VILLEROI, FRANcOIS DE NEUFVILLE, Duc DE (1644-173o), French soldier, was the son of Nicolas de Neufville, Marquis de Villeroi, marshal of France (1598-1685). His father, created a duke by Louis XIV., was the young king's governor, and the boy was thus brought up in close relations with Louis. An intimate of the king, a finished courtier and a man of great gallantry, Villeroi was marked out for advancement in the army and in 1693 was made a marshal. In 1695, when Luxembourg died, he obtained the command of the army in Flanders, and William III. found him a far more complaisant opponent than the "little hunchback." In 1701 he superseded Catinat in Italy and was soon beaten by Eugene at Chiari. (See SPANISH SUCCESSION
WAR.) In the winter of 1701 he was made prisoner at Cremona, and the wits of the army made at his expense the famous rhyme: Par la faveur de Bellone, et par un bonheur san egal.
Nous avons conserve Cremone—et perdu notre general.
In the following years he was pitted against Marlborough in the Low Countries, and in 1706 the duke defeated him at Ramillies (q.v.). Louis superseded him in the command, and henceforward Villeroi lived the life of a courtier. He died on July 18, 173o at Paris.