[MR] History Blog: French Aristo's Teeth Wired in Place

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today's History Blog is a fascinating story about dental disease and
Protestantism in Renaissance France.

In 1987 the remains of a French noble woman, Anne d’Alègre, Countess of
Laval (1565-1619), were discovered during an excavation at the *Vieux-Château
Laval* in northwestern France. Only recently has her skull been scanned
using modern technology. The scan revealed that her teeth were held in
place by very thin gold wires, a sort of 16th century precursor to the
"grille". Seems that Anne had serious periodontal disease, but she also had
the money to have her teeth fixed by the period equivalent of a dentist.

Anne was the last of the Laval family after her only son was killed
fighting against the Turks. The family story, one of a son and his mother
torn apart by the French Wars of Religion, is told in the History Blog
post. Fascinating stuff, but very sad.

The Blog story is at http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/66293 .

Another version can be read at
https://phys.org/news/2023-01-french-aristocrat-golden-dental-secret.html .

A Wikipedia page on *Château Laval* is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laval_Castle_(France) .

Finally, a summary of the Laval family and its distinguished history is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Laval .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
(Who remembers dental braces all too well)