MONTMORENCY, An old and illustrious Freneh family named from a lage near Paris, whose members in 1327 received the title of first baron of France. The mythical founder 14 the house is LEsmrs (or Lishins), who is said to have died with the martyr sifts: the first authentic lord of Montmorency is But cumm L. ;dont 950; 11.‘yrittEriI. 1'!301 is the most famous member of the family before the sixteenth century. lie was called the Constable in the reign of Philip Augus tus he captured ChAteau Gaillard. in Normandy. and in 1211 won the battle of Bouvines; in 1226 he defeated the Alhigensi-4; and 'hiring the re geney of Manche, the mother of Louis IX.. was a powerful upholder of royal power. After Matthieu's death the family divided into two houses—the baronial branch of T\lontmoreney and the younger line of The former attained the title of duke with ANNE be. (1493-15671. He was born March 15, 1493, at Chantilly, and was edu cated with the princes of the royal blood. He became a soldier at an early age, and distin guished himself by his gallantry and military skill in the wars of Francis 1., particularly at Melegnano (1515), at the defense of (1521). and in the battle of La Bicocea (1522). ln 1522 he was made marshal of France, and in 1525 was taken prisoner with his sovereign in the hattle of Pavia. Ile then helped to negotiate the Treaty of Madrid. and in 1526 became grand master of the royal household and Governor of Languedoc. In 1536 he repelled Charles in vasion of Provence, and in 153ti was made Con stable of France, in this capacity he directed the foreign and domestic affairs of France for some years with energy and ability. His brusque ness of manner, however, made him an ob ject of dislike to many; and the suspicions of the King having been aroused against him, he was suddenly banished from in 1541. The next six years were passed in retirement on his tates, but with the accession of Henry 11. in 1547 he came again to the head of affairs, though he shared this power with mistress, Diana of Poitiers, and the family of Guise. In 1557 he commanded the French army which was defeated at Saint-Quentin (q.v.). Here he was taken prisoner. but he was liberated by the treaty made at CAteau-Cambr6sis be tween France and Spain in 1559. During the minority of Charles IX. Montmorency with the Duke of Guise and the Marshal composed the famous triumvirate which resisted the influence of Catharine :Medici in State af fairs. He commanded the royal army against
the Huguenots, though Coligny was his nephew, and was defeated and captured al Dreux (1562), hut later gained victories over them. In 1563 he forced the English to evacuate Havre. At the battle of Saint-Denis against the Huguenots under Conde he received a fatal wound and died in Paris on the following day. November 1I. 1567. —HENRY, Fourth Duke of Montmorency (1595 was the grandson of the Constable Anne de :Montmorency. and was born at Chantilly, April 30. 1595. When he was seventeen years of age, Louis Nlll, made him Admiral of France and Viceroy of Canada, and in 1613 he became Governor of Languedoc. When the Huguenot wars broke out afresh he fought successfully for the King. and in 1625 took the Isle of Re; during the siege of La Rochelle. Ile after wards gained other victories. and in 1630 re ceived the chief command of the French troops in Piedmont during the War of the Mantuan Suc cession. Ile defeated the Spaniards and received the baton. Having espoused, in 1632. the cause of Gaston. Duke of Orleans, brother of King Louis and opponent of Riehelieu. he was deviated guilty of high treason. and Marshal Sehomberg defeated him at Castel pawky and took him prisoner. Ile was car ried to Toulouse. and there sentenced to death through the influence of Richelieu. This sen tence was summarily executed: hewas 6'111'1111Ni in Vite of powerful intercession on his behalf by various rulers.ttetober 311, 1632. Consult Duero', Ilistoiri de In rig ,le Henri, dernier flue dr Mont.. morenry (Paris. 1643).-1-?vm.MArritiet: .IEAN Fir..rcrri:, Duke of ( 1826), was born in Paris. Ile served in the American Revolution: and after the outbreak of the French Revolution as a representative of the nobility in the Constituent Assembly he urged the abolition of the privileges of his order. After the overthrow of the constitutional mon archy of 1791 lie joined Mine. de Staa with whom he was long intimate, at Coppet in Switz erland, and returned to France in 1795, then to become quite as closely attached to Mine. whose memoirs give a vivid picture of him. In 1821 Montmoreney was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. and as representative of France at the Congress of Verona (1822) urged armed intervention in Spain in behalf of Ferdinand VII.
Consult Vetillard, sur la vie de M. le due de Montmorency (Le Mans, 1826).