\tThis week we\u2019re going to cover something a bit more lighthearted on our women\u2019s history journey: the tale of Julie d\u2019Aubigny, an exceptionally talented performer on the stage and with a sword that led a life of constant adventure in 17th-century France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tMany details surrounding her life, such as her date and place of birth, where she died, her true name (\u00c9milie, Madeleine and la Maupin are possible varients) and the validity of the litany of incredible stories told of her, are not known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Historians and researchers have made educated assumptions on these facts, one of which is Kelly Gardiner<\/a>, author of \u201cGoddess,\u201d a novel recapping the events of d\u2019Aubigny\u2019s life. Gardiner spent four years researching for the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI started to think, how would that have been, to be a cross-dressing, sword-fighting opera singer in the 17th century \u2014 I mean, she would have felt incredibly alone for a lot of her life, and incredibly brave,\u201d Gardiner said in an interview with NPR.<\/a> \u201cSo she must’ve felt apart, I think, for a great deal of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n d\u2019Aubigny was born around 1673 and was the daughter of a secretary to King Louis XIV\u2019s Master of Horse, Count d\u2019Armagnac, one of France\u2019s great nobles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her father was a capable fencer and taught the court pages how to be proper swordsmen. D\u2019Aubingy dressed as a boy and trained alongside her father, excelling at the art of sword-fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the age of 14, she was made to marry a timid man called de Maupin, while at the same time was rumored to be having an affair with her father\u2019s boss, the Count d\u2019Armagnac. She chose a different path and ran away with a swordmaster named S\u00e9ranne. The pair found themselves down on their luck in Marseille, making ends meet by holding fencing demonstrations at fairs and in taverns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n