Aubigne, Constant D'
AUBIGNE, CONSTANT D' [Baron de Surineau] (c.1584-1647), French adventurer, was the son of Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigné, and the father of Madame de Maintenon. Born a Protestant, he became by turns Catholic or Protestant as it suited his interests. He betrayed the Protestants in 1626, revealing to the court, after a voyage to England, the projects of the English upon La Rochelle. He was renounced by his father; then imprisoned by Richelieu's orders at Niort, where he was detained ten years. After having tried his fortunes in the Antilles, he died in Provence, leaving in destitution his wife, Jeanne de Cardillac, whom he had married in 1627. He had two children, Charles, father of the duchess of Noailles, and Françoise, known in history as Madame de Maintenon.
See T. Lavallée, La Famille d'Aubigné et l'enfance de Madame de Maintenon (Paris, 1863).
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
