Guette, Catherine de la (1613–1676)

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Guette, Catherine de la (1613–1676)

French memoirist. Name variations: Catherine Meurdrac de la Guette; Madame de la Guette. Born Catherine Meurdrac in 1613 in France; died 1676 in The Hague, Netherlands; sister of Marie Meurdrac; married (husband died 1665); children: 10.

Born into family of nobility and trained in martial arts, expressed preference for war over domestic life and motherhood; though a royalist, married a rebel and remained loyal to him; dressed as a man to act as emissary between rebels (frondeurs) and royalists; after husband's death (1665), received support from William of Orange; wrote Mémoires de Mme de la Guette (1681) which give insight into French civil wars (1648–53).

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Guette, Catherine de la (1613–1676)

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