In the century leading up to the French revolution we are told all about the little warning signs that lead up to the revolution. Louis the Sun King is someone that many people in America vaguely know of. We know about how he built Versailles which was later played apart in the French Revolution but are not told about how in the mists of Europe’s religious fervor for a moment a safe place for LGBTQ people was created under his reign. While he didn’t do it on purpose his strange competition with the church created a safe space for these people and created a very strange person: Julie d’Aubigny.

Julie was born in Versailles to a high ranking servant. Her father had been a great swordsman in youth and taught Julie the basics. When she 14 she was married to the master of the stables but soon ran off with her lover, a fencing master. She dressed in men’s clothes while traveling she also master swordsmanship while on the road. She then fell in love with a daughter of a merchant. The merchant’s daughter sent her to a convent. Julie then went to the convent and also joined. Then one evening she took a body of another dead nun, hid it in her lover’s room and lit a fire. Everyone thought the daughter of the merchant was dead and the two escaped into the country side. Once the daughter of the merchant became tried of Julie she went home. The parents then immediately took their case to court. However Julie was pardon by the king himself and was given a position at the Paris Opera, which was like Broadway at the time, where she quickly rose to be a fan favorite. She had many lovers of both genders and never hid her bisexuality.

One evening Julie went to attend a party at the palace. She dressed in men’s clothes and danced with a lady at the event who several men were courting. Things went too far when she kissed the lady and she was challenged to sword duel by three different men. She then, one at a time, defeated each of the men who challenged her. She then went back to the party. However, shortly after she then had to flee as dueling was illegal in France. She fled to Brussels where she had an affair with a German Prince before returning after a year. She then fell in love with another woman, Madame La Marquis De Florensac. When that she died Julie fell into a deep depression, quit the Opera, and joined a convent for real where she later died.

This safe space for queer people was created due to Louis’s power struggle with the Catholic church. In the effort to get more power he sponsored painters, writers, architects, and other craftsman who didn’t like the church. These people would create Anti church and pro Louis works to boost his Rep. To make things more complicated Louis brother, Philipp I, Duke of Orleans liked to cross dress as a woman and took male lovers. So if Louis started being tough on Queer people his brother would be the first to suffer. Julie d’Aubigny was one of those people who is an interesting footnote in history and she proves how far you could push this protection.