A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Roches, Mesdames Des
ROCHES, MESDAMES DES,
Were two celebrated ladies of Poitiers, in France, who lived in the sixteenth century. The elder was named Madeleine Neveu, wife of André Fradonet, seigneur Des Roches, and her daughter Catharine. They were very learned, wise, and virtuous Madame des Roches became a widow fifteen years after her marriage, and devoted herself to the education of her daughter, in whom she found a very dear friend, and a rival who excelled her. They devoted themselves principally to writing poetry; and their verses show their great attachment to each other, and also that they met with many sorrows. Catharine was so attached to her mother, that she would never marry, although she had many worthy suitors. They express, in their writings, a strong desire not to survive each other; and their wish was gratified, for they died the same day of a plague that ravaged Poitiers, in 1587. Madame des Roches was born in 1531.