Marianna Denhoff (1685–1730), also Maria Magdalena, Gräfin von Dönhoff, née Bielińska, was a German-Polish aristocrat. She was the daughter of Kazimierz Ludwik Bieliński, a noble, politician, and diplomat and Ludwika Maria Morsztyn, daughter of Jan Andrzej Morsztyn.[2]
Maîtresse-en-titre
editMarianna Denhoff was the official royal mistress, the so-called Maîtresse-en-titre, of King Augustus II the Strong. She replaced Anna Constantia von Brockdorff in 1713 and was succeeded by Erdmuta Zofia von Dieskau in 1719.[3]
Political activist
editMarianna Denhoff was politically active and cooperated with Jean Victor, Baron de Besenval, the French ambassador in Poland, to persuade the king in favour of a Pro-French policy. Finally, in 1714, she succeeded to convince King Augustus II the Strong to ally with the King of France, Louis XIV. A diplomatic success that was certainly noticed in France and also paid off for the French ambassador.[4]
Family
editMarianna Denhoff's first marriage was to Bogislaus Ernestus, Graf von Dönhoff († 24 March 1734), a member of the eastern Prussian line of the Dönhoff family, also known as Denhoff. However, she obtained papal permission from Clement XI to divorce. She remarried to Jerzy Ignacy Lubomirski in 1725. Marianna Denhoff died from a postpartum infection on 20 April 1730.[5]
Ambassador Jean Victor, Baron de Besenval, married Marianna Denhoff's sister Katarzyna Bielińska (1684–1761) on 18 September 1716. A marriage, that was warmly welcomed by Philippe II de Bourbon, Duc d'Orléans, Régent de France (1715–1723). Thus, their son Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, a Swiss military officer in French service, was the nephew of Marianna Denhoff.[2]
Pierre Victor de Besenval's residence in Paris was the Hôtel de Besenval. The residence has housed the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation since 1938.[6]
References
edit- ^ Ekhart Berckenhagen (u. a.): Antoine Pesne, Maria Magdalen, Gräfin von Dönhoff, Berlin, 1958, S. 113 f., WVZ-Nr. 73
- ^ a b Gabrielle Claerr Stamm: De Soleure à Paris : La saga de la famille de Besenval, seigneurs de Brunstatt, Riedisheim et Didenheim, Marriage de Jean Victor de Besenval et Katarzyna Bielińska et informations sur Kazimierz Ludwik Bieliński, Société d'Histoire du Sundgau, 2015, p. 98
- ^ "Antoine Pesne - Gräfin Maria Magdalena von Dönhoff". neumeister.com (in German). Retrieved 2023-11-03.
- ^ Bożena Popiołek: Kobiecy świat w czasach Augusta II. Studia nad mentalnością kobiet z kręgów szlacheckich. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Akademii Pedagogicznej, 2003, S. 122–123. ISBN 83-7271-188-7
- ^ Genealogisch-historische Nachrichten von den allerneusten Begebenheiten, welche sich an den europäischen Höfen zutragen, Bogislaus Ernestus, Graf von Dönhoff. Der 97. Theil, des Verlegers Johann Samuel Heinsius, Leipzig, 1746, S. 796 (Ergänzungen).
- ^ Jean-Jacques Fiechter / Benno Schubiger: L'Ambassade de Suisse à Paris, Ambassade de Suisse, 2ème édition, août 1994, p. 11
Further reading
edit- Historia Dyplomacji Polskiej, tom II 1572-1795 pod red. Zbigniewa Wójcika, PWN Warszawa 1982, s. 433-434.
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