The fact that women sometimes ruled France was also noted by the philosopher and writer Bernard de Fontenel, and he, who lived exactly 100 years and saw much in his time, can be trusted. The most striking ruler of the kingdom was Madame Pompadour (1721-1764), causing at the same time a storm of indignation for her squandering, dissatisfied murmur of the courtiers and laudatory odes to the saints. Who was this amazing woman, and what allowed her to turn the fate of the inhabitants of the country?
Madame Pompadour reverently protected the secret of her origin, so it is difficult for historians to get to the bottom of its genealogical roots. Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson was born into the family of a former footman, who became the quartermaster. Later, his father steal and hit the run. However, the fate of little Jeanne was vividly interested in a certain Norman de Turnham - a nobleman and financier. Who was he - a master whose father Jeanne, her godfather, or real father served in lackeys, as ill-wishers claimed, hinting that the king's favorite is the fruit of illegitimate love? Documents do not give a definite answer to this.
However, an indisputable fact that Madame Pompadour herself loved to talk about was that a gypsy predicted a future connection with the king to a 9-year-old girl. This prophecy gave Jeanne an attitude for life. Having traveled a long and arduous journey to meet Louis XV, eliminate all rivals and have a solid foundation in Versailles, the favorite did not forget the gypsy and paid her rent for the rest of her life. After receiving an excellent education, Jeanne married the nephew of her patron. The groom was ugly, but rich, and most importantly, noble. The damsel Poisson joyfully transformed into Madame d'Etiol.
But Madame Pompadour strove, of course, higher. Having gained access to the high society, she recognized all the gossip of the court, the habits and passions of the monarch. At that time, the ruler of France was fascinated by the Duchess de Chateauroux. Waiting for her untimely death, Madame d'Etiol began to act. At the masquerade ball, she was lucky to meet with the 35-year-old Louis. Her young beauty did not make a proper impression on him - love at first sight did not work. Then the entrepreneurial Jeanne bought a seat in the theater opposite the royal box. But even the night in monastic chambers that followed the performance did not “hook” the king.
Then Jeanne went all-in: sneaking into the king’s bedchamber, she played a whole melodramatic story, they say, she risks her head to see her beloved and is ready to fall by the hand of a jealous husband. But this act carried away the satiated monarch: instead of driving out the impudent, he granted her the post of the court lady of his wife, and a little later the title of marquise. Madame de Pompadour understood that her beauty alone was clearly not enough to tie Louis's heart to herself, so she struck patronage of art, knowing the king’s penchant for fine arts. Moliere, Montesquieu, Bouchardon, Fragonard, and other figures of the Enlightenment visited her living room .
What was the Marquise de Pompadour? The portraits of that era represent in a peasantly red-cheeked full blonde, although this is nothing more than a tribute to the then fashion. The verbal descriptions of contemporaries paint us the image of a woman of short stature with brown hair and incomprehensible color eyes. It was not her appearance that allowed her to ban the Jesuit Order in France, to remove the state from Prussia and bring it closer to Austria. She was the lover of the king only 5 years, but the favorite remained as much as 20!