Maison militaire du roi de France
Encyclopedia
The maison militaire du roi de France (military household of the king of France) was the military part of the royal household or Maison du Roi
in France
under the Ancien Régime. The term only appeared in 1671, though such a gathering of units pre-dates this. Like the rest of the royal household, the military household was under the authority of the secretary of state for the Maison du Roi, but it depended on the ordinaire des guerres (controlled by the Secretary of State for War
) for its budget. Under Louis XIV
, these two officers of state were given joint command of the military household.
, but included a large number of both cavalry
and infantry
units, serving as the sovereign's personal guard as well as elite troops during war. Some of its units were limited to gentlemen, like the gardes du corps and musketeer
s, and units drawn from the elite of the army, made up of commoners. However, it was impossible for commoners to rise to officer rank in units of the military household. On the field of battle, the "Maison du Roi" fought around the king and the "porte-cornette blanche" (the king's white standard), although the corps also fought in the absence of the king. The "Maison du Roi" made up — along with the "Cavalerie d'ordonnance", the six "Vieux" and the six "Petits-Vieux" — the only permanent army of the kingdom.
, formed in 1440, and traced its ultimate origins to the Scots forces brought to France in 1419 by John Stewart
, Earl of Buchan
, to fight against the English
in the Hundred Years' War
.
Buchan's original company was divided in two, one part becoming the 1st (or Scottish
) Company of the Life Guards (Gardes du Corps), the other becoming the senior company of Gendarmes. A second, French, company of Life Guards was formed by Louis XI
in 1474 and the third by Louis in 1479. The fourth company, again French, was raised by Francis I
in 1516. These companies existed until the French Revolution
when they were disbanded.
In 1567, during the "surprise of Meaux", the royal family escaped capture by Protestant troops of the prince de Condé by the intervention of the Cent-Suisses.
, Henry IV
wished to provide guards for christening
of the Dauphin (later Louis XIII
). He created a new company of 200 men-at-arms which formed half of the Dauphin's guards. In 1611, this company became the Gendarmes de la Garde. This company was paired with another company of heavy cavalry. These chevau-légers (light cavalry) wore armour and were only light when compared to the Gendarmes, who wore more armour. This company dated to 1570, and became part of the Dauphin's guard and then of the Maison du Roi.
The next companies of the Maison du Roi, and by far the most famous, were the Musketeer
s, the guardsmen who appear in Dumas senior
's The Three Musketeers
. The first company, which was formed in 1622, represents the Musketeers in which D'Artagnan
and his friends served. The second company, not taken into the Maison du Roi until 1663, has previously been the Cardinal Mazarin's guards. Perhaps, by this route, some of Cardinal Richelieu
's guards eventually became King's Musketeers.
. Those colonels who, in the Sun King's opinion had not sent the best of their men, were reprimanded and ordered to send a suitable replacement. The company was completed in 1676. The military household played a vital role in the Battle of Oudenarde
of 1708, when it saved the French army from probable destruction.
(Body Guard), the Gardes francais (French Guards) and the Gardes suisses (Swiss Guards) were however retained in service, the first named because of its close ties to the Royal Court, the second two because they comprised the largest, and historically most effective, infantry components of the Maison du Roi.
At the outbreak of the French Revolution
in July 1789, the French Guards defected from the Monarchy and joined in the attack on the Bastille
. The Body Guard was formally disbanded in 1791, although this aristocratic body had dispersed when the Royal Family had been forced to leave Versailles
in October 1789. This left the Swiss Guard as the last remaining unit of the old Maison du Roi, although a short-lived Garde Constitutionelle du Roi was raised on 16 March 1792.
On 10 August 1792, most of the 900 Swiss Guards defending the Tuileries were massacred when the palace was stormed by revolutionary forces. With the overthrow of the Monarchy the Maison militaire du Roi ceased to exist.
of 1814 the Bourbon Monarchy attempted to recreate the Maison militaire du Roi, even re-establishing the mostly-ceremonial units that had been disbanded by Louis XVI in 1787. In part this was to provide military roles for emigre royalist officers who had returned to France, or their sons. There was not however sufficient time, or possibly inclination, to raise a new Swiss Guard before Napoleon's return from Elba in March 1815. The Maison militaire disintegrated during the flight of Louis XVIII to Belgium and only 450 men remained with him to cross the frontier. After the Second Restoration, no serious attempt was made to again restore the Maison militaire du Roi and it was (with the exception of a re-organised Body Guard) replaced with an entirely new Royal Guard.
Maison du Roi
The Maison du Roi was the name of the military, domestic and religious entourage around the royal family in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration; the exact composition and duties of its various divisions changed constantly over the Early Modern period...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
under the Ancien Régime. The term only appeared in 1671, though such a gathering of units pre-dates this. Like the rest of the royal household, the military household was under the authority of the secretary of state for the Maison du Roi, but it depended on the ordinaire des guerres (controlled by the Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War (France)
The Secretary of State for War was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien Régime. The position was responsible for the Army and for overseeing French border provinces...
) for its budget. Under Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, these two officers of state were given joint command of the military household.
Composition
The household was akin to the British Household CavalryHousehold Cavalry
The term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
, but included a large number of both cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
units, serving as the sovereign's personal guard as well as elite troops during war. Some of its units were limited to gentlemen, like the gardes du corps and musketeer
Musketeer
A musketeer was an early modern type of infantry soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe. They sometimes could fight on horseback, like a dragoon or a cavalryman...
s, and units drawn from the elite of the army, made up of commoners. However, it was impossible for commoners to rise to officer rank in units of the military household. On the field of battle, the "Maison du Roi" fought around the king and the "porte-cornette blanche" (the king's white standard), although the corps also fought in the absence of the king. The "Maison du Roi" made up — along with the "Cavalerie d'ordonnance", the six "Vieux" and the six "Petits-Vieux" — the only permanent army of the kingdom.
Corps
Over the years, the "Maison du Roi" has included the following corps:- the Gardes du CorpsGarde du Corps (France)The Garde du Corps was the senior formation of the King of France's Household Cavalry within the Maison du Roi.-History:The oldest company in the Garde du Corps was the Company of Scottish Archers, later just the 1st Scottish Company or Garde Écossaise, formed in 1419 from Scots that fought for...
(body guards) - the Cent-Suisses
- the Gentilshommes à bec de corbin
- the Gardes FrançaisesGardes FrançaisesThe Gardes Françaises was one of the two non-ceremonial infantry regiments in the "Maison du Roi" of the French Army under the Ancien Régime. The other regiment was the Gardes Suisses, which made the Gardes Françaises the only one recruited from France.-History:The regiment was created in 1563 by...
(regiment created in 1563) - the Chevau-légers (light cavalryLight cavalryLight cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
) (1593) - the Gendarmes de la garde (1609–1611)
- the Gardes suisses (1616)
- the Mousquetaires de la GardeMusketeers of the GuardThe Musketeers of the Guard were a fighting company of the military branch of the Maison du Roi, the Royal Household of the French monarchy.-History:...
(two compagnies, 1622 and 1660) - the Gendarmerie d'ordonnance (1660, suppressed in 1788)
- the Grenadiers à cheval (1676)
History
Far from being simply a ceremonial corps, the "Maison du Roi" participated in all the military campaigns of the 16th and 17th centuries.Under Francis I
The oldest of the regiments of the Maison du Roi was the Garde ÉcossaiseGarde Écossaise
The Garde Écossaise was an elite Scottish military unit founded in 1418 by the Valois Charles VII of France, to be personal bodyguards to the French monarchy. They were assimilated into the Maison du Roi and later formed the first Company of the Garde du Corps du Roi...
, formed in 1440, and traced its ultimate origins to the Scots forces brought to France in 1419 by John Stewart
John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan
John Stewart, Earl of Buchan was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought alongside Scotland's French allies during the Hundred Years War. In 1419 he was sent to France by his father the Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland, with an army of 6,000 men...
, Earl of Buchan
Earl of Buchan
The Mormaer or Earl of Buchan was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male line. The earldom had three lines in its history, not counting...
, to fight against the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
.
Buchan's original company was divided in two, one part becoming the 1st (or Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) Company of the Life Guards (Gardes du Corps), the other becoming the senior company of Gendarmes. A second, French, company of Life Guards was formed by Louis XI
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
in 1474 and the third by Louis in 1479. The fourth company, again French, was raised by Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
in 1516. These companies existed until 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...
when they were disbanded.
In 1567, during the "surprise of Meaux", the royal family escaped capture by Protestant troops of the prince de Condé by the intervention of the Cent-Suisses.
Francis I-Louis XIII
During the final period of the French Wars of ReligionFrench Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
, Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
wished to provide guards for christening
Infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. In theological discussions, the practice is sometimes referred to as paedobaptism or pedobaptism from the Greek pais meaning "child." The practice is sometimes contrasted with what is called "believer's baptism", or...
of the Dauphin (later Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
). He created a new company of 200 men-at-arms which formed half of the Dauphin's guards. In 1611, this company became the Gendarmes de la Garde. This company was paired with another company of heavy cavalry. These chevau-légers (light cavalry) wore armour and were only light when compared to the Gendarmes, who wore more armour. This company dated to 1570, and became part of the Dauphin's guard and then of the Maison du Roi.
The next companies of the Maison du Roi, and by far the most famous, were the Musketeer
Musketeer
A musketeer was an early modern type of infantry soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe. They sometimes could fight on horseback, like a dragoon or a cavalryman...
s, the guardsmen who appear in Dumas senior
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
's The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
. The first company, which was formed in 1622, represents the Musketeers in which D'Artagnan
D'Artagnan
Charles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard and died at the Siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalized account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of...
and his friends served. The second company, not taken into the Maison du Roi until 1663, has previously been the Cardinal Mazarin's guards. Perhaps, by this route, some of Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu et de Fronsac was a French clergyman, noble, and statesman.Consecrated as a bishop in 1608, he later entered politics, becoming a Secretary of State in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Catholic Church and the French government, becoming a...
's guards eventually became King's Musketeers.
Louis XIV - apogee
Unlike the previous companies, officered by powerful nobles, and with many nobles in their ranks, the final company of the Maison du Roi was created as an elite force, formed by taking one grenadier from each infantry regiment and making him a mounted grenadier. The resulting picked men who would become the Grenadiers à cheval were interviewed by Louis XIVLouis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. Those colonels who, in the Sun King's opinion had not sent the best of their men, were reprimanded and ordered to send a suitable replacement. The company was completed in 1676. The military household played a vital role in the Battle of Oudenarde
Battle of Oudenarde
The Battle of Oudenaarde was a key battle in the War of the Spanish Succession fought on 11 July 1708 between the forces of Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire on the one side and the French on the other...
of 1708, when it saved the French army from probable destruction.
18th century - decline
Regiments of the Maison du Roi did not see significant active service after the Seven Years War of 1756-1763. For reasons of economy, at a time of financial crisis, several of these expensive units were disbanded in 1787. These included the gardes de la prevote, the gardes de la porte, the gendarmes de la Garde, the mousquetaires de la Garde, and the chevau-legers de la Garde. The Garde du CorpsGarde du Corps
Garde du Corps is French for bodyguard, and may refer to various military formations:*The Gardes du Corps of Prussia*The Garde du Corps of France during the Ancien Régime...
(Body Guard), the Gardes francais (French Guards) and the Gardes suisses (Swiss Guards) were however retained in service, the first named because of its close ties to the Royal Court, the second two because they comprised the largest, and historically most effective, infantry components of the Maison du Roi.
At the outbreak of 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...
in July 1789, the French Guards defected from the Monarchy and joined in the attack on 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...
. The Body Guard was formally disbanded in 1791, although this aristocratic body had dispersed when the Royal Family had been forced to leave Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
in October 1789. This left the Swiss Guard as the last remaining unit of the old Maison du Roi, although a short-lived Garde Constitutionelle du Roi was raised on 16 March 1792.
On 10 August 1792, most of the 900 Swiss Guards defending the Tuileries were massacred when the palace was stormed by revolutionary forces. With the overthrow of the Monarchy the Maison militaire du Roi ceased to exist.
Restoration
Following the First RestorationFirst Restoration
The First Restoration, or Première Restauration in French, refers to Louis XVIII of France's accession to the throne after Napoleon's exile to Elba. It lasted from 6 April 1814 to 20 March 1815, on which day Napoleon arrived back in Paris....
of 1814 the Bourbon Monarchy attempted to recreate the Maison militaire du Roi, even re-establishing the mostly-ceremonial units that had been disbanded by Louis XVI in 1787. In part this was to provide military roles for emigre royalist officers who had returned to France, or their sons. There was not however sufficient time, or possibly inclination, to raise a new Swiss Guard before Napoleon's return from Elba in March 1815. The Maison militaire disintegrated during the flight of Louis XVIII to Belgium and only 450 men remained with him to cross the frontier. After the Second Restoration, no serious attempt was made to again restore the Maison militaire du Roi and it was (with the exception of a re-organised Body Guard) replaced with an entirely new Royal Guard.