Anne, duke de Montmorency

Anne, duke de Montmorency (born March 15, 1493, Chantilly, France—died November 12, 1567, Paris) was a constable of France who was powerful during the reigns of Francis I, Henry II, and Charles IX. He served in the numerous wars in northern Italy and southern France against Charles V, Holy Roman emperor and king of Spain, and in the campaigns of Charles IX against the Huguenots.

Named after his godmother, Queen Anne of Brittany, consort of the French kings Charles VIII and Louis XII, Montmorency was brought up with the future Francis I, who raised him to authority when he became king in 1515. After fighting in several campaigns in Italy, he was named marshal of France in 1522. In 1524 he defended Provence and then returned to fight in Italy. Captured at Pavia (Italy) in 1525 along with the king, he was released and helped negotiate the Treaty of Madrid. In 1526 he was named governor of Languedoc and grand master of France (superintendent of the royal household). He was charged with diplomatic missions and eventually became the king’s principal minister, controlling war, the royal household, public works, and foreign affairs. His many extant letters reveal his prodigious ministerial energy; he was also irascible and a ruthless authoritarian. In 1527 he succeeded in bringing England into the League of Cognac against the Holy Roman emperor Charles V, but in 1529 he helped negotiate the Peace of Cambrai between France and the emperor. In 1536 Montmorency again took up arms against Charles V, first in Provence, where he compelled Charles to withdraw by means of a “scorched earth” strategy, then in northern Italy. Peace was negotiated in 1538, and he was named constable of France. In 1541, however, political mistakes and court intrigues forced him into retirement.

Recalled to court on Henry II’s accession (1547), Montmorency savagely crushed a revolt against the salt tax at Bordeaux (1548). He was created a duke and a peer of France in 1551. Captured by the Spanish in 1557, he was released upon the conclusion of the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis between France and Spain (1559).

When Charles IX became king in 1560, Montmorency returned to power. At first he supported the Huguenots but soon allied himself with the Duke de Guise and the Marshal de Saint-André in the campaigns conducted against them under Charles IX. He was victorious at the Battle of Dreux but was captured. Released in 1563, he commanded the army that took Le Havre from the English that year. When war with the Huguenots broke out again in 1567, Montmorency was wounded at the Battle of Saint-Denis, just outside Paris, and died two days later. Two of his five sons by Madeleine of Savoy succeeded him as duke.