Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency ( – 12 November 1567) was a French noble, governor, royal favourite and Constable of France during the mid to late Italian Wars and early French Wars of Religion. He served under five French kings (Louis XII, François I, Henri II, François II and Charles IX). He began his career in the latter Italian Wars of Louis XII, seeing service at Ravenna. When François, his childhood friend, ascended to the throne in 1515 he advanced as governor of the Bastille and Novara, then in 1522 was made a Marshal of France. He fought at the French defeat at La Bicocca in that year, and after assisting in rebuffing the invasion of Constable Bourbon he was captured at the disastrous Battle of Pavia. Quickly freed, he then worked to free first the king and then the king's sons. In 1526, he was made Grand Maître (Grand Master), granting him authority over the king's household. In the same year, he was also made governor of Languedoc. He aided in the marriage negotiations for the king's son, the duc d'Orléans to Catherine de' Medici in 1533. In the mid 1530s he found himself opposed to the war party at court led by Admiral Chabot and therefore retired. He returned to the fore after the Holy Roman Emperor invaded Provence, leading the royal effort that foiled his invasion, and leading the counter-attack. In 1538 he was rewarded by being made Constable of France, this made him the supreme authority over the French military. For the next two years he led the efforts to secure Milan for France through negotiation with the Emperor, however this proved a failure and Montmorency was disgraced, retiring from court in 1541.
He spent the next several years at his estates, relieved of the exercise and incomes of his charges, and removed as governor of Languedoc. He allied with the dauphin, the future Henri II during this time in his rivalry with the king's third son. Upon the dauphin's ascent in 1547 Montmorency was recalled from his exile and restored to all his offices, with his enemies disgraced. He now found himself opposed at court by the king's mistress Diane de Poitiers and her allies the duc de Guise and Cardinal de Lorraine. He led the crushing of the gabelle revolt of 1548 and then the effort to reconquer Boulogne from the English which was accomplished by negotiated settlement. In 1551 he was elevated from a baron to the first duc de Montmorency. In 1552 he led the royal campaign to seize the Three Bishoprics from the Holy Roman Empire, though was overshadowed by the glory Guise attained in the defence of Metz. Montmorency led the inconclusive northern campaigns of 1553 and 1554 and was increasingly criticised for his cautious style of campaign. From 1555 he led the drive to peace that secured the Truce of Vaucelles in mid 1556, however the peace would be shortlived. In 1557 he was again tasked with fighting on the northern frontier, and was drawn into the disastrous battle of Saint-Quentin at which he was captured and the French army destroyed. Guise was thus made lieutenant-general of the kingdom, while Montmorency tried to negotiate peace from his captivity. The king supported him in this from late 1558 and in April 1559 he would help bring about the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis which brought the Italian Wars to an end.
When Henri II died in July 1559, Montmorency was sidelined by the new Guise-led government of François II, which relieved him of the office of Grand Maître. He would not participate in the Conspiracy of Amboise that attempted to overthrow the Guise regime however. When François in turn died in December 1560, he was recalled to a central position in the government, though subordinate to the role granted to the king of Navarre who was made lieutenant-general by the new king's mother, the regent Catherine. He quickly became disenchanted with the new government and entered opposition alongside Guise and Marshal Saint-André, forming an agreement known to history as the 'Triumvirate' in 'defence of Catholicism'. When the French Wars of Religion erupted the following year, he and his Triumvirate colleagues secured the royal family for their cause and fought against the Protestants led by Navarre's brother, the prince de Condé. In the climactic battle of the war at Dreux Montmorency was again made prisoner, and from his captivity negotiated the peace with the likewise captive Condé. During the peace, he joined Catherine and the court for the grand tour of the kingdom and feuded with his former ally Guise. In 1567 the Protestant aristocracy led a new coup against the crown and Montmorency led the defence of Paris against their army. Pushed to confront the Protestants, Montmorency died as a result of wounds sustained at the battle of Saint Denis on 12 November 1567.
Early life and family
Anne de Montmorency was born in 1493 at Chantilly, the son of Guillaume de Montmorency and Anne de Saint-Pol. His parents named him for his godmother, Anne, queen of France. Guillaume held a senior position in the household of the future king François I (at that time, comte d'Angoulême).
The Montmorency family prided itself on being the 'oldest barons' in France. Indeed, Montmorency's son would later boast to the English ambassador that the barons of Montmorency existed before there were kings of France. Despite these boasts, Montmorency was not a prince, and therefore his rivals the Lorraine family had a greater pedigree than he did. Montmorency would however fire back that he was a true born Frenchman, while the Lorraine family were 'foreign princes'. This criticism stung his rivals, who were pleased to see the barony of Joinville raised to a principality in their favour in April 1552 so that they would no longer be 'foreign princes' but 'French princes'.
Marriage and children
Montmorency married Madeleine de Savoie, a cousin of the king François I on 10 January 1527. Their marriage was sumptuously celebrated by the king during a period of extravagance at court which contrasted with the relative paucity of funds at the disposal of the household of the king's captive children in Spain. This marriage brought Montmorency into the royal family and going forward the king's mother and sister referred to him as their nephew. Madeleine brought with her to the marriage family lands in Picardy. Her brother, Montmorency's new brother-in-law was Claude de Savoie, comte de Tende the governor of Provence. He was thus afforded a relation with powerful interests near his governate of Languedoc that he lacked in terms of personal feudal control. Together they had the following issue:
Éléonore de Montmorency (1528–1556), married François III de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne in 1546 and had issue. Jeanne de Montmorency (1529–1596), married Louis III de La Trémoille, duc de Thouars in 1549 and had issue. François de Montmorency (1530–1579), Marshal (1559), duc de Montmorency (1567), governor of the Île de France (1556). Married Diane de France in 1557 without issue. Catherine de Montmorency (1532–1595), married Gilbert III de Lévis, duc de Ventadour in 1552. Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), duc de Montmorency (1579), governor of Languedoc (1563), Constable of France (1593). Married Antoinette de La Marck in 1559 and had issue. Charles de Montmorency (1537–1612), sieur de Méru then duc de Damville. Married Renée de Cossé in 1571 without issue. Gabriel de Montmorency (1541–1562), sieur de Montbéron. Guillaume de Montmorency, (1544–1591) sieur de Thoré. Married Léonore d'Humières in 1561 without issue. Marie de Montmorency (1547–1572), married Henri de Foix-Candale in 1567 without issue. Louise de Montmorency, abbesse de Maubuisson.
Several of Montmorency's sons were afforded the privilege, by his senior station at court, to become enfants d'honneur (children of honour), which meant they were raised alongside the royal children. For his daughters, Montmorency secured prestigious marriages into esteemed families, including La Trémouille, Ventadour, Foix-Candale, and Turenne. These were all great lords in the south west of France, important in Poitou, Limousin and Auvergne respectively. He provided his daughters with suitably grand dowries, the eldest three bringing 50,000 livres to their marriages, while the last brought 75,000 livres. His sons meanwhile were all introduced to military careers by their father, with none destined for the church.
His eldest son, François transgressed against his father's plans for his marriage into the royal family by exchanging legally binding paroles de promesse with Jacqueline de Piennes. In reaction to this 'betrayal', Montmorency got a law passed in 1557 that allowed a father to disinherit a son under the age of 30, or a daughter under the age of 25 who married without their parents permission. The law was retroactive, thereby obliging his son to annul the arrangement. He further had Jacqueline confined to a convent. His intended marriage of his son to Diane would go ahead on 4 May 1557, thereby further uniting the Montmorency with the royal family.
The death of his daughter Éléonore and her husband left Montmorency with the responsibility to raise the future Marshal of France, the vicomte de Turenne.
Relatives Unlike the Lorraine family he would not take advantage of his power to put many of his relatives into senior positions in the French church, this left the field open for his rivals to dominate the senior positions of the French clergy.
Montmorency's sister Louise de Montmorency was an early secret convert to Protestantism among the great nobility and married Gaspard I de Coligny. Her husband died in 1522, and therefore Montmorency and his sister would jointly raise his nephews, who would all be drawn towards Protestantism. Montmorency was greatly attached to his lineage, and thus despite his strong religious convictions did not formally oppose them for some time.
Through his sister, Montmorency had three nephews who would go on to play an important role in the early French Wars of Religion. Gaspard de Coligny, Odet de Coligny and François de Coligny all converted to Protestantism and led the movement with zeal. The first, would become Admiral of France, the second most senior role in the French military, while Odet would become a Cardinal at the age of 16 due to Montmorency's influence. Montmorency's sons would not follow his nephews into Protestantism.
Religion In religious temperament Montmorency, and his wife, were firmly Catholic, and were displeased by the Protestantism Montmorency's sister and nephews adopted. Montmorency's four sons would share his Catholicism, though both Thoré and Méru were sympathetic to Protestantism at one point or another. During his political ascendency, he received concerned reports of the growth of Protestantism in south-west France. Montmorency's Catholicism was not Ultramontane but rather highly Gallican in disposition. It was therefore with Montmorency's encouragement that Henri II flirted with the possibility of schism with the Papacy. He objected to the political program that often existed alongside Protestant movements in France, which advocated radical reforms. Despite this, the realities of Protestant opposition to the power of the Lorraine family in the 1560s meant that Montmorency was drawn in a more tolerant direction by his sons. He would have great affection for his nephews despite his disapproval of their religious persuasion. For Montmorency it was understood that the war on heresy that he supported was not meant to target members of the social elite (such as his nephews). So long as they publicly conformed it was no ones business what they did in their private chapels.
In his later years, Montmorency was afflicted with Gout.
He had a reputation as a taciturn man, something which contrasted with some of his more refined contemporaries in the French court. He was described by contemporaries as a 'bluff soldier' and conservative in temperament.
Wealth and estates