Madeleine of Savoy

Madeleine of Savoy (1510–1574) was a French court official, and the wife of constable Anne de Montmorency, a leading soldier and politician, whom she married in 1526.[1] After she was widowed in 1567 she served as Première dame d'honneur to the queen of France, Elisabeth of Austria, from 1570 until 1574.

Kneeling, in a stained-glass window

"Room of Madeleine of Savoy", as set up in the National Museum of the Renaissance at the Château d'Écouen, which she built with her husband.

Life

She was the daughter of René of Savoy and Anne Lascaris. In 1570, he was appointed to the office of Première dame d'honneur to the new queen of France, Elisabeth of Austria, and as such responsible for the female courtiers, controlling the budget, purchases, annual account and staff list, daily routine and presentations to the queen.

Madeleine of Savoy was described as an austere and strict Catholic with a deep dislike of the Huguenots, but not as personally involved in politics, though she was a gathering force for her politically active relations and siblings.

Issue

She had twelve children:

• François (1530–1579), succeeded his father as duke of Montmorency.
• Henri (1534–1614), succeeded his elder brother as duke of Montmorency.[2]
• Charles (1537–1612), Admiral of France[3]
• Gabriel
• Guillaume (died 1594)[3]
• Eléonore (died 1557) married François de La Tour d'Auvergne, parents of Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon
• Jeanne (1528–1596), married Louis III de La Trémoille.
• Catherine (1532–1624) married Gilbert de Lévis, Duke of Ventadour and had issue; great great grandparents of Anne Geneviève de Lévis;
• Marie
• Anne
• Louise
• Madeleine

References

1. Akkerman & Houben 2014, p. 190.
2. de L'Estoile 1992, p. 126.
3. de L'Estoile 1992, p. 132.

Sources

• Akkerman, Nadine; Houben, Birgit, eds. (2014). The Politics of Female Households: Ladies-in-waiting across Early Modern Europe. Brill.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• de L'Estoile, Pierre (1992). Registre-journal du règne de Henri III.: 1574-1575. Librairie Droz S.A.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Françoise Kermina, Les Montmorency, grandeur et déclin, Perrin, Paris, 2002.
• Henri de Panisse-Passis, Les comtes de Tende de la maison de Savoie, Librairie Firmin-Didot et Cie, 1889, 386 p