Hercule de Rohan (27 August 1568 – 16 October 1654) was a member of the princely
House of Rohan
The House of Rohan () is a Bretons, Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan, Morbihan, Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët and is said to tr ...
. The second
Duke of Montbazon
The Duchy of Montbazon is the area around Montbazon, near Tours, in France. During the Ancien Régime, Montbazon became a ''seigneurie'' held by the House of Rohan in the fifteenth century; was elevated to a ''Count, comté'' in 1557, and raised ...
Rochefort-en-Yvelines
Rochefort-en-Yvelines () is a commune in the Yvelines department, part of the arrondissement of Rambouillet in the Île-de-France region in France.maréchal de Bois-Dauphin''. Madeleine was the widow of his elder brother, Louis VII de Rohan-Guéméné. The couple were married on 24 October 1594 and had two children.
His first son Louis, was the
Prince of Guéméné Prince of Guémené is a title of French nobility associated with the fiefdom of Guémené-sur-Scorff in Brittany and held within the House of Rohan. The fiefdom was bought on 26 May 1377, for 3,400 ''Sou (coin), sous d'or'' by Jean de Rohan, Viscou ...
and thus the head of the surviving main line of the House of Rohan; his eldest daughter, Marie was later a woman of great personal charm who placed herself at the center of many of the intrigues of the first half of the 17th century in France. She married Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes, a favourite of King
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
, and had issue.
Hercule's first wife Madeleine died in 1602. In 1628, he married , daughter of Claude de Bretagne, Count of Vertus and Catherine Fouquet de La Varenne.
His second wife was hailed as one of the most beautiful and most notorious women of her time. Hercule and Marie had three children, of whom two, François and Anne, would have progeny. François founded the Soubise line of the Rohan's and married his cousin Anne de Rohan-Chabot (later mistress of
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
) and Anne, his youngest child married
Louis Charles d'Albert de Luynes
Louis Charles d'Albert, 2nd Duke of Luynes (25 December 1620 – 10 October 1690), was a French nobleman and peer of France. He was a translator and moralist who was the first translator of the work of René Descartes.
Early life
Louis-Charles d ...
, her nephew by her older sister Marie.
Hercule served Henri III and his successor Henri IV against the Catholic League. He was lieutenant-general of
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
and then later, the
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
; he became the latter in 1598. Henri IV made him governor of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and the Ile-de-France. He was also the master of the hounds.
Hercule was riding in the carriage with Henri IV when the king was assassinated by François Ravaillac on 14 May 1610. Hercule himself was wounded in the attack. Hercule commanded the funeral procession for Henri's heart.
He died at the Château de Couziers eighty-six years old. He was buried at
Rochefort-en-Yvelines
Rochefort-en-Yvelines () is a commune in the Yvelines department, part of the arrondissement of Rambouillet in the Île-de-France region in France.
Princess of Soubise Within the French nobility, "Princess of Soubise" was the title given to the wife of the Prince of Soubise. The title was established in 1667 when the ''sire, sirerie'' of Soubise, Charente-Maritime was elevated to a principality.
The title was he ...
'', and had issue; founder of the Soubise line of the
House of Rohan
The House of Rohan () is a Bretons, Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan, Morbihan, Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët and is said to tr ...
;
*Anne de Rohan (1644 – 29 October 1684) married
Louis Charles d'Albert de Luynes
Louis Charles d'Albert, 2nd Duke of Luynes (25 December 1620 – 10 October 1690), was a French nobleman and peer of France. He was a translator and moralist who was the first translator of the work of René Descartes.
Early life
Louis-Charles d ...
Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus II (; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was the head of the House of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 12 June 1675 until his abdication in 1730. He was the first of his house to acquire a royal crown, ruling first as King o ...