Members of the SMU community gathered in the regal atmosphere of Dallas Hall for refreshments followed by a lecture as a part of the Stanton Sharp Lecture Series entitled “The Royal Mistress and the Construction of a Monarch: The Case of Diane de Poitiers and Henry II” given by Dr. Kathleen A. Wellman, Dedman Family distinguished Professor at SMU.
Wellman lectured on the life of one of the most interesting women of the Early Modern period, Diane de Poitiers, who through the construction of her public persona grafted onto the image of the goddess Diana. She was able to elevate not only her status from mistress to the divine, but also the status of her lover, King Henry II, and his court.
Through an abundant presentation of contemporary Renaissaince art and quipping references to contemporaries of Portier’s era, Wellman infused life into the tale of the mistress and her unprecedented ability to maintain an image of virtue while seizing political and financial power in sixteenth-century France. Likening Poitiers’ influence to that of a member of the Presidential Cabinet, she shed light onto the exceptional role of this woman in history.
“She was a pivot of power,” said Wellman. “So extensive was her influence that all differed to her.”
One of the most sobering lessons that Wellman expressed can be learned from the construction of myths like Poitiers’ are their ability to cast a peculiar version of reality. The promulgation of Poitiers’ image as the virginal goddess of the hunt and Henry’s as the honorable King associated with such a goddess elevated the status of the mistress and monarch in the eyes of a public willing to eat up the classics during an era of courtly humanism.
This veiled propaganda flourished thanks to a revival in the arts during the Renaissance.
Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Wellman is the author of over 115 articles and three books.
She has received such honors as the Rotunda Outstanding Professor Award, has been named a Hope Professor and was recently awarded with the highly coveted Ford Fellowship Grant for research.
“She is incredibly prolific,” said friend and colleague Dr. David Doyle, Director of the University Honors Program. “Her secret is to go every morning to Le Madeline to write and research.”
One of Dr. Wellman’s students, Madison Dyal, expressed similar sentiments, “She is an entertaining teacher, and her passion for the subject matter is obvious.”
The Stanton Sharp Lecture Series – sponsored by the William P. Clements Department of History and Dedman College, and in honor of Ruth Sharp Altshuler – will host two more lectures this Spring: The Assassination of Julius Caesar and Success of the Julian Calendar given by Professor Melissa Barden Dowling, Those “Magnifiques” Men in their Flying Machines: French Aviation at the Time of the Wright Brothers given by Professor Peter J. Bakewell.
