Henri II De Montmorency
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Henri II de Montmorency (1595 – 30 October 1632) was a French nobleman and military commander.


Biography

Born at
Chantilly, Oise Chantilly ( , ) is a commune in the Oise department in the Valley of the Nonette in the Hauts-de-France region of Northern France. Surrounded by Chantilly Forest, the town of 10,863 inhabitants (2017) falls within the metropolitan area of Pari ...
, Henri was the son of
Henri I de Montmorency Henri I de Montmorency (15 June 1534 in Chantilly, Oise – 2 April 1614), Marshal of France, and Constable of France, seigneur of Damville, served as Governor of Languedoc from 1563 to 1614. Biography Born on 15 June 1534, Henri was the son ...
and Louise de Budos. He was the godson of
Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 â€“ 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...
and was constantly receiving marks of the royal affection. Henri's name and his personality rendered him at an early age the darling of the court and the people. By 1612, he was raised to the office of
Grand Admiral Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, the highest rank in the several European navies that used it. It is best known for its use in Germany as . A comparable rank in modern navies is that of admiral of the fleet. Grand admirals in individual n ...
. Henri succeeded to his father's title in 1614 and was also governor of
Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
. In 1620, he was made viceroy of
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
, a post he held until 1625. Henri wrested several important places from the Protestants and was present at the sieges of
Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...
and
Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
. On the renewal of the civil war in 1625, the fleet sent from Holland to the aid of the French king was placed under his command. In 1625, Henri defeated the French
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
fleet under
Soubise Soubise can refer to: * Soubise, a salpicon of cooked and pureed rice and onions; used primarily "au gratin". (steaks, tournedos) * Soubise sauce, based on Béchamel sauce, with the addition of a ''soubise'' of onion and rice purée * Soubise, Ch ...
and seized the islands of Ré and Oleron, but the jealousy of
Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
deprived him of the means of following up these advantages. In 1628–1629, Henri took command of a royal army to fight the forces of
Henri, Duc de Rohan Henri (II) de Rohan (21 August 157913 April 1638), Duke of Rohan and Prince of Léon, was a Breton-French soldier, writer and leader of the Huguenots. Early life Rohan was born at the Château de Blain (now a part of Blain, Loire-Atlantique), ...
, in
Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
, and bested that famous leader of the Huguenots. In 1630, Henri won renown as a military leader in the war against the Spaniards in
Piedmont (Italy) it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
. He defeated the Piedmontese, at the
Battle of Avigliana The Battle of Veillane (or the Battle of Avigliana) was fought on 10 July 1630 between a French army under the command of Henri II de Montmorency and a Spanish army under the command of Don Carlo Doria. The result was a French victory."On Jul ...
, where he charged across a ditch at the head of the gendarmes of the king, captured
Carlo Doria Carlo Doria, 1st Duke of Tursi (1 August 1576 — 9 January 1650), was an Italian general who fought for Spain during the War of Mantuan Succession. Biography Carlo Doria was the second born son of Giovanni Andrea I Doria. In 1595 his father gav ...
, the enemy general, with his own hand, and fought like a common soldier until the enemy was completely driven from the field. This victory was followed by the raising of the
siege of Casal A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...
and the taking of
Saluzzo Saluzzo (; pms, Salusse ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy. The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are fo ...
. For these achievements, he was appointed 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 (1 ...
later in the same year. At the height of his fame and influence, he was solicited to join the opponents of
Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
, Louis XIII's chief minister. Disliking Richelieu's attempts to rein in the influence of his class, in 1632, using his position as governor of Languedoc, he raised levies of troops and money, joined the party of Gaston, Duke of Orleans (the king's brother) and took command of an army of six or seven thousand. Negotiation was tried in vain; Henri was confronted and defeated by
Marshal Schomberg Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, 1st Count of Mertola, (french: Frédéric-Armand; pt, Armando Frederico; 6 December 1615 – 1 July 1690) was a Marshal of France and a General in the English and Portuguese Army. He was ...
at the
Battle of Castelnaudary The Battle of Castelnaudary occurred at Castelnaudary, France, on 1 September 1632, between the rebel forces of Henri II de Montmorency (loyal to Gaston, Duke of Orléans) and the royalist forces of Marshal Henri de Schomberg (loyal to King Louis X ...
(1 September 1632). Trying to emulate his victory at Avigliana, Henri led a charge into the royal camp at the head of a few horsemen. He cut his way through six ranks of infantry amidst a continuing shower of shot and fought against overwhelming numbers, until his horse dropped dead. Severely wounded, he was captured. Abandoned by Gaston, he was doomed to death by the remorseless Richelieu, as an example to the rest of the plotting nobility. In vain his life was begged for by all ranks throughout France. The only palliation of punishment that could be obtained from Louis XIII was that the execution should be in private. Henri was therefore beheaded in
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
's
town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
30 October 1632, by a guillotine-like device (according to the memoirs of Jacques, vicomte de Puysegur). His title passed to his sister, Charlotte-Marguerite, Princess of Condé.


References


Sources

* * * * * *


Further reading

*


External link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montmorency, Henri 2 De 1595 births 1632 deaths People from Chantilly, Oise Henri 2 De Dukes of Montmorency Henri 2 Marshals of France Admirals of France 17th-century peers of France 17th-century executions by France People executed for treason against France