Governor of the Bastille of Acy, lord of Beu and Nesle-en-Tardenois, chamberlain of the King. He is quoted in numerous documents between 1386 and November 1404, date of his death that are now held in the department of manuscripts of the Bibliothèque nationale de France . The last governor to hold this position, the unfortunate Bernard-René de Launay, appointed in 1776, was beheaded on 14 July 1789 and replaced by a provisional governor during the demolition of the building. At the end of the Ancien Régime, the governor of the Bastille was reduced to being a subordinate of the lieutenant-general of police. He could
Marguerite de Launay, baronne de Staal poverty compelled her to enter the household of the duchesse du Maine at the Château de Sceaux in the capacity of lady-in-waiting. Her literary talent soon manifested itself in the literary court of the duchesse, and secured for her, among other friendships, the somewhat undesirable admiration of the abbé Chaulieu. The duchesse is said, on the somewhat dubious authority of her lady-in-waiting, to have been not a little jealous of her attendant. Enough, however, is known of the duchesse's imperious and capricious temper to make it improbable that her service was agreeable. Mlle de Launay, however, enjoyed a large share