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DIANA—DIAPASON
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husband also wrote Mémoires, and lived until 1831, after having, it is said, received subsidies from Louis XVIII.

See M. Tourneux, Marie Antoinette devant l’histoire: Essai bibliographique (2nd ed., Paris, 1901); Émile Campardon, Marie Antoinette et le procès du collier (Paris, 1863); P. Audebert, L’Affaire du collier de la reine, d’après la correspondance inédite du chevalier de Pujol (Rouen, 1901); F. d’Albini, Marie Antoinette and the Diamond Necklace from another Point of View (London, 1900); Funck-Brentano, L’Affaire du collier (1903); A. Lang, Historical Mysteries (1904). Carlyle’s essay on The Diamond Necklace (first published in 1837 in Fraser’s Magazine) is of historical literary interest.


DIANA, in Roman mythology, an old Italian goddess, in later times identified with the Greek Artemis (q.v.). That she was originally an independent Italian deity is shown by her name, which is the feminine form of Janus (= Dianus). She is essentially the goddess of the moon and light generally, and presides over wood, plain and water, the chase and war. As the goddess of childbirth, she was known, like Juno, by the name of Lucina, the “bringer to light.” As the moon-goddess she was also identified with Hecate, and invoked as “three-formed” in reference to the phases of the moon. Her most celebrated shrine was in a grove at Aricia (whence her title of Nemorensis) near the modern lake of Nemi. Here she was worshipped side by side with a male deity Virbius, a god of the forest and the chase. This Virbius was subsequently identified with Hippolytus, the favourite of Artemis, who was said to have been brought to life by Aesculapius and conducted by Diana to Aricia (Ovid, Fasti, iii. 263, vi. 731, Metam. xv. 497; Virgil, Aeneid, vii. 761). A barbarous custom, perhaps reminiscent of human sacrifice once offered to her, prevailed in connexion with her ritual here; her priest, called Rex Nemorensis, who was a runaway slave, was obliged to qualify for office by slaying his predecessor in single combat (Strabo v. p. 239; Suetonius, Caligula, 35). This led to the identification of Diana with the Tauric Artemis, whose image was said to have been removed by Orestes to the grove of Aricia (see Aricini).

After the destruction of Alba Longa this grove was for a long time the united sanctuary of the neighbouring Latin and Rutulian cities, until at last it was extinguished beneath the supremacy of Rome. The festival of the goddess was on the ides (13th) of August, the full moon of the hot season. She was worshipped with torches, her aid was sought by women seeking a happy deliverance in childbirth, and many votive offerings have been found on the site. The worship of Diana was brought to Rome by Latin plebeians, and hence she was regarded as the protectress of the lower classes, and especially of slaves. In accordance with this, her most important temple was that on the Aventine, the chief seat of the plebeians, founded by Servius Tullius, originally as a sanctuary of the Latin league (Dion. Halic. iv. 26). No man was allowed to enter the temple, and on the day of its dedication (August 13) the slaves kept holiday (Plutarch, Quaest. Rom. 100). This Diana was identified with the sister of Apollo, and at the secular games she was worshipped simply as Artemis. Another celebrated sanctuary of Diana was that on the slopes of Mount Tifata near Capua (where she was worshipped under the name of Tifatina), a sanctuary specially favoured by Sulla and Vespasian. As Noctiluca (“giving light by night”) she had a sanctuary on the Palatine which was kept illuminated throughout the night (Varro, L.L. v. 68). On the Nemi priesthood see J. G. Frazer, Golden Bough.


DIANA MONKEY, a West African representative of the guenon monkeys taking its name, Cercopithecus diana, from the presence of a white crescent on the forehead; another characteristic feature being the pointed white beard. The general colour of the fur is greyish, with a deep tinge of chestnut from the middle of the back to the root of the tail. Together with C. neglectus of East and Central Africa, C. ignitus of Liberia, and C. roloway of the Gold Coast, the diana represents the special subgenus of guenons known as Pogonocebus. Although the diana monkey is commonly seen in menageries, little is known of its habits in the wild state.


DIANE DE FRANCE (1538–1619), duchess of Montmorency and Angoulême, was the natural daughter of Henry II. of France and a young Piedmontese, Filippe Duc. The constable de Montmorency went so far as to assert that of all the children of Henry II. Diane was the only one who resembled him. Catherine de’ Medici was greatly incensed at this affront, and took her revenge by having the constable disgraced on the death of Henry II. Brantôme is loud in praise of Diane. She was a perfect horsewoman and dancer, played several musical instruments, knew Spanish and Italian, and “estoit très belle de visage et de taille.” Legitimated in 1547, she was married in 1553 to Horace Farnese, second son of the duke of Parma, but her husband was killed soon afterwards at the siege of Hesdin. In order to assure his position, the constable de Montmorency wished to marry her to his eldest son, Francis. This was a romantic adventure, for Francis had clandestinely married Mademoiselle de Piennes. The constable dissolved this union, and after lengthy negotiations obtained the dispensation of the pope. On the 3rd of May 1559 Francis married Diane. A wise and moderate woman, Diane undoubtedly helped to make Francis de Montmorency one of the leaders of the party of the politiques. Again a widow in 1579, she had some influence at the court of Henry III., and negotiated his reconciliation with Henry of Navarre (1588). She retained her influence in the reign of Henry IV., conveyed the bodies of Catherine de’ Medici and Henry III. to St Denis, and died in 1619 at her hôtel of Angoulême.

See Brantôme, ed. by Lalanne, in the Coll de la société d’histoire de France, vol. viii. (1875); J. de Thou, Historia sui temporis. . . (1733); Matthieu de Morgues, Oraison funèbre de Diane de France (Paris, 1619).


DIANE DE POITIERS (1499–1566), duchess of Valentinois, and mistress of Henry II. of France, was the daughter of Jean de Poitiers, seigneur de St Vallier, who came of an old family of Dauphiné. In 1515 she married Louis de Brézé, grand seneschal of Normandy, by whom she had two daughters. She became a widow in 1533, but soon replaced her husband by a more illustrious lover, the king’s second son, Henry, who became dauphin in 1536. Although he was ten years younger than Diane, she inspired the young prince with a profound passion, which lasted until his death. The accession of Henry II. in 1547 was also the accession of Diane: she was virtual queen, while Henry’s lawful wife, Catherine de’ Medici, lived in comparative obscurity. The part Diane played, however, must not be exaggerated. More rapacious than ambitious, she concerned herself little with government, but devoted her energies chiefly to augmenting her income, and providing for her family and friends. Henry was the most prodigal of lovers, and gave her all rights over the duchy of Valentinois. Although she showed great tact in her dealings with the queen, Catherine drove her from the court after Henry’s death, and forced her to restore the crown jewels and to accept Chaumont in exchange for Chenonceaux. Diane retired to her château at Anet, where she died in 1566.

Several historians relate that she had been the mistress of Francis I. before she became the dauphin’s mistress, and that she gave herself to the king in order to obtain the pardon of her father, who had been condemned to death as an accomplice of the constable de Bourbon. This rumour, however, has no serious foundation. Men vied with each other in celebrating Diane’s beauty, which, if we may judge from her portraits, has been slightly exaggerated. She was a healthy, vigorous woman, and, by dint of great pains, succeeded in retaining her beauty late into life. It is said that even on the coldest mornings she would wash her face with well water. Diane was a patroness of the arts. She entrusted to Philibert de l’Orme the building of her château at Anet, and it was for her that Jean Goujon executed his masterpiece, the statue of Diana, now in the Louvre.

See G. Guiffrey, Lettres inédites de Diane de Poytiers (Paris, 1866) and Procès criminel de Jehan de Poytiers (Paris, 1867); Capefigue, Diane de Poitiers (Paris, 1860); Hay, Madame Dianne de Poytiers (London, 1900).


DIAPASON (Gr. διὰ πασῶν, through all), a term in music, originally for an interval of an octave. The Greek is an abbreviation of ἡ διὰ πασῶν χορδῶν συμφωνία, a consonance through all the tones of the scale. In this sense it is only used now, loosely, for the compass of an instrument or voice, or for a harmonious melody. The name is given to the two