oystercherie

Monsieur's role in religion was really not to be understated; and when he attended, he did so diligently. There's another interesting anecdote, reported by Henriette in her letters exchanges with Cosnac, where Monsieur apparently threatened her to not communiate for Christmas lest she made peace with the Chevalier. This was considered extremely alarming, as him failing his duties would mean compromising the redemption of the people of France.

And yet, to allow for his well-known habit of sleeping in, he was still afforded a dispensation LMFAO I really wonder what excuse he found to get it lol.

FR:

There are two anecdotes I feel like bringing up related to their relationship. First of all, a both cute and rather awful anecdote related by Henriette in a letter to Madame de Saint-Chaumont, the governess of their daughters:

In her letter, Henriette tells her that Philippe told him about how much he suffered from Chev only being "the third one" in their house, when he was the first in his heart. Because of that, he found her to be a nuisance.

It's pretty terrible to say that to his own wife, but for context, this discussion seemingly took place after Chev was sent in exile, thus when their relationship was at their absolute worst.

What I think this highlights is the intensity of Philippe's feelings and attachement for Chev. Everyone attested that Philippe wasn't himself anymore after Chev was taken away, and once allowed to correspond again when Chev was released from Château d'If, they did so for the two entire years. Chev was even consulted for the remarriage, and asked his opinion about the choice of a new wife.

It is thus rather easy to imagine how high the stakes were, once Chev was told he was going to come back (which, mind you, was announced to him by Philippe himself). Once again, while it's very apparent when reading the more modern findings, and especially Joan Pieragnoli's biography of Chev and François Pollet's work on Philippe's life and relationships, that the two were good friends, even before their romantic/physical relationship started. Nevertheless, Philippe was known for his appreciation of beautiful men, and Chev's life pretty much depended on Philippe's protection at this point. Sure, he could have survived being discarded, one way or another, but the risk of Philippe having moved on or being taken aback by his physical changes wasn't null, even moreso after the long separation. Chev's extreme reactions to potential rivals later on attest of how anxious he was about losing his position (not of course considering the possible emotional jealousy).

Added to that very probable disfigurement-related anxiety was the reality of age. I've always been really fascinated by something that Primi Visconti noted, which is that "What surprised everyone wasn't so much that the chevalier himself chose Monsieur's new mignons, but that he was still the first among them despite being thirty." Some other historians nuance the fact that mignons were necessarily sexual partners--but what this statement could mean is that in general, people aged faster back then, and that past the twenties, they were past their prime. Chev was going to turn 29 a few months after he came back from exile, which means his prime was also about to end. I can't help but wonder if that, on top of the aforementioned fears.

Aside from this bad italian accent thing, I wanted to depict one of the ways they were known to entertain themselves with: comedy, mockery and mimickry. Mazarin not being very well liked, and Philippe having had a complex relationship with him, it felt fitting.

This comic is set very early in Philippe and Henriette's marriage, which took place three weeks after Mazarin passed away. For the anecdote, they couldn't make a big ceremony and had to get married in grieving outfits which I'm sure they were DELIGHTED about...........

That is to say, it also explains why they still get along quite well at this point. It's likely before anything began between Henriette and Louis, and during these times Philippe also kept his relationship with Armand quite secret (mind you, a lot of people knew, Henriette included, most likely).

Mazarin deserves his own article one day, for those who aren't familiar with him, so I won't get into the details of why he was so loathed, but one of the reasons was that he was italian. However, his relationship with Louis was excellent; he was his godfather, but Louis pretty much saw him as a father figure. The same cannot be said of Philippe, who's been pretty much ignored by Mazarin most of his life. While some historians have been particularly vicious about it, more moderate ones still acknowledge that Mazarin didn't pay him much mind and, like Anne of Austria, was far more focused on Louis than on Philippe. As a result, Philippe didn't like him, and was reported to be quite impolite towards him during his teens (not greeting him when he entered a room or not showing the appropriate marks of respect expected from him).

For both Anne of Austria and Mazarin, Philippe's behavior during Louis' illness in 1658 resulted in a growth of their respect and appreciation for him. While Anne of Austria apologized to Philippe about having taken so long to properly see him, I don't know if Mazarin ever said the same, and I feel like it's not much of a reach to imagine that Philippe never truly got over the way Mazarin never saw him as a son the way he did Louis -- which is also why I believe he'd be capable of spoofing him as such.

Two additional notes on the content of the dialogues:

Philippe as Mazarin says that he and Armand share "not a vice, but a grand refinement"; this refers to the italian vice, a euphemism for homosexuality, which Mazarin was """accused""" of by the people and which Anne of Austria also alleged.

Henriette speaks of "Monseigneur's lights seeming a little far apart"; this is précieuse slang for being confused.

Hope you enjoyed!

FR:

Je remets ici les petites notes concernant les dialogues:

Philippe en Mazarin dit que lui et Armand partagent "non pas un vice mais un grand raffinement"; il fait bien sûr référence au vice italien, euphémisme pour homosexualité, dont Mazarin était """accusé""" et qu'Anne d'Autriche a elle-même affirmé.

Lors des échanges de lettres concernant ce fameux prieuré, on voit Dubois essayer de convaincre et de justifier sa demande le plus possible. L’argument sentimental n’ayant pas tellement de valeur aux yeux de ses interlocuteurs (et éventuellement au yeux du roi!), il se concentre sur l’aspect monétaire et n’hésite pas à offrir de se départir de certains bénéfices qu’il a déjà pour acquérir celui-ci, avançant que le prieuré est de valeur égale ou moindre au canonicat qu’il propose de céder à quelqu’un d’autre.

La lettre ci-dessous est adressée au père La Chaise, confesseur de Louis XIV, à qui Fénelon avait aussi suggéré d’écrire pour un coup de main. Dubois ouvre avec le côté monétaire, et ensuite on enchaîne avec l'aspect plus personnel de la chose: