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Mary of Modena

Ducal Palace of Modena, 5 Oct 1658 – Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 7 May 1718

11 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

  • Born5 Oct 1658, Ducal Palace of Modenanot verified1 source
  • TitleConsort of Ireland, 1685–1688or Consort of England, 1685–1688 · Consort of Scotland, 1685–1688not verified1 source
  • TitleConsort of England, 1685–1688or Consort of Scotland, 1685–1688 · Consort of Ireland, 1685–1688not verified1 source
  • TitleConsort of Scotland, 1685–1688or Consort of England, 1685–1688 · Consort of Ireland, 1685–1688not verified1 source
  • Died7 May 1718, Saint-Germain-en-Layenot verified1 source
  • MotherLaura Martinozzinot verified1 source
  • FatherAlfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modenanot verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 5 Oct 1658

    Born in Ducal Palace of Modena

  2. 1675–1692

    11 children are born

  3. 1685–1688

    Consort of Ireland

  4. 1685–1688

    Consort of England

  5. 1685–1688

    Consort of Scotland

  6. 7 May 1718

    Dies in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, aged 59

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 12

During her lifetime

She lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Ducal Palace of Modena.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1650s · Mary is born in Ducal Palace of Modena

In the news1655

Piedmontese Easter massacre of 1655

In 1655, a brutal military campaign against the Waldensian religious minority, known as the Piedmontese Easter, resulted in the massacre of 4,000 to 6,000 civilians.

Getting around

Slow daily travel speeds

Under normal conditions in the 17th century, travelers and cargo rarely moved more than 25 miles per day, with speeds decreasing significantly in bad weather or difficult terrain.

In the news1648–1653

The Fronde Civil Wars (1648–1653)

The Fronde, a series of civil wars between 1648 and 1653, led to food scarcity, high taxes, and fighting that caused the king to flee the capital.

Daily life

Ursuline education for girls

Ursuline sisters in Parma and Piacenza managed a unique form of cloister that allowed them to leave their homes to attend church and teach local girls. Families valued this education because it provided a controlled way for their daughters to be seen in public.

What people wore

Alamari loops served as fashionable modern fasteners

In the 1650s, court costumes introduced modern decorative elements like alamari, which were folded loops used for fasteners and ornamentation on luxury garments.

Music

Musicians paid for long service

In 1559, a group of musicians led by Antonino Barbieri was paid 25 scudi moneta and 20 soldi for playing during the duchess's extended visit to Piacenza.

At the table

Bread and subsistence diets

City dwellers often ate bread made with fine flour, while rural families frequently relied on coarser bread mixtures containing pulses and less valuable cereals. In times of extreme hardship, rural inhabitants might sustain themselves primarily on beans and chestnuts.