Gilbert de Saint-Hilaire

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Gilbert de Saint-Hilaire was an imperial officer and came from a French noble family. His life data are unknown.

Life

Little is known to researchers about the biography of Gilbert de Saint-Hilaire, although he played a not insignificant role in the course of the Vienna storm petition in 1619 at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War .

It is certain that de Saint-Hilaire came to Vienna in 1574 accompanied by the widowed Queen Elisabeth of France and entered the service of the Imperial Army . Towards the end of the 16th century he fought against the Ottomans in Hungary during the Long Turkish War . Subsequently, he was appointed arsenal captain, which at the time meant command of the ship's arsenal on the Danube area near Vienna. As such, on June 5, 1619, he led the riders of General Heinrich von Dampierre , who were arriving on ships from Krems , who was not personally present on that day, to the Vienna Hofburg to meet Archduke Ferdinand, who was oppressed by the Protestant estates of Lower Austria (as Emperor r . 1619–1637) to come to the rescue. Due to this unexpected appearance of the imperial cavalry , the representatives of the estates gave in and had to forego the concessions they had hoped for. In gratitude for this Ferdinand II raised him to the rank of baron . The events in the Hofburg took place at a time of great uncertainty among broad sections of the population, not least because during this audience an army of the rebellious Bohemian estates commanded by Heinrich Matthias von Thurn was approaching Vienna. As a result, they soon became the subject of rich legends and, even in older Austrian historical works, they were often viewed as decisive for the further course of Austro-Habsburg history.

The Arquebusier Regiment Dampierre , which was under the command of Saint-Hilaire during the Sturmpetition, was subsequently granted special privileges by the Emperor, including three-day advertising on the square of the Vienna Hofburg as well as the opportunity for the regimental commander, unannounced and in full armor to appear to the emperor. The successor regiment ( Kuk Bohemian Dragoon Regiment "Count Montecuccoli" No. 8 ) was allowed to retain these privileges until its dissolution in 1918.

Museum reception

Armor of Gilbert de Saint-Hilaire in the Vienna HGM

A harness attributed to Gilbert de Saint-Hilaire is on display in Room I of the Museum of Military History in Vienna . This is the work of an anonymous Nuremberg master who made the piece around 1575. The armor was originally in the Civil Arsenal kept and 1886 the kk passed -Heeresmuseum.

literature

  • Helmut Kretschmer: Storm petition and blockade of Vienna in 1619 , in: Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Hrsg.): Militärhistorische Schriftenreihe , Heft 38, Vienna 1978.
  • A. Huber: History of Austria , Gotha 1896, Volume 5, p. 124 f.
  • Wilhelm John , Wilhelm Erben : Catalog of the Austro-Hungarian Army Museum , Vienna 1903

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Ed.): The Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna . Vienna / Graz 1960, p. 35
  2. ^ Wilhelm John , Wilhelm Erben : Catalog of the kuk Heeresmuseum , Vienna 1903, p. 82 f.
  3. ↑ Johann Christoph Allmayer-Beck : The Army History Museum Vienna. Room I - From the beginnings of the standing army to the end of the 17th century. Kiesel Verlag, Salzburg 1982, ISBN 3-7023-4007-6 , p. 57
  4. ^ Wilhelm John , Wilhelm Erben : Catalog of the kuk Heeresmuseum , Vienna 1903, p. 84.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Saint-Hilaire, Gilbert de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Saint-Hilaire, Gilbert of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Officer and arsenal captain
DATE OF BIRTH 16th Century
DATE OF DEATH 17th century