• Bona Sforza

    One would generally think the Queen of Poland would be….well….Polish.  In this case, she was not.  Bona Sforza, as her name would indicate, was Italian.  However, as the wife of King Sigismund I she exercised great power over the country. A member of the powerful Sforza family of Milan, Bona was born on February 2, 1494 the second child of Gian Galeazzo Sforza, sixth Duke of Milan and his wife Isabella of Naples.  Fun fact, Isabella is thought be some to be the inspiration for the Mona Lisa.  Raised in Bari and Milan, she was educated by the imminent Italian humanists Antonio de Ferraris and Crisotomo Colonna.  From them she…

  • Louise of Savoy- The King’s Mother Part II

    As we discussed in Part I, Louise of Savoy was a huge influence on her son and instrumental in bringing him to the throne of France.  (Please see here for this post:  http://www.historynaked.com/louise-savoy-kings-mother-part/ ).  So in 1515, Francis ascended the throne of France, but he went off to enjoy the pleasures of being king and left the governing in the capable hands of his mother.  Louise was prepared for the job as she watched Anne of Beaujeu run the country in her youth.  Ambassadors and other notables of the court knew to go to her and treated her as if she was the crowned queen.  However, she was always careful…

  • Louise of Savoy- The King’s Mother Part I

    The royal line of France is somewhat of a tangle because of their insistence on Salic Law, which said the crown could not be claimed through the line of female descent.  (For more on why this was enforced, see this post:  http://www.historynaked.com/tour-de-nesle-affair-medieval-soap-opera/ )  This did not stop French history from being full of powerful and strong women.  They just remain ostensibly behind the scenes.  Louise of Savoy was one such woman. Born on September 11, 1476 at Pont-d’Ain, Louise was the daughter of Duke Philip II of Savoy and Princess Marguerite of Bourbon.  Louise is described as vivacious and tall with light brown hair and blue eyes.  Louise’s mother died…

  • Diane de Poitiers

    Diane de Poitiers, noblewoman and infamous mistress of King Henri II of France, was born on 2 September in 1499. Diane de Poitiers was born to Jean de Poitiers, Seigneur de Saint Vallier and Jeanne de Batarnay at the Château de Saint-Vallier in the province of the Dauphine. As a young woman, she was educated in the typical Renaissance manner for young women. She studied music, hunting, languages, and continued her love of hunting throughout the rest of her life. Diane married Louis de Brézé, Seigneur d’Anet, at the age of fifteen. Her husband was thirty-nine years older and was a grandson of King Charles VII and had served as…

  • Agnes Sorel-   First “Official Mistress”

    Men have had mistresses since the beginning of time.  However, Agnes Sorel was the first one to parlay that into a position.  She was the acknowledged mistress of the French king, the first woman to hold that semi-official position which was to be of so great importance in the subsequent history of the old regime.   So how did the so called La Dame de Beauté capture the eye of the king? Born in 1422, Agnes became a lady in waiting to Isabelle of Lorraine, queen of Sicily and wife of René of Anjou, who was the brother-in-law of Charles VII.  Agnes met the king in 1444 and Charles was smitten.…