Nicolas de L'Hôpital de Vitry (1581–28 September 1644) was a French
noble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Gr ...
, military leader, and friend of
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.
...
. Made
Marshal of France
Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...
in 1617, he was often called Maréchal de Vitry. His noble title was (later ) ; he was also .
Biography
Family
Nicolas de L'Hôpital de Vitry was the elder son of
Louis de L'Hôpital and Franćoise de Brichanteau. His younger brother,
François de L'Hôpital, marquis du Hallier, also became a marshal of France.
His wife was Lucrèce Bouhier de Beaumarchais, widow of Louis de Trémoille and sister-in-law of
Charles de La Vieuville.
They had three children together.
Only one of them was a son and he became an ambassador to
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
.
Career
Like his father and his other ancestors, Vitry joined the army. Due to
Henry IV's personal sympathy for Vitry's father, he let Vitry become a companion of the royal heir, the
Dauphin (and later king)
Louis
Louis may refer to:
People
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
Other uses
* Louis (coin), a French coin
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
...
. He quickly gained the child's favour. After the death of his father in 1611, he succeeded him in his position as captain of the 2nd (and 1st French) company of the
Garde du corps du roi, the royal guard.
He played an important role in the assassination of
Concino Concini in 1617. It was he who arrested Concini and shot him (with others) afterwards.
After this coup d'etat he was put (along with his brother and
Jean-Baptiste d'Ornano
Jean-Baptiste d'Ornano, Marquis de (1581–1626) was a French nobleman and Marshal of France (1626).
Biography
He was the son of Alphonse d'Ornano and grandson of Sampiero Corso. Early in his childhood, he was prepared to come to court and was ...
) in charge of the armies in the capital, in order to prohibit riots. In the following days, Vitry received Concini's title of marshal and was one of the few persons who had unrestricted entrance to the king's chambers. Later in his life he became also
Governor of Provence and
Meaux
Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...
.
In 1635, after decisions he had made in Provence against the will of the king, he was disgraced.
In 1637, following an assault on Archbishop
Henri de Sourdis
Henri d'Escoubleau de Sourdis, 20 February 1593 to 18 June 1645, was a French naval commander and Archbishop of Bordeaux.
Like many churchmen of his day, de Sourdis was a military man as well as a prelate. Appointed Bishop of Maillezais in 161 ...
, he was imprisoned in the
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...
and pardoned in 1643.
[ French Wikipedia page]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:LHospital, Nicolas de
Marshals of France
17th-century French military personnel
Prisoners of the Bastille