Honoré-Armand de Villars
Encyclopedia
Don
Honoré Armand de Villars
, 2e duc de Villars (4 October 1702, Paris - May 1770, Aix
), Duke and Peer of France, Prince of Martigues
, Grandee of Spain, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Viscount of Melun, Marquis of la Melle, Count of Rochemiley, was a French nobleman, soldier and politician.
and of Jeanne Angélique Rocque de Varengeville, and the grandson of Pierre de Villars
. In 1721 he married Amable-Gabrielle de Noailles, daughter of Adrien Maurice de Noailles. They had only one child, Aimable-Angélique de Villars, on 18 March 1723. Maître de Camp of a cavalry regiment and Brigadier in the Armées du Roi, he served in Italy in 1733 under his father's command. He carried back to Louis XIV the news of the capture of Milan
castle. He was a member of the Académie française
, succeeding his father in seat 18 on 16 August 1734.
He received the nickname "friend of Man" as a famous homosexual. Bachaumont noted, in his Mémoires
(5 May 1770) that "[the Duke of Villars] was taxed with a vice that he had made fashionable at court, and that had brought him very wide renown, as can be seen in la Pucelle". Voltaire
, in the first editions of La Pucelle d'Orléans, mentioned him alongside the marquis de Thibouville, accused of the same vice, in the following verses:
, D'Alembert
and Duclos
.
In 1750, as governor of Provence, he bought a hôtel particulier on what is now cours Mirabeau. The hôtel had been built in 1710 by Lois d'Esmivy de Moissac, councillor to the Cour des Comptes on a prestige parcel of land, meant since 1664 for a "hôtel du gouvernement". However the duke of Vendôme, the governor to whom the parcel was given, finally preferred the isolation of the faubourg des Cordeliers, where he built his famous pavillon. The façade was completed in 1757, for the duke of Villars, by Georges Vallon : its four columns, surrounding a monumental entrance, were (with those of the Hôtel de Ville and University) the only ones that encroached on municipal space - the mark and privilege of the governor. Its staircase is adorned with the Villars coats-of-arms (stolen in 1980). From then on it was known as the Hôtel de Villars.
However, Honoré Armand mostly lived in Marseille and rarely came to Aix, where he was little-welcomed by the people and the notables, particularly by the Parlement of Provence. This ostracism was not due to his manners, common in that era, but due to the fact that he represented the king and did not waive any of the civil privileges that came with that role. This regal attitude irked a somewhat rebellious province that had only recently been joined to France, where Mirabeau
was elected as representative of the Third Estate. However, by his will of 27 June 1765, Honoré Armand left the town of Aix-en-Provence an important sum for the creation of a public library, a public gardens, a cabinet of antiquities and medals and a school of drawing. That school was immediately installed in the Chapelle des Dames, a dependent of the Collège Bourbon. He also left a statue of his father by the sculptor Nicolas Coustou for the hall of the public library - this sculpture was closed in in the Benedictine convent after the French Revolution
and was forgotten until 1812, when it was put at the top of the grand staircase of the Hôtel de ville.
His daughter, widowed soon after her marriage, ended her days in a convent and so Honoré Armand de Villars had no descendents in the male line.
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...
Honoré Armand de Villars
Villars
-In France:*Villars, Dordogne*Villars, Eure-et-Loir*Villars, Loire*Villars, Vaucluse*Villars-les-Dombes, Ain*Villars-le-Sec, Territoire de Belfort-In Switzerland:*Canton of Jura** Villars, Jura, Switzerland in the municipality Fontenais*Canton of Fribourg...
, 2e duc de Villars (4 October 1702, Paris - May 1770, Aix
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
), Duke and Peer of France, Prince of Martigues
Martigues
Martigues is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte....
, Grandee of Spain, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Viscount of Melun, Marquis of la Melle, Count of Rochemiley, was a French nobleman, soldier and politician.
Early life
He was the son of Claude Louis Hector de VillarsClaude Louis Hector de Villars
Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince de Martigues, Marquis then Duc de Villars, Vicomte de Melun was the last great general of Louis XIV of France and one of the most brilliant commanders in French military history, one of only six Marshals who have been promoted to Marshal General of...
and of Jeanne Angélique Rocque de Varengeville, and the grandson of Pierre de Villars
Pierre de Villars
Pierre de Villars , known as the marquis of Villars, was a French diplomat and conseiller d'État, as well as the father of the general Claude Louis Hector de Villars...
. In 1721 he married Amable-Gabrielle de Noailles, daughter of Adrien Maurice de Noailles. They had only one child, Aimable-Angélique de Villars, on 18 March 1723. Maître de Camp of a cavalry regiment and Brigadier in the Armées du Roi, he served in Italy in 1733 under his father's command. He carried back to Louis XIV the news of the capture of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
castle. He was a member of the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, succeeding his father in seat 18 on 16 August 1734.
He received the nickname "friend of Man" as a famous homosexual. Bachaumont noted, in his Mémoires
Mémoires secrets
The Mémoires secrets pour servir à l'histoire de la République des Lettres en France depuis 1762 jusqu'à nos jours is an anonymous chronicle of events that occurred between 1762 and 1787. Goodman thinks it started as a manuscript newsletter emanating from Paris...
(5 May 1770) that "[the Duke of Villars] was taxed with a vice that he had made fashionable at court, and that had brought him very wide renown, as can be seen in la Pucelle". Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, in the first editions of La Pucelle d'Orléans, mentioned him alongside the marquis de Thibouville, accused of the same vice, in the following verses:
Life in Provence
He succeeded his father as Gouverneur général des pays et comté de Provence and of la Tour du Bouc, holding that post from 1734 until his death. He lived in Provence, where he was protector of the Académie de Marseille, and rarely came to the Académie française despite his seat on it. Even so, he was a friend of VoltaireVoltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, D'Alembert
Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. He was also co-editor with Denis Diderot of the Encyclopédie...
and Duclos
Charles Pinot Duclos
Charles Pinot Duclos was a French author.-Life:He was born at Dinan, in Brittany. At an early age, he was sent to study at Paris...
.
In 1750, as governor of Provence, he bought a hôtel particulier on what is now cours Mirabeau. The hôtel had been built in 1710 by Lois d'Esmivy de Moissac, councillor to the Cour des Comptes on a prestige parcel of land, meant since 1664 for a "hôtel du gouvernement". However the duke of Vendôme, the governor to whom the parcel was given, finally preferred the isolation of the faubourg des Cordeliers, where he built his famous pavillon. The façade was completed in 1757, for the duke of Villars, by Georges Vallon : its four columns, surrounding a monumental entrance, were (with those of the Hôtel de Ville and University) the only ones that encroached on municipal space - the mark and privilege of the governor. Its staircase is adorned with the Villars coats-of-arms (stolen in 1980). From then on it was known as the Hôtel de Villars.
However, Honoré Armand mostly lived in Marseille and rarely came to Aix, where he was little-welcomed by the people and the notables, particularly by the Parlement of Provence. This ostracism was not due to his manners, common in that era, but due to the fact that he represented the king and did not waive any of the civil privileges that came with that role. This regal attitude irked a somewhat rebellious province that had only recently been joined to France, where Mirabeau
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau was a French revolutionary, as well as a writer, diplomat, freemason, journalist and French politician at the same time. He was a popular orator and statesman. During the French Revolution, he was a moderate, favoring a constitutional monarchy built on...
was elected as representative of the Third Estate. However, by his will of 27 June 1765, Honoré Armand left the town of Aix-en-Provence an important sum for the creation of a public library, a public gardens, a cabinet of antiquities and medals and a school of drawing. That school was immediately installed in the Chapelle des Dames, a dependent of the Collège Bourbon. He also left a statue of his father by the sculptor Nicolas Coustou for the hall of the public library - this sculpture was closed in in the Benedictine convent after the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and was forgotten until 1812, when it was put at the top of the grand staircase of the Hôtel de ville.
His daughter, widowed soon after her marriage, ended her days in a convent and so Honoré Armand de Villars had no descendents in the male line.