Henri de Lorraine, count of Harcourt
Encyclopedia
Count of Armagnac
The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac:-House of Armagnac:*William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960*Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ?*Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020*Bernard I Tumapaler 1020–1061...
, count of Brionne and viscount of Marsan. He was the younger son of Charles I, Duke of Elbeuf
Charles I, Duke of Elbeuf
Charles de Lorraine was a French duke and nobleman. He was marquis of Elbeuf from 1566 to 1572, then duke of Elbeuf from 1582 to 1605 and count of Harcourt from 1566 to 1582, lord of Rieux, baron of Ancenis and peer of France...
and his wife Marguerite de Chabot, countess of Charny.
Life
He did his first military service at the siege of PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in November 1620 and because of his bravoury he was nicknamed Cadet la Perle by his companions after the pearl he wore in his ear.
In France he fought the Protestants and took part in the Siege of La Rochelle
Siege of La Rochelle
The Siege of La Rochelle was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627-1628...
(1627–1628) and Saint-Jean-d'Angély
Saint-Jean-d'Angély
Saint-Jean-d'Angély is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.The commune has its historical origins in the Abbey of Saint-Jean-d'Angély.-Royal abbey:...
. He was made a knight in the Order of the Holy Spirit
Order of the Holy Spirit
The Order of the Holy Spirit, also known as the Order of the Knights of the Holy Spirit, was an Order of Chivalry under the French Monarchy. It should not be confused with the Congregation of the Holy Ghost or with the Order of the Holy Ghost...
in 1633, Grand Squire of France
Grand Squire of France
The Grand Écuyer de France or Grand Squire of France or Grand Equerry of France was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France and a member of the Maison du Roi during the Ancien Régime. The name "écuyer", the French word for squire, is the origin for the French word "écurie" and the...
in 1643 and Seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
of Burgundy.
In 1637 he fought in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
during the Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659), where he defeated a Spanish army, very superieur in numbers near Chieri
Chieri
Chieri is a town and comune in the province of Turin, Piedmont , located about 11 km southeast of Turin...
. He was also in charge of the Siege of Turin (1640)
Siege of Turin (1640)
The 1640 siege of Turin was a major action in two distinct wars: the Franco-Spanish War and the Piedmontese Civil War. Thomas of Savoy and his supporters had seized the city of Turin in 1639, but French troops supporting the Regent Christine continued to hold the citadel...
, where he took the city after a siege of three months. He then fought in Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
and Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, where he was named viceroy in 1645.
During the Fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
, he remained loyal to the regent-queen Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
, but clashed with Mazarin, and retreated in the Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
.
Marriage and issue
He married in February 1639 with Marguerite-Philippe du Cambout (1622–1674), and had 6 children :- Armande Henriette (1640–1684), abbess of Soissons;
- Louis, Count of ArmagnacLouis, Count of ArmagnacLouis of Lorraine was the Count of Armagnac from his father's death in 1666. The Grand Squire of France, he was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Guise, itself a cadet branch of the sovereign House of Lorraine...
(1641–1718), of Charny and of Brionne and ancestor of prince Albert II of Monaco through his daughter Marie of LorraineMarie of LorraineMarie of Lorraine was a princess of the House of Lorraine and Princess of Monaco as wife of Antonio I of Monaco. She was the mother of Louise Hippolyte Grimaldi, the only sovereign Princess of Monaco....
, who was forced by King Louis XIV to marry Antonio I of MonacoAntonio I of MonacoAntonio I was the Prince of Monaco from 1701 to 1731. He was the elder son of Louis I, Prince of Monaco and Catherine Charlotte de Gramont....
; a great grand daughter, Princess Joséphine of LorrainePrincess Joséphine of LorraineJoséphine of Lorraine was a French princess of the House of Lorraine and by marriage the Princess of Carignan...
, was the grand mother of Charles Albert of SardiniaCharles Albert of SardiniaCharles Albert was the King of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. He succeeded his distant cousin Charles Felix, and his name is bound with the first Italian statute and the First War of Independence...
, the present House of SavoyHouse of SavoyThe House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...
descend from this line; - PhilippeChevalier de LorrainePhilippe of Lorraine, called the Chevalier de Lorraine was a French noble man and member of the House of Guise, cadet of the Ducal house of Lorraine. He was the renowned lover of Philippe de France, Monsieur, brother of Louis XIV.-Biography:Philippe de Lorraine was the second son of the Count and...
(1643–1702), called chevalier de Lorraine and lover of Philippe I, Duke of OrléansPhilippe I, Duke of OrléansPhilippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans... - Alfonse Louis (1644–1689), abbot of Royaumont, called chevalier d'Harcourt ;
- Raimond Bérenger (1647–1686), abbot of Faron de Meaux ;
- Charles (1648–1708), ViscountViscountA viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
then CountCountA count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of Marsan had issue.