Louis Prėvost de Sansac, seigneur de Sansac (1496-1576) was a French military commander and governor. A favourite of

François I Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis& ...

he fought at the

Battle of Pavia The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg Empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, Holy Roman Empero ...

and had responsibility for the education of the royal children. He continued to fight for France in the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the House of Valois, Valois kings o ...

under Henri II and then the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

when they broke out in 1562. He aligned himself politically with the Guise, supporting them in their feud with the

House of Montmorency The House of Montmorency () 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'', in 993. '' ...

. He led armies through the third civil war, but was not able to achieve any notable success.

Early life

Louis Prévost de Sansac was born in

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

Reign of François I

Sansac proved to be a skilled rider and man of war. As such he was tasked with developing

François François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * Voltaire, Fran ...

's skills on the battlefield and during hunts. He joined the king's expedition to Italy, fighting at the

as a page of

Anne de Montmorency Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency ( – 12 November 1567) was a French noble, governor, royal favourite and Constable of France during the mid to late Italian Wars and early French Wars of Religion. He served under five French kings (Loui ...

. In the wake of the disaster, with the capture of the king, Sansac was also made prisoner, however he was able to escape and worked alongside the regent in the conducting of negotiations with the

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

the result of which was the Treaty of Madrid. As a reward for his assistance in this matter the king made him tutor to his children upon his return. In this role he provided education on skills such as hunting, riding and combat. In 1529 he had a new residence built near

Loches Loches (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is situated southeast of Tours by road, on the left bank of the river Indre (river), Indre. History Loch ...

, at which the king and

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * 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 Others * Charles V, Duke ...

stayed at various points.

Reign of Henri II

Sansac continued to fight in the Italian wars under Henri, assisting in the holding of the

Duchy of Mirandola The Lordship, then County, Principality and finally Duchy of Mirandola () was a state which existed in Northern Italy from 1310 until 1711, centered in Mirandola in what is now the province of Modena, in Emilia-Romagna, and ruled by the House of ...

in 1552.

Reign of François II

In the wake of the

Conspiracy of Amboise The Amboise conspiracy, also called Tumult of Amboise, was a failed attempt by a Huguenot faction in France to gain control over the young King Francis II and to reverse the policies of the current administration of Francis, Duke of Guise and C ...

the

Guise Guise ( , ; ) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The city was the birthplace of the noble family of Guise, Dukes of Guise, who later became Princes of Joinville. Population Sights The remains of t ...

administration was faced with a crisis of authority in the country. To counteract a descent into disorder, new super-governorships were created. Alongside these, Sansac held the governorship of

Angoumois Angoumois (), historically the County of Angoulême, was a county and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of Aquitaine, similar to the Périgord to its east but lower and generally less forested, equally with occasional ...

in the interior for them loyally.

Reign of Charles IX

As royal authority continued to crumble with the outbreak of open civil war, Sansac asked to be relieved of his office in September 1562. With

François, Duke of Guise François de Lorraine, 2nd Duke of Guise, 1st Prince of Joinville, and 1st Duke of Aumale (17 February 1519 – 24 February 1563), was a French general and statesman. A prominent leader during the Italian War of 1551–1559 and French Wars of Re ...

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

at the climax of the first war of religion, the perpetrator

Jean de Poltrot Jean de Poltrot ( 1537 – 1563), sieur de Méré or Mérey, was a French nobleman of Angoumois, who Assassination of Francis, Duke of Guise, assassinated Francis, Duke of Guise in the aftermath of the massacre of Huguenots at Wassy. He had ...

was quickly apprehended. Under torture he confessed that among the Protestants,

Louis, Duke of Montpensier Louis III de Bourbon, Duc de Montpensier (10 June 1513 – 23 September 1582) was the second Duke of Montpensier, a French Prince of the Blood, military commander and governor. He began his military career during the Italian Wars, and in 1557 ...

and Sansac were particularly loathed for their persecution of the religion. In the Montmorency-Guise feud that blossomed as a result of recriminations for ultimate responsibility for the assassination, Sansac aligned himself with the Guise, making an oath in 1565 to violently purge France of heresy and avenge the death of Guise up to the fourth generation. With the

Peace of Longjumeau The Peace of Longjumeau (also known as the Treaty of Longjumeau or the Edict of Longjumeau) was signed on 23 March 1568 by Charles IX of France and Catherine de' Medici. The edict brought to an end the brief second war of the French Wars of Relig ...

having concluded the second civil war, Sansac was among those royal councillors, aligned with

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

in their desire to overturn it. During the third civil war he led forces for the crown in an attempt to reduce the Huguenot town of

La Charité-sur-Loire La Charité-sur-Loire, known simply as La Charité until 1961, is a riverside commune in the western part of the French department of Nièvre. It is located on the departmental border with Cher, which is also the regional border with Centre-Val ...

, his 7000 men were however unable to successfully break the town, and called off their siege in late 1569. With this failure, he sought to siege

Vézelay Vézelay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Yonne in the north-central French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is a defensible hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and its 11th-century Ro ...

but his efforts here were thwarted by both the garrison and nearby Huguenot forces. He abandoned his attempts on the town on 16 December.

Sources

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References

{{Reflist 1490s births 1576 deaths Marshals of France French people of the French Wars of Religion