Lucien (1487 – 22 August 1523) became

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

of Monaco on 11 October 1505, having murdered his predecessor and brother, Jean II, and held that sovereignty until his death.

Family and Marriage

He was the fourth son of Lambert Grimaldi (1420–1494) and Claudine Grimaldi (1451–1515). On 25 September 1514 he married

Jeanne de Pontevès-Cabanes Jeanne de Pontevès-Cabanes (v. 1499 – d. ''after'' 25 May 1555), was Lady of Monaco by marriage to Lucien, Lord of Monaco. She was the daughter of Tanneguy de Pontevès, Lord of Cabanes, and Jeanne de Villeneuve. The marriage took place on 25 ...

. The couple had at least five children; *Francesco (born c. 1516 – died young) *Claudine (born c. 1517) *Lamberto (born c. 1519 – died young ) *Rainier (born c. 1521 – died young) *

Honoré Honoré is a name of French origin and may refer to several people or places: Given name Sovereigns of Monaco Lords of Monaco * Honoré I of Monaco Princes of Monaco * Honoré II of Monaco * Honoré III of Monaco * Honoré IV of Monaco * Honor� ...

(1522 – 7 October 1581)

Murder of Jean II

At least two accounts of the murder portray it as arising from an argument between the brothers. According to Françoise de Bernardy's acclaimed history of the Princes of Monaco, it was almost midnight on the evening of October 5th, 1505. Lord Jean II was staying in the family's house at Menton. Lucien and their mother, Claudine, were also in the house. No one knows what the brothers' argued about, but their quarrel ended with Lucien stabbing Jean with his dagger. In a graphic novel published by

Dargaud Société Dargaud, doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud (), publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

in 1997, Lucien's explanation to his mother is that he lost his temper when Jean admitted to trying to sell Monaco to the Venetians behind their backs. This supports the account that Lucien gave in writing to the Duke of Savoy: "I remonstrated with him," Lucien wrote, "over the great wrong he was doing his brothers and sisters by planning dishonourably to sell this stronghold of onacoto the Venetians...." Lucien claimed that his brother taunted him and even struck at him with his dagger before Lucien fought back in self-defense.

Reign

A year after Lucien's reign began,

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

broke free of

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 ...

, and many of its people fled to

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

for refuge. In December 1506, 14,000 Genoese troops besieged

and its

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. The

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...

lasted for five months, until Lucien was able to rout the Genoese in March 1507.

, and by extension Lucien, was now in a tight spot, being subjects of

but caught in a diplomatic tight spot between

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, trying to preserve its fragile independence. In 1515, Lucien bought the feudal rights over the city of

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

e, retained by the family of Anne de Lascaris, Countess of Villars, thus bringing the city, as a whole, under Monaco's sovereignty until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

Assassination

On 22 August 1523, Lucien was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

by his nephew, Bartholomew

Doria Doria or Dória may refer to: People Surname * Doria (family), a prominent Genoese family ** Andrea Doria (1466–1560), Genoese admiral ** Ansaldo Doria, 12th century Genoese statesman and commander ** Brancaleone Doria (died c. 1409?), husband ...

of Dolceaqua, son of Lucien's sister Francoise Doria, at the

Prince's Palace of Monaco The Prince's Palace of Monaco ( French: ''Palais princier de Monaco'') is the official residence of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besie ...

. His body was dragged down the steps of the palace by Doria's men, to be shown to the disbelieving masses, thus inciting a riot wherein the people of Monaco chased Doria and his men out of the country.

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Repu ...

, the famous

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

and a cousin to Bartholomew, is believed to have had prior knowledge of the assassination. The full extent of his compliance in this event is speculation, stemming from his being in the Port of Hercules with his squadron of ships on the day of the assassination and his having received a message from Bartholomew that was sent out of the palace just moments before Bartholomew carried out the assassination. The message was believed to have been a ruse to get rid of Lucien's

major domo A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...

and twelve or fourteen of Lucien's armed men, leaving Lucien alone in the company of his nephew, but for one slave. Lucien was succeeded by his youngest son,

Notable facts

issued a stamp in Lucien's honor, in 1967. *Lucien was responsible for extensive repairs and additions to the

, resulting from damage received during the Genoese siege. *

Pope Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI ( la, Hadrianus VI; it, Adriano VI; nl, Adrianus/Adriaan VI), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his d ...

visited

during Lucien's reign, in 1522. *Monaco issued a 2 euro coin for Lucien in 2012. *A painting of Lucien Grimaldi, attributed to

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio (or Beltraffio) (1466 or 1467 – 1516) was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance from Lombardy, who worked in the studio of Leonardo da Vinci. Boltraffio and Bernardino Luini are the strongest artistic personal ...

, hangs in the galleries of the Princely Palace of Monaco.

External links

Lucien's Stamp

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucien Of Monaco, Lord 1487 births 1523 deaths 16th-century Lords of Monaco

Lucien Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to: People Given name * Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint *Lucien, a band member ...

Lords of Monaco Burials at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate Assassinated Monegasque people People murdered in Monaco People of Ligurian descent Fratricides