César Phoebus d'Albret, ''comte de Miossens'' (16143 September 1676), was a French soldier, a
Marshal of France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...
under
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 un ...
and
Cardinal Mazarin
Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...
during the
Fronde
The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...
, rather than any military talent, motivated his designation as a marshal of France (1 June 1653). He set aside the name of ''Miossens'' for the grander name of ''
Albret
The lordship (''seigneurie'') of Albret (Labrit), situated in the Landes, gave its name to one of the most powerful feudal families of France in the Middle Ages.
History
Its members distinguished themselves in the local wars of that epoch; and d ...
''.
Military career
He first took up arms in the service of the United Provinces, under
Maurice of Nassau
Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...
and Jean de Werth in the Eighty Years' War against the Spanish in the Low Countries. In 1635 he was made ''maître de camp'' alongside his father in a French infantry regiment in the army of Lorraine and commanded a regiment in the siege of
Corbie
Corbie (; nl, Korbei) is a commune of the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The small town is situated up river from Amiens, in the département of Somme and is the main town of the canton of Corbie. It lies in ...
(1636). As a Captain in the regiment of Guards in 1639, he became successively ensign then Lieutenant of the ''Gendarmes de la Garde ordinaire du Roi'' in 1644, and second-in-command during the Fronde.
Though on intimate terms with the young
duc d'Enghien
Duke of Enghien (french: Duc d'Enghien, pronounced with a silent ''i'') was a noble title pertaining to the House of Condé. It was only associated with the town of Enghien for a short time.
Dukes of Enghien – first creation (1566–1569)
The ...
, he nevertheless joined the party of Mazarin. On 19 January 1650 he was charged with escorting the arrested dukes of
Conti
Conti is an Italian surname.
Geographical distribution
As of 2014, 63.5% of all known bearers of the surname ''Conti'' were residents of Italy (frequency 1:756), 11.8% of the United States (1:24,071), 9.2% of Brazil (1:17,439), 6.3% of Argentina ...
, Condé and Longueville to the donjon at the château de Vincennes. Mazarin's promise of the rank of Marshal was extracted only at the price of pressures brought by court intrigues, in which César Phoebus was supported by his cousin
Madame de Montespan Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ( ...
, who was soon to supplant the young
Louise de La Vallière
Françoise ''Louise'' de La Vallière, Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours, born Françoise Louise de La Baume Le Blanc de La Vallière, Mademoiselle de La Vallière (6 August 1644 – 7 June 1710) was a French noblewoman and the first mistres ...
in the King's affections. The title of
duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
continued to elude him.
He served as field marshal at the successful siege of
Mardyck
Mardyck (Dutch: ''Mardijk'', vls, Mardyk) is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is an associated commune with Dunkirk since it joined the latter in January 1980.Dunkirk in 1646. "He was then 39 years of age and had served very little, never anywhere as a leader, and afterwards saw no more of war," the
duc de Saint-Simon
Duke of Saint-Simon (french: duc de Saint-Simon; es, duque de Saint-Simon) was a title in the Peerage of France and later in the Peerage of Spain. It was granted in 1635 to Claude de Rouvroy, comte de Rasse.. The title's name refers to the seign ...
wrote in his memoirs. The Abbé d'Aumont, who had taken a box at the ''Comédie'' that the ''maréchal'' commanded for his own, was heard to remark, "A fine Marshal! He has never stormed anything except my box!"
Court career
He married 6 February 1645, Madeleine de Guénégaud, daughter of Gabriel de Guénégaud, seigneur du Plessis-Belleville, a
Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi
The Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi (french: Secrétaire d'État à la Maison du Roi) was the secretary of state in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration in charge of the Département de la Maison du Roi. The exact comp ...
. With
Turenne
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...
's support, he was named a chevalier of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit, 31 December 1661, continuing the honour that was traditional in his family. The favour of the marquise de Maintenon secured him the post of governor of
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux.
The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...
from November 1670 to 1676. In 1675 he conducted a veritable campaign, pursued with energy, against the public uprising at
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
over taxes on timber and tobacco, and successfully demolished the Porte Sainte Croix and 500 ''toises'' of the city ramparts.
Saint-Simon's incisive word portraits of the duc d'Albret were uncompromising: "He was a man of spirit, competent, proud, and even more, of intrigue. "He was a man who, without having served much and never in charge, made a good account of himself by his spirit, his courage, his address and his magnificence. He kept great state everywhere and had with him at Pons the best company". In Pons, he received the title "Sire de Pons" and is also known for his design of the monumental ''Grand Staircase'', which would later connect the upper city to the lower city near the
Keep of Pons
The Keep of Pons (French: ''Donjon de Pons'') is an 830-year-old fortified tower located in Pons, France and is one of the few remnants of the original castle of Pons. The keep is located near the chapel and porch of Saint Gilles and remains of t ...
, and was designed in the year 1665.
His exploits in gallantry are more considerable than his military ones. The list of his conquests is a long one: Marion Delorme,
Ninon de Lenclos
Anne "Ninon" de l'Enclos, also spelled Ninon de Lenclos and Ninon de Lanclos (10 November 1620 – 17 October 1705), was a French author, courtesan and patron of the arts.
Early life
Born Anne de l'Enclos in Paris on 10 November 1620,Sources als ...
, with whom he fathered a son, Marguerite de Béthune-Sully, Madame d'Olone. He frequented the salon of Françoise d'Aubigné the future Madame de Maintenon, who said "Marshal d'Albret has always been my friend, I don't know he ever was my lover".''The Letters of Madam '' ic' de Maintenon; And Other Eminent Persons in the Age of Lewis XIV'', London, Robinson, 1753, p. 32 (accessible online a Books Google .Original French text (in a letter to Ninon de Lenclos): "Le maréchal d'Albret est mon ami de tous les temps : Je ne sache pas qu'il ait été mon amant" Widowed by
Paul Scarron
Paul Scarron (c. 1 July 1610 in Paris – 6 October 1660 in Paris) (a.k.a. Monsieur Scarron) was a French poet, dramatist, and novelist, born in Paris. Though his precise birth date is unknown, he was baptized on 4 July 1610. Scarron was the fi ...
she took refuge at the hôtel d'Albret, where she met Mme de Montespan, cousin by marriage of the ''maréchal'' as well as Bonne d'Heudicourt (his cousin of the Pons family, thanks to whom Mme de Montespan entrusted to her the education of the children she had with Louis XIV, who took a fancy to the widowed governess.