At a time of extreme censorship like the one we’re living in today, the idea of someone going about life with their breasts exposed would be considered inappropriate and vulgar. Now, think about what it would be like to be a Medieval aristocrat wandering around in court with one or both of her boobs out? It doesn’t quite add up, right? Well, apparently, for Agnes Sorel, showing the world her boobs wasn’t only a matter of rebelliousness, but a symbolic way to seize power (and not precisely for the reasons you might think).
One of the few images we have of Sorel is a fifteenth-century painting made by Jean Fouquet called “Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels.” It caused such an impact that she became the model for a painting of Virgin Mary breastfeeding Jesus (naturally, the Church wasn’t very happy about this). Also known as the Virgo Lactans or the Nursing Virgin archetype in Medieval art, it shows Jesus’s most human side: he’s just a regular baby being nursed by his mother. Similarly, the mother is, in Catholic tradition, both mortal and divine given that she is the mother of God and also a woman who nurtures her child.
The idea that the Mistress of the King, a woman who was openly known for doing sex work, was chosen to depict the mother of God himself, wasn’t only controversial, but actually, a quite powerful image to give the people: she was the mother of France. So who was this woman and did she really use her breasts to wield power?
Portrait of Agnès Sorel, favorite of King Charles VII of France (Portrait inspired by the Virgin in the Melun Diptych) – Unknown artist.
Born in 1422, Agnes Sorel climbed the social ladder at quite a young age when she became lady-in-waiting to Isabella Duchess of Lorraine consort of Rene I of Naples, King Charles VII’s brother-in-law. Later on, she became lady-in-waiting for Marie d’Anjou, Charles’ wife and Queen of France. Agnes and Charles met in 1444, and the King fell for her immediately, to the point that he showered her with all sorts of luxury, from fancy gowns and jewelry, to her own castle, Château de Loches, the place where, years before, Joan of Arc had convinced him to take the throne (in the Treaty of Troyes signed by his father, Charles VI, where he agreed that his successor would be Henry VI of England).
Soon Agnes became Charles’ most trusted advisor in the war against England (Hundred Years’ War), mainly helping him gather money to keep funding the war. Her witty and persuasive ways proved to be quite efficient when it came to convincing the nobility to fund Charles’ war projects, with Jacques Coeur, an important merchant with whom the crown made profitable business, as one of their main benefactors.
Charles and Agnes were the ultimate power couple. Their chemistry was so strong and Agnes’ advice so great, that he decided to give her a title proper of her status. Thus, the “maîtresse-en-titre” position that would become so influential in the history of France until the Revolution was formally created.
Portrait of Agnès Sorel – Unknown artist.
As the official mistress to the King, Agnes held immense power, almost as much as the King’s wife, Queen Marie of Anjou, who served as regent whenever the King was absent. Of course, such power eventually earned her a number of detractors who saw her as a gold digger who controlled the king to her benefit.
Her mysterious death in 1450 was seen as quite suspicious. She was pregnant with her fourth child when she decided to join Charles on his campaign at Jumièges. Though it was winter and she was at an advanced stage of her pregnancy, she felt her support was necessary to keep a strong image. On her way, she started feeling ill, which induced an early labor that ended up killing her and her baby on February 9.
The official death cause was said to be dysentery. However, there were rumors that she had been murdered. Charles’ first son, Louis (later on Louis XI), was in a dispute with his father over the throne, and thus the main suspect on the alleged murder of Agnes Sorel. Just recently, after centuries of suspicions, a formal autopsy was performed on Agnes’ body, which led to the discovery of really high levels of mercury in her hair, supporting the theory that she had ingested a considerable amount of it. Charles mourned Agnes’ death terribly since she had truly been the love of his life. However, this didn’t stop him from having another mistress take the newly made official title of Maîtresse-en-titre.
Now, as for breasts, other than the painting, there’s very little information to confirm if she actually had all her gowns tailored in that fashion. One of the primary sources of the time is that of Jean Juvénal des Ursins, the archbishop of Reims. He was one of Agnes many detractors, and he even protested and suggested that there should be more strict rules for the clothing used at court; he saw flaws, including certain cutouts in gowns through which the entire breast could be seen. In his own words, these outfits, that apparently became really trendy at court, had “front openings through which one sees the teats, nipples, and breasts of women.”
Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels – Jean Fouquet (Detail from the Melun Diptychon)Of course, this doesn’t prove anything. And though there are countless articles talking about the rebellious side of Agnes’ fashion, most of these revisit her life through more modern lenses. In her article “Unsexy History: Writing with Respect” Medieval historian Rachel E. Moss, claims that though there are some primary sources that do speak of a tendency to expose her breasts at court, there’s no evidence to suggest that Sorel had one breast exposed all the time, nor that this was her thing to seize power, though she did enjoy great political and artistic influence.
Either way, this definitely adds to her mythical life, and even if this weren’t true, we can’t deny she was a really smart woman who studied a lot to understand how the political world of her time worked. She dominated politics so well that she even became one of the most powerful women of her time, securing good deals to her King and country. Boobs out or not, she managed to seize power with her brain and wits.
Read more:
The King That Loved His Mistress So Much That He Made Her Queen After She’d Died
The Story Of The Misunderstood Queen That Searched For Love In All The Wrong Places
This Spanish Queen Loved Her Husband So Much She Went Mad