Isaac de Porthau (also Portau or Portaut; January 30, 1617, Pau – July 13, 1712) was a Gascon black musketeer of the

Maison du Roi The Maison du Roi (, "King's Household") was the royal household of the King of France. It comprised the military, domestic, and religious entourage of the French royal family during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration. Organisation ...

in 17th century

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In addition, he was the first cousin once removed of the

Comte de Troisville Jean-Armand du Peyrer, Comte de Troisville (or Tresville) (1598 – 8 May 1672) was a French officer. He was fictionalized under the name Monsieur de Tréville in Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel ''The Three Musketeers''. Biography Origins Du Pey ...

, captain of the

Musketeers of the Guard The Musketeers of the Guard (french: Mousquetaires de la garde) or King's Musketeers () had the full name - Musketeers of the military household of the King of France. () They were an elite fighting company of the military branch of the Maison du ...

, and first cousin of

Armand d'Athos Armand, Seigneur de Sillègue, d'Athos, et d'Autevielle ("Lord of Sillègue, Athos, and Autevielle"), better known as Armand d'Athos (c. 1615 – December 21, 1643), was a Gascon Black Musketeer of the Maison du Roi in 17th-century France. He ...

. Porthau served as the inspiration for

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

's character "

Porthos Porthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), ''Twenty Years After'' (1845), and ''The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other ...

" in the

d'Artagnan Romances ''The d'Artagnan Romances'' are a set of three novels by Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870), telling the story of the 17th-century musketeer d'Artagnan. Dumas based the character and attributes of d'Artagnan on captain of musketeers Charles de Batz- ...

Life

Born in

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Bas ...

to Isaac de Porthau de Camptort de Campagne de Castetbon (Secretary of the Parliament of Béarn) and Clémence de Brosser, as the eldest of four children: Jean, Jeanne, and Sarah. Some sources say he was merely a guard while his brother Jean was the black musketeer, and may be in part responsible for the fictional representations of Porthau. Porthau served in the company of Alexandre des Essarts, cousin of the

, before joining the

in 1642. He had two sons: Arnaud and Jean. Following his father's death in 1654, he resigned from the Guard and took over as Secretary of the Parliament of Béarn.

Pedigree and arms

According to an issue of ''

Macmillan's Magazine ''Macmillan's Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine from 1859 to 1907 published by Alexander Macmillan. The magazine was a literary periodical that published fiction and non-fiction works from primarily British authors. Thomas Hughes had co ...

'' from 1899:

The Porthaus were an ancient family of
Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Bas ...
, taking their name from one of the old ''porthaux'' or ''portes'' (small frontier towers resembling the peel-towers of the British Border) with which the French and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Pyrénées The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
were studded.

Clearly the Porthaus accepted this interpretation of their name, since the

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

of their

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

(without tinctures, as the source is a

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

) was: A lion rampant and in chief two towers crenellated, masoned and inflamed, one to the dexter and the other to the sinister.''Un lion rampant, accompagné en chef de deux tours ouvertes, crenélées, maconnées et allumées, l'une au canton dextre et l'autre au canton senestre.'' These arms were granted to the Porthaus on November 24, 1674. It is unrecorded what, if anything, their arms were prior to this date.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porthau, Isaac De 1617 births 1712 deaths People from Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques 17th-century French military personnel 18th-century French people The Three Musketeers

Life

Pedigree and arms

See also

References