Jacques de Lévis, Comte de Caylus

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Contemporary portrait of Jacques de Lévis by François Quesnel

Jacques de Lévis, comte de Caylus , also de Quélus according to northern French spelling, (* 1554 ; † 29 May 1578 in the Hôtel de Boissy in Paris ) was Seneschal of Rouergue and one of the mignons of the French king Henry III. Today he is best known for his participation in the duel of the Mignons .

Life

Jacques was the first child of Antoine de Lévis and his first wife, Balthazarde de Lettes-Desprez, widow of Antoine's older brother Jean. He succeeded his father in the office of Seneschal of Rouergue. His cousin Henri de Saint-Sulpice was also a mignon of Henry III. from France.

Jacques de Lévis' tomb in the Saint-Paul church, drawing by an unknown artist

Under the leadership of Heinrich III. - at that time still Duke of Anjou - he took part in the siege of La Rochelle in 1573 and was in his suite in 1574 during Henry's brief tenure as King of Poland . When Heinrich after the death of his brother Karl IX. became French king, he returned with him to France.

When Jacques de Lévis made fun of Charles' de Balzac, baron d'Entragues, with a "lady who was more beautiful than chaste", Charles de Balzac took this mockery as an occasion, Lévis on April 26, 1578 challenge the Louvre courtyard to a duel . The fight took place the next morning at the Marché aux Chevaux (German: horse market) near the Bastille and went down in French history under the name “Duel of the Mignons”.

Lévis was seriously wounded by Balzac's 19 sword blows and then fought for his life under medical supervision in the Hôtel de Boissy for 33 days, but succumbed to his injuries. During this time Heinrich III gave way. not from his friend's bedside and offered 10,000  francs to the doctor who made him recover through his treatment. Jacques de Lévis himself promised 10,000  Écus if he should recover. But Lévis died on May 29, 1578 at the age of about 24 from his injuries in the king's arms. While still on his deathbed, he had complained that his opponent had fought unfairly and, in addition to his sword, had used a dagger that he himself had forgotten.

Henry III. had a magnificent tomb erected in his honor in the Saint-Paul church in Paris and buried there. The grave was however in January 1589 after the murder of Henri I. de Lorraine , the Heinrich III. had commissioned, destroyed by angry supporters of the Guisen . The epitaph " Non injuriam, sed mortem patienter tulit " (German: "He endured death patiently, but not injustice") was written by the king himself.

literature

  • Louis-Pierre Anquetil: Histoire de France, depuis les Gaulois jusqu'à la fin de la monarchie . Volume 7, 5th edition. Ledentu, Paris 1825, pp. 68-69 ( digitized version ).
  • Hippolyte de Barrau: Documens historiques et généalogiques sur les familles et les hommes remarquables du Rouergue dans les temps anciens et modern . Volume 1. Ratery, Rodez 1853, pp. 557-558 ( digitized version ).
  • Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme : Couronnels françois, discours sur les duels . Renouard, Paris 1873 ( Oeuvres complètes de Pierre de Bourdeille seigneur de Brantôme . Volume 6), pp. 312-314 ( digitized version ).
  • Jean Chrétien Ferdinand Hoefer : Nouvelle biography générale depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours. Firmin Didot, Paris 1852–1866.
  • Nicolas Le Roux: La faveur du roi. Mignons et courtisans au temps des derniers Valois (verse 1547-verse 1589) . Champ Vallon, Seysse 2001, ISBN 2-87673-311-0 , pp. 217-219 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Jacques de Lévis  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

References and comments

  1. ↑ Jean de La Taille: Discours notable des duels, de leur origine en France, et du malheur qui en arrive tous le iours au grand interest du public. Ensemble des moyens qu'il y auroit d'y pouvoir. Rigaud, Paris, 1607, p. 82
  2. ↑ L.-P. Anquetil: Histoire de France, depuis les Gaulois jusqu'à la fin de la monarchie . P. 68
  3. ↑ P. de Bourdeille: Oeuvres complètes ... p. 314: The author uses the French word "épée", which can be translated both with "sword" and with "sword".
personal data
SURNAME Caylus, Jacques de Lévis, comte de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH 1554
DATE OF DEATH May 29, 1578
Place of death Paris