Patrimony. 390 years ago, a duke was beheaded in the courtyard of the Capitol, in Toulouse
Through Toulouse editorial office
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Toulouse, October 30, 1632. Duke Henri II de Montmorency slowly advances towards the scaffold installed in the inner courtyard of the Hôtel de Ville.
“Strike boldly”
Before his beheading, he made a final request to the present assembly (the clerk of the parliament, the provost surrounded by archers and officers of the city body): that of testifying to King Louis XIII of his loyalty. Then meet kneeling in front of the statue of Henri IV and say to his executioner: “Strike boldly”.
Son sang as a relic
The latter is executed. The people, who could not attend his death, ended up rushing through the half-open doors. In an indescribable frenzy, each one tries to receive on his habits or his handkerchiefs a little of the blood of the former governor of Languedoc, which he keeps as a relic.
Once calm has returned, he is buried in the Saint-Sernin basilica. A few years later, his body was transferred to Moulins, to the convent of the Visitation, where his widow Marie-Félicie des Ursins retired. As for its lands, they pass to the house of Condé, the younger branch of the Capetian house of Bourbon, the youngest itself of the royal dynasty of the Capetians.
An influential nobleman
37 years earlier, in April 1595, when Henri was born in the family castle of Chantilly, the house of Montmorency was one of the most powerful in the kingdom. The wars of religion have undoubtedly weakened it, but it has high-ranking figures in its ranks, like Father Henri I.uh, Constable of France (responsible for the royal stables, then the administration and the conduct of the armies) and governor of the rich province of Languedoc.
Memorable evenings in Toulouse
When he died in 1614, Henri took on this prestigious position. The young man, who likes to feast and surround himself with brilliant minds (he becomes the protector of the poet Peire Goudouli), presides over a few memorable evenings in Toulouse with his friend Adrien de Montluc, Baron de Monstesquiou. Father Anselme, historian, describes him as “valiant, generous, affable, liberal and magnificent, cherished and respected by the people of war”.
The navy enthusiast undertook to reform in depth the admiralty of France in order to compete effectively on the seas of England and the United Provinces. At Court, his wise advice was listened to and his charm did not leave Queen Anne of Austria indifferent in person.
A fight to the death against Richelieu
Close to Louis XIII, he serves the sovereign in Protestant wars. It takes part in the headquarters of Montauban and stands out from that of Montpellier. Minister of State Richelieu does not support the rise of this aristocrat to whom everything seems to succeed.
In 1627, after several edicts, he ended up suppressing the post of admiral. Whatever, Montmorency fights on land, is illustrated in particular during the Campaign of Savoy and Piedmont, which earned him to be named Marshal of France.
In 1630, Gaston d’Orléans, the king’s brother, jealous of Richelieu’s ever-growing power, tried to organize a general uprising. Henri, probably influenced by his wife and by Alfonso II d’Ebène, the bishop of Albi, ended up supporting him. On July 20, 1632, the two men meet in Pézenas.
The seditious mate in Castelnaudary
Two days later, the province seceded. Louis XIII and Richelieu do not hear it that way. 1uh September, their liege man, Marshal Schomberg, and his 2,500 men very easily overpower the seditious during the battle of Castelnaudary (Aude). Wounded, Henri de Montmorency was taken prisoner and imprisoned at the castle of the Counts of Armagnac in Lectoure (Gers). The king decides on his fate: it will be the death sentence.
Mathieu Arnal
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