Among the countless studies devoted over the last thirty years to female protagonists in the history of the courts of the Ancien Régime, particular attention has been paid to the educational paths and intellectual training of princesses destined to play an important political role in the courts, both in the construction of large-scale networks of relationships and in the transmission of an aristocratic culture. Although attention to the evolution of educational strategies aimed at learning ‘court life’ and the exercise of power has focused mainly on the education of princes, the education of princesses, queens and regents is equally important. Their role as vehicles for the transmission of cultural and political models between European courts and the ways in which ‘female’ royalty was constructed were as necessary for the exercise of courtly power as male royalty. The role of women did not end with that of queen consort, but extended to that of queen mother and, finally, regent. This was a clearly political and threefold role: when the queen was called upon to hold power alongside the sovereign or in his absence or death, when she intervened as an intermediary between her country of origin and her husband's court or between factions at court, and finally when she exercised her role as mother of a future heir to the throne. All this allows us to reflect on political education and female ‘raison d'état’, especially when court life, rank and marriage strategy are combined. Preparation for marriage was, after all, the purpose of a princess's political education: to learn to play her role, master the ceremonial, and train herself to expect a marriage that might be unhappy but was strategically crucial for the family and dynastic politics of both the family she came from and the one she was entering. However, it is not always easy for historians to trace the educational path of princesses from the great aristocratic families of modern Europe, as sources do not always allow for such investigation. In general, we know that women were taught Christian morality, foreign languages, Latin, geography and mathematics, but not military education, which remained a male prerogative, with rare and well-documented exceptions. However, to better understand the educational paths of the female aristocracy of the modern age, we will examine specific cases that highlight numerous exceptions. This essay will focus on a story involving the Marquise de Maintenon, morganatic wife of Louis XIV, and Maria Adelaide, eldest daughter of Victor Amadeus of Savoy and Anne Marie d'Orléans. Maria Adelaide officially married Louis of Burgundy, son of the Grand Dauphin, in 1697. She retained the title of Duchess of Burgundy until 1711, when, upon the death of her father-in-law, she acquired that of Dauphine of France. The premature death of her husband in 1712 prevented her from ascending to the throne, a privilege that instead fell to the couple's only surviving son, the future Louis XV.

Riva, E., Educating a future queen of France. The case of Princess Marie Adelaide of Savoy and Madame de Maintenon, royal educator, in Recca, C., Precioso Isquierdo, F. (ed.), Elite Women in Early Modern Catholic Europe, ROUTLEDGE, NEW YORK -- USA 2025: 88- 108. 10.4324/9781003472780-7 [https://hdl.handle.net/10807/314394]

Educating a future queen of France. The case of Princess Marie Adelaide of Savoy and Madame de Maintenon, royal educator

Riva, Elena
2025

Abstract

Among the countless studies devoted over the last thirty years to female protagonists in the history of the courts of the Ancien Régime, particular attention has been paid to the educational paths and intellectual training of princesses destined to play an important political role in the courts, both in the construction of large-scale networks of relationships and in the transmission of an aristocratic culture. Although attention to the evolution of educational strategies aimed at learning ‘court life’ and the exercise of power has focused mainly on the education of princes, the education of princesses, queens and regents is equally important. Their role as vehicles for the transmission of cultural and political models between European courts and the ways in which ‘female’ royalty was constructed were as necessary for the exercise of courtly power as male royalty. The role of women did not end with that of queen consort, but extended to that of queen mother and, finally, regent. This was a clearly political and threefold role: when the queen was called upon to hold power alongside the sovereign or in his absence or death, when she intervened as an intermediary between her country of origin and her husband's court or between factions at court, and finally when she exercised her role as mother of a future heir to the throne. All this allows us to reflect on political education and female ‘raison d'état’, especially when court life, rank and marriage strategy are combined. Preparation for marriage was, after all, the purpose of a princess's political education: to learn to play her role, master the ceremonial, and train herself to expect a marriage that might be unhappy but was strategically crucial for the family and dynastic politics of both the family she came from and the one she was entering. However, it is not always easy for historians to trace the educational path of princesses from the great aristocratic families of modern Europe, as sources do not always allow for such investigation. In general, we know that women were taught Christian morality, foreign languages, Latin, geography and mathematics, but not military education, which remained a male prerogative, with rare and well-documented exceptions. However, to better understand the educational paths of the female aristocracy of the modern age, we will examine specific cases that highlight numerous exceptions. This essay will focus on a story involving the Marquise de Maintenon, morganatic wife of Louis XIV, and Maria Adelaide, eldest daughter of Victor Amadeus of Savoy and Anne Marie d'Orléans. Maria Adelaide officially married Louis of Burgundy, son of the Grand Dauphin, in 1697. She retained the title of Duchess of Burgundy until 1711, when, upon the death of her father-in-law, she acquired that of Dauphine of France. The premature death of her husband in 1712 prevented her from ascending to the throne, a privilege that instead fell to the couple's only surviving son, the future Louis XV.
2025
Inglese
Elite Women in Early Modern Catholic Europe
9781003472780
ROUTLEDGE
Riva, E., Educating a future queen of France. The case of Princess Marie Adelaide of Savoy and Madame de Maintenon, royal educator, in Recca, C., Precioso Isquierdo, F. (ed.), Elite Women in Early Modern Catholic Europe, ROUTLEDGE, NEW YORK -- USA 2025: 88- 108. 10.4324/9781003472780-7 [https://hdl.handle.net/10807/314394]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10807/314394
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