François de Montmorency, Duc de Montmorency (17 July 1530 – 6 May 1579) was a French soldier, diplomat and peer who served as governor of Paris. He was

Duke of Montmorency Duke of Montmorency was a title of French nobility that was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, near Paris. History The first creation was in 1551 for Anne de Montmorency, Constable of ...

, Count of Dammartin, Baron of Châteaubriant and Lord of L'Isle-Adam, Grand Master of France, and

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 (1 ...

. He fought for France in the Hapsburg-Valois wars and for the crown in the early

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...

before his family's rivalry with the

house of Guise The House of Guise (pronunciation: �ɥiz Dutch: ''Wieze, German: Wiese'') was a prominent French noble family, that was involved heavily in the French Wars of Religion. The House of Guise was the founding house of the Principality of Joinvil ...

pushed him into rebellion in 1574. Restored to favour in 1575 he died several years later.

Family

François was the eldest son of

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

constable of France The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...

, and

Madeleine of Savoy Madeleine of Savoy (1510–1586) was a French court official, and the wife of constable Anne de Montmorency, a leading soldier and politician, whom she married in 1526. After she was widowed in 1567 she served as ''Première dame d'honneur'' to ...

. In 1557 a marriage was arranged for him with

Diane de France Diane de France, ''suo jure'' Duchess of Angoulême (25 July 1538 – 11 January 1619) was the natural (illegitimate) daughter of Henry II of France. She played an important political role during the French Wars of Religion and built the H� ...

, natural daughter of Henry II; he resented the arrangement. Coat of arms of Francois, Duc de Montmorency, KG

Italian Wars

In 1552 he accompanied the King to the border of Germany in the latest round of fighting with the Hapsburgs, and was present at the capture of

Damvillers Damvillers is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 communes of the Meuse department of France. The communes cooperate in the f ...

and of Ivoy. He took part in the defence of the town of

Thérouanne Thérouanne (; vls, Terenburg; Dutch ''Terwaan'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It is located west of Aire-sur-la-Lys and south of Saint-Omer, on the D 157 and D 341 road junction. Loca ...

against the attacks of the troops of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

: after it fell he was made prisoner on 30 May 1553. On his return from captivity, he was knighted on

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, a ...

and was provided with the Government of Paris and the

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

(1556). He was sent to the aid of the

Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pa ...

and retook from the Spanish the port of Ostia and some other places around Rome. He took part in the Battle of Saint-Quentin on 10 August 1557, defended

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

against the Spanish and helped in the siege of

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, in 1558. The King sent him with an embassy to

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

to get her agreement to the

Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

, with Montmorency acting as a signatory. With the death of the

King Henri II Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder br ...

, Montmorency had to yield the title of Grand Master, to the

Duke of Guise Count of Guise and Duke of Guise (pronounced �ɥiz were titles in the French nobility. Originally a seigneurie, in 1417 Guise was erected into a county for René, a younger son of Louis II of Anjou. While disputed by the House of Luxembourg ...

. The King then gave François the position of

in 1559 as a form of compensation.

French Wars of Religion

In 1560, François attended the Estates General, held in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and French war of religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...

, fighting in the

battle of Dreux The Battle of Dreux was fought on 19 December 1562 between Catholics and Huguenots. The Catholics were led by Anne de Montmorency while Louis I, Prince of Condé, led the Huguenots. Though commanders from both sides were captured, the French C ...

in 1562, and the recapture of

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

in 1563. The 16th-century French historian Brantôme wrote: "Now, besides the fact that Monsieur de Montmorency was brave, he was a wise and shrewd captain and a strong politician, and for this, the King , when he went to tour his kingdom n 1564 left him Governor of the Île de France and Paris, where he showed his wisdom and good leadership, because, having found the people of Paris, just emerged from civil war, still a great enemy of the Huguenots, mutinous, seditious, shaking and boiling all over, with mutiny and envy, always spilling blood, ... he rendered them supple and easy to handle like a buckskin glove from

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the ...

, with which the King was greatly satisfied." In the second of the wars of religion, he took part in the Battle of Saint-Denis (10 November 1567) in which his father died. Once he became Duke, François continued the

House of Montmorency The House of Montmorency, pronounced , was one of the oldest and most distinguished noble families in France. Origins The family name Montmorency derived from their castle in the ''pays de France'', recorded in Latin as ''Mons Maurentiacus'', i ...

's rivalry with that of the

House of Guise The House of Guise (pronunciation: �ɥiz Dutch: ''Wieze, German: Wiese'') was a prominent French noble family, that was involved heavily in the French Wars of Religion. The House of Guise was the founding house of the Principality of Joinvil ...

, escalating it further. In 1570, he was responsible for enforcing the

Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye The Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed on 8 August 1570 by Charles IX of France, Gaspard II de Coligny and Jeanne d'Albret, and ended the 1568 to 1570 Third Civil War, part of the French Wars of Religion. The Peace went much further tha ...

on the hostile Parisian population. In 1572, he was sent to Queen Elizabeth I of England to get her to sign an alliance with France. It was on this occasion that he was created an Honorary Knight of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

. In France, François' enforcement of the 1570 peace earned him the hatred of the Catholic extremists. His inability to quell the unrest over the removal of the Gastines cross forced him to give up his post of governor of the city. He left the city a few days before the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (23–24 August 1572). It was he who discreetly took down the corpse of Gaspard de Coligny, his cousin, from the gallows of Montfaucon, where he was hanging. In 1574, Charles IX appointed him to the court, but tensions between himself and the Guise forced his departure. Not having anything more to lose, he took part in the plot of Malcontents, the "Third Party" with the

Duke of Alençon 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 ran ...

, but he was stopped and locked up in the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...

with Marshal Cossé. He was released in April 1575, and the King recognized his innocence by letters, recorded at the Parliament. He died in the

Château d'Écouen The Château d'Écouen is an historic château in the commune of Écouen, some 20 km north of Paris, France, and a notable example of French Renaissance architecture. Since 1975, it has housed the collections of the Musée national de la Renaissan ...

on 6 May 1579.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Montmorency, Francois De 1530 births 1579 deaths Francois Francois de Francois Barons of Chateaubriant Marshals of France French people of the French Wars of Religion Grand Masters of France Knights of the Garter 16th-century peers of France Prisoners of the Bastille Court of Charles IX of France