CONSTANT

See also:

• CONSTANT AUBIGNE
• AUBIGNE, JEAN HENRI MERLE
• AUBIGNE, THEODORE AGRIPPA

AUBIGNE  D' [BARON DE SURINEAU] (c . 1584-1647), French adventurer, was the son of Theodore Agrippa d'Aubigne, and the father of Madame de Maintenon . Born a Protestant, he became by turns Catholic or Protestant as it suited his interests . He betrayed the Protestants in 1626, revealing to the court, after a voyage to England, the projects of the English upon La Rochelle . He was renounced by his father; then imprisoned by Richelieu's orders at Niort, where he was detained ten years . After having tried his fortunes in the Antilles, he died in Provence, leaving in destitution his wife, Jeanne de Cardillac, whom he had married in 1627 . He had two children, Charles, father of the duchess of Noailles, and Francoise, known in history as Madame de Maintenon . See T . Lavallee, La Famille d'Aubigni et l'enfance de Madame de Maintenon (Paris, 1863) .