Henri II de Montmorency

Henri II. De Montmorency (born April 30, 1595 in Chantilly Castle ; † October 30, 1632 in Toulouse ) was Duke of Montmorency and held the posts of Grand Admiral of France , Marshal of France , Viceroy of New France and partly alongside, partly one after the other Governor of Languedoc . With him the direct line of the noble family Montmorency died out .

Life

Tomb of Duke Henry II of Montmorency in the Chapelle de la Visitation in Moulins

Henri was born the third and only surviving son of Henri I de Montmorency and his second wife, Louise de Budos. The namesake not only was his father, but also the French King Henry IV, godfather, for whom the baptism ceremony was scheduled for the late date of March in 1597 so that he could take part.

Under Louis XIII. Henri was made admiral at the age of 17. In 1625 he defeated the French Protestant fleet under Benjamin de Rohan and in 1625 wrested the islands of Ré and Oléron from the defenders of La Rochelle . He later fought victoriously in Piedmont , took General Doria prisoner in 1630 and received the marshal's baton for this in the same year.

In early 1632 he took part in an uprising by disaffected nobles, including the king's younger brother, Jean-Baptiste Gaston , against Cardinal Richelieu, and organized an armed uprising in his province, Languedoc. However, he was defeated by the royal troops on September 1, 1632 at Castelnaudary , was wounded and taken prisoner.

He was sentenced to death by the Parlement in Toulouse and executed there on October 30th . His tomb is in the Chapelle de la Visitation in Moulins .

Marriage and offspring

In 1608 at the age of 13 he married Jeanne Scépeaux, Countess of Chemillé . The French King Henry IV tried to prevent the marriage because he wanted to marry his illegitimate daughter Catherine Henriette from the relationship with Gabrielle d'Estrées to Henri. The marriage was annulled on April 29, 1610.

In 1612, Henri II married Maria Felicia Orsini (French: Marie Félice des Ursins; 1599–1666), daughter of Virginios, Duke of Bracciano, after the engagement had taken place on November 25 of the same year in the Louvre . She brought the stately sum of 300,000 livres into the marriage, which was doubled by a gift of money from Maria de 'Medici . However, the marriage remained childless. In 1633 his sister Charlotte-Marguerite was made Duchess of Montmorency.

literature

Joan Davies: The politics of the marriage bed. Matrimony and the Montmorency family 1527-1612 . In: French History . Vol. 6, No. 1, 1992, ISSN 0269-1191 , pp. 63-95, DOI: 10.1093 / fh / 6.1.63 .

Web links

Commons : Henri II. De Montmorency - collection of images, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Montmorency, Henri II. De
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Grand Admiral and Marshal of France, Viceroy of New France and Governor of Languedoc, Duke of Montmorency
DATE OF BIRTH	April 30, 1595
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chantilly Castle
DATE OF DEATH	October 30, 1632
Place of death	Toulouse