Jeanne de Lestonnac was born in 1556 into an influential family in Bordeaux, France. Her father was a member of the French Parliament, and a prominent Catholic. Her mother, who was the sister of the renowned humanist philosopher Michel de Montaigne, had embraced the teachings of John Calvin. Jeanne remained a devout Catholic, and the richness of the renaissance culture in which she grew up would have a great influence on her education.
Jeanne married at age 17 and gave birth to eight children, three of whom died in infancy. She would experience deep pain and sorrow because of the deaths of her husband, the three children and her father. Eventually on her own, she ensured that her children would receive the best education she could afford as well as a devout upbringing in the Catholic faith. Read More Here
