François de Montmorency
Encyclopedia
Anne de Montmorency
Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France.-Early life:...
.
He was Duke of Montmorency
Duke of Montmorency
The title of Duke of Montmorency was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, near Paris.The first creation was in 1551 for Anne of Montmorency, Constable of France...
, Count of Dammartin, Baron of Chateaubriant
Châteaubriant
-Coat of arms:Two coats of arms are attributed :*First Pale: Blue, three gold fleurs de lys, Pales split in two by a shortened staff with a red hache....
and Lord of L'Isle-Adam
L'Isle-Adam, Val-d'Oise
L'Isle-Adam is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-References:** -External links:* * *...
. Grand Master of France and Peer
Peerage of France
The Peerage of France was a distinction within the French nobility which appeared in the Middle Ages. It was abolished in 1789 during the French Revolution, but it reappeared in 1814 at the time of the Bourbon Restoration which followed the fall of the First French Empire...
of France.
Life
François was the eldest son of Anne de Montmorency, constable of FranceConstable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
. He accompanied the King to the border of Germany and was present at the capture of Damvillers
Damvillers
Damvillers is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
and of Ivoy in 1552. He took part in the heroic resistance of the town of Thérouanne
Thérouanne
Thérouanne is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Thérouanne is located 10 miles southwest of Saint-Omer, on the D157 and D341 road junction.-Population:-History:...
against the attacks of the troops of Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
: finally, it had to fall and he was made prisoner on May 30, 1553.
On his return from captivity, he was made knight on Michaelmas
Michaelmas
Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...
and was provided with the Government of Paris and the Île-de-France
Île-de-France (province)
The province of Île-de-France or Isle de France is an historical province of France, and the one at the centre of power during most of French history...
(1556). He was sent to the aid of the pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, C.R. , né Giovanni Pietro Carafa, was Pope from 23 May 1555 until his death.-Early life:Giovanni Pietro Carafa was born in Capriglia Irpina, near Avellino, into a prominent noble family of Naples...
and retoke with the Spanish the port of Ostia and some other places around Rome. He took part in the Battle of Saint-Quentin
Battle of St. Quentin (1557)
The Battle of Saint-Quentin of 1557 was fought during the Franco-Habsburg War . The Spanish, who had regained the support of the English, won a significant victory over the French at Saint-Quentin, in northern France.- Battle :...
on August 10, 1557, defended Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
against the Spanish and helped in the siege of Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, in 1558. The King sent him with an embassy to Queen Elizabeth I of England, to get from her a commitment to observe the Peace treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis
Le Cateau-Cambrésis
Le Cateau-Cambrésis is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.The term Cambrésis indicates that it lies in the county of that name which fell to the Prince-Bishop of Cambrai.-History:...
. With the death of the King Henri II, he had to yield the title of Grand Master, inherited from his father, to the Duke of Guise. The King then gave him the position of Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
in 1559.
He married against his will in 1557 to Diane de France
Diane de France
Diane de France was the natural daughter of Henry II, King of France, and his Piedmontese mistress Filippa Duci. Some sources claim that she was the daughter of Diane de Poitiers....
, natural daughter of Henry II.
"Monsieur de Montmorency, known as Brantôme
Brantôme, Dordogne
Brantôme is a commune in the Dordogne department in southwestern France.It is the seat of the canton of Brantôme. Via Lemovicensis, an ancient Roman Road runs through Brantôme...
, was a valorous, wise captain and extremely political. For this, when the King went to make the tour of his kingdom, he was left as Governor of Paris. Having found people of Paris, mutinous, seditious and ebullient, he was flexible and handy like a glove of chevrotin of Vendôme, to which the King was greatly satisfied ".
In 1560, he attended the Estates-General
French States-General
In France under the Old Regime, the States-General or Estates-General , was a legislative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king...
, held in Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
. The disorders of the Wars of Religion having occurred, he sided with the Catholics, participating in the battle of Dreux
Dreux
Dreux is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-History:Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum...
on December 19, 1562, and with the capture of Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
. He also took part in the battle of Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
(November 10, 1567) where his father died.
Once he became Duke, François continued the house of Montmorency's rivalry with that of the Guise
Guise
Guise is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-Population:-Sights:The ruins of the medieval castle of Guise, seat of the Dukes of Guise, are located in the commune.-Miscellaneous:...
. This rivalry did not cease but increased. In 1570, he had the very difficult task to make the Peace of Saint-Germain accepted in Paris. In 1572, he was sent to Queen Elizabeth I of England to get her to sign an alliance with France. It was on this occasion that he was created an Honorary Knight of the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
. In France, François was more unpopular than ever. His incapacity to control the Parisian mutineers finally meant he had to give up his post of governor of the city. He left the city a few days before the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations, followed by a wave of Roman Catholic mob violence, both directed against the Huguenots , during the French Wars of Religion...
. It was he who discreetly took down the corpse of Gaspard de Coligny
Gaspard de Coligny
Gaspard de Coligny , Seigneur de Châtillon, was a French nobleman and admiral, best remembered as a disciplined Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion.-Ancestry:...
, his cousin, from the gallows of Montfaucon, where he was hanging.
In 1574, Charles IX
Charles IX of France
Charles IX was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. His reign was dominated by the Wars of Religion. He is best known as king at the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Childhood:...
appointed him to the court, but the hatred was so strong between him and the Duke of Guise meant he had to leave again. Not having anything more to lose, he takes part in the plot of Malcontents, the "Third Party" with the duke of Alençon
Alençon
Alençon is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon .-History:...
, but he was stopped and locked up in the Bastille
Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress in Paris, known formally 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. The Bastille was built in response to the English threat to the city of...
with the Marshal of Cossé-Brissac. He was released in April 1575, and the King recognized his innocence by letters, recorded at the Parliament. He died in the Castle of Écouen
Écouen
Écouen is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Écouen houses the Château d'Écouen, home of the Montmorency family...
on May 6, 1579.