A popular figure in gossip and colorful anecdotes in 17th century France, Julie d'Aubigny was born the daughter of a secretary to the Master of the Horse, or grand squire and stablekeeper, to King Louis XIV, the sun king. Her father was charged with training the court's pages and squires, and the young Julie was enamored from an early age with the elegant swordplay and refined performances she saw as part and parcel with the royal court. Recognizing his daughter's headstrong, incorrigible personality wouldn't allow him to forbid her entirely, her father reluctantly allowed her to join the pages in their practice, on condition that she disguise herself as a boy and stop spying on his lessons in secret. Eagerly agreeing, she was trained alongside the pages in fencing, dancing, and reading, proving to be a quick study. Even in disguise, Julie was an androgynous beauty, and found herself in her first relationship at the age of fourteen - with her father's employer, the Master of the Horse, Comte d'Armagnac himself. In order to rein in the rambunctious young girl, she was set up with an arranged marriage, while still engaged in her affair with the Comte.
Not long after, however, she fell in love (again) with an assistant fencing master to her father, Sérannes, and ran away with him. The two traveled the French countryside, teaching others swordplay or singing in taverns for money. Julie turned out to be a talented singer, fond of performing in both male and female attire, but never concealing her gender. The two managed to secure a position for her at an opera house in Marseille, at which point she left Sérannes as well, this time for a young local woman. When that girl was sent by her parents to a convent to break the two up, Julie's solution was simple - she joined the convent herself under an assumed name, reunited with her lover and kidnapped her, and then burned down the convent. The two would be together only a few more months, but Julie found it to be time well spent.
Now a criminal, and charged in absentia as a man, Julie was sentenced to death by fire. This didn't stop her from adventuring and touring her way towards Paris with an aim towards the greatest stage of all, the Paris Opera. Along the way, she engaged in multiple duels, whether for money, fun, or to avenge a slight. In one such duel, she won after driving her sword through her opponent's shoulder, only to subsequently accept his apology and sneak into his room, where she and the still-injured noble soon became lovers and later lifelong friends.
In Paris, she convinced the King to pardon her - twice, after later illegally dueling three men at a society ball after she seduced and kissed a beautiful woman who the men had been trying to court - and soon became a rising star in the Paris Opera, even performing at Versailles when she wasn't being actively being charged with one crime or another. She was described as having the most beautiful voice in the Parisian world, first performing as a soprano, then later her natural contralto voice. In fact, the opera Tancrède was the first to feature a contralto role in French performing arts, a decision made specifically to allow Julie to show off her natural, most comfortable range and singing talent.
To the end of her life at the age of thirty-three, Julie d'Aubigny led a colorful, scandalous life that ended only when she disappeared inconsolable after the passing of her then-lover, a female marquis whose bed she shared for several years. Some believe she retired to a convent, but her grave was never located nor did anyone claim possession of her remains. She would later inspire a novel about her life, Mademoiselle de Maupin by Théophile Gautier, which was promptly banned by multiple authorities for its flouting of gender roles and celebration of love's sensual qualities.
Originally Posted by Shiki-pon
Caution: unedited contentFirst off, I might note that Fenrir is one my favorites when it comes to Norse Mythology. Though that is no excuse for what I'm about to say, it is an explanation.
