Long Urban Hair: Julie d’Aubigny

A sword in one hand and an aria on her lips—Julie D’Aubigny refused to live small. We follow her wild arc from a court-trained tomboy who mastered the rapier to a fugitive busking in taverns, then to a contralto who conquered the Paris Opera under the gaze of Louis XIV. Along the way she loved boldly, dressed as she pleased, and treated the law like a suggestion. When a forbidden romance led to a convent heist and a fire, officials sentenced “Sir D’Aubigny” to death by flame, unaware the outlaw they feared was a young woman who sang as fiercely as she fought.

Her comeback reads like theater: a royal pardon, a showstopping debut as a war goddess, and a voice that made audiences forget the scandal while feeding it. At Versailles she kissed a noblewoman on the dance floor, met three offended suitors outside, and beat them one by one before strolling back in like nothing happened. Exile to Brussels brought sharper drama, including a too-real stage stabbing, but Paris couldn’t resist her for long. With a second pardon, she hit her peak—originating roles tailored to her range, embodying sorceresses and queens, and turning her legend into box-office gold.

Beneath the bravado sits a beating heart. We sit with the tender, quieter years when she found real peace with a marquise who matched her fire, only to lose her to a sudden fever. That loss dimmed the spotlight and closed a life that burned fast and bright. Through duels, disguises, and defiance, Julie becomes more than a headline; she’s a queer icon before the term, an athlete of voice and blade, and a reminder that art thrives where courage collides with consequence.

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Transcript

Meet Julie, The Operatic Outlaw

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Oh hey there.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Oh hey there.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

I'm Kate.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

And I'm Bradley.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

And this is History Puffoons.

SPEAKER_02 0:22

Welcome.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Yes, how are you?

SPEAKER_02 0:24

I am well. How are you?

SPEAKER_00 0:25

I'm good. Excellent. Uh today we're gonna talk about Julie de Migny.

SPEAKER_02 0:32

What is it?

SPEAKER_03 0:33

De Migny? It's French. Oh, French.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Julie de Bigny. I believe you. Um, she is a 17th century French opera star who also doubled men, wore men's clothing, okay, and survived death sentences, royal scandals, and the burning down of a convent.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

It sounded like you were gonna say scandals and scoundrels at the same time. Because you said scoundals.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Scandals.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

Scandals. Excellent. Well, I look forward to learning. What's her first name? Because I'm just Julie. Julie, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Which is what I'm gonna call her for the rest of the episode.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

What do you got to drink?

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Um, I've got a blonde Belgian. I think that's the brand.

SPEAKER_02 1:23

I believe so.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

By Noble Roots.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Sorry, it's by Noble Roots Brewing Company, but I think that's the name, just blonde Belgian. Yeah. And it looks like a monk who's trying to pee.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

I mean, or he's just looking back seductively, like, hey.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Hey.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

Look at me.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

You're looking at my ankles.

SPEAKER_02 1:40

Are you looking at my bald head that I shaved this morning?

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Except for around there.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

I don't I never understood that hairstyle for them, but maybe it got him closer to God. I am having a stone brewery, which I believe is from um, I want to say it's from California. Maybe I'm wrong.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Mine's from Green Bay.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Oh, fucking hell.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

I know. I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

No, not California. Just tell me where the fuck you're from. Okay. Anyways.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Mine's a 7.1 ABV. Right row.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

Mine's an 8.5.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Right row.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

And I also didn't realize that. Now I'm pissed I can't see where they're from. I thought they were from the upper northwest, but Okay. I am 46, so I am not what you call a spring fucking chicken. Don't put light silvery writing on a white fucking label.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:38

But anyways, this is mine.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

It is I think it's from Appleton.

SPEAKER_02 2:43

Stone?

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

No, it's not.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Stone Brewing, Craft Brew Beer and Brewing Tours. Stone Arch Brew Pub.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

That Stone Arch? I don't think that's what that is, though. Isn't that different? Well, I'd read it if you know it was easier. Um go to their website.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

I'm gonna say they're from Appleton.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

Yeah, they are from California, like I said. So anyways. Stone Arch and just stone is wrong. So, anyways, I have uh an FML, which usually means fuck my life.

SPEAKER_03 3:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

But this one means fear. Movie, lions. Not sure what the fuck that means. So I'm already confused. More than I normally am, which is a lot. But it's a hazy double IPA and it's eight and a half. And I also didn't realize when I bought them. 16 ounces, so I got 32 ounces of 8.5. Good luck, Bradley.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Have you seen the movie Second Hand Lions with Joel Osmond?

SPEAKER_02 3:49

I know of it. I've never.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

It's so good. Your kids would love it. Okay. It's definitely a good family movie.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

I'll have to uh watch that with them on my.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Cheers. Cheers. And Robert Duvall is in it. Holy bucket. Woo!

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Strong?

SPEAKER_00 4:10

I don't know what that is.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

It's a Belgian blonde ale. Blonde Belgian.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

I don't know what that is. I need a second try.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

Mine is really good. It's haze. It's doubly. It's IPA.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

I'm not sure. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not not sure.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

I I was shocked when you picked that one. I'm like, all right, let's go. Is it alcohol-y? Can you taste alcohol? No.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

No, it's just the flavor. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:38

It's just well, if you don't like it, maybe Nathan will drink it. I mean, I'll try one just to see.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

I don't know. He doesn't like lights, but he's flavorful enough that he might like it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

In a pinch. Yeah. But I'll try one too just because that's probably somewhere along the lines of the oh, I just lost a fucking brewery name. God damn it. My brother really likes this one. I like it too, but oh my god, I just lost it. Anyways, we'll move on because we'll be here for fucking hours. My mind is not what you would call a steel trap. It loses lots of things.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

There's a sieve up there.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

Oh. I don't think anything actually goes in.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

You've got a sieve with like really tiny holes. I have a sieve with very large holes.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

Your short-term memory is fucking awful. To be polite. Your long-term memory. It's better, but I'm not gonna say it's a hundred percent, but it's it's definitely better than your short term.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

I don't know. Nathan will be like, this happened and this happened. And like when? Big big events. And I'll be like, yeah, don't.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

Yeah, like Christmas. You're like, what?

SPEAKER_00 5:46

What is that?

SPEAKER_02 5:48

I turned I had a birthday? 9-11. What? Come on.

A Tomboy Forged At Court

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Okay. So Miss Julie.

SPEAKER_02 5:58

Julie.

SPEAKER_00 5:59

Yeah, she was born around 1673 in Paris.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Although some accounts say it's 1670.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Oh my god, a three-year difference. Yes. What shall we do?

SPEAKER_00 6:11

And her father was Gaston Dubigny. Dubigny. There we go. Dubigny.

SPEAKER_02 6:18

There we go. He was a Gaston Dubany or he is Gaston. His name was Gaston Dubigny. I know it sounded like it sounded like he said he was a Gaston. What? He was a Gaston the Dubiny family. I mean, what? Gaston, like in Beauty and the Beast.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Yes, Dubigny.

SPEAKER_02 6:37

Apparently that's a very Frenchie name, huh? Gaston.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

Yep. So he actually had a very enviable job.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

What did he do?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

He was secretary to Louis de Lorraine, the Count de Dominiac.

SPEAKER_02 6:54

I have no idea what the fuck that means.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Essentially, it is King Louis XIV's master of horse. So he was secretary to the king's master of horse.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

He was the horse master?

SPEAKER_00 7:08

No, he was the sec, he took the notes for the horses.

SPEAKER_02 7:11

He's like, oh, that's a fine mare.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

Let me write that down.

SPEAKER_02 7:15

15 four hands. So wait, that doesn't make sense.

SPEAKER_00 7:21

So hit so his boss, Count the Count des Dominiac was a very high-ranking official. Um, he did he was in charge of everything with the king's horses and all the king's men. Just kidding. You see what I did there?

SPEAKER_02 7:36

Fucking Humpty Dumpty, am I right? And he had a lot of power. So he's like, but sir, this one has to go out to stud now. I mean, what the fuck? What horse master? Yes. Master of horse.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Master of horse.

SPEAKER_02 7:51

Oh my god. I kind of like horse master better. I mean. Okay, so he had this job was very enviable because obviously it's linked to the crown in a way. Yeah. Even though it's not royal, of course. Yes. But it was probably, especially in this late 1600s, a very uh important job because, well, they didn't have cars.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

Julie had literal horsepower.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

So this placed Julie's family uh right into the royal court orbit, and her childhood um environment were was so unique that very few girls had this type of chance.

SPEAKER_02 8:30

What what Louis was this again? I'm sorry. Fourteen. Fourteen, okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

So Gaston Dubigny was an expert swordsman. Oh he was also a charming troublemaker with bad habits, and he was known for his drinking, his gambling, and nightly adventures.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

And his horse mastering?

SPEAKER_00 8:50

No, Secretary II.

SPEAKER_02 8:53

It's kind of funny because my favorite horse is Secretariat.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Oh, I see what you did there.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

But he saw no reason to race his only um raise his only? Raise his only child, female child.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Because it sounded like you said race. Like that would be fucked up. All right, you see this this mare? You're gonna race her. Good luck, sweetie.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

No, he saw no reason to raise his only daughter differently than a boy. A boy.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

Yeah. So she became a tomboy.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

While she while others were learning embroidery and etiquette and how to tighten up a corset or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 9:28

You mean etiquette?

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Yeah, what'd I say?

SPEAKER_02 9:30

Eloquet?

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Etiquette.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

I think I'm gonna listen to that again. I have to because I have to edit this. So that's gonna be interesting.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Julie was learning how to duel. Okay. So by age 12, she could beat grown men with a rapier, which is a long, thin, lightweight sword. Yeah designed mainly for thrusting or stabbing. Yeah. Um, and she could out drink and out curse many of them, too.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Oh, fucking hell right, she can. So her brother made sure she read I do it like the best. Give me a pint, fucking A.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Except for France. So her father made sure she received the same education as the boys literature, language, dancing, um, and of course, fencing.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

Did they have uh uh does she have siblings or did the the Gaston have other kids? This was the only child. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

So she would dress in men's pants. She began doing that as a youth, and that carried on throughout her life.

SPEAKER_02 10:31

So she slipped on a pair of pants.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

She slipped on a pair of pants. She slipped on a pair of trousers. Yeah. Julie um launged and parried with uncanny skill, often leaving her sparing partners a little bit bruised, both body and ego.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Barring.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

What'd I say?

SPEAKER_02 10:48

Sparing.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

I think I'm right.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

I don't think you're right at all.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

So those early years forged her into a formidable talent. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

The pages at court whispered that she was like the best fencer among them.

SPEAKER_02 11:05

So books could talk?

SPEAKER_00 11:06

Yes. And if anyone doubted a girl could fight so well, Julie was happily.

SPEAKER_02 11:11

She'd be like, I'll fucking prove it. Prove it.

SPEAKER_03 11:13

Yeah, because like, yeah, you little fucks.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Sometimes she would even rip open her shirt to show her bosom.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

Oh, scandal.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Be like, see, I really am a girl.

SPEAKER_02 11:22

Yeah, I got tatas. How much did 12-year-olds really have? And I don't want to stop talking about this right fucking no. That's gross.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

So it said on one occasion when a jeering spectator at a fencing expedition cried out that, quote, the youth, end quote, couldn't possibly be female. And Julie responded with flashing her boobs to settle the question and then vanquished her opponent amongst everyone's laughter because that would be a sight to see. She killed him. She was not a shy woman.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

Well, clearly. I mean, the way she was sounds like the way she was raised.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

She's a kid still. She's 12.

Runaway With A Duelist

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Well, yeah. And I mean, my I my kids aren't that old, but man, there's times like obviously Xavier will get shy in certain situations, of course. But around me, he'll say the we might have to take a pause to get her a different beer, but we'll see. But he'll like um obviously goof around with me a lot and everything. So yeah, some of this is like, what? All right. So I can imagine only five years or however older than my son, she's like, yeah, fuck this.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

So Julie's upbringing brought her in contact with other great and powerful people.

SPEAKER_02 12:37

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

And the court de Armagnac, uh Almagnac, her father's boss.

SPEAKER_02 12:42

Yeah, the horse master, master of horse.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Noticed Julie.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

Oh. In a what kind of way?

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Well, he thought she was a striking teenager.

SPEAKER_02 12:52

I kinda thought that's where this was going.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

She was tall, athletic, and she had long, long urban hair, urban auburn hair.

SPEAKER_02 13:05

Long urban hair. It's way, it's way better than rural hair. At least you don't got that city hair, am I right? You don't got that city hair. What the fuck?

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Okay, so by age 14, but now everybody's getting married at this time, so well, and that's what I was just gonna say.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

So okay, whether it's 70 or 73, so we're talking 84, 87, 16, 84, 87. Hey, it's time for you to yeah, did you bleed yet? I mean, that's what they did though. I know, which is fucking weird. Times were different. Times were different. I mean, this is 350 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

So by age 14, 14, Julie became the Count de Almignac's uh mistress. Oh, and it was a scandalous arrangement, but high-making high-ranking men in Louis the Fourteenth's court were accustomed to having their way, as is the master of horse. Sure. To avoid any additional scandal at court, because it's not enough.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

Dad got fired.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

The Count arranged to marry Julie off to someone super convenient. They're like, that he looks good.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

Yeah. See that guy over there? He's breathing.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Yeah. So Julie Dubigny became Madame Julie Lamaupin.

SPEAKER_02 14:29

La Maupin?

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Yep. She mar she was married to Sir de Maupin, a mild-mandered court clerk, marriage uh paperwork only. Like there was nothing.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

It was a marriage of convenience. It was just to say, hey, look at she's married, but she can go fuck that guy. Yeah. Kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

So immediately after the wedding, around 1687, the poor husband was shuffled off to somewhere in France, banished to the countryside.

SPEAKER_02 14:55

It's kind of like when you see, like um, well, I made you watch the band in Iron Man, it's like put them on the front lines and happens to die or something. Exactly. Or ship him to Siberia or whatever, you know.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

Yep. So Julie stayed in Paris with the Count, officially wed, but also Day Amagnac's teenage lover, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 15:16

Weird. Don't say those words ever again. That's fucking weird.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Yes. So for a time, Julie enjoyed her status as the Count's protege. I'm sure. But Julie was never meant to stay someone's pet for long.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

No, I can imagine. Not the way she's coming about, we'll say.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

So already close to 16 years old, she met a new lover.

SPEAKER_02 15:39

Oh shit.

SPEAKER_00 15:39

Who would change her life a little bit. A hot-headed fencer named Serene.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

Saranen?

SPEAKER_00 15:48

Saranen.

SPEAKER_02 15:49

Can you spell it once for me just so I kind of can wrap my head around it?

SPEAKER_00 15:52

Saran. Saren.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

Well, whatever. Or don't. But either way.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

S-E-R-A-N-N-E. Like Sar Ann.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

Saran. Sarran?

SPEAKER_00 16:01

But it's he's male, so I'm guessing it could be a little more.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

Saran, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

I'd say saran.

SPEAKER_02 16:07

I like saran. I think that's better than hey saran.

SPEAKER_03 16:11

Saran ramp. Saran rap.

SPEAKER_02 16:13

Oh, what's his middle name? Rapah.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

Rapah. So saran was skilled with a blade. Probably what they use in the saran wrap cutting things, you know?

SPEAKER_02 16:26

How old was Saran wrap?

SPEAKER_00 16:29

I don't know. I didn't look that up. That seems pertinent, but alright. Um, he was equally skilled at finding trouble. Equally? Yes. He killed a man in an illegal duel on the streets of Paris. Dueling had been officially outlawed by King's Command. Yes. And the authorities did not take kindly to breaches of the peace. Right. So suddenly facing the gallows, Saran decided to flee Paris, and Julie refused to be left behind.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

Oh, so she wanted to leave? She ran off with him. Even with her status, if you will. Okay. She must have really loved this guy. Well. She wanted to be wrapped up in Saran. Fucking hell.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

She was a wanted man's accomplice now, and the Paris police were on their heels. So Julie, um, Julie's life um finally began then as a fugitive and traveling performer.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Nice. What did she perform?

SPEAKER_00 17:29

Julie and Saran roamed the French countryside, making a living however they could, which is typically fencing demonstrations with song. Who sang? They did. They both sang.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

Look at me, Perry.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

I'm really good.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

Yeah, stab stab.

SPEAKER_02 17:48

I'm gonna take your money.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

Stab stab.

SPEAKER_02 17:51

Stab stab. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:53

So um they would work in village marketplaces and tavern courtyards and all with like flashy sword play.

SPEAKER_02 18:01

So I'm gonna say this with all the love of the modern conveniences that we have. I would love to be able to travel back in time and just go to a tavern in like medieval times. And bonk ales and pints and stuff with the local folk, and then be like, uh, peace off. I'm fucking back to the future. I'm Marty McFly in this shit.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

So Julie dressed in men's attire, boots, britches, swordmen's fitted jackets.

SPEAKER_02 18:30

Did the boots have the fur?

SPEAKER_00 18:33

And and he she would duel Sir Sarayan or any local who dared to challenge her.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Do you know what this kind of reminds me a little bit? Uh obviously very loosely. Annie Oakley and her husband.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Doesn't it kind of like have similarities? Not exactly, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 18:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:51

But like she's with this guy, they're dueling. Hey, we like each other because we're dissimilar and blah blah blah, whatever. It's just kind of funny how that's got a very similar vibe to it. And kids are all about the vibes these days.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

Yeah. So more than a few heckled the sight of a boy beating a grown man only to be doubly stunned when Julie revealed herself as a woman.

SPEAKER_02 19:14

Does she keep showing her boobs to everybody? Pretty much, yeah. Jesus, what a horror.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

Between duels, Julie and Saran added music to their repertoire, singing duets and popular ballads to entertain patrons in taverns. Okay. And Julie's voice, as it turned out, was quite impressive.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

Quite lovely.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

She'd never had any formal training. She, but she could carry a tune.

Marseille Stages And New Passions

SPEAKER_02 19:37

You know, in her upbringing, being close to court and everything, and probably being in court, and obviously, she probably picked up on some shit because of that, because that was their form of entertainment back then. It's not like, hey man, could you put on a CD? No, sing fucker.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

So by 1688, the traveling duo found themselves in Marseille, which had recently established a new opera company.

SPEAKER_02 20:01

Oh, fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 20:03

The Opera de Marseille offered Julie a chance to sing on stage. So she made her unofficial debut in Marseille, taking on small roles under her maiden name so that the police wouldn't notice who she was.

SPEAKER_02 20:17

So she was back to Dubin Dubany, right? Yes. Right?

SPEAKER_00 20:21

Dubai, yeah, good job. Fucking hell, look at me go, Julie. So night after night, she wowed local um audiences who knew nothing of her past. They simply saw a captivating young woman, young woman, yeah, with voice and charisma.

SPEAKER_02 20:38

So how far is Marseille from from Paris? Like, is this is that a a good de gent?

SPEAKER_00 20:45

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

Because like I I wonder, like I can't imagine that the the Paris I mean you you call them police, but was that what they really were? Yeah, it was like a newly formed okay so eight hours by car.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

Different.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

Well, good thing they didn't have cars back then. So quite a decent distance then.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

A little bit.

SPEAKER_02 21:09

I mean, if you're going, you know, eighty miles per hour, eight hours, that's it's a good distance.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Yeah, it's it's a little little ways.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

Yeah, okay. I was just curious because like proximity-wise, they're establishing this new life in the opera, this new opera that just opened up and whatever, but like if they were like, oh, dude, Paris is like 10 minutes down the road, it could easily get her, obviously. But I figured it had to be some distance at all. I'm trying to say, anyways.

SPEAKER_00 21:39

So Julie discovered that she loved the stage, the glow of the floodlights, the roar of the applause, um, the way that she could be someone else.

SPEAKER_02 21:50

She could play a character and she really liked being that character, or even for the short time she was it, kind of thing. Yeah, I get that.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

But of course, trouble was never far behind Julie. And in Marseille, she murdered somebody?

SPEAKER_02 22:03

No. Oh.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

She would become the stuff of legend. Among her admirers in the south was a young woman.

SPEAKER_02 22:10

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_00 22:11

Identified in later accounts as Cecilia Bortigali.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

Bortigali.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

The daughter of either a local merchant or a minor nobility unknown.

SPEAKER_02 22:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

The two men, nope, the two women fell deeply in love.

SPEAKER_02 22:27

Oh, so so all of a sudden it's like, oh, Saran. I I like it the breast now.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Saran.

SPEAKER_02 22:35

Sarah. K. Sarah.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

We're gonna wrap this up. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

So did she break up with Saran?

SPEAKER_00 22:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

Oh, poor Saran. Whatever happened to Saran then.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

So for a few blissful weeks or months, Julie and this girl carried on in secret.

SPEAKER_02 22:51

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

17th century France was not kind to lovers like them. Of course not. And when Cecilia's family heard of the affair, they were horrified. Sure. So to thwart the scandal and separate the pair, the family did what many families did. What wealthy families did. They shut Cecilia away in a convent.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Oh boy. So she became a nun.

The Convent Heist And Fire

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Yes. Specifically.

SPEAKER_02 23:21

That was interesting.

SPEAKER_00 23:22

She was sent off to a convent in Avignon, removing her from Julie's reach. We've talked about Avignon before. Julie was not about to give up all news.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

So she's like, I'm gonna go to the convent too.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

She infiltrated the convent. Like she dug a tunnel and no, under the pretext of religious calling. Oh, Jesus Christ. She entered the convent as a postulant, which is a trainee nun.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

Right, of course, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

So Julie reunited with Cecilia behind the.

SPEAKER_02 23:54

So Cecilia's like just overjoyed with lust.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

We're gonna say so.

SPEAKER_02 23:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:58

Um, the two resumed their affair in secret. Um, and for a time they did all the things.

SPEAKER_02 24:06

Well, you know.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

But inevitably, inevitably. Indubitably, inevitably. So whether out of boredom or a genuine desire to abscond with her beloved.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

Upscond, I love that word.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Julie hatched out a dramatic escape plan.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

One of the elder nuns at the convent happily happened to pass away from natural causes.

SPEAKER_02 24:32

Oh, thank God it wasn't nefarious.

SPEAKER_00 24:34

But Julie saw an opportunity. I'm sure she did. She and Cecilia stole the corpse of the deceased nun from its coffin.

SPEAKER_02 24:42

Oh fuck.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

They snuck into Cecilia's dormitory cell and placed the body in Cecilia's bed, tucking it away as if she were sleeping. And then they set the room on fire.

SPEAKER_02 24:55

Oh fuck.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:00

So okay. Were people not buried right away back then? So they could get to the coffin. And like, did anyone ever look in the coffin again?

SPEAKER_00 25:10

Well, they did find out that it wasn't Cecilia.

SPEAKER_02 25:15

Clearly, it's like, yeah, well, this doesn't look like her. This looks like an 80-year-old nun.

SPEAKER_00 25:19

And that's exactly what happened. They're like, that age doesn't match. Nope. Um, but Julie and her and Cecilia fled into the night. Um, but they uh it didn't work. It obviously didn't work. For a few days, it did.

SPEAKER_02 25:34

But is isn't that enough time to get them away, though? It did. But were they dumb and stayed in town?

SPEAKER_00 25:40

No, I don't.

SPEAKER_02 25:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

No. Um, they enjoyed their little illicit honeymoon um hiding out in the countrysides, but authorities eventually discovered the ruse. And when the truth came out, the parliament was outraged at this crime that combined kidnapping, arson, and sacrilege.

SPEAKER_02 26:02

What kidnapping?

SPEAKER_00 26:05

They they think that um Julie kidnapped Cecilia because I'd how old was Cecilia?

SPEAKER_02 26:11

Did you did you say that I didn't know?

SPEAKER_00 26:13

I don't know how old she was, but but Julie was like 16. Still at this point? Yeah, she's young. Maybe 17, but young. Wow. Yeah. So they set out to make an example of her. There was a catch, however. They still thought the criminal was likely a man because who else would leave with a nun?

SPEAKER_02 26:35

Right. Because all men want nuns.

SPEAKER_00 26:38

So in her absence, under the name Sir Dubigny, Julie was charged and sentenced to death by fire.

SPEAKER_02 26:46

Like they were gonna burn her?

SPEAKER_00 26:48

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 26:49

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

So Julie Dubany, who was around 17, now had a price on her head and a death sentence hanging over her.

SPEAKER_02 26:58

Okay. So Cecilia turned her in.

SPEAKER_00 27:02

Well, Cecilia decided convent life was safer and returned to her family to be put in a convent.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

That's her parents talking, but all right.

SPEAKER_00 27:14

In any case, by 1688 or 1689, Julie found herself once again outlawed, facing execution if you're not.

SPEAKER_02 27:25

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

Yep. So she decided that she would try to go back to Paris.

SPEAKER_02 27:32

Face the music or just like pretty much on the DL. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:36

So on the road back, uh Julie um accumulated even more exploits.

SPEAKER_02 27:42

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_00 27:43

Yes. Okay. She stopped at an inn at a tavern one evening. Julie dressed as a man got into a spat with a young aristocrat.

SPEAKER_02 27:52

And she dueled him.

SPEAKER_00 27:54

The fellow was the son of a Duke. Did not realize that this young man was actually the notorious Julie.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

Yes.

Paris Pardon And Stage Debut

SPEAKER_00 28:03

Insert flew, and the encounter um escalated to a duel outside. Nice, and they don't even know it's illegal. Nope. In dramatic effect, Julie wounded him, running her blade through his shoulder. Oh, fuck, that would hurt. The young man shocked and bleeding might have expected his victor victor to finish him off, but instead, Julie actually nursed the man back to health.

SPEAKER_02 28:29

Oh, and then they started banging.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:32

Come on, really.

SPEAKER_00 28:33

It wasn't for a very long time. They actually ended up being like lifelong friends.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

They they were a little bit of so they were like, hey, let's go, bumpy bumpy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

And then they're like, you know what?

SPEAKER_02 28:45

We're friends. Yeah. Yeah. So were they friends with benefits?

SPEAKER_00 28:48

I think no. I think they were strangers with benefits, and then they became friends only.

SPEAKER_02 28:54

Did I ever hear the show Strangers with Candy?

SPEAKER_00 28:56

No.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

Anyway.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

So by the time she reached Paris in 1690, Julie knows she'd have the answer, she'd have to answer for the whole burning of the convent stuff.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 29:08

So be being incarcerated by royal decree was not on her to-do list, so she turned to her old benefactor for help.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

Her husband?

SPEAKER_00 29:17

The Count Des Armagnac.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

Oh, the one she was banging for a while, not her husband. Where's her husband in all this?

SPEAKER_00 29:25

He's still on the front lines. Wherever. He's still a tax collector. So I like taxes.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

It had been a couple of years since she'd fled Paris, but the Count was still a man of influence at court.

SPEAKER_02 29:39

And he's probably like, You bang me, I help you.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

So she sought out Des Armagnac, and it explained her predicament, and Des Armagnac agreed to help. So he approached King Louis XIV.

SPEAKER_02 29:52

Oh, like directly?

SPEAKER_00 29:55

Yeah. Holy fuck. And he requested a royal pardon for Julie. Wow. Louis the Fourteenth, or the Sun King, as he was called, was known for his love of the arts. Yes. And for his weariness of dueling that would be disturbing the peace.

SPEAKER_01 30:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

But this case was unusual. It was a woman outlaw who was gifted, who was a gifted singer and a dangerous swordsman.

SPEAKER_02 30:26

Swordswoman? Swordswoman. Yeah, be fucking politically correct here. God damn it.

SPEAKER_00 30:30

So Louis XIV was amused enough to grant Julie d'Albigny a pardon. That's wild. Sparing her from the fire.

SPEAKER_03 30:39

The fire.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

And with a royal stroke of the pen, the death sentence was nullified. Wow. Julie was free, and in exchange, she had to pursue a cur uh career on the stage.

SPEAKER_02 30:52

In the arts, if you will.

SPEAKER_00 30:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 30:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

So around age 17, Julie entered the Paris opera.

SPEAKER_02 30:59

So okay, if this is 1890 and she's 17, she had it had to be fucking 73. I'm not going with 70, because otherwise she'd be 20. So fuck that.

SPEAKER_00 31:12

So it was the greatest stage in France, the Paris Opera, which Louis XIV himself had found in some years before.

SPEAKER_01 31:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 31:20

Gaining entry was not easy. The opera was a place for serious, formally trained performers. Yes. Julie was self-taught. She was a maverick. She had a reputation.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 31:31

At first the opera managers were reluctant.

SPEAKER_02 31:34

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

But Julie had allies.

SPEAKER_02 31:37

Well, I mean, she had some, she had some master of horses in her in her in her uh stable, if you will.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

So an aging singer named Bouvard and a young tenor named Gabrielle Vincent Fivenard, more lovers of hers, actually.

SPEAKER_02 31:56

Oh, Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_00 31:57

Spoke up on her behalf, and they convinced the opera's director that no notoriety would sell as many tickets as talent. And Julie had both.

SPEAKER_02 32:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 32:07

So she was accepted into the troupe.

SPEAKER_03 32:09

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

In December 1690, Julie made her debut on the Paris stage as a war goddess. On opening night, the audience must have been buzzing. Many of many had heard rumors of this cross-dressing sword slinging contralto, as what she would be called, because her female voice was actually quite low.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

Was it?

SPEAKER_00 32:32

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 32:32

Sound like you said sword. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 32:35

Yeah. And she was pardoned by the king. So she had this.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

She had a she had a connection to adjacent to fame, whatever you want to call it, because clearly she had people in the know. Yes. If she could get a pardon from the fucking king, hey, let's go check this shit out. Maybe she'll show us her boobs and make to let us know she's a girl. So Jesus Christ.

Fame, Fencing, And Versailles Duels

SPEAKER_00 33:01

Julie stepped on stage and she did not disappoint. Her voice was a rich soprano, and then she became a contralto since her voice was lower.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 33:12

And she filled the hall with effortless power. Her acting was passionate. Her presence was electric. And at the climax of the aria, feeling the crowd's approval, Julie enacted a flourish that became legend.

SPEAKER_02 33:28

What is the aria?

SPEAKER_00 33:30

The aria is like the final um that would be like defined gravity of Wicked. Like the big number the the really big number of the show the show. Okay. The really big singing number of the show.

SPEAKER_02 33:44

The only aria I know is the casino in Vegas. So, anyways, okay.

SPEAKER_00 33:51

I don't know why that was it's like there, it's like the climax song. Oh no, I I gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 33:55

I was just saying the only aria I know is Vegas, and I love us uh I just almost call him fucking Oscar again. Oliver's uh feet. He's underneath the yeah, he's like, what you guys doing in there? We're recording, buddy.

SPEAKER_00 34:11

Okay, so Julie enacted uh she removed her helmet because she was playing a war goddess. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She removed her helmet to take a bow, letting her long hair tumble free down her shoulders.

SPEAKER_02 34:24

Yes, her urban hair.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

And the audience realized that this dashing war goddess was indeed the notorious Mademoiselle Julie. In the flesh.

SPEAKER_02 34:37

In die flesh.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

She was a hit. I'm sure. So from that night forward, Parisians would flock to see her. And for the next few years, 1690 to 1694, Julia was one of the opera's rising stars. 1690 to 1694. Okay. She performed in major productions along uh France's top talents, appearing in multiple shows a week. She could sing um the bright high parts written for heroines, but at the time went on as time went on, she gravitated to roles. The lower parts? Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 35:10

Makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

She portrayed sorceresses, queens, and gods.

SPEAKER_02 35:15

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 35:16

So naturally, Julie's tumultuous personal life did not calm down.

SPEAKER_02 35:22

Of course not. Why would it? There's no way you, if you were to tell me she settled down and had a nice family, I would have said bullshit.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Yeah. She was unapologetically bisexual, enjoying love affairs with men and women. Yes. And she openly wore men's clothing in public. Yeah. So this was technically illegal. Yeah, an old law required women to have permission to cross-dress, but Julie got away with it.

SPEAKER_02 35:50

Well, she got pardoned by the goddamn king. She's probably like, fuck off, man.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

And she continued to duel despite the king's band. I don't think you should mess with the king who pardoned you by participating in duels, but Okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:07

Now, with that being said, there's a lot of people in this world, even today, that do shit they should not do. Am I wrong? Yeah, I speed. I mean, I didn't know this was a roast of Kate all of a sudden, but okay. I wasn't referring to your speeding. I'm just saying, in general, you're a terrible speeder. Um, no. Um in general, it's just like people do a lot of shit they shouldn't be fucking doing, but they do it.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

That's all I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 36:42

So another well-known story. One evening around 1695, Julie attended a royal ball at the Palace of Versailles.

SPEAKER_02 36:51

Oh, fancy, fancy.

SPEAKER_00 36:52

Dressed in a stunning suit of midnight blue velvet.

SPEAKER_02 36:56

I love blue velvet. Is it was it crushed?

SPEAKER_00 36:59

It probably was because she was looking pretty cavalier.

SPEAKER_02 37:02

Because now I'm just thinking of Austin Powers.

SPEAKER_00 37:04

Yeah. So she caused a stir by boldly dancing with and kissing a young noblewoman on the dance floor in front of everyone. She didn't care. The three suitors who had been vying for this lady's attention were hairy of.

SPEAKER_02 37:19

Well, yeah, because like, wait, I wanted to stick my sausage in you. Now you're kissing women. What the fuck? So realizing you give me that look, but that's exactly what they wanted.

SPEAKER_00 37:30

So realizing that this gentleman was actually a woman, their pride doubly wounded. Yes, they challenged Julie on the spot.

SPEAKER_02 37:40

Oh, to a duel a duel?

SPEAKER_00 37:42

Three duels at once.

SPEAKER_02 37:44

She's like. Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

So it was illegal to duel at a king's ball.

SPEAKER_02 37:51

It was illegal to duel anywhere.

SPEAKER_00 37:54

But Julie didn't care. Of course not. Julie faced all three men in succession.

SPEAKER_02 37:59

She fought So she just had to like, all right, who's going first? Yeah. Is that what it was basically? Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:04

She fought each duel back to back and defeated them all one by one.

SPEAKER_02 38:09

And this is all with swords? Yeah. Duels with swords? Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:13

So legend had has it that she wounded each man, uh, probably not mortally, but just enough to humiliate them.

SPEAKER_02 38:21

Enough to be like, I won, you suck. On to the next.

SPEAKER_00 38:26

Um, then she calmly strolled back into the ballroom in her masculine attire and remarked, any other gentleman care to object? And then she vanished into the night. Louis XIV, however, was not amused that dueling had occurred under his roof, and by next morning Julie had to flee Paris to avoid the king's justice for the public breach of peace, even though he already pardoned her. Like, why are you why are you What did her father think of this? Biting the man who feeds you.

SPEAKER_02 38:58

I don't biting the hand that feeds you? That's the one. Yeah. Biting the man that feeds you. So you don't like it, do you? I can't do it. That's fine. Then then stop. You have a water right there, you know. Cleanse your palate, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 39:15

So off Julie went again. She made her way to Brussels.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

Sprouts.

SPEAKER_00 39:22

This was a common destination for exiled French nobles and misses.

SPEAKER_02 39:25

Was it really? Mm-hmm. I didn't know that.

Exile To Brussels And Sharper Drama

SPEAKER_00 39:27

In late 1697, her first order of business was to get on the stage.

SPEAKER_02 39:33

Of course, because she loved it, apparently.

SPEAKER_00 39:35

She joined the local opera company and resumed performing almost immediately. Brussels high society, including the Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian II Emmanuel. I love that name, Maximilian, who governed those lands, soon found themselves equally captivated and terrorized by Julie. Yes. And it wasn't long before the elector himself took Julie as his mistress.

SPEAKER_02 39:57

Oh, for fuck's sake.

SPEAKER_00 39:59

But it was short-lived because he thought that she was way too unpredictable. So eventually, because she was the elector offered Julie the equivalent of a severance package and stopped to stop causing trouble at his court, and she was deeply offended and threw a heavy purse of coin at the elector's feet and stormed out.

SPEAKER_02 40:20

And then came back for the purse and then left again. Anyways.

SPEAKER_00 40:23

During her stay in Brussels, Julie couldn't resist injecting drama into her performances either.

SPEAKER_02 40:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

In one opera, she had a scene where her character was to unalive herself on stage.

SPEAKER_02 40:36

Oh dear, the old S-word.

SPEAKER_00 40:39

Most singers would mind the act with a dull prop, but not Julie. She wanted to really do it. Yeah, she grabbed a real dagger and stabbed herself on stage. What a fucking idiot.

unknown 40:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:51

It was superficial. That's not the point, though. The shock value was high.

SPEAKER_02 40:56

I'm sure it wasn't like, oh my god, I was at this performance last night, and this chick actually fucking stabbed herself.

SPEAKER_00 41:03

But amongst it all, her singing remained top-notch. Of course. And by 1698, Paris was somehow ready to welcome back Julie. Jesus Christ. Ah yeah. So this time, um Another pardon? Philip, the Duke of Orleans, which is the king's brother, is said to have interceded on her behalf for a second royal pardon.

SPEAKER_02 41:29

Did she blow him or something? I mean, like, what the fuck?

SPEAKER_00 41:32

It helped that Louis XIV had a soft spot for talented performers.

SPEAKER_02 41:36

Yeah, he was about the arts. He had a fucking failing, dude.

SPEAKER_00 41:40

And maybe he chuckled at this his anti-dueling um law because it only said men were uh not allowed to duel. Not in the 80s.

SPEAKER_02 41:51

That's kind of like in the Lord of the Rings uh Return of the King. No man can do it. I am no man. Exactly. Stabs the Witch King. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 42:03

So, true or not, the king granted Julie a second pardon.

SPEAKER_02 42:06

She's really gotta stop. I have no problem with her shenanigans, but don't escalate it to where you need a fucking pardon.

SPEAKER_00 42:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:14

Seriously.

SPEAKER_00 42:15

So once back in Paris, she found out that the Paris opera needed a new star as the last Prima Madonna had retired. Oh dear. Julie stepped into the spotlight. So from 1698 to 1705, she reached like the pinnacle of her career.

SPEAKER_01 42:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

She was given roles in opera after opera, originating as many as 25 new roles written for her talents.

SPEAKER_02 42:41

Right.

SPEAKER_00 42:42

Um, she was she played fierce deities, um, sorceresses, and heroic queens. And even though she lived in men's clothing on the streets, she probably loved dressing up only women in the operas. Well, sure.

SPEAKER_02 42:59

I mean, that's also what she was and what they probably cured her towards. So yeah, it makes sense. So if you're a pre-Madonna when you retire, are you a post Madonna?

SPEAKER_03 43:09

Prima. It was a joke, but alright, thank you. Anyways, it's called prima. I know it is not pre-Madonna. Pre-Madonna.

SPEAKER_02 43:21

So is it prima Donna?

SPEAKER_03 43:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 43:24

Anyways. Wow. You mean to derail the whole podcast with a pre-Madonna joke?

Second Pardon, Peak Stardom

SPEAKER_00 43:32

Okay, so the Parisian Society couldn't get enough of Julie's exploits. Sure. People sang drinking songs about her in taverns. Um, she was fame and infamy rolled in one. And true to form, Julie's love life continued to be as eventful. She reignited with an old flame, Thivignard, the old singer who had helped her get into the opera years ago. Yeah. Their relationship was a little bit volatile. Volatile. Volatile? Yeah. There it is. On one occasion during a lover's quarrel on stage, Julie bit his ear so hard that it drew blood.

SPEAKER_02 44:11

Sounds like Mike Tyson.

SPEAKER_00 44:12

Yeah. The audience thought it was part of the performance and was none the wiser wiser.

SPEAKER_02 44:19

At least they were entertained. Are you not entertained?

SPEAKER_00 44:23

And he was not the only partner to feel her bite. She was known to literally bite when angry and overly excited.

SPEAKER_02 44:32

Okay, I can get the overly excited thing.

SPEAKER_00 44:36

But a lot of her colleagues started noticing that she was restless and she was in a kind of longing.

SPEAKER_02 44:43

She needed something.

SPEAKER_00 44:45

She drank, um, joked, brawled to fill the emptiness. Yes. But then around 1703, she found that true love.

SPEAKER_02 44:53

Finally, she she stopped her whorish ways.

SPEAKER_00 44:57

Madame Le Marquis de Florent.

SPEAKER_02 45:01

So she married a woman. Well, they probably didn't marry, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:04

She was a high-born aristocrat woman, famed for one of the great beauties of France.

SPEAKER_01 45:10

Really?

SPEAKER_00 45:10

She was by reputation a decadent and promiscuous at times. Um, though um, notably she had no prior record of being with women.

SPEAKER_01 45:22

Somehow.

SPEAKER_00 45:23

Yeah. When she and Julie met, obviously they gossip Mills turned, no one knew exactly how they were introduced. Right. But Julie was in her late 20s. Okay. And Florence Florence was a little bit older.

SPEAKER_03 45:36

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

They recognized each other as like kindred spirits of like rebellion. Sure. The two women fell deeply in love. And for once it wasn't like us, it was a slow burn.

SPEAKER_02 45:49

It was it wasn't it wasn't a lust, yeah. Let's bang it, bang a couple out and then be like, all right, on to the next thing.

SPEAKER_00 45:56

It was it was like oh she started to settle down.

SPEAKER_02 46:00

Oh, I have feelings for this person, the real feelings. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:03

So Julie and the marquee lived together monog monogamously and relatively quiet for the next two years. Julie's longest relationship. Sounds that way. And during this period, um, there were no duels or scandals from Julie. Interesting. She had found a measure of peace and happiness, content to be with her beloved. Yes. They hosted refined gatherings at um the Florencec estate, and Julie even learned to behave in high society for her lady.

SPEAKER_02 46:33

So did she during this time also still dress as a male, more or less?

SPEAKER_00 46:38

I think so. I think she never stopped doing that.

SPEAKER_02 46:41

So she was again more of a tomboy, which is what we used to all call those people who did that.

SPEAKER_00 46:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:48

Um, so it kind of created a balance between High Society Lady and herself, obviously. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 46:57

So um during this time, Julie did not abandon the stage. Of course. In May 1705, um, she gave her final opera appearance. Oh. Her heart was more on her new relationship, yeah. Yes. Than anything else. Sure. But later that summer, Madame de Madame de Florentac fell ill with a sudden fever.

SPEAKER_02 47:19

Oh fuck, really? So she finally finds love and she gets it ripped away.

SPEAKER_00 47:25

Two days of sickness.

SPEAKER_02 47:27

That's it.

SPEAKER_00 47:28

Two days of sickness. She died. Holy fuck.

SPEAKER_02 47:32

That is sad.

SPEAKER_00 47:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:34

I've I've I mean, obviously, I feel bad. What I'm sorry, what's her name? The one who died. Madame, what? Florence. Okay. It's very I'm gonna go with Madame.

SPEAKER_00 47:43

Madame.

SPEAKER_02 47:44

Anyways, it's sad that Madame obviously died and rather fucking quickly. But Julie finally finds, like, oh, that I can settle down with this person, even though it's illegal technically. I mean, she's married still, probably officially. And she's but it sounded like it was a good time for her, and then rip it away.

SPEAKER_00 48:09

And of course, Julie's heart was broken.

SPEAKER_02 48:11

Well, yeah, I mean, I don't blame her.

Love, Quiet Years, Sudden Loss

SPEAKER_00 48:14

So following her death, Julie DeBigny walked away from the opera and public life forever. Oh, okay. We're not quite sure what happened to her afterwards, like whether she went back to her strange husband or what happened.

SPEAKER_03 48:28

Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_00 48:29

Um, other documents say that she might have gone back to the convent, which seems a little weird.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

I I I doubt that. I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm saying I highly doubt that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:40

So um Julie Dubigny died in 1707 at age 33.

SPEAKER_02 48:47

Yeah, she was very young then.

SPEAKER_00 48:49

The cause of her death is unrecorded.

SPEAKER_02 48:51

Okay. I wonder how she died then. I just I'm just curious. Wouldn't you like to know who wouldn't it be interesting to go, okay, back in my time machine? Yeah, go back. We're gonna go visit a tavern real quick, yeah, have a couple pints, and then like, let's see how she died. Yeah, I would just be curious to know her actual reason for dying.

SPEAKER_00 49:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:12

Because 33, even then, is pretty fucking young. Yeah. So wow, okay.

SPEAKER_00 49:19

So over the centuries, Julie's um life and her story have been embellished. Of course.

SPEAKER_02 49:26

Yes, so they always are, especially back then.

SPEAKER_00 49:28

Yeah, so there were at least three had died um by her sword in documented duels.

SPEAKER_01 49:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 49:36

Um, but others say that she's killed ten. Not sure.

SPEAKER_01 49:40

Either way.

SPEAKER_00 49:40

Did she burn down the whole convent? No. Pretty sure she only burned down like a part of it. Was she the first woman to wear immense clothing? No.

SPEAKER_02 49:51

Fuck no.

SPEAKER_00 49:52

Yes. But for some, she was this like scandalous villainess, and then for others, she was this romantic icon of freedom and not being heroine heroine, and no, no one is gonna judge me who for who I want to be.

SPEAKER_02 50:07

And no, she was she wanted to be her, and that's who she was, and people applauded it, which is great. Be you, yeah. Um, it's just sad, so fucking young. Yeah, and then she finally found the love of her life, and she got ripped away from her, and because it sounded like I mean, yeah, love of her life. It it it settled her down, kind of thing, you know. And the fact that she had, you know, it was two years you said they were together, and then got sick, she died, and then holy fuck, it's like what do I do now? And that's wild. It's just sad that she had such a short life, such a busy life.

SPEAKER_00 50:49

Oh my god, so bold if you if you will.

SPEAKER_02 50:52

Um busy might not be the right term, you know what I mean though. Yeah, active whatever you want to call it. Oh, Jesus Christ. Sorry. And um she finally found what she was looking for and then ripped away and then begin to die.

SPEAKER_00 51:08

Yeah. So that was the story of Julie Dubigny.

SPEAKER_02 51:13

That was interesting. I I never obviously heard of her. Yeah. Um rather enjoyed that story.

SPEAKER_00 51:20

Good.

SPEAKER_02 51:20

Um I always you know, that's my time frame. I like it.

SPEAKER_00 51:25

I know.

SPEAKER_02 51:25

I like that shit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:27

Um so I wish they weren't all French though, you know. It's hard for me.

SPEAKER_02 51:34

It's hard for your pronunciation. Yeah. Okay. Did you know that French fries were not the first coming from France?

SPEAKER_00 51:44

What?

SPEAKER_02 51:46

They were first fried in Greece.

SPEAKER_00 51:48

What? Why do they call them French fries?

SPEAKER_02 51:51

Terrible joke. Fried in Greece.

SPEAKER_00 51:54

No.

Legacy, Myths, And Sign-Off

SPEAKER_02 51:55

See, here's the thing. Um, our are many, many, many, many, many followers. If I have to explain my jokes to Kate, it's not that funny. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. It means they were funny. It's just Kate. It's just Kate. Yep. Well.

SPEAKER_00 52:19

I suppose.

SPEAKER_02 52:20

All right, buffoons. That's it for today's episode.

SPEAKER_00 52:23

Buckle up because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you next time. Feeling hungry for more buffoonery? Or maybe you have a burning question or a wild historical theory for us to explore?

SPEAKER_02 52:35

Hit us up on social media. We're History Buffoons Podcast on YouTube, X, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also email us at history buffoonspodcast at gmail.com. We are Bradley and Kate, music by Corey Akers.

SPEAKER_00 52:49

Follow us wherever you get your podcasts and turn those notifications on to stay in the loop.

SPEAKER_02 52:54

Until next time, stay curious and don't forget to rate and review us.

SPEAKER_00 52:57

Remember, the buffoonery never stops.