HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: Home of Britain’s bestselling history magazine and award-winning podcast
date: 2024-08-20T11:50:51.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: The mystery of the ‘real’ Milady de Winter of The Three Musketeers
items: The Affair of the Poisons: who plotted to kill King Louis XIV?
items: The real three musketeers: the historical Athos, Porthos and Aramis (and d’Artagnan) revealed
items: Unmasking the 'man in the iron mask': do we know the identity of the famous prisoner?
items: Vaux-le-Vicomte: the inspiration for Louis XIV’s Versailles
items: Catherine Howard: The death of innocence

The mystery of the ‘real’ Milady de Winter of The Three Musketeers
type: item
date: 2023-12-19T12:37:49.000Z
creator: Josephine Wilkinson
subject: Period
subject: Stuart
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: A spy and agent of Cardinal Richelieu, the enigmatic Milady de Winter is a constant shadow working against D’Artagnan and the three musketeers in Alexandre Dumas’ famous fiction. But could she – and the affair of Queen Anne’s diamonds – be based on a real story? Historian Josephine Wilkinson investigates
encoded: Perhaps the most important character in Alexandre Dumas’s 1844 historical adventure novel The Three Musketeers, after d’Artagnan and the musketeers themselves, is that of Milady de Winter – seductress, lady of intrigue and spirit of vengeance. The shadow of Milady follows the heroes throughout their adventures, which centre around the court of King Louis XIII in early 17th-century France, but there is one episode in the novel in which Milady particularly captures the reader’s imagination: that of the queen’s diamonds. It is known that d’Artagnan and his companions are based, albeit loosely, upon real people, but what of Milady de Winter, and the infamous diamond affair? What is the story of the Queen Anne’s Diamonds? In Dumas’ telling of the story, Anne – the young, beautiful and neglected queen of France to King Louis XIII (r1610–43)– succumbs to the tender attentions of the charming and handsome Duke of Buckingham. She gives him a set of diamond studs as a token of her affection: diamonds that had been presented to her by Louis XIII. Cardinal Richelieu, no friend of the queen, discovers this indiscretion and sees it as a way to humiliate her in the eyes of the king. The cardinal commissions his agent, Milady, to seek out Buckingham in England to remove two of the studs and bring them back to him. Meanwhile, Richelieu persuades Louis to hold a ball, adding that it would provide an opportunity for the queen to show off her new jewels. Louis agrees. The date of the ball is set, and arrangements are made. Anne, knowing that her act of folly will be exposed, confides in her seamstress, Constance. They agree that the diamonds must be returned, and Anne writes a letter to Buckingham asking for them. When Constance's husband refuses to carry the letter, Constance asks her lover d’Artagnan to deliver it, and he sets out, along with Athos, Porthos and Aramis. As Dumas has it, they must retrieve the diamonds and return them to the queen before the ball begins. In the event, …

Faye-Dunaway-as-Milady-de-Winter-416b18d-e1702988578781.jpg
width: 2400
height: 1600

The Affair of the Poisons: who plotted to kill King Louis XIV?
type: item
date: 2023-06-19T09:53:03.000Z
creator: Josephine Wilkinson
subject: General Early Modern
subject: Membership
subject: Period
description: In the 1670s, Louis XIV of France was the target of a series of assassination attempts involving poisons and necromancy. But who was the perpetrator? Josephine Wilkinson untangles a conspiracy that scandalised a nation
encoded: On a cold day in February 1680, a woman in her early forties was driven through the streets of Paris to the Place de Grève. A huge crowd had gathered to witness the spectacle to come. A priest stood to one side, a prayerbook in his hand, his voice silenced by the roar of the crowd. The executioner, his face concealed within a leather mask, ordered the woman to be brought forward. Her drunken state dulled some of her terror as she was tied to the stake, seated and bound with iron. Wood and straw were piled up around her. The fire was lit. After some time, her screams were ceased as her earthly agonies came to an end. The woman’s name was Catherine Deshayes Monvoisin, known as La Voisin. She was arrested, tried and executed during the Affair of the Poisons, among the most sensational crime scandals in French history, one that saw everyone from anonymous peasants to members of the nobility accused of necromancy and murder. Who was La Voisin and who were her clients? By the time of her death, La Voisin had enjoyed a long and successful career as a fortune-teller, sorcerer, poisoner and abortionist. While she catered to a wide clientele, most of her patrons were ladies from the court of King Louis XIV, to whom she would supply love potions, creams to enhance beauty, or the means to free themselves from an unwanted pregnancy. Mistresses consulted her to learn when their lovers would leave their wives – or, if they would not, to find a way to relieve them of their spouses. Others were impatient to rid themselves of a rich father, so they could get their hands on the family fortune. There were many sighs of relief at the news of La Voisin’s demise. But, perhaps, no one was happier than her daughter, Marie Marguerite Monvoisin. The 21-year-old had been arrested in January 1680, several months after her mother. The women had been imprisoned at the Château de Vincennes on the eastern edge of Paris and, although they were held in separate cells, Marie Marguerite feared that her…

GettyImages-520717721web-5e67ae1.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

The real three musketeers: the historical Athos, Porthos and Aramis (and d’Artagnan) revealed
type: item
date: 2022-04-05T10:50:08.000Z
creator: Josephine Wilkinson
subject: Period
subject: Stuart
subject: Historical people
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: The musketeers, made famous by Alexandre Dumas and the many films his stories inspired, are the most well-known of the regiments of ancien regime France. Moreover, the heroes of Dumas’s stories – d’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis – have real historical counterparts too. Historian Dr Josephine Wilkinson separates their lives from legend
encoded: The origins of the musketeers can be traced to 1600, when Henri IV formed the carabins, a unit of light cavalry armed with long guns called arquebuses, who became known for their marksmanship. In 1615, during the regency of Louis XIII, the carabins were disbursed among other light cavalry units, where their skills suited them for reconnaissance missions. But then in 1622, the same Louis, wanting his own special regiment, reformed the unit in readiness for an expedition against the Huguenots. He replaced the arquebuses with muskets, creating the King’s Musketeers. The real musketeers From the beginning, the musketeers were an elite regiment. Almost all recruits were nobility, although military prowess remained the main requirement. They were largely a young regiment, with men joining at the age of 16 or 17. Recruits were predominantly Gascons or, more specifically, Béarnais, who were renowned for their bravery, but also perhaps preferred in honour of Henri IV, who also hailed from that region. Initially, they had their own captain, but Louis XIII was so proud of them that, in 1634, he appointed himself captain and created the post of captain-lieutenant, who managed the day-to-day running of the regiment. The musketeers, who comprised both infantry and cavalry, were skilled in swordsmanship and firearms. How they served varied according to whether France was at peace or at war. During peacetime, they served as escort for the king and staged mock battles as court entertainment. Louis XIV particularly loved to show them off in military reviews. They accompanied the king to the front during wartime, led assaults at sieges, performed dangerous manoeuvres and served as sentries at the king’s door. Read more | King of the world: how Louis XIV turned France into a global power The musketeers were based in Paris near the Louvre, but in 1682 Louis XIV moved his court to the Palace of Versailles. Here, a detachment of musketeers stood ready to fulfil any orders he might have. T…

PCP6MD-2-b2c4ca4.jpg
width: 5503
height: 3657

Unmasking the 'man in the iron mask': do we know the identity of the famous prisoner?
type: item
date: 2021-10-04T07:04:22.000Z
creator: Josephine Wilkinson
subject: General Early Modern
subject: Period
subject: Victorian
subject: Evergreen
subject: Historical people
subject: TV interest
description: A mysterious figure who languished in French prisons and was forbidden from divulging his crime, the man in the iron mask is one of history’s great legends. But who was he? Josephine Wilkinson believes that she has uncovered his identity...
encoded: Listen to this article: “Call me accursed!” The man whose voice was almost drowned out by the storm was dressed entirely in black, “a sort of phantom, his head covered with a black helmet and a black mask, something terrible to behold”. In his 1850 epic book, Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, Alexandre Dumas created a captivating image of the man in the iron mask that would go on to inspire countless films and cement the mysterious figure’s place in popular culture. Dumas was inspired by a legend that had emerged almost two centuries earlier. It told the story of a mysterious prisoner who had been arrested and secretly imprisoned in France. He had spent decades in various dark and damp dungeons, ending up in the Bastille. Closely guarded, he was kept in solitude where no one could overhear what he might have to say, and he was not allowed even to speak his name. Read more | The real Three Musketeers He was guarded by a gaoler who was ordered to kill him if he spoke of anything other than his needs. The gaoler, nevertheless, showed great respect to this prisoner, even standing, hat in hand, in his presence. For, in Dumas’ story, this was not just any prisoner: he was one of the highest-born men in the land. According to the legend (and Dumas’ tale), the prisoner was forced to wear an iron mask over his face to hide his identity, and two musketeers stood ready to kill him if he ever it took off. Why he had been imprisoned was a state secret, and after his death his cell was scrubbed and scraped, its miserable furnishings destroyed in case he had written his name in a hidden place. Twisted family secret Another man who was intrigued by this legend was the French writer Voltaire, who looked into tales of the prisoner and the horrific mask he had apparently been made to wear. He found out that, far from being a story, the man in the iron mask had really existed – he was a prisoner who lived at the time of Louis XIV (reigned 1643–1715), who was known as the Sun King. Voltaire spe…

AKG242202-15b423e.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Vaux-le-Vicomte: the inspiration for Louis XIV’s Versailles
type: item
date: 2017-08-17T12:38:31.000Z
creator: Josephine Wilkinson
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Stuart
description: Author and historian Josephine Wilkinson introduces Vaux-le-Vicomte, the sumptuous château which provided the inspiration for the Sun King's grand Versailles dream…
encoded: It was six o’clock in the evening of Wednesday 17 August 1661 and the royal carriage was trundling along a shady avenue of trees. Turning sharply to the right, its occupants were suddenly confronted with one of the masterpieces of 17th-century France: the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. The journey to the grand house 50 kilometers southeast of Paris had been a long one. King Louis XIV, accompanied by his court, had set out from Fontainebleau at three in the afternoon, their cortège throwing up clouds of dust as it clattered its way along the dry roads. It had been a perfect summer’s day and the king stepped out of his coach under a clear blue sky. Standing on the steps of the château awaiting their sovereign, was Nicolas Fouquet, his wife and their friends. Fouquet had purchased the château in 1641, when he was still a young master of requests in the service of Louis XIII. The estate comprised a medieval manor house, a village, two hamlets, a church dedicated to St Laurence, and a few scattered mills. Attached to the moated mansion was a modest park, a vegetable garden and, further off, a small vineyard. Its new owner largely neglected his acquisition for several years, dedicating his time instead to forging what he hoped would be an illustrious career. Nicolas Fouquet, superintendent of finances in France and the owner of Vaux-le-Vicomte. (Photo by Kean Collection/Getty Images) Then, in 1656, the now widowed Fouquet married for the second time. His new wife was the sole heiress of a very wealthy family. Her inheritance, when added to Fouquet’s personal wealth – largely inherited from his father and substantially increased following his appointment as attorney general and superintendent of finances – made him a very rich man indeed. Fouquet decided to renovate his country estate and, over the next five years, he would transform the dilapidated mansion into a fairy-tale château. A symbol of power and influence Vaux-le-Vicomte was intended to reflect the grandeur of Nicol…

VAUXVICOMTEmain-9f5d872.jpg
width: 801
height: 530

Catherine Howard: The death of innocence
type: item
date: 2016-04-09T12:49:31.000Z
creator: Josephine Wilkinson
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Tudor
subject: Henry VIII's wives
description: When Henry VIII's fifth wife, Catherine Howard, went to the block at a pitifully young age, she did so not because of her own crimes, argues Josephine Wilkinson, but the failings of older men
encoded: On the evening of Sunday 12 February 1542, Catherine Howard, queen of England, was told to prepare her soul, for she was to be put to death the following morning. She asked for the block to be brought to her room, saying that “she wanted to know how she was to place her head on it”. Then, having “tried and placed her head on it by way of experiment”, she made her confession. There was nothing to do now except wait as the last hours of her life passed away. It was still dark when Catherine arose the following morning. Her ladies helped her to dress in a black velvet gown, a French hood, gloves and a furred mantle – it was almost as though this were just any other day. Then the constable of the Tower of London came and escorted her across the short distance from the queen’s lodgings to the scaffold. Catherine addressed the crowd who had come to watch her die. She did not protest her innocence, but accepted the verdict of the law. When her ladies had removed her mantle and hood, she knelt in the straw and placed herself on the block that was now so familiar to her. The headsman struck off her head with a single stroke of the axe. Catherine Howard, the fifth wife and queen of Henry VIII, was dead. She was possibly as young as 17. Catherine was the youngest of Henry’s wives and her reign had been one of the shortest. That she had become queen at all was remarkable. The daughter of a younger brother of the 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Catherine had few prospects. The best she could hope for was a good marriage with a minor nobleman and a life of domesticity – and she was placed into the household of her step-grandmother, Agnes, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk to be educated with this end in view. Yet this new position was to prove a poisoned chalice, for, while living with the duchess, Catherine was sexually exploited by two men of the household. The first, Henry Mannock, was her music teacher; the second was the duchess’s gentleman usher, Francis Dereham. Both men took advantage of t…

https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2016/04/GettyImages-600078335-624ffd5-98f183e-e1642100489500.jpg
width: 388
height: 296