Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier
Encyclopedia
Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier (6 October 1610 – 17 November 1690) was a French
soldier and the governor of the dauphin, Louis le Grand Dauphin, the eldest son and heir of Louis XIV, King of France
.
He was the second son of Léon de Sainte-Maure, baron de Montausier. His parents were Huguenot
s, and he was educated at the Protestant
Academy of Sedan
under Pierre Du Moulin
. He served brilliantly at the siege of Casale
in 1629. Becoming marquis de Montausier at the death of his elder brother in 1635, he was the recognised aspirant for the hand of the
marquise de Rambouillet
's daughter, Julie Lucine d'Angennes (1607-1671). Having served under Bernard of Saxe-Weimar in Germany in 1634, he returned to the French service in 1636, and fought in the Rhenish campaigns of the following years. He was taken prisoner at Rantzau in November 1643, and only ransomed after ten months of captivity.
On his return to France, he became a lieutenant-general. On 15 July 1645, he married "the incomparable Julie," thus terminating a fourteen-year courtship famous in the annals of French literature because of the Guirlande de Julie
, a garland of verses consisting of madrigals by Montausier, Claude de Malleville
, Georges de Scudéry
, Pierre Corneille
(if Octave Uzanne
is correct in the attribution of three of the six poems signed M.C.), Philippe Habert, Simon Arnauld de Pomponne
, Jean Desmarets de Saint Sorlin
, Antoine Gombaud
(Le nain de la Princesse Julie) and others. It was copied by the famous calligraphist
Nicolas Jarry
in a magnificent manuscript, on each page of which was a flower painted by Nicolas Robert
, and was presented to Julie on her fête day in 1641. After becoming the possession of the Crussol-d'Uzès family, the manuscript was sold several times. It is now kept in the manuscript department (département des manuscrits) of the French National Library
in Paris.
Montausier had bought the governorship of Saintonge
and Angoumois
, and became a Roman Catholic before his marriage. During the Fronde
, he remained faithful to the Crown in spite of personal grievances against Mazarin. On the conclusion of peace in 1653, the marquis, who had been severely wounded in 1652, obtained high favour at court in spite of the roughness of his manners and the general austerity which made the Parisian public recognize him as the original of Alceste in Molière
's Le Misanthrope
.
Montausier received from Louis XIV
the order of the Saint Esprit, the government of Normandy
, a dukedom, and in 1668 the office of governor of the dauphin, Louis le Grand Dauphin (1661-1711). He initiated the series of classics ad usum Delphini
, directed by the learned Huet
, and gave the closest attention to the education of his charge, who was only moved by his iron discipline to a hatred of learning.
Court gossip assigned some part of Montausier's favour to the complaisance of his wife, who, appointed lady-in-waiting
to the queen in 1664, favoured Louis XIV's passion for Louise de la Vallière
, and subsequently protected Madame de Montespan, who found refuge from her husband with her.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
soldier and the governor of the dauphin, Louis le Grand Dauphin, the eldest son and heir of Louis XIV, King of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
.
He was the second son of Léon de Sainte-Maure, baron de Montausier. His parents were Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s, and he was educated at the Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
Academy of Sedan
Academy of Sedan
The Academy of Sedan was a Huguenot academy in Sedan, founded in 1579 and suppressed in 1681. It was one of the main centres for the production of Reformed pastors in France for a hundred years.-History:...
under Pierre Du Moulin
Pierre Du Moulin
Pierre Du Moulin was a Huguenot minister in France who also resided in England for some years.-Life:Born in Buhy in 1568, he was the son of Joachim Du Moulin, a Protestant minister in the Orleans area...
. He served brilliantly at the siege of Casale
War of the Mantuan Succession
The War of the Mantuan Succession was a peripheral part of the Thirty Years' War. Its casus belli was the extinction of the direct male line of the House of Gonzaga in December 1627. Brothers Francesco IV , Ferdinando and Vincenzo II , the last three dukes of Gonzaga, had all died leaving no...
in 1629. Becoming marquis de Montausier at the death of his elder brother in 1635, he was the recognised aspirant for the hand of the
marquise de Rambouillet
Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet
Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet , known as Madame de Rambouillet, was a society hostess and a major figure in the literary history of 17th-century France.-Biography:...
's daughter, Julie Lucine d'Angennes (1607-1671). Having served under Bernard of Saxe-Weimar in Germany in 1634, he returned to the French service in 1636, and fought in the Rhenish campaigns of the following years. He was taken prisoner at Rantzau in November 1643, and only ransomed after ten months of captivity.
On his return to France, he became a lieutenant-general. On 15 July 1645, he married "the incomparable Julie," thus terminating a fourteen-year courtship famous in the annals of French literature because of the Guirlande de Julie
Guirlande de Julie
The Guirlande de Julie is a unique French manuscript of sixty-two madrigaux.The salon of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet , wife of Charles d'Angennes, marquis de Rambouillet , was the first and most brilliant Parisian literary salon of the first half of the 17th century, at its...
, a garland of verses consisting of madrigals by Montausier, Claude de Malleville
Claude de Malleville
Claude Malleville was a French poet and one of the founder members of the Académie française in 1634.- External links :...
, Georges de Scudéry
Georges de Scudéry
Georges de Scudéry , the elder brother of Madeleine de Scudéry, was a French novelist, dramatist and poet.Georges de Scudéry was born in Le Havre, in Normandy, whither his father had moved from Provence...
, Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
(if Octave Uzanne
Octave Uzanne
Louis Octave Uzanne , known as Octave Uzanne, was a 19th-century French bibliophile, non-fiction writer, publisher and journalist.Born in Auxerre, of a bourgeois family, he came to Paris after his father's death...
is correct in the attribution of three of the six poems signed M.C.), Philippe Habert, Simon Arnauld de Pomponne
Simon Arnauld, marquis de Pomponne
Simon Arnauld de Pomponne, Seigneur and then Marquis of Pomponne was a French diplomat and minister.-Early life:...
, Jean Desmarets de Saint Sorlin
Jean Desmarets
Jean Desmarets, Sieur de Saint-Sorlin was a French writer and dramatist. He was a founding member, and the first to occupy seat 4 of the Académie française in 1634.-Biography:...
, Antoine Gombaud
Antoine Gombaud
Antoine Gombaud, Chevalier de Méré was a French writer, born at Poitou in 1607, and died on December 29, 1684. Although he was not a nobleman, he adopted the title Chevalier for the character in his dialogues who represented his own views...
(Le nain de la Princesse Julie) and others. It was copied by the famous calligraphist
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
Nicolas Jarry
Nicolas Jarry
Nicolas Jarry was a noted 17th century French calligrapher, whose works included his renditions of the poems of Guirlande de Julie by Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier....
in a magnificent manuscript, on each page of which was a flower painted by Nicolas Robert
Nicolas Robert
Nicolas Robert was a French miniaturist and engraver. He was born in Langres on 18 April 1614 and died in Paris on 25 March 1685.In 1664 he was appointed as "peintre ordinaire de Sa Majesté pur la miniature" to Louis XIV....
, and was presented to Julie on her fête day in 1641. After becoming the possession of the Crussol-d'Uzès family, the manuscript was sold several times. It is now kept in the manuscript department (département des manuscrits) of the French National Library
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
in Paris.
Montausier had bought the governorship of Saintonge
Saintonge
Saintonge is a small region on the Atlantic coast of France within the département Charente-Maritime, west and south of Charente in the administrative region of Poitou-Charentes....
and Angoumois
Angoumois
Angoumois was a county and province of France, nearly corresponding today to the Charente département. Its capital was Angoulême....
, and became a Roman Catholic before his marriage. During the Fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
, he remained faithful to the Crown in spite of personal grievances against Mazarin. On the conclusion of peace in 1653, the marquis, who had been severely wounded in 1652, obtained high favour at court in spite of the roughness of his manners and the general austerity which made the Parisian public recognize him as the original of Alceste in Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's Le Misanthrope
Le Misanthrope
The Misanthrope is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris by the King's Players....
.
Montausier received from Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
the order of the Saint Esprit, the government of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, a dukedom, and in 1668 the office of governor of the dauphin, Louis le Grand Dauphin (1661-1711). He initiated the series of classics ad usum Delphini
Ad usum Delphini
Ad usum Delphini means “for the use of the Dauphin”. It is a collection of classical Greek and Latin texts used by the Duke of Montausier for his education of the Grand Dauphin, son of King Louis XIV. This text was on the cover of the traditional texts which had been purified because they were too...
, directed by the learned Huet
Pierre Daniel Huet
Pierre Daniel Huet was a French churchman and scholar, editor of the Delphin Classics, founder of the Academie du Physique in Caen and Bishop of Soissons from 1685 to 1689 and afterwards of Avranches.-Life:...
, and gave the closest attention to the education of his charge, who was only moved by his iron discipline to a hatred of learning.
Court gossip assigned some part of Montausier's favour to the complaisance of his wife, who, appointed lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to the queen in 1664, favoured Louis XIV's passion for Louise de la Vallière
Louise de La Vallière
Louise de La Vallière was a mistress of Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667. She later became the Duchess of La Vallière and Duchess of Vaujours in her own right...
, and subsequently protected Madame de Montespan, who found refuge from her husband with her.