Knowra Madame du Barry Madame du Barry Jeanne Bécu, Countess du Barry, was the last official mistress of King Louis XV. Her rise at court and execution during the French Revolution made her a figure of the ancien régime.
Louis XV : King of France from 1715 to 1774, whose reign ended shortly before the French Revolution. As du Barry’s royal lover, he gave her a place at court and made her politically conspicuous.
Vaucouleurs : A town in northeastern France, historically associated with Joan of Arc’s early life. Du Barry was born there in 1743.
French Revolution : A period of political and social upheaval in France from 1789 to 1799 that ended the monarchy and transformed the state. The Revolution abolished the courtly world that had sustained du Barry and eventually condemned her.
Ancien Régime : The social and political order of France before the Revolution of 1789. Du Barry’s ascent and fall became a vivid story about the old regime’s court culture.
Marie Antoinette : Queen of France from 1774 until the monarchy fell in 1792, executed during the French Revolution. Her hostility toward du Barry exposed divisions between royal women and court factions.
Parisian demi-monde : A social world of entertainers, courtesans, and wealthy patrons in nineteenth-century Paris. Before reaching Versailles, du Barry moved through Parisian circles of luxury and patronage.
Reign of Terror : A period of state repression and mass executions in revolutionary France, chiefly from 1793 to 1794. Du Barry was arrested and executed during this phase of revolutionary rule.
Royal mistress : A woman who maintained an acknowledged intimate relationship with a monarch outside marriage, sometimes wielding court influence. Du Barry’s position belonged to a recognized, politically charged role at the French court.
Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis : French nobleman and military officer known as the Duke of Richelieu, who served Louis XV. Richelieu helped bring du Barry into the king’s circle.
Jean-Baptiste du Barry : A French nobleman who arranged his brother’s marriage to Jeanne Bécu and helped place her at court. His plan gave Jeanne the aristocratic identity required for presentation to the king.
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