Melunsky Diptych Jean Fouquet wrote in the middle of the 15th century, but many are ready to believe that this contemporary work when they see the right side with the Mother of God.
Jean Fouquet - Melun Diptych, 1450-1452
The frozen forms, the somewhat unnatural posture of the baby and the unusual skin tone of the characters and, of course, the bare chest immediately knock us out of our usual memories of the image of the Madonna with Christ. And the red and blue angels around create a stunning contrast to the luxurious skin tone of mother and baby, reinforcing the sense of conventionality and originality of the image. It's like this fiction in the 15th century?
Lively, rich and very unusual shades reflect the coat of arms of the French king: red, blue and white.
By the way, back in 1919, the famous researcher Johan Huizinga called this work decadence late medieval . He considered that such permissiveness in the image testifies to the decline of morals and spirituality at that time.
Many researchers agree that the features of the adored mistress of Charles VII, Agnes Sorel, are visible in the face of the Mother of God. I will talk about it in detail a little later, but for now I will answer a popular question:
“Bare chest! How so?”
There is a strong belief in society that the further we delve into history, the more chaste the ladies dressed. Renaissance fashion is a partial refutation of this.
Agnes Sorel in the 15th century introduced the fashion for a deep neckline of a dress, slightlyholding the chest. Later She appears in public in a more interesting dress - one breast is chastely closed, and the other is completely bare. Following fashion trends, Lucrezia Borgia sets the trend for a “wandering neckline”- so free that when moving, it exposes one breast, then the other. And the Queen of France, Catherine de Medici, went even further and introduced the fashion for 2 rounded cutouts on the dress and a completely bare chest.
High and snow-white breasts were most valued. She was even poetically called “sugarloaf delight” . Ladies, not gifted with forms, resorted to lifting corsets and bodices. And cosmetics appear on the dressing tables not only for the face, but also for the chest - skin powder and lipstick for the nipples.
In the 16th century, the fashion for bare breasts acquires not only an aesthetic, but also a practical aspect. Young girls of marriageable age demonstrate their charms, and modesty and unwillingness to bare their breasts cause ridicule “If you are ashamed, then there is nothing to brag about”. Touching and kissing a woman's breasts is also considered quite decent.
At first, the image of a completely naked breast was only approved in an ancient or religious context. Therefore, in the Renaissance portraits in the images of Diana, Venus or Madonna, contemporaries recognized the first fashionistas, wives and mistresses of eminent persons. On the portrait Madame Sorel as Madonna the fashion trend for one open chest is just displayed. Only Madonna's dress was made according to the latest French fashion of that time, and the associations are by no means religious.
Exposing the ankles was considered indecent.
Simon Verelst - Nell Gwyn 
Bartolomeo Veneto - Flora
The fashion for bare breasts lasted until the 18th century, though in more restrained incarnations. There is an opinion-bike that they even made mold for a glass. But it is refuted by experts who say that such a glass was invented a century earlier in England :)
Agnes Sorel, Lady of Beauty
And now - the amazing story of Agnes Sorel. She became the first officially recognized mistress of the monarch. The main beauty of the 15th century, who influenced the fate of not one man, but the whole of France.
Agnes Sorel and Charles VII
There is an opinion that King Charles VII and Agnes were introduced, oddly enough, by his mother-in-law. She often brought pretty ladies-in-waiting to the court in order to have influence on high ranks and treasurers through them. Through her daughter, Mary of Anjou, the noble lady had no influence on the king.
Charles VII on the very first day of their acquaintance was captivated by the beauty of Agnes Sorel. Soon, the court was already in full swing discussing the new mistress of the king, only Mary of Anjou, it seemed, did not know anything.
Doubts about her husband's fidelity appeared when she saw Agnes in the halls of the palace, walking with one bare breast. The highly moral Mary was hurt and offended by the similar behavior of the court lady.
Maria of Anjou
Her fears were confirmed when Madame Sorel became pregnant. On the day of the birth, Charles VII could not find a place for himself and was terribly worried about his beloved. Mary of Anjou retired to her chambers and sobbed for several days. Then she calmed down and decided to make friends with her husband's mistress.
After a while, the queen already generously endowed Agnes Sorel with jewelry and furs, they went hunting together, trusted each other with the most secret secrets and even discussed state affairs. Charles VII, I believe, was delighted :).
Several years passed, the king still could not live an hour without his favorite. He gave her jewelry, clothes and locks. And finally awarded the titleDame de Beauté - Lady of Beauty
, which was forever assigned to Agnes Sorel. In return, Madame Sorel thanked the king with three daughters, whom he, despite the protests of relatives, gave tribal titles.
As for innovation, Agnes did not limit herself to fashion for daring outfits. She made it possible to wear diamonds by all the women who can afford it.
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The fact is that before the advent of the Lady of Beauty, only men from the royal family were allowed to wear diamonds.
In addition, Agnes first introduced the fashion for long train dress. The Church immediately branded him"devil's tail"
and forbade ladies of noble birth to wear. This did not bother Madame Sorel at all, and the train of her dress sometimes reached five meters.
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She was called a reckless woman of easy virtue, and the court ladies-in-waiting refused to be in the same company with such a dissolute lady.
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Meanwhile, Agnes Sorel bought up the most expensive fabrics and furs, ordered dresses so tightly fitting the figure and so boldly opening the chest that the aristocrats could not contain their indignation. But, unable to fight the interested views of their husbands towards the charms of Madame Sorel, the ladies were forced to update their wardrobe following the example of the royal favorite. So Agnes Sorel won the battle with the church and propriety.
Agnes Sorel and Charles VII
Approximate Charles VII in vain told him about the huge cost of fabrics and jewelry. The king was more concerned with the mood of his beloved than with state problems:
“If the Beautiful Lady has dresses embroidered with gold, she will be in a good mood. If she is in a good mood, I will also be in a good mood. If I am in a good mood, the whole of France will be in a good mood. Therefore, France has a direct need for beautiful dresses!
The lifestyle of the queen and the boundless adoration of the king, however, did not make Agnes Sorel happy. Knowing that she was blamed for the poverty of the country and for the endless war with England, she began to spend fabulous funds on donations to the poor and gifts to monasteries. But in vain - the people saw in her only the embodiment of greed and the reason why the king forgot about his country.
Diseases, huge taxes and a hundred years of war with England - the people blamed Agnes Sorel for all this. Meanwhile, England captured the northern part of the country, including Paris, and the people were dissatisfied with the cowardice and inaction of the king. Agnes herself was dissatisfied feeling responsible for the fate of France.
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For a short time, luck came in the form of the Virgin of Orleans - Joan of Arc - a truce was concluded, but most of the possessions of Charles VII remained in the hands of the British.
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Then Agnes Sorel showed the greatest trick(or wisdom?) and told Charles VII that, allegedly, according to the prediction of astronomers the bravest and wisest ruler in the world will love her. And since luck is on the side of England, she is forced to leave the court and go as a trophy to the English king. Such a statement seriously angered and upset Charles VII.
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Within a few months, the king returned to France all the lands occupied by the British and put an end to the Hundred Years' War. So weak-willed ruler, whom his mother christened in childhood"gosling", went down in history asCarl Winner.
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But Agnes Sorel did not see the triumph of her lover. She, being in her seventh month of pregnancy, came to Charles VII at the front line to report on a conspiracy being prepared against him. But childbirth had already begun, and she was in such a bad condition that the king took it for the delirium of a dying woman. And there really was a conspiracy, but they were afraid to bring it to life after the brave act of the royal mistress.
Madame Sorel gave Charles VII a fourth daughter and soon died at the age of 25.
In 2004, scientists from France examined the remains of Agnes Sorel and found in her hair high mercury content. According to one version, she was poisoned by Louis XI - the son of Charles VII - during his lifetime he did not love his father's favorite and did not understand why his mother should put up with such a situation. But no evidence of this was found. In addition, mercury at that time was contained in cosmetics, which court ladies enjoyed using, and in preparations to facilitate childbirth.
Tomb of Agnes Sorel
How do you like the story? What is your relationship with Madame Sorel?
Well, I can’t help but return to painting despite the fascinating stories :)
Love stories. Renaissance
Agnes Sorel and Charles VII
When exactly was Agnes Sorel born, outstanding woman of his era is unknown. Some call the year of her birth 1409, others argue that she was born much later, in 1422. Her father, an entourage of the noble Count of Clermont, tried to make his daughter become a maid of honor at the court, first of the Duchess Isabella of Lorraine, and then of Queen Mary of Anjou herself, wife of King Charles VII of France. Agnes was in her early twenties. Her beauty was legendary. Even the Pope confessed many years later: “She had the most beautiful face that can only be seen in this world.”
Agnes Sorel. Portrait by an unknown artist
Many noble persons, high-ranking officials fell in love with the girl, and even the king himself was no exception. Before meeting with Agnes, the king had favorites. It was noted that Maria of Anjou knew about the passionate and temperamental nature of her husband. Her husband was reputed to be a windy, immoral, cowardly and cruel person, but he was quite well-read, educated and insightful.
Jean Fouquet. Portrait of Charles VII. Around 1444 Paris, Louvre
Seeing once the fair-haired, blue-eyed Agnes, Karl was struck by her charm, that same evening he took the maid of honor to his bedroom and confessed his feelings to her. Not expecting such frankness, the embarrassed girl ran out of the royal chambers. But a few days later she returned, and a month later Agnes became the favorite of Charles VII.
Everyone knew about it, and only the Queen, it seemed, did not even know about her husband's love affair with the charming Agnes. Until one day, in the halls of the royal palace, Maria of Anjou saw her rival walking bare-chested. The immodest behavior of the court lady outraged the well-behaved queen.
Agnes Sorel. Portrait by Jean Fouquet
But no matter how Mary watched the king, Charles did not give the slightest reason for jealousy. The queen's guesses were confirmed only when Agnes became pregnant, and on the day of the birth, the king was so worried that there could be no more doubts - adultery was evident.
Mary of Anjou - wife of Charles VII
The angry and offended queen spent several days in tears, and then decided to calm down and ... become the girlfriend of the mistress of the reigning husband. The queen became so close to her rival that she soon trusted her most innermost secrets, gave Agnes jewelry and outfits. Women began to walk together, go hunting, and discuss affairs in the country.
Madame Sorel gave birth to four daughters to the king, to whom her lover, despite the persuasion of those close to her, gave the tribal titles of Valois. And Agnes, even after giving birth, continued to captivate Karl with elegance and endless imagination.
It was Agnes Sorel who made it possible to wear diamonds not only by male royalty, but also by all women who could only purchase gemstone jewelry. Agnes first brought into fashion long trains, which the church called the "devil's tail" and forbade noble ladies to wear them. And the neckline, very frivolously exposing the female breast, completely aroused the indignation of others. The brave favorite was called a reckless woman and a lady of easy virtue, the court maids of honor hissed with envy, and married ladies, noticing the curious glances of their spouses towards Madame Sorel, demanded to restore order, refusing to be present in the company of the immodest and depraved royal favorite.
But Karl did not seem to notice the antics of his mistress. He awarded her the titles of ladies of Bote-sur-Marne, Vernon, Rukesezier. And one title went down in history and became inextricably linked with Agnes - the title of Madame Bothe (Ladies of Beauty). In 1448, when Agnes already had three children, Charles decided to present his adored mistress with a castle near Paris.
Agnes Sorel. The title of Madame Bote (Lady of Beauty). Artist Jean Fouquet. Virgin with Child. Fold of a diptych from Melun. 1450, Antwerp, Museum of Fine Arts
Beloved by the king, showered with his generous gifts, Agnes did not feel completely happy. The poverty of ordinary Frenchmen, the ongoing Hundred Years War, the inaction of the king - all this caused discontent among the people. But for some reason, the royal favorite was considered guilty of everything. And Madame Sorel decided to act. The king, in love with her, was ready for anything for the sake of her favor and love. It was then, in 1429, that the name of the brave girl Joan of Arc, who was introduced to the king by Madame Sorel, became known.
Once, when the king was in Normandy, Madame Sorel came to him. Her condition was horrendous: Agnes went into labor. Before that, she told the king about the conspiracy being prepared against him, but Karl considered her words to be the delirium of an excited woman in labor. Whether this plot took place or not, it is now impossible to say. However, those close to him believed that even if the conspirators wanted to kill the king, they were frightened when they learned that the brave favorite brought this message to Karl.
A few days later, when Madame Sorel returned to Paris, she became ill. She died on February 9, 1450, and before her death, she regretted only one thing, that in the last minutes she could not see her beloved man. The king was not shown the deceased. Her face was disfigured by death throes.
Karl could not come to his senses for a long time: he was sure that the lady of his heart had been poisoned. At first, suspicion fell on the Minister of Finance, over whom a speedy trial took place. Due to insufficient evidence, the charge of murdering the royal maid of honor was removed from him, and he was imprisoned for embezzlement of the treasury. Then the king became suspicious of his own son. Louis really did not like his father's favorite, and he did not have the best relationship with Karl. However, as the courtiers said, he could hardly take such a step. One way or another, the cause of death of the royal lover remained unclear. The king gradually calmed down and ... preferred to forget about the deceased mistress.
The Hundred Years' War ended in 1453. The reforms that Sorel so dreamed of were also completed. Everyone understood that they owed this to the beautiful Madame Botha, the blond Agnes, the woman who changed the kingdom and inspired the king to bold decisions.
But Charles VII was already having fun with another lady: Agnes's cousin Antoinette became the favorite. She did not have such influence on Karl as her cousin, but she turned out to be an excellent lover and organizer of entertainment, parties, balls.
Having fallen in love with Antoinette and not wanting to part with her even for a minute, the king married her to his friend and settled the spouses in the palace. Andre de Villequier knew about the intimate relationship between his wife and the king, but chose not to pay attention to his wife's infidelities.
Carl spent all his time with his favorite. Soon, Antoinette alone was no longer enough for him, and the shrewd mistress gathered around her adored friend several dozen of the most beautiful girls in Paris. The monarch indulged in love pleasures, and a rumor spread throughout France that Charles VII had gone mad and indulged in terrible debauchery. The courtiers were indignant and indignant, and the king traveled around the country and gathered new mistresses into his "harem". The queen looked with bitterness at her husband's debauchery.
The bad example of the sovereign seduced his subjects. High-ranking officials, noble husbands, even confessors also fell into debauchery and considered it an honor to have at least a couple of concubines with them. Paris collapsed into a pool of passion and lust.
The love exploits of the king, his wild life led to the fact that Charles VII came down with a serious illness. In the last months of his life, remembering the terrible death of Agnes, he refused food for fear of being poisoned. In the summer of 1461, the king died of exhaustion.
After the death of his father, his son Louis XI, the great unifier of France, ascended the throne. On the contrary, he was afraid of women, which is why he treated them with gross contempt. Deep in his heart, the king was afraid of female charms and never allowed women to control him, as Agnes Sorel, the beautiful and charming Madame Bothet, did with his father.
Anna Sardaryan
Dauphin Charles VIII (future Charles VII)
"The Coronation of Charles VII at Reims". Sh. Lenepve. 1889
Portrait Charles VII. 1403
Beautiful Agnes. A copy of the portrait of Agnes Sorel from a drawing by Jean Fouquet (1449?). 1525, Paris, National Library
Agnes Sorel died in January 1449, before the age of twenty-seven. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, in Japan, the poet Matsuo Onemoto wrote in ink lines:
Paid tribute to the earth
And calmed down
Light water.
She was called herself beautiful woman XV century, she was wasteful, but helped the poor, dressed defiantly, but looked innocent. And Agnes Sorel went down in history as the first officially recognized mistress of the King of France, who was able to become not only the constant mistress of Charles VII, but also a friend of his wife, Queen Mary of Anjou.
The meeting of Agnes Sorel with the king was organized, oddly enough, by his mother-in-law. She often arranged for ladies-in-waiting at court, and when they became mistresses of noble nobles, Iolanthe received the necessary information and kept everything under her control. She did not succeed in influencing the king with the help of her daughter, and she found a more sophisticated way - she found a mistress for this purpose.
Agnes Sorel and Charles VII
Charles VII, seeing the girl, immediately went on the attack, but she ran away from him. The king was carried away in earnest, and his perseverance was soon rewarded. Within a few months, everyone at court was saying that the king was in love.
Mistress of the French King Agnes Sorel
Charles VII lost his head so much that he was ready to fulfill any desire of Agnes Sorel. To prove the seriousness of his feelings, he proclaimed her the official favorite. From now on, the vassals were obliged to give her royal honors, she took part in political life court, the royal treasurer paid her the necessary amounts, and their children with the king received the family titles of Valois. As a gift from the king, Agnes received the castle of Bote-sur-Marne and the title of Dame de Beaute.
Jean Fouquet portrayed Agnes as Madonna and Child
Agnes quickly got used to living in a big way. She allowed herself bold experiments with appearance for those times. The trains of her dresses reached 5 meters, the priests called them "devil's tails". She began to wear diamonds, although until then wearing them by the uncrowned was unacceptable. The courtiers were shocked by her extravagant, figure-hugging dresses with an asymmetrical neckline that completely exposed one breast. The queen was angry, but quickly changed her anger to mercy, deciding to become a friend for her husband's mistress. Maria gave jewelry and outfits to her rival, they walked together and went hunting.
King of France Charles VII
The daring behavior of the favorite and her official status aroused indignation among many. So, the Archbishop des Ursen pointed out to the king the extravagance of his mistress and her frank outfits, he said that the ladies at court began to resemble “painted donkeys put up for sale.” In response, Karl defiantly declared: “If the Beautiful Lady has dresses embroidered with gold, she will be in a good mood. If she is in a good mood, I will also be in a good mood. If I am in a good mood, the whole of France will be in a good mood. Therefore, France has a direct need for beautiful dresses.
The first official mistress of the king in the history of France
Agnes could not help noticing the growing resentment against her. She began to help the sick and crippled, to donate huge sums to the poor. Constant poverty, the British who ruled the French lands and the inaction of the king aroused the indignation of the people. And then Agnes, not without the influence of Iolanthe, persuaded Charles VII to resume the war against the British. The cowardly and weak-willed king, nicknamed “the gosling” by his mother in childhood, the favorite was able to inspire the idea of \u200b\u200bhis courage. So Karl became the Winner. The victorious end of the Hundred Years' War was already celebrated without her - Agnes died 3 years before.
Tomb of Agnes Sorel
Karl was convinced that Agnes had been poisoned, and he was right. An examination carried out today confirmed the high content of mercury in the remains of the favorite. Perhaps it was unintentional poisoning - in those days, mercury was added to cosmetics and medicines.
Tomb of Agnes Sorel
Agnes Sorel, as a model of concern for the interests of the country, was later set as an example to all the influential mistresses of the French kings, including Francoise d'Aubigne, the favorite and secret wife of Louis XIV.
Agnès Sorel's death mystery solved
Was Jacques Coeur guilty? Certainly not. For the simple reason that Agnès Sorel was not poisoned. For a long time, at least the fact that her daughter managed to live for half a year served as irrefutable proof of this. By the way, among physicians who paid attention to the symptoms of the disease described by the doctor who performed the autopsy, there was an opinion for a very long time that the beauty of the beauties died as a result of dysentery, and the weakening of the body associated with the hardships of the exhausting journey from Loches to Jumièges prevented her from gaining the upper hand over her own. disease. Thus, Agnès Sorel died of natural causes, wishing to save her lover. It is a completely normal, noble and quite convenient version for everyone.
It would seem that everything. You can put an end to this. But in history, as you know, a period can very quickly turn into a comma ...
This is what happened in 2004, when French scientists nevertheless managed to remove the veil of secrecy from the circumstances of the death of Agnès Sorel. In any case, now the causes of her death have become quite clear. To do this, a group of experts led by Philippe Charlier, a pathologist from the Lille University Hospital, had to exhume the body of the famous Frenchwoman. This operation took place in the town of Sainte-Urs-de-Loches, where the body of the former favorite of the king rested in the local church. The ceremony was held in the presence of numerous eminent descendants of Agnès Sorel, in particular the Duke of Orleans, Prince Jacques de France and Prince Charles-Emmanuel de Bourbon-Parma.
On September 28, 2004, the tomb of Agnès Sorel was opened, and at the disposal of the researchers were her hair, seven teeth, skull and skin fragments. For about six months they were studied by twenty-two specialists in eighteen laboratories: in Lille, Strasbourg, Paris and Reims. The unique experiment was led by Philip Charlier himself.
The analysis clearly showed the presence of Agnès Sorel in the remains a large number mercury, which has been used since ancient times as a poison. Philippe Charlier stated that it was mercury that caused the quick death that struck this woman in less than three days.
However, Philippe Charlier himself had no doubts about deliberate poisoning with a deadly poison: its content exceeded reasonable doses by ten thousand times, and there could be no mistake in the dosage of drugs.
Having had the opportunity to study in detail, within six months, the remains of Agnès Sorel, scientists have made many clarifications to the biography of this woman. First of all, it became clear that the year of her birth is between 1422 and 1426 (1409 has definitely disappeared). Consequently, the death of the king's favorite followed in the age interval between twenty-three years nine months and twenty-seven years nine months.
Criminologists tried to recreate the face of Agnes, whose captivating beauty, as even her enemies noted, has become a legend. Research confirmed that she was indeed a blonde and had four children. The reconstruction of the face, carried out on a well-preserved skull, also revealed a clear similarity with existing images of a woman, in particular with the image created by the 16th-century artist Jean Fouquet.
The fate of the burial of Agnès Sorel was also restored. Her body was taken to Loches, where he was buried without any decorations (the king soon indulged in love affairs and preferred to give them to others). Despite the fact that Agnes was a believer and made many donations, the clergy did not want to lead a prayer service in honor of the scandalous person, and they decided to move the tomb away from the altar.
Oddly enough, Louis XI, who hated Agnes, did not allow her to touch her tomb. Louis XV was just as categorical, but Louis XVI, who replaced him, granted the petition of the Church. The worst thing happened after the Revolution: in 1793, the tomb was broken, and the urn was thrown into the cemetery. A certain Poshol collected and preserved its contents. Then the prefect of the region, General Pommerel, sent the monument for restoration, and then placed it in a dungeon at the foot of the donjon in Loches. By his order, very bold words from Voltaire's poems then decorated the pediment: “I am Agnes. Long live France and love!” In 1970, for the sake of safety, the tombstone was placed in the royal castle of Loches.
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Agnes Sorel or Agnès Sorel (French Agnès Sorel, 1421 - February 9, 1450) - courtesan of the 15th century. Dame de Beauté (fr. Dame de Beauté - Lady of Beauty), beloved of the French King Charles VII, was born into a noble family in the village of Fromento in Touraine (which is why the demoiselle from Fromenteau was called demoiselle de Fromenteau), was the maid of honor of Isabella of Lorraine, Duchess of Anjou, in 1431. Her beauty charmed Charles VII, who made her a lady of state of the queen and gave her the castle of Beauté-sur-Marne, as a result of which she became known as Dame de Beauté-sur-Marne.
Once, the Queen of France, Marie of Anjou (it was in the middle of the 15th century), indignantly informed her ladies-in-waiting that she had seen this scoundrel Agnes Sorel walking around the palace chambers with bare breasts. No, well, the fact that Agnes Sorel had long been the mistress of King Charles VII was not a secret for the queen. But to walk around so shamelessly in such an inappropriate attire, it was already too much.
However, the later innovation of Agnes Sorel began to be used everywhere and was included in the list of ladies' features designed to seduce men, called the neckline. As for the mistress, perhaps this word is not entirely true, since the king had four daughters from Sorel and all of them - despite the protests of the royal family - gave the family name Valois.
Marie of Anjou finally realized that it was better to have Agnes Sorel on her side and made her her closest friend. And what could be demanded of a lovelace king, even if the Pope of Rome said about her beauty: "She has the most beautiful face that can only be seen in this world." Judging by her portrait by Jean Fouquet, the modern concepts of the beauty of a woman's face are somewhat at odds with the ideas of the 15th century, but be that as it may.
By the way, France should be grateful to Agnes Sorel not so much for the invention of the neckline and the long train on the dress, which the ministers of the church, who do not understand anything about high fashion, dubbed the "devil's tail." And the fashion for ladies to wear diamonds, which was introduced by Sorel (before her, only men flaunted jewelry), is not something very important. The most important thing for the nation - it was Agnes Sorel who patronized the girl from the village of Domremy, who came to Charles in Chinon Castle when he was not yet king, but dauphin, and asked to put her at the head of the army in order to punish the damned English. This girl's name was Jeanne d'Arc and Agnes Sorel immediately liked her.
In general, in addition to rare (by the standards of the 15th century) beauty, Sorel was famous for her strong mind. Therefore, it was very interesting for Queen Mary of Anjou to talk with her during joint walks and on the hunt. And besides, she was a brave woman. When in 1449 Sorel found out about the impending assassination of the king, despite her pregnancy, she galloped to the royal military camp in Normandy to warn the crowned father of her girls. This act greatly undermined her health and in February 1450 Agnes Sorel died at the age of 40. True, her death was associated with poisoning, in which a certain Jacques Kerr, who was in charge of the finances of the kingdom, was accused. But this was no longer so important for the king.