Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon

Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon was the second wife of Louis XIV and an influential figure at the French court. Rising from a precarious background, she became governess to the king’s legitimised children and later his private or morganatic wife, promoting piety and education.

Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon also held the offices or ranks of Marquess. Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon belonged to the Famille d'Aubigné and operated within France. Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon was born in Niort and died in Palace of Versailles.

In Antonia Fraser’s Love and Louis XIV, Fraser focuses on the queen, mistresses and later Madame de Maintenon, treating them as political actors within the culture of absolutist monarchy rather than as decorative figures at court. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Refugees gives Madame de Maintenon a substantial role at Versailles, portraying her influence over Louis XIV, her rivalry with Madame de Montespan and her connection with the religious policy that culminates in the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.