Scottish Guard

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Miniature Jean Fouquets from Etienne Chevalier's Book of Hours ; left in the picture: the Scottish Guard of Charles VII.
Standard of the 1st Company
Uniform as life guard (after an engraving from the time of Louis XIII.)

The Scottish Guard ( French Garde écossaise ) was a military unit in the service of the French royal family, the establishment of which goes back to Charles VII . In the first quarter of the 15th century, Charles VII took Scottish soldiers into his service and thus founded the Compagnie des gendarmes écossais , which he made his bodyguard . The men were recruited from a contingent of Scottish fighters who supported France during the Hundred Years War against the troops of the English king and thus fulfilled the agreements of the Auld Alliance .

In memory of the Battle of Verneuil , in which the Compagnie des gendarmes écossais was almost completely destroyed in 1424 , Charles VII also founded an elite unit of 25, the Garde de la Manche . Two to six of its members protected the king by always staying in his immediate vicinity. For this service they were given numerous privileges. Among other things, their commanding officer was entrusted with the keys to the royal apartments at night, and its members had the privilege of carrying the body of a deceased king from Paris to Saint-Denis for burial . In addition, the Scots Guard was also for each member personally advantageous because in addition to a higher than average salary , many members of the Guard were charged by their employer in the French nobility, turning them with possessions from the royal domain fief . This was accompanied by a high reputation in France, which is why many members of the Scottish Guard were often en route as envoys and diplomats in French service. Their officers were also automatically accepted into the knightly order of St. Michael , while their captain (French: Capitaine ) often held the office of Grand Chamberlain of France .

The Garde de la Manche formed together with the Compagnie des gendarmes écossais under the name Scottish Guard, the first company of the French bodyguard ( Garde du corps du roi ) and existed until the French Revolution . By resolution of the National Assembly on June 25, 1791, the entire Garde du corps, including the Scottish Guard, was dissolved. During the restoration she called Louis XVIII. back to life, but after the abdication of Charles X , the unit was finally abolished by a decree of August 11, 1830.

Special feature of the Guard members was her white tunic , which was decorated with gold embroidery. Under an embroidered crown, the motto of unity was found on it: “In omni modo fidelis” (German: “In every way faithful”). The guards were armed with a sword and a partisan .

In the beginning, the Scottish Guard was actually only reserved for men of Scottish nationality. However, this gradually changed from the reign of Henry II , so that at the time of King Charles IX. almost exclusively French members of the guards and finally only the name was the only Scottish part of the unit. One of the most famous captains of this unit was Gabriel de Lorges , Count of Montgomery, who accidentally injured Henry II in a tournament on July 1, 1559 and was personally responsible for the death of his employer, whom he was supposed to protect.

List of Capitaines

Capitaines or Chefs de corps were:

  • 1440: Robert Patilloch
  • 1449: Mathieu d'Harcourt, sire de Rugny
  • 1455: Claude de Châteauneuf, personal guard of Charles VII.
  • 1456: Michel de Beauvilliers (1462–1462), seigneur de La Ferté-Hubert, du Lude et de Thoury
  • 1462: William Stuyers
  • 1466: Thomas Stuyers
  • 1471: Geffrey Coowran
  • 1473: Robert Coningham
  • 1480: Jean Coningham
  • 1495-1508: Bérault Stuart d'Aubigny (1452-1508), sire d'Aubigny
  • August 15, 1508–1512: John Stewart († 1512), seigneur d'Henrichemont
  • 1512: Robert Stuart d'Aubigny (1470–1544), sire d'Aubigny, 1515 Marshal of France
  • 1514–1544: Jean Stuart († 1551), sieur de Vézinnes et de Fontaine
  • 1544: Jacques I. de Montgommery (1485–1560), seigneur de Lorges
  • 1557: Gabriel I de Montgommery (1530–1574), seigneur de Lorges
  • 1559: Jacques II. De Montgommery († 1562), seigneur de Lorges
  • 1562–1563: Jean d'O, seigneur de Maillebois
  • 1563–1569: Jean de Losse, écuyer, seigneur de Bannes
  • 1569–1599: Joachim de Châteauvieux (1545–1615), governor of the Bastille
  • 1599–1605: Jean-Paul d'Esparbès de Lussan († 1616), seigneur de La Serre, Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit
  • 1605–1611: Antoine Arnaud de Pardaillan de Gondrin (1562–1624), marquis de Montespan, Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit
  • 1611–1612: Philibert de Nerestang († 1620), marquis de Nerestang
  • 1612-1616: Charles d'Estournel, seigneur de Blainville
  • 1616–1623: Charles de La Vieuville (1583–1653), marquis de La Vieuville
  • 1623–1642: Guillaume de Simiane († 1642), marquis de Gordes (February 1615), Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit
  • 1642: François de Simiane, marquis de Gordes, son of the previous one
  • 1642–1651: François, vicomte de Rochechouart (1611–1696), Count of Limoges (1661), marquis de Chandenier
  • 1651: Anne de Noailles (1620–1678), first Duke of Noailles
  • 1678: Anne-Jules de Noailles (1650–1708), Count of Ayen, second Duke of Noailles, 1693 Marshal of France, son of the previous one
  • 1707: Adrien-Maurice de Noailles (1678–1766), third Duke of Noailles, 1734 Marshal of France, son of the previous one
  • 1731: Louis de Noailles (1713–1793), first Duke of Ayen, fourth Duke of Noailles, 1775 Marshal of France, son of the previous one
  • 1758–1791: Jean-Paul de Noailles (1739–1824), second Duke of Ayen, fifth Duke of Noailles, son of the previous one
  • 1814–1825: Joseph Anne Maximilien de Croÿ d'Havré (1744–1839), relieved of his position in 1825 with all honors
  • 1825–1830: Emmanuel Marie Maximilien de Croÿ-Solre (1768–1848)

literature

  • Philippe Le Bas: France. Dictionnaire encyclopédique. = Dictionnaire Encyclopédique de la France . Volume 7 (= L'Univers pittoresque. Europe. Volume 19). Firmin Didot, Paris 1842, pp. 75-76, ( online ).
  • Philippe Le Bas: France. Dictionnaire encyclopédique. = Dictionnaire Encyclopédique de la France . Volume 8. (= L'Univers pittoresque. Europe. Volume 20). Firmin Didot, Paris 1842, pp. 620-622 ( online ).
  • Thomas Moncrieff: Memoirs Concerning the Ancient Alliance Between the French and Scots. And the privileges of the Scots in France. Printed by W. Cheyne, and sold by W. Gordon, Edinburgh 1751, pp. 25-30 ( online ).
  • Tim Wallace-Murphy, Marilyn Hopkins: Custodians of Truth. The Continuance of Rex Deus. Weiser et al., York Beach ME 2005, ISBN 1-57863-323-0 , pp. 199-201.
  • Adrien Pascal, Jules François Le Comte, Germain Nicolas Brahaut, François Sicard: Histoire de l'armée et de tous les régiments depuis les premiers temps de la monarchie française jusqu'à nos jours. Volume 1. Barbier, Paris 1847, pp. 300-306 ( online ).

Web links

References and comments

  1. ^ A b T. Wallace-Murphy, M. Hopkins: Custodians of Truth , p. 200.
  2. ↑ Cf. Francisque Michel: Les Ecossais en France, les Français en Ecosse . Volume 1. Franck, Paris 1862 ( online ).
  3. ^ P. Le Bas: France, dictionnaire encyclopédique , Volume 8, p. 621.
  4. ^ P. Le Bas: France, dictionnaire encyclopédique , Volume 8, p. 622.
  5. ↑ Adolphe and Pierre Adolphe Chéruel: Dictionnaire historique des institutions, mœurs et coutumes de la France . Volume 1. Hachette, Paris 1855, p. 473. ( online ). The author uses the French word "épée", which can be translated both as "sword" and "sword".
  6. ^ T. Moncrieff: Memoirs Concerning the Ancient Alliance Between the French and Scots , p. 29.
  7. ^ P. Le Bas: France, dictionnaire encyclopédique , Volume 8, p. 620.
  8. ^ Susane 1874
  9. ↑ `` Bulletin de la Société historique et archéologique du Périgord. '' Section 17, p. 134.