them were, at least, 23 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: and um, it seemed to be that a lot of 24 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: them found the show short changed her, you know, sort 25 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: of didn't consider her much of a patron at all, 26 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 1: just a lady who liked to buy stuff. Um, And 27 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: I thought it was interesting that people were so opinionated 28 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: about this woman, this mistress who lived and died hundreds 29 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: of years ago. And it made me go into this 30 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: whole thing realizing that this was gonna She's gonna be 31 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: a hard person to nail down exactly what she was 32 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: like and what her characters like. And uh, I certainly 33 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: I don't think I was able to nail her down. 34 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: But you know, we're going to try to take a 35 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:14,639 Speaker 1: look at this incredibly famous woman from a few different perspectives, 36 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: not just one. Yeah, we're gonna look at her life, 37 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: I guess, in from a panoramic point of view, but excellent, 38 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: still trying to siphon it down a little bit for 39 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: you so that you can get a little slice of 40 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: who she is and who was she She was born 41 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: Jean Antoinette Plissant on December in Paris, and her family 42 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: was in a kind of uniquely mobile class at that time. 43 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: They were bourgeois but connected and influential at the same time, 44 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: but they were a little bit tainted by scandal. Yeah. 45 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: So her father was a finance speculator, and he worked 46 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: for one of the party brothers who were bankers and 47 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: behind the scenes speculators who have been called quote the 48 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 1: black holes in the History of the eighteenth century by 49 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: Christine Pevett al Grant's book on Madame de Pompadour, which 50 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 1: I think that is a very creepy and interesting description 51 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: of somebody black hole. Um. So, nobody's entirely sure how 52 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,799 Speaker 1: far their dealings reached, but they were quite extensive. And 53 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: while the rest of Paris was being ruined by all 54 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 1: these bad tips and speculations, it was a time for 55 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: when a lot of people's fortunes were vanished overnight and 56 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:28,920 Speaker 1: they ended up in jail. Through all of that, the 57 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: Poissan family mostly stayed above water until sevent when young 58 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: Jean Antoinette's father participated in a speculating scheme that led 59 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 1: to famine in Paris. He didn't come out of that 60 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 1: well at all. Yeah, that's where things start to get 61 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: a little bit sketchy as far as he's concerned. He 62 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: has to flee the country, but his employer, the third 63 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: Perry brother, was though he was initially sent to the 64 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: best deal, he's released quickly. On the other hand, though 65 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: Poissant still has to stay in exile for ten years 66 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: after that. And I find a little suspicious that no 67 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: one ever took care of this. Yeah, that the head 68 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: hancho gets out of jail so quickly, yet the employee 69 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: is banished for so long. So that's a little mysterious 70 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: what was going on there. But there was more suspicion 71 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,840 Speaker 1: and scandal going on. Jean Antoinette's mother was a young 72 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: beauty and also a serial adulteress. And while several men 73 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,719 Speaker 1: besides Poisson could have fathered young Jean Antoinette, the most 74 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: likely candidate is Charles and then Normande to him, and 75 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,799 Speaker 1: he was a colleague of her father's and why he's 76 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: sort of considered the number one prospect for being her 77 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: biological father is that he showed tremendous interest in the 78 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: young girl and her mother and her brother. While Poisson, 79 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: the legal father was in exile, so a father figure 80 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,039 Speaker 1: of sorts. Definitely a father figure and a protector for 81 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 1: the family. So by age five, jean Antoinette is already 82 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,919 Speaker 1: known as Rennette to her family, which means little queen. 83 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: I think we've mentioned that before in another podcast too. 84 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: And for stability, she was sent to a convent where 85 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 1: her father's cousin and mother sister could look after her. 86 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:13,560 Speaker 1: And that was a nice time for her. It was 87 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,480 Speaker 1: a lot more yeah, as you said, stable, but also 88 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: happy and loving and relaxing. It was considered a high 89 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 1: point in her life. Then by age nine, she's ready 90 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: to emerge though and start her finishing so to speak. 91 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: She takes singing lessons, declamation lessons, She learns harpsichord, reading, embroidery, writing, 92 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: carriage driving, all the things that would make a girl 93 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,160 Speaker 1: a good wife. Yeah, they're aiming high with young jean Antoinette, 94 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,239 Speaker 1: but her mother also wants to know what her daughter's 95 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 1: destiny is going to be, and so the very first 96 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: thing the mother does when she reclaims jean Antoinette from 97 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: the convent is to take her to a Paris fortune 98 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: teller named Madame Lebonne who tells the girl that she'll 99 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: someday be the mistress of lou And uh prediction. Yeah, 100 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 1: quite the prediction. We know this because in Madame de 101 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: Pompadour's will she leaves six livres to the fortune teller 102 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 1: for this accurate prediction. Um, and it is pretty important 103 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 1: in her early life and in her later life. It 104 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: lays the seed of ambition in both the mother and 105 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 1: the daughter, even though success seems pretty much impossible at 106 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 1: this point. So now seems like a good time to 107 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: say a little about Louis the fifteenth, since he's mentioned 108 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: here as a possible prospect for our main character. When 109 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,239 Speaker 1: Jean Antoinette was getting her fortune read in Paris, Louis 110 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: was twenty years old at the time and handsome, already 111 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,039 Speaker 1: father of five and pretty faithful at that point to 112 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: his wife, the Queen Marie. He lived mostly at Versailles, 113 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:53,719 Speaker 1: and though he was pleasure loving, he was extremely shy. 114 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: So unlike his great grandfather Louis the fourteenth, who we 115 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: discussed in the last Bourbon episode, and he established we 116 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:03,839 Speaker 1: discussed how he established all these public rituals at court, 117 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: his great grandson Louis the fift felt very uncomfortable performing 118 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: these rituals UM so big difference there, he tried to 119 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: escape them when he could. UM. But his early life 120 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: had also been racked by one tragedy after another, and 121 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: it made him kind of morose and sometimes deeply deeply depressed. 122 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: His mother, father, and elder brother had all died in 123 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: one fell swoop of smallpox UM, and then his great 124 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: grandfather had died soon after that, making this five year 125 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: old orphaned boy king. And of course he had been 126 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: brought up with the full responsibilities of being king without 127 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: a family to fall back on and his To make 128 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: things even worse, his uncle and his regent had died 129 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 1: when Louie was still in his teen So you know, 130 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: in his very early youth he had experienced a lot 131 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: of tragedy and it really shaped the man he became. 132 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 1: UM By his mid twenties, though with all of these 133 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: kids had by his life, he had started taking mistresses weirdly, 134 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: though at least to the court, he seemed to always 135 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: choose his mistresses from one family. He started with one 136 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 1: sister and then moved on to the next sister, and 137 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,239 Speaker 1: then on to the third sister. I got to agree 138 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: with the court there that seems a little weird, a 139 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: little bit weird, definitely. Um. People were sort of disturbed 140 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: that one family seemed to have a monopoly on this 141 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 1: official mistress title. Um. But when the third of these 142 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: sisters died, Louis was really distraught, and everybody at court 143 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: was wondering, well, who's he going to choose? He needs 144 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,319 Speaker 1: a new mistress once he gets over this one. Um. 145 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: There were still a few more sisters in that family, 146 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: so a lot of people were just thinking, well, move 147 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 1: on to the next one. And then some people were 148 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: offering up their own candidates. Yeah, everybody had a candidate 149 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: to console the king. It was a potentially influential and um, 150 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,959 Speaker 1: a position that could make the girl and her family 151 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: quite a bit of money. So that brings the story 152 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 1: back around to Jean Antoinette, who in the meantime has 153 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 1: grown up pretty well. She's eighteen, lovely, talented, but she 154 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,560 Speaker 1: has some problems with her eligibility for one thing, her 155 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: shady mother and father who's back at this point, her 156 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: vague social position, and her tiny dowry that she has 157 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: to offer. So all these things combined to kind of 158 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: make her a sort of sketchy prospect. But when it 159 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: comes down to it, This girl whose friends with the 160 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: likes of Voltaire, needs to be married if she's going 161 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: to become a star of Parisian society like she wants 162 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 1: to be. Yeah. So fortunately her benefactor and father figure 163 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 1: tone Him has a prospect in mind, his own nephew, 164 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:53,320 Speaker 1: Charles Guillaume Lenman. And it's interesting, and this is sort 165 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: of again where the suspicion falls on Um Jean Antoinette's 166 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: true paternity. But her benefactor has disinherited all of his 167 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: other heirs for this nephew in particular, who he wants 168 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: to set up with the young lady Um. So it 169 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,200 Speaker 1: seems like he's putting all of his eggs in one basket. 170 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: He wants to give his fortune in his estate to 171 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: his nephew and his nephew's wife. So the young couple's 172 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 1: wedding present is the estate of Etiol and they soon 173 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,880 Speaker 1: have a son who dies, and then a daughter, Alexandrine. 174 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 1: But there's something else that's interesting and convenient for ambitious 175 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: young Jean Antoinette now Madame d'etiole. Every August, the king 176 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 1: and the court stay nearby and go hunting. So you 177 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 1: have the king in the neighborhood. Very convenient, very convenient. Indeed, 178 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 1: So we don't actually know when the relationship between Jean 179 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: Antoinette and the king begin, whether it's at Etiole or later. 180 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:03,720 Speaker 1: But what we do know is on February there's a 181 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,560 Speaker 1: mask ball in honor of the Dauphin's wedding. The King 182 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 1: comes to this ball dressed as a You tree, and 183 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: Madame Diatoll comes dressed as Diana, and the reportedly seen 184 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:20,719 Speaker 1: chatting hanging about together. Yeah, and there's actually um an 185 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 1: engraving made of this meeting, and I advise you to 186 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,079 Speaker 1: look it up if you can, because the You tree 187 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,959 Speaker 1: costume is pretty ridiculous. It's like, it looks like it's 188 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:35,439 Speaker 1: about a ten foot high topiary and there are several 189 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,880 Speaker 1: You trees, so they're all wandering around um and we 190 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: can presume that one of them is the King underneath 191 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 1: it all. I feel like you should know which one. Yeah, 192 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: it's a it's any special You tree. It's a really 193 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 1: tiny print, so maybe it's clear which one is the king, 194 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: but I guess he was. He was shy. He's trying 195 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:57,079 Speaker 1: to trying to hide out the wallflower. But this is 196 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: where the relationship definitely starts going full speed because soon 197 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: after Madame de Deol is installed at Versailles in this 198 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:09,240 Speaker 1: tiny set of rooms in the attic, and by the 199 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: time her husband returns from business he's been conveniently out 200 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: of the country this whole time. He gets the news 201 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 1: that he'll need to separate from his wife and he faints. 202 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 1: It's um, it's shocking news from he had no inkling 203 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:25,719 Speaker 1: that the king would run off with his wife. So 204 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,360 Speaker 1: a few months later, Louis is ready to make Madame 205 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: de Til his official mistress, but at first she has 206 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: to be presented at court, and for that she needs 207 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:36,880 Speaker 1: a little bit of preparation. So first off, she needs 208 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: a title. The title of Pompadour happens to be free, 209 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: so that once negotiated for her, and she also spends 210 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 1: a summer at her estate coached by the abbey did 211 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 1: Bernie on manners, and she's also coached by Voltaire on literature, 212 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 1: which I think it would be pretty awesome too. Sounds 213 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 1: like a fun summer to be these tutorials. Um yeah, 214 00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:00,400 Speaker 1: but she needs some more finishing. Essentially, she's had wishing 215 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:04,439 Speaker 1: to be a bourgeois wife, but um it takes kind 216 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: of a higher level to be presented at Versailles. But 217 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,640 Speaker 1: finally she becomes the Marquise de Pompadeu and is presented 218 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 1: at court and shy Louie is terribly embarrassed by this. Obviously, 219 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: like everything at Versailles, extremely formal spectacle, but young Jean 220 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:29,640 Speaker 1: Antoinette really distinguishes herself by um, you know, carrying herself well, 221 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 1: not tripping while she has to walk backwards and perform 222 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: all these tricks, and most notably, behaving extremely respectfully to 223 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 1: the Queen because louise former mistress hadn't treated the Queen 224 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: very well. And I think Madame de Pompadeu realized almost 225 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:51,080 Speaker 1: immediately that she would try to, if not get in 226 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,559 Speaker 1: the Queen's good graces, at least be kind to her, 227 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:58,080 Speaker 1: because it helped Louie sort of unload some of his 228 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 1: guilty had about cheating on his wife, and it hopefully 229 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: helped make things a little easier for him and his family. 230 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: And just from her point of view, she seemed to 231 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 1: need all the help she could get from the simple 232 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 1: reason that many of the courtiers were scandalized by their relationship. 233 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:17,680 Speaker 1: One noted that she was excessively common, a bourgeois out 234 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: of her place, who will displace all the world if 235 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: one cannot manage to displace her. The Daufin called her 236 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 1: mama put, which is a pretty nasty thing to say 237 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,800 Speaker 1: to somebody. Um, if you are a young person listening, 238 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: you might want to cover your ears. But it means 239 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: horror mama, essentially horror mommy. So um, not a nice 240 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: thing at all for the defend to be calling her um. 241 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: But we should point out to why people are so 242 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: scandalized that she's of the wrong class. She's moving into 243 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: the title of official mistress, which is something that a 244 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: noble woman should occupy. Of course, the king is going 245 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:00,840 Speaker 1: to have mistresses of all classes, but they're not going 246 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: to occupy this prominent place at court. That's what has 247 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:09,400 Speaker 1: people so upset. It's their own um nieces and daughters 248 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: and sisters who should be occupying this position, not this upstart. 249 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: So because of this, most people think that she'll be 250 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: short lived at Versailles, but Papa Dour has different plans. Yeah, 251 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: she figures out Louis's personality very quickly. Um. He's initially 252 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: very attracted to her, but she works from the start 253 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: and making him um need her for for other things too, 254 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: for his entertainment, for his day to day life. Um, 255 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 1: to keep him from succumbing to his depression. He needs 256 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: to be entertained. Um. But he also likes his privacy, 257 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: his life away from all the court ritual. Um. Just 258 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: a note on his private rooms, which are kind of 259 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: amazing sounding in their complexity. Uh. They included libraries and 260 00:15:55,560 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: dining rooms, a wood workshop, a distillery where he made perfume, rooms, 261 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: a kitchen where he baked up little pastries, all these 262 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 1: terraces with bird cages and even a chicken coop. And 263 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: Pampadour's attic rooms were right above these, and she even 264 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 1: had a personal elevator lift essentially called a flying chair 265 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:19,280 Speaker 1: to to get to them without hiking up the stairs. Um. 266 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: But she knows that she can create an escape world 267 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:26,600 Speaker 1: for him in these private rooms, the place where he 268 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: can be himself, and she does just that. She throws 269 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 1: parties in the rooms that have exclusive guestless. She stages 270 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: plays with her in the starring roles, of course, and 271 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: the two they do all kinds of things together there um, 272 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: besides the obvious, I guess. They study botany, and they 273 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: garden together. They work on architectural plans together, and they 274 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: do this along with her brother, the director of the 275 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: King's buildings. Yeah. Eventually, this close working group of three 276 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: planned the Ecola Militaire, the place Louis comes, which is 277 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 1: today the Place de la Concorde, but teach Trianon and 278 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 1: Chateau de Bellevue which is no longer existing. But uh, 279 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:11,320 Speaker 1: in addition to a lot of other chateau and um 280 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: little retreats and pavilions and such. They definitely share a 281 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,840 Speaker 1: love of architecture, and consequently Louis comes to rely on 282 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:23,760 Speaker 1: her for his social life, for his stability. Um, she 283 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:27,120 Speaker 1: completes him. So her plan is kind of working out here. 284 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: But after about five years or so and at least 285 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: two miscarriages possibly a gynecological condition, the romance between the 286 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:38,639 Speaker 1: two of them has pretty much petered out. Yeah, and 287 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: that part has always been a little difficult for Madame 288 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: d pompadour Um. Supposedly, to put her in the mood, 289 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:50,919 Speaker 1: she would eat a diet of celery, vanilla and truffles. Um. 290 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 1: So yeah, they're their romance has been fizzling. Um. But 291 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: by seventeen fifty, the court gossip is that the King 292 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,120 Speaker 1: and his official mistress haven't been sleeping together for about 293 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 1: a year. So with this news, pompadour haters are pretty 294 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,160 Speaker 1: happy about it, and Pompadour herself decides that she needs 295 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,359 Speaker 1: to do something. She needs to really dig in and 296 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 1: and find a different way. She likes this life and 297 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: she likes the power. So to crush the gossipers, she 298 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,199 Speaker 1: makes a public declaration of her friendship with Louie by 299 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 1: commissioning a statue of her, not as Venus or Diana 300 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: as she'd done in the past, but as an allegorical friendship. Yeah, 301 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:35,200 Speaker 1: and conveniently, seventeen fifty one, which follows the commissioning of 302 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,679 Speaker 1: this statue is Holy year in France, which would be 303 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:42,439 Speaker 1: a perfect time for Louis to repent and take the 304 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,880 Speaker 1: sacrament at Easter, and maybe at least Madame de Pompadour 305 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,880 Speaker 1: is hoping still get to keep her around because now 306 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:53,879 Speaker 1: they are no longer sleeping together. That's kind of ridiculous, 307 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:56,919 Speaker 1: she really thought that would happen, But um, you know, 308 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:00,439 Speaker 1: it's a plan, and the public declaration of friendship is 309 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:04,880 Speaker 1: something to let everybody know I'm still here. You can 310 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:09,199 Speaker 1: gossip all you want, but I'm still important to the king. Um. 311 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,679 Speaker 1: It's a perilous road though in her position is with 312 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:16,119 Speaker 1: the royal friend is really unstable, obviously, just as the 313 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:22,840 Speaker 1: position of um mistress earlier was unstable. It's pretty topsy turvy. Yeah. 314 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 1: Louie ends up making her a duchess, which is the 315 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 1: highest honor he can bestow at her at that time, 316 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:30,280 Speaker 1: but then he seems about to throw her over for 317 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 1: a new lady of the court. Pompadour still holds on though, 318 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,159 Speaker 1: She's still hanging on for dear life, and eventually she 319 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:39,679 Speaker 1: and the king they work out a deal. He'll have 320 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:44,159 Speaker 1: other mistresses, but they'll be extremely young girls, uneducated and 321 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,879 Speaker 1: with absolutely no position at court. Yeah, so they're not 322 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 1: going to be a direct competition to her. Louis kind 323 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:53,880 Speaker 1: of gets in trouble for some of this later. Parisians 324 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: and the rest of France aren't really that into his 325 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: little chateau full of teenagers he keeps. But um, we 326 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 1: could talk about that more later. Um. The thing is, though, 327 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:10,200 Speaker 1: even though Pompadour has declared that her life from now 328 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,120 Speaker 1: on will be quote perpetual combat, she really has become 329 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 1: indispensable to Louis, and I think he knew that too, Um, 330 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: but her direct influence over him is kind of another 331 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,719 Speaker 1: point of contention, and that's something that Um was mentioned 332 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 1: in some of those reviews I talked about earlier. A 333 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: lot of the post revolutionary historians made her out to 334 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:36,840 Speaker 1: be the puppet master to the weak minded bourbon king Um, 335 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:39,760 Speaker 1: but in all actuality, she was probably more of a 336 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:44,919 Speaker 1: go between for a man who was intensely uncomfortable dealing 337 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,280 Speaker 1: with people who he didn't know very well. He had 338 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 1: trouble communicating with strangers, where she was quite good at 339 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: it and he was comfortable around her. Um. She became 340 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:58,480 Speaker 1: a woman to see for your favors, promotions, privileges, all 341 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:01,720 Speaker 1: that sort of thing. In Versely, if you didn't see 342 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:05,879 Speaker 1: her or didn't pay her court night, find yourself on 343 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:10,199 Speaker 1: her bad side. She was also a spy master of sorts, 344 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,679 Speaker 1: though she had made a deal with the head of 345 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,160 Speaker 1: Paris Police so that she could be privy to any 346 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:18,359 Speaker 1: information that they had in any threats that happened to 347 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: be around. She placed agents at all levels in the 348 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: cabinet noir of the public Post, and this is the 349 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,640 Speaker 1: department that will steam open mail and read it and 350 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:30,680 Speaker 1: find out everything that's going on, So, yeah, it's sort 351 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:35,120 Speaker 1: of interesting to Louie would get excerpts from this steamed 352 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,360 Speaker 1: open mail, and he treated it sort of as fine gossip, 353 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,320 Speaker 1: like all the weird stuff people write to each other 354 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: when they think it's secret. But Madame de Pompadour took 355 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: it a little more seriously than that, and it's quite 356 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:51,360 Speaker 1: possible that eventually she became better informed on the secrets 357 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:54,919 Speaker 1: of the mail than Louie himself. She could be pretty obsessive. 358 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 1: She was quite concerned for her life at many points, 359 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: and while she was commissioning new portraits of herself as 360 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: a patron of the arts and learning, she was also 361 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 1: pursuing those who were accused of liabel against her, and 362 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: pursuing them quite vigorously. Some spent decades in the bastille, 363 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: so she wasn't one to trifle with. No, definitely didn't 364 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,359 Speaker 1: want to mess with her. But her broadening range of 365 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:21,919 Speaker 1: involvements didn't mean that she couldn't stop being a charming 366 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: companion to the king either. The best example of this 367 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 1: probably comes in seventeen fifty four, when her ten year 368 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:32,200 Speaker 1: old daughter Alexandrine or Faun Faun, dies suddenly. Only days later, 369 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,439 Speaker 1: Pompadour's father dies, and to make matters even worse, one 370 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,600 Speaker 1: of Louise mistresses gives birth to a girl. Yeah, and 371 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: the way she handles this uh drew note from observers. 372 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,120 Speaker 1: She only took a few days of seclusion. She took 373 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: about a week of private dinners with the king, and 374 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: then she had to get back to it. There was 375 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:55,160 Speaker 1: commentary from a duke about six weeks after the death 376 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,479 Speaker 1: of her daughter, and he wrote quote, I saw her 377 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:00,440 Speaker 1: for the first time since the death of her daughter, 378 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 1: a terrible blow from which I thought she would be devastated, 379 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:05,919 Speaker 1: But as too much grief would have done harm to 380 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: her looks and perhaps even weakened her position at court, 381 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:12,959 Speaker 1: I found her neither change nor downcast. And by one 382 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,639 Speaker 1: of those miracles at the court which are frequent of 383 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 1: this kind, I found her no less dashing nor affecting 384 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 1: any more serious air. And yet she has been deeply shaken, 385 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: and she was an all likelihood as unhappy inside as 386 00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:32,200 Speaker 1: she seemed happy without. So that's a sad, sad picture 387 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: of this woman, whom, though she has achieved great things 388 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: by now still has to play a part. She can't 389 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: she can't take time off for herself. Yeah, it is sad, 390 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:45,880 Speaker 1: but in a lot of ways it serves her well. 391 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 1: This ability to act, to put on a public face. 392 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 1: It allows her to keep her position and gain even 393 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:56,440 Speaker 1: more influence at court. So on February eighth, seventeen fifty six, 394 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: she's named Lady in waiting to the Queen. This is 395 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:03,439 Speaker 1: the most prestigious position at court, although Pompadour gets the 396 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,240 Speaker 1: honors without having to really do all the duties. Yeah, 397 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,640 Speaker 1: we have to imagine it would be a little awkward 398 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:11,879 Speaker 1: for the Queen too. I think Pompadour herself has to 399 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:16,440 Speaker 1: inform her because Louis has chickened out that yes, I'll 400 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:21,240 Speaker 1: be your Lady in waiting. So again here she refurbishes 401 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 1: her image. She wears a proper lace cap, she has 402 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 1: in your Vegetarian Diet, and there are portraits of her 403 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:30,680 Speaker 1: depicture at a tapestry frame instead of a rouge pot. 404 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,800 Speaker 1: At this point, that's where people would come and see 405 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,359 Speaker 1: her while she's working on her tap street and much 406 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:39,000 Speaker 1: were matronly than putting on rouge, although people at court 407 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:43,639 Speaker 1: did notice that she did not discontinue her use of rouge. 408 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:47,160 Speaker 1: If you see any pictures of her, that's quite apparent, um, 409 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,359 Speaker 1: But it seemed like at this point she was untouchable. 410 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: She was thirty five, maybe at her happiest um, but 411 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: she was also nearing um, nearing the decision that led 412 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: to her ben wild downfall. Trouble was brewing in Europe, 413 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 1: and back in the seventeen forties, Frederick the second, the 414 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: Great of Prussia took the province of Silesia from the 415 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 1: Austrian habsburgs surprise, surprise, Austrians wanted it back. But the 416 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:20,359 Speaker 1: real trouble came when several long held alliances switched um. 417 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 1: Prussia and France had traditionally been friends, Austrian France had 418 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:29,000 Speaker 1: traditionally been enemies, so France thought that it had a 419 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: pretty solid Franco Prussian alliance going on. When suddenly, in 420 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,399 Speaker 1: the seventeen fifties, and it was quite sudden, Frederick the 421 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,320 Speaker 1: second announced that he had signed a treaty with Great Britain. 422 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:45,000 Speaker 1: So France was cold shouldered by Prussia, and in response, 423 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:48,080 Speaker 1: France allied itself with Austria. And this is something that 424 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: was called the Diplomatic Revolution, and surprisingly, Madame de Pompure 425 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,920 Speaker 1: played a major role in this upheaval. Since the Austrian 426 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:01,040 Speaker 1: Chancellor had approached her to be the intermediary between Maria 427 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: Tress of Austria and Louis. So she's in politics for 428 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 1: real this time, not just dealing with the appointments and 429 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:13,200 Speaker 1: that sort of thing, but being approached by the by 430 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:16,680 Speaker 1: the Chancellor. Yeah, she becomes very vested in this alliance 431 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,920 Speaker 1: with Austria and in the Seven Years War that comes 432 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 1: out of it. And you guys, you and Katie I 433 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 1: think talked about the Seven Years War during a series 434 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:26,640 Speaker 1: on Catherine the Great, So if you need a little 435 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 1: more information about that, it can be kind of confusing, 436 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:32,840 Speaker 1: definitely the Three Petticoats, yep, go back and find out 437 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,399 Speaker 1: what that is. Of course, because of her sort of 438 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 1: spurious social position, a lot of people still don't take 439 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:41,920 Speaker 1: her seriously, but Voltaire still calls her Prime Minister because 440 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,199 Speaker 1: of her great influence at this time, and that's that 441 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:47,640 Speaker 1: turns out to be unfortunate for her that people do 442 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:52,800 Speaker 1: associate her with this treaty and with this war because 443 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:56,879 Speaker 1: the war goes poorly, especially for France. Uh. Their armies 444 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:00,159 Speaker 1: are crushed on the continent by Frederick and they for 445 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:05,640 Speaker 1: huge colonial losses of colonial possessions in India, North America 446 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:10,520 Speaker 1: to Britain, and probably worse of all, the treasury is 447 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,280 Speaker 1: drained and we all know what's coming up just a 448 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:17,440 Speaker 1: few years down the line here. Um, having a drained treasury, 449 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:23,119 Speaker 1: huge populace, and an unpopular king is bad news for 450 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:28,280 Speaker 1: Madame de Pompadour, the kind of always unpopular mistress. She's 451 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:33,000 Speaker 1: blamed for the country's misfortunes and uh, it gets pretty violent. 452 00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:36,760 Speaker 1: She's threatened with pamphlets and cruel letters and verses, and 453 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:41,360 Speaker 1: she is kind of crushed by it all. She relinquishes 454 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: a lot of her political responsibilities, but still she does 455 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 1: not retire. She she talks about it, but it's almost 456 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,879 Speaker 1: coy how she how she talks about retiring. Um, it 457 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:55,160 Speaker 1: seems pretty clear that she fully intends to stay at Versailles. Uh, 458 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:58,440 Speaker 1: stay on at court. And she sincerely believes that Louis 459 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:00,679 Speaker 1: needs her. And I think that's an important thing to 460 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 1: remember through all of her diplomatic intrigues. Um, she thinks 461 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 1: that she can't quit, She can't leave because Louis needs 462 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: her and France needs her. Yeah, but she is down 463 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:19,280 Speaker 1: about all this. She's melancholy and also increasingly ill and 464 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:23,800 Speaker 1: on Palm Sunday, April seventeen sixty four, she dies at 465 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: age forty three, probably of lung cancer, and this is 466 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,200 Speaker 1: kind of really sad. On top of that, her body 467 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: was immediately removed from Versailles. The Duchess di Prolong observed 468 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,720 Speaker 1: the scene, and she said, I saw two men carrying 469 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,000 Speaker 1: a stretcher. When they approached, I saw that it was 470 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: the body of a woman covered only with a sheet 471 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 1: so short that the shape of the head, the breasts, 472 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:50,200 Speaker 1: the stomach, and the legs were clearly distinct. It was 473 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:52,960 Speaker 1: the body of that poor woman, who, according to the 474 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,400 Speaker 1: strict law that no one dead could remain in the chateau, 475 00:28:55,880 --> 00:29:01,400 Speaker 1: was being taken shale. So yeah, definitely, she's already broken 476 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,200 Speaker 1: a rule by dying in Versailles. Since she's not a 477 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:07,080 Speaker 1: member of the royal family, she's got to be whisked 478 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 1: away before death taints the the palace. So the King's 479 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 1: doctor Senac breaks the news to him and Louie, who 480 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:19,400 Speaker 1: has been with this woman for nearly twenty years. Response quote, 481 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 1: only I Senac know the extent of my loss. Um. 482 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 1: Not long before Madame de Pomdour's death, she's said to 483 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 1: have told Louis a pre new la deluge, which means 484 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:37,120 Speaker 1: after us, the deluge. Um. It's a quote that's often 485 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,080 Speaker 1: attributed to Louis, and it's a little I was a 486 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,600 Speaker 1: little surprised to see it attributed so many places to 487 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:47,720 Speaker 1: both UM. I don't know if Louis appropriated it or 488 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:53,520 Speaker 1: misattributed often UM with Louise often listed as a premoi 489 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:57,680 Speaker 1: le deluge, but uh, I think it is an appropriate 490 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:02,040 Speaker 1: quote to end her episode It on Madame de Pompadour. UM, 491 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:05,480 Speaker 1: but also a good way to keep this series going 492 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:08,440 Speaker 1: with nice set up. Definitely a nice set up. So 493 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:14,000 Speaker 1: possibly next in the series the Deluge itself. I kind 494 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,959 Speaker 1: of like episodes that are like on the brink of disaster. 495 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:21,440 Speaker 1: But you can see at the end of Pompadour's life 496 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:27,240 Speaker 1: all of these pieces falling apart, unpopular King, unpopular mistress, 497 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:33,320 Speaker 1: broke country, and some really really unhappy people. UM. So 498 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:37,640 Speaker 1: they're prepped for revolution definitely, And I guess that brings 499 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: us to listener meal. So this message is from Robert 500 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 1: in St. Louis, and he wrote quote, I'm a history 501 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: fanatic and I'm glad I found your podcast earlier this week. 502 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:52,400 Speaker 1: I have a negative thing to say, and a positive 503 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: first the negative to get it out of the way. 504 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:58,360 Speaker 1: In the twelve fifteen episode on gladiator graveyards, one of 505 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,280 Speaker 1: you said, quote, you're mad to it like prison barracks, 506 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: But that's not how it is at all. They were 507 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,760 Speaker 1: owned by private citizens. Even though the gladiators had no 508 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,240 Speaker 1: personal rights, they were pretty well taken care of because 509 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 1: they were a major investment end quote. Based on the 510 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 1: context throughout the episode, it sounded as if you were 511 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:21,360 Speaker 1: implying that the whole slavery gladiator situation wasn't so bad, 512 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 1: which seems like an odd point to be making. Apply 513 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:26,920 Speaker 1: the above quote to slavery in the nineteenth century in 514 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 1: America and you'll see why. I thought it was odd, 515 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,080 Speaker 1: possibly offensive to some. So I'm sure we're in no 516 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:35,920 Speaker 1: danger of offending descendants of ancient Rome and maybe picking 517 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:38,160 Speaker 1: up straws. And I thought the episode as a whole 518 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:40,800 Speaker 1: was very good. Now onto the positive. In the twelve 519 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:45,480 Speaker 1: twenty episode five Historical Fine, I found it very amusing 520 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:47,800 Speaker 1: that ancients apparently did not want to go to the 521 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 1: trouble of husking, winnowing nil and grain when it came 522 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:54,080 Speaker 1: to helping your people, not starve but alcohol. You bet 523 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: hilarious bit of irony there, Thanks and keep it up. Um. So, 524 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:01,400 Speaker 1: in case anybody else that we were saying it wasn't 525 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:05,200 Speaker 1: bad to be a gladiator, we think it would be 526 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:07,720 Speaker 1: bad to be eaten by a lion or stabbed through 527 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:11,959 Speaker 1: the ribs. Even if you were said this hardy vegan 528 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 1: diet and had your bones set and we're well taken 529 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 1: care of. Indeed, we do not condone those activities. No, 530 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:21,560 Speaker 1: not at all, um. But I think to be more specific, 531 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:25,600 Speaker 1: what we're trying to say is, well, gladiators are often considered, 532 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:30,760 Speaker 1: at least in movies, prisoners immediately tossed into the ring. 533 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:35,600 Speaker 1: Why bother feeding to immediately to be eaten or killed 534 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 1: immediately to the death. We wanted to make the point 535 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 1: that because they were investments, their standard of life was 536 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:44,880 Speaker 1: fairly high, at least until they got to the ring. 537 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: They are still slaves. They are still probably ultimately eaten 538 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:53,760 Speaker 1: by lions, which is going to be blue anyway you 539 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:56,000 Speaker 1: cut it. It probably wouldn't be the position you would 540 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:59,080 Speaker 1: want to be in in society or life's aspiration, right, 541 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:02,440 Speaker 1: But they got good medical care, they were given meals, 542 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:04,120 Speaker 1: So I think that was the only point we were 543 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:08,520 Speaker 1: trying to make, definitely not that it was something glorious. Yeah. 544 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:11,480 Speaker 1: Um so I hope that clears it up a little bit, 545 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:16,240 Speaker 1: Robert and anybody else who misunderstood us there, um, and 546 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 1: thank you for the email, and um we'll try to 547 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 1: we'll try to keep up the hilarious bits of irony 548 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 1: to um. So, if you have any other messages you 549 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,640 Speaker 1: want to send us any email, you can find us 550 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:32,320 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at how stuff works dot com. We're 551 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,400 Speaker 1: also on Twitter at Miston History, and we have a 552 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:39,400 Speaker 1: Facebook fan page, all excellent ways to send us your 553 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:44,240 Speaker 1: gladiatorial queries. Um. And we also have some more French 554 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: Revolution articles. Yeah. If you want a little preview to 555 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:50,760 Speaker 1: what we're gonna be talking about in upcoming Bourbon episodes, 556 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:53,840 Speaker 1: you can check out how the French Revolution Worked by 557 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,880 Speaker 1: visiting our homepage and typing in French Revolution at www 558 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 1: dot how stuff works dot com mh For more on 559 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,200 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works 560 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:08,880 Speaker 1: dot com. To learn more about the podcast, click on 561 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:11,840 Speaker 1: the podcast icon in the upper right corner of our homepage. 562 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:15,200 Speaker 1: The how Stuff Works iPhone app has a ride. Download 563 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:21,400 Speaker 1: it today on iTunes, m