Marie of Cleves, Duchess of Orléans
| Marie of Cleves | |
|---|---|
| Duchess of Orléans | |
.jpg) Marie of Cleves (or Anne of Cyprus) | |
| Born | 19 September 1426 |
| Died | 23 August 1487 (aged 60) Chaunay |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Charles, Duke of Orléans |
| Issue | Marie, Viscountess of Narbonne Louis XII Anne of Orléans, Abbess of Fontevraud |
| House | La Marck |
| Father | Adolph I, Duke of Cleves |
| Mother | Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Cleves |
Marie of Cleves (19 September 1426 – 23 August 1487) was the third wife of Charles, Duke of Orléans. She was born a German princess, the last child of Adolph I, Duke of Cleves and his second wife, Mary of Burgundy.
Marie was a patron of letters and commissioned many works; she was also an active poet herself, producing ballads and other verses.[1] After the Duke's death she was secretly remarried in 1480 to one of her gentlemen of the chamber, the Artesian "Sieur de Rabodanges", who was some years her junior.[1][2] She died in Chaunay.
Marriage and issue
At age fourteen, Marie married Charles of Valois, Duke of Orléans, a man 32 years her senior,[1] on 27 November 1440 in Saint-Omer.[3] They had three children:
- Marie of Orléans, Viscountess of Narbonne (19 December 1457 – 1493); married John of Foix, Viscount of Narbonne in 1483.
- King Louis XII of France (1462–1515)
- Anne of Orléans, Abbess of Fontevraud and Poitiers (1464–1491).
In literature
Marie is a character in Hella Haasse's historical novel about Charles, Duke of Orléans In a Dark Wood Wandering (original Dutch title Het Woud der Verwachting).
Notes
References
- Arn, Mary-Jo. Charles d'Orléans in England, 1415-1440. Cambridge; Rochester, NY, USA : D.S. Brewer, 2000. googlebooks Retrieved August 17, 2009
- Wilson, Katharina M. An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers. Vol. 2 New York: Garland Pub, 1991. googlebooks
- Holt, Emily Sarah. Memoirs of Royal Ladies. London : Hurst and Blackett, 1861. googlebooks