Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars
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Madame Clothilde, Queen of Sardinia, died in Rome in 1802 where she and her husband King Charles Emanuel had sought refuge from Napoleon. Clothilde died of typhoid fever, her saintliness recognized by many, especially by Pope Pius VII. In honoring Clothilde, it can perhaps be said that the pontiff indirectly paid homage to those members of her family who had died violent deaths. She is known as “Venerable Clothilde.”
As her brother was hailed “Son of Saint Louis” at the moment of his death, so Madame Élisabeth could be called the “Daughter of Saint Louis” for she exemplified in her person everything that was fine, noble and magnificent about the House of France. It is sad that in so many novels and films, Élisabeth is either erased or minimized, when her presence was a source of comfort to the King and the Queen in their ordeals, even if she disagreed with them. She withstood the mob at her brother’s side and encouraged the rest of the family in the darkness of imprisonment. She became a second mother to her niece Madame Royale, and comforted the condemned on the way to the scaffold.
Following their deaths, Louis and Antoinette were hailed by royalists and monarchists everywhere as the “King-Martyr” and the “Queen-Martyr.” Objects that had belonged to them were often treated like relics, especially the bloody shirt of Louis XVI, which his daughter kept with her until her death. The last century saw the growth of the cult of Louis XVI, a cult which has existed since his execution, when people dipped handkerchiefs in his blood for souvenirs.10 In his Allocution of June 17, 1793, Pope Pius VI called Louis a martyr of the Catholic faith.11 The mystic Jeanne Le Royer (1732-1798) at the Poor Clares of Fougères declared that Jesus told her that Louis XVI was in heaven, saying: “Il est glorieux!”12 In 1820, Marie-Thérèse de France tried to introduce the Cause of her father. She spoke to the Apostolic Nuncio, Vincenzo Macchi, who consulted Cardinal Consalvi. But Pius VII and the Sacred Congregation ruled that Louis XVI was not killed for hatred of the faith but for political reasons. She tried again in the reign of Charles X, gathering documents, but the Monsignor Clermont-Tonnerre said the King was killed for political reasons and also showed weakness by signing the Civil Constition of the Clergy. Under the Second Empire, Amedée Burion wrote Louis XVI Martyr with no success. During the Third Republic, a commission under Abbé Glaire tried again in 1874, but it went nowhere. In 1893, Abbé Ernest Rigaud tried to get Louis beatified with Joan of Arc.11 There have been several other attempts, with Louis’ biographers the Coursacs trying in 1991. Nothing came of it.12 I would venture to speculate that the obstacles are mainly political. It took Saint Thomas More and Saint Joan of Arc hundreds of years before they were formally acknowledged as saints. We remember that there are many souls whose sanctity is known only to God and at the final judgment all shall be revealed.
“Royalist print of Louis XVI received by St. Louis IX in Heaven”
Notes
Preface
1. Whaley, Joachim. Germany and the Holy Roman Empire: Volume II: The Peace of Westphalia to the Dissolution of the Reich, 1648-1806. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012, p. 347.
2. Charles-Roux, J.M. "Marie-Antoinette: The Martyred Queen of Christian Europe." Royal Stuart Review, Vol. 6, Number 3, 1987 and Number 4, 1988, pp. 55-62, 72-85.
3. Thomas, Chantal. The Wicked Queen: The Origins of the Myth of Marie-Antoinette, translated by Julie Rose. New York: Zone Books, 2001, pp. 41-42.
Introduction
1. Campan, Madame. Memoirs of Marie-Antoinette. New York: Collier and Son, 1910, pp. 81-82.
2. Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche et al. Correspondance secrète entre Marie-Thérèse et le comte de Mercy-Argenteau, avec les lettres de Marie-Thérèse et de Marie-Antoinette, 2 Volumes. Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1874, I, pp. 180-181.
3. Chalon, Jean. Chère Marie-Antoinette. Paris: Perrin, 1997, p. 187.
4. Montjoie, Félix-Louis Galart de. Histoire de Marie-Antoinette-Josephe-Jeanne de Lorraine, archiduchesse d'Autriche, reine de France. Paris: H.L. Perronneau, 1797, p. 107.
5. Croker, John Wilson. Essays on the Early Period of the French Revolution. London: John Murray, 1857, pp. 72-73.
Chapter 1: A Daughter of the Caesars
1. Rocheterie, Maxime de la. The Life of Marie Antoinette, 2 Volumes, translated by Cora Hamilton Bell. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1906, I, pp.1-2. Translation: “I have lost: the august daughter has condemned me to pay. But if it be true that she resembles you, then all the world has won.”
2. Yonge Charles Duke. The Life of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1876, pp. 28-29.
3. Campan, p. 31.
4. Guéranger, Dom Proper, OSB. The Liturgical Year, Volume I: Advent, translated by Dom Laurence Shepherd, OSB. Powers Lake, North Dakota: Marian House, 1983, p. 385.
5. Bireley, Robert. Ferdinand II, Counter-Reformation Emperor, 1578-1637. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014, p. 27.
6. Weber, Joseph. Memoirs of Maria-Antoinetta, Queen of France and Navarre, translated by R.C. Dallas. London: Rickaby, 1805, pp. 1-3.
7. Rocheterie, p. 2.
8. Cronin, Vincent. Louis and Antoinette. London: Harvill Press, 1996, p. 45.
9. Ibid.
10. Delorme, Philippe. Marie-Antoinette: Épouse de Louis XVI, mère de Louis XVII. Paris: Pygmalion/Gérard Watelet, 1999, p. 15.
11. Ibid, p. 11.
12. Cronin, p.47.
13. Rocheterie, I, p. 4.
14. Webster, Nesta. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette before the Revolution. London: Constable, 1937, p. 12.
15. Younghusband, Helen A. Marie-Antoinette, Her Early Youth (1770-1774). New York: Macmillan, 1912, p. 104.
16. Rocheterie, I, p. 4.
17. Faulkner, Liam. “Johann Joseph Gassner – Exorcist Healer.” History in an Hour, March 11, 2013. According to this online article, Fr. Gassner (1727-1779) was a Catholic priest and famous healer in Southern Germany and Austria during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa. He was reported to have cured hundreds of people from various diseases and afflictions, which included casting out devils and raising the dead. He was criticized by many physicians and scientists who thought he was using the same techniques as the notorious Mesmer. His healing ministry was condemned by Pope Pius IV in 1776 and he responded with obedience. Fr. Gassner was exiled to a remote region in Northern Austria by Emperor Joseph II, where he died in 1779.
18. Here is a list of the children of Emperor Francis Stephen and Empress Maria Theresa:
Archduchess Maria Elisabeth (1737-1740). Maria Theresa's heiress presumptive between 1737 and 1740.
Archduchess Maria Anna (1738-1789). Maria Theresa's heiress presumptive between 1740 and 1741.
Archduchess Maria Caroline (1740-1741).
Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790), married Infanta Isabel of Spain (1741-1763), then Princess Marie Josepha of Bavaria (1739-1767); no surviving issue. Holy Roman Emperor from 1765; Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia and from 1780.
Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (1742-1798), married Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen (1738-1822); no surviving issue.
Archduchess Maria Elisabeth (1743-1808).
Archduke Charles Joseph (1745-1761).
Archduchess Maria Amalia (1746-1804), married Ferdinand, Duke of Parma (1751-1802); had issue.
Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (1747-1792), married Infanta Maria Louisa of Spain (1745-1792); had issue. Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 (abdicated 1790); Holy Roman Emperor from 1790; Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia from 1790.
Archduchess Maria Carolina (1748).
Archduchess Johanna Gabriela (1750-1762).
Archduchess Maria Josepha (1751-1767).
Queen Maria Caroline of Naples and Sicily (1752-1814), married King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily (1751-1825); had issue.
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este, Duke of Breisgau (1754–1806), married Maria Beatrice d'Este, heiress of Breisgau and of Modena; had issue (Austria-Este). Duke of Breisgau from 1803
.
Queen Marie Antoinette of France and Navarre, born Maria Antonia (1755-1793); married Louis XVI of France (1754-1793).
Archduke Maximilian Francis (1756-1801), Archbishop-Elector of Cologne: 1784.
19.Vovk, Justin C. In Destiny's Hands: Five Tragic Rulers, Children of Maria Theresa. Raleigh, North Carolina: Lulu.com, 2009, p. 14.
20. Schoenfeld, Hermann. Women of the Teutonic Nations. Philadelphia: Rittenhouse Press, 1908, pp. 278-282.
21. Löffler, Klemens. "Maria Theresa." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910.
22. Castelot, André. Queen of France: A Biography of Marie Antoinette, trans. Denise Folliot. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957, p. 14.
23. Ibid. pp.14-15.
24. Lever, Evelyn, ed. Correspondance de Marie-Antoinette (1770-1793). Paris: Tallandier, 2005, p. 61.
25. Bicknell, Anna L. The Story of Marie-Antoinette. New York: The Century Company, 1897, p. 225.
26. Clegg, Melanie. Marie-Antoinette: An Intimate History. Amazon Digital Services LLC: Madame Guillotine, 2015, p. 138.
27. Mahan, Alexander J. Maria Theresa of Austria. London: Read Books Ltd, 2013, p. 270.
28. Clegg, p. 367.
29. Delorme, p. 21.
30. Ibid. p. 22.
31. Ibid. p. 19.
32. Jahn, Otto. Life of Mozart, Volume 1, translated by Pauline Townsend. London: Novello, Ewer & Company, 1882, p. 28.
33. Ibid. p.35.
34. Ibid.
35. Abert, Hermann. W.A. Mozart, translated by Stewart Spencer. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007, p. 36.
Chapter 2: The Maid of Lorraine
1. Thomas, pp. 32, 34, 37.
2. Vidal, Elena Maria. “St. John the Baptist and the Durieux Sisters.” Tea at Trianon, January 7, 2016.
3. Bicknell, p. 6.
4. Yonge, pp. 28-29.
5. Macleod, Margaret Anne. There were Three of Us in the Relationship: The Secret Letters of Marie Antoinette, Vol I. Irvine, Scotland: Isaac MacDonald, 2008, pp.10-11. Letter of Maria Theresa to Marie-Antoinette, April 21, 1770.
6. Bernier, Olivier, editor. Secrets of Marie Antoinette: A Collection of Letters. New York: Fromm International, 1986, pp. 31-32.
7. Delorme, p.37
8. Weber, Caroline. Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the French Revolution. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2006, p. 30.
9. Oberkirch, Henriette Louise. Memoirs of the baroness d'Oberkirch, countess de Montbrison, ed. by her grandson, the count de Montbrison, 2 Volumes. London: Colburn and Company, 1852, I, pp. 41-43.
10. Mossiker, Frances. The Queen’s Necklace. London: Phoenix, 1961, p.30.
11. Bertière, Simone. Marie-Antoinette l'insoumise. Paris: Editions de Fallois, 2002, p. 35.
12. Ibid. p. 33.
13. Matheson, Lister M. Icons of the Middle Ages: Rulers, Writers, Rebels, and Saints, Volume 2. Oxford: Greenwood, 2011, p. 424.
14. C. Weber, p. 77.
15. Ibid. p. 93.
16. Faÿ, Bernard. Louis XVI ou la fin d'un monde. Paris: La Table Ronde, 1981, p. 33.
17. Shriner, Charles Anthony. Wit, Wisdom and Foibles of the Great: Together with Numerous Anecdotes. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1920, p. 165.
18. The American Catholic Quarterly Review, Vol. 32, Jan- Oct, Philadelphia, 1907, p. 342.
19. Fraser, Antonia. Marie-Antoinette: The Journey. New York: Anchor Books, 2002, p. 69.
20. Petitfils, Jean-Christian. Louis XVI. Paris: Perrin, 2005, p. 60.
21. Younghusband, p. 198.
22. Rocheterie, II, pp. 23-24.
23. Campan, pp. 42-43.
24. Fraser, p. 70.
25. Yonge, p. 38.
26. Goodman, Dena, ed. Marie-Antoinette: Writings on the Body of a Queen. New York: Routledge, 2003, pp. 173-198.
27. Campan, pp. 41-42.
28. Ibid, p. 140.
Chapter 3: The House of Bourbon
1. Lever, ed., p.133. Letter from Marie-Antoinette to Maria Theresa on Feb. 15, 1773.
2. The Court and Lady’s Magazine, Vol. IV. “Memoir of Isabella, Queen of Spain, Consort of Philip the Fourth.” London: Dobbs and Company, 1839, p. 364.
3. Cronin, pp. 30-31.
4. Delpierre, Madeleine. Dress in France in the Eighteenth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997, p. 72.
5. Lever, Madame de Pompadour, p. 160.
6. Schmidt, Louise Boisen. “The King’s Birdcage.” This Is Versailles, May 7, 2013.
7. Stryienski, Casimir. The Daughters of Louis XV, translated by Cranstoun Metcalfe. New York: Brentano’s, 1912, p. 7.
8. Cronin, p. 31.
9. The American Catholic Quarterly Review, p. 342.
10. Vidal, Elena Maria. “Marie-Josèphe de Saxe.” Tea at Trianon, January 14, 2016.
11. Delors, Catherine. “Madame Elisabeth, Duchess of Parma, daughter of Louis XV.” Versailles and More, November 13, 2008.
12. Campan, p. 22.
13. Cronin, p. 42.
14. Brière, Léon de la. Madame Louise of France, translated by Meta and Mary Brown. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., Limited, 1907, p. 4.
15. Campan, p. 21.
16. Ibid, p. 27.
17. Ibid, p. 22.
18. Delors, Catherine. “Madame Sophie, daughter of Louis XV.” Versailles and More, February 4, 2009.
19. Ibid. “‘La Petite Reine’ is not Marie-Antoinette” Versailles and More. October 5, 2008.
20. Brière, p. 4.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid, p. 5.
23. Ibid.
24. Campan, p. 24.
25. Brière, p. 10.
26. Ibid, p. 185.
27. Ibid, pp. 25-26.
28. Ibid, p. 125.
29. Ibid, p. 196.
30. Cronin, p. 31.
31. Seward, Desmond. Marie Antoinette. New York: St Martin's Press, 1981, p. 127.
32. Cronin, p. 48. Delorme, p. 52.
33. Rudy, Lisa Jo. “What Are the Diagnostic Criteria for Asperger Syndrome?” About.com, March 19, 2015.
34. Petitfils, p. 74.
35. Morris, Gouveneur. A Diary of the French Revolution, edited by Beatrix Cary Davenport. Amazon Digital Services LLC: Morris Press, 2013, pp. 3658-3659. Entry of July 14, 1791.
36. Younghusband, pp. 478-479.
37. Petitfils, p. 241.
38. Younghusband, p.200.
39. Campan, p. 91.
40. Petitfils, p. 241.
41. Younghusband, p. 200-201.
42. Cronin, p. 36.
43. Petitfils, p. 30.
44. Ibid, p. 73.
45. Younghusband, p. 479.
46. Cronin, p.38.
47. Wormeley, Katherine Prescott. The Ruin of a Princess. New York: The Lamb Publishing Company, 1912, p. 4.
Chapter 4: Scandal
1. Fraser, p. 94.
2. Ibid, p. 67.
3. Younghusband, p. 439.
4. Bernier, ed., p. 79.
5. Ibid, p. 77.
6. Delorme, p.83.
7. Bertière, Simone. Marie-Antoinette l'insoumise. Paris: Editions de Fallois, 2002, p. 219.
8. Rocheterie, Vol.1, p. 75.
9. Younghusband, p. 568.
10. C. Weber, p. 99.
11. Weber (French version), p. 27.
Chapter 5: The Temple of Love
1. Fraser, p. 157.
2. Cronin, p. 51.
3. Delorme, p. 93.
4. Cronin, p. 191.
5. Ibid, p. 51.
6. Ibid, p. 52.
7. Ibid.
8. Younghusband, p. 136.
9. Cronin, p. 52.
10. Lever, ed., p.115. Letter from Marie-Antoinette to Maria Theresa, July 17, 1772.
11. C. Weber, p. 86.
12. Delorme, p. 71.
13. Lever, ed., p. 142. Letter from Marie-Antoinette to Maria Theresa, April 18, 1773.
14. Ibid, p. 47. Letter from Comte de Mercy to Maria Theresa, June
15, 1770.
15. Ibid, p. 139. Letter from Marie-Antoinette to Maria Theresa, March 15, 1773.
16. Ibid, p. 394. Letter from Marie-Antoinette to Maria Theresa, September 19, 1780.
17. Marie-Antoinette, Reine de France. Lettres de Marie-Antoinette: recueil des lettres authentiques de la reine, Tome I et 2. Paris: Alphonse Picard et Fils, 1895, I, p. 8. Letter from Marie-Antoinette to Maria Theresa, July 12, 1770.
18. Cronin, p. 191.
19. Webster, 1937, pp.116-117.
20. Bertière, p. 357.
21. Petitfils, p. 264- 265.
22. Webster, 1937, p. 113.
23. Petitfils, p. 74.
24. Lever, ed., p. 150. Letter from Marie-Antoinette to Maria Theresa, August 13, 1773.
25. Cronin, p. 65. Petitfils, p. 74.
26. Petitfils, p. 81.