François de Montmorency, 2nd Duke of Montmorency (17 July 1530 – 6 May 1579) was a French noble, governor, diplomat and soldier during the latter Italian Wars and the early French Wars of Religion. The son of Anne de Montmorency, favourite of the king and Madeleine of Savoy, Montmorency began his political career during the coronation of Henri II in 1547. With the resumption of the Italian Wars in 1551 he fought at the capture of Chieri, the famous defence of Metz and the defence of Thérouanne. In the latter engagement he was captured by Imperial forces, and put up for ransom. He would spend the next three years in captivity before returning to France in 1556. Returning to the conflict immediately he participated in the disastrous Saint-Quentin campaign in which the French army was destroyed and his father captured. After serving as a lieutenant in Picardie he found himself gaining advantage on the death of Henri II, the new Guise regime compensating the Montmorency family for their seizure of the grand maître title with the provision of a Marshal baton to Montmorency.
Back in 1556 on his return from captivity he had been granted the dual honour of the governorship of Île de France and that of Paris. He would hold these offices with brief interruptions until his death, building a sizeable power base in the capital. His father was disappointed to learn on his release that he had secretly arranged a marriage, and Montmorency was forced to annul the arrangement so he could marry the king's daughter Diane de France. As governor of the Île de France he exerted a moderate Catholic influence that infuriated radical elements of the city that accused him of crypto Protestantism. This was advantageous to him as the crown increasingly moved in the direction of toleration, culminating in the Edict of January which recognised the right of Protestant worship in 1562. During the early civil wars he remained loyal to the crown but represented a conciliatory position on the royal council, frequently partaking in peace talks. During the second war of religion he fought at Saint-Denis where his father was killed, leaving him as duke.
Throughout this period he feuded with the Guise, allying himself with his cousin Admiral Coligny who the Guise accused of assassinating the duke of Guise in 1563. This culminated in a showdown in his governorship when Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, brother to the late duke attempted a show of force entry into the city, only to be repulsed in a skirmish with Montmorency's forces. Though the two sides were forced to reconcile at Moulins, Allier in 1566 the feud would continue. Montmorency was the lone voice at court in support of Coligny's plan to bring France into war with Spain. When Coligny was assassinated in Paris by the duke of Guise in the opening hours of the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, Montmorency was absent from the city, having retired to his estates with an illness. He considered revenging himself on the Guise, until the king informed him the assassination had his blessing. In 1574 Montmorency found himself close to the king's brother Alençon at court, and was accused of involvement in an attempt on the duke of Guise's life. Leaving court, he was convinced by Charles IX to return in April, only to be implicated in a conspiracy of Alençon's, and thrown in the Bastille. His brothers escaped court and entered rebellion, however he would not be released until Alençon himself escaped court in September 1575 and his release was demanded. Weakened by his imprisonment he spent the final years of his life less involved in affairs of court, dying in 1579.
Early life and family Family Montmorency was born in 1530, the first son of Anne de Montmorency and Madeleine of Savoy. His parents' marriage was fruitful, and they would go on to have another four sons; Henri I de Montmorency (1534-1614), Charles de Montmorency-Damville (1537-1612), Gabriel de Montmorency (1541-1562) and Guillaume de Montmorency-Thoré (1547-1593). The careers of all these brothers would be shaped by the French Wars of Religion. Anne de Montmorency was a fervent Catholic, and favourite to kings François I, who made him Constable, and Henri II. He was disappointed by his sons more moderate Catholicism, and his beloved nephew Gaspard II de Coligny's Protestantism.
Marriage
After the death of the duke of Castro, the king's daughter Diane de France was once again marriagable. Constable Montmorency seeing the potential for advantage to the family, convinced the king to marry her to his son, François de Montmorency. Uninterested in the marriage selected for him, Montmorency defied his family, swearing legally binding paroles de promesse to another woman Jeanne de Piennes, one of Catherine de Medici's filles d'honneur. Upon finding out the Constable was furious, and flew into a rage, retiring to his hôtel for two weeks during which he spoke to no one. The Constable attempted to persuade Jeanne to become a nun which would release his son from their arrangement. Montmorency for his part was dispatched to Rome to get the arrangements annulled, but Pope Paul IV refused. Montmorency blamed the duke of Guise for this failure, much to the duke's dismay. Not easily defeated Constable Montmorency oversaw the passing of a law in 1557 allowing a father to disinherit a son under the age of 30 if they married without their father's consent. The law was passed with retroactive effect, so Montmorency was compelled to annul his marriage and go with his father's choice. He wrote to Jeanne releasing her from her obligations to him and urging her to do likewise for him. The Constable compensated her through an arrangement of a marriage to Alluye, a secretary of state and a gift of 40,000 livres. Montmorency and Diane were married in May 1557. The marriage would not produce any sons, as such he would be succeeded by his brother to his titles on his death.
Of moderate religious inclinations, his proclivities were complemented by his wife. She exerted a conciliatory influence on the court and supported her husbands tolerant attitude towards Protestantism.
Reputation The contemporary historian Brantôme wrote of Montmorency: "Now, besides the fact that Monsieur de Montmorency was brave, he was a wise and shrewd captain and a strong politician, and for this, the King , when he went to tour his kingdom [in 1564], left him Governor of the Île de France and Paris, where he showed his wisdom and good leadership, because, having found the people of Paris, just emerged from civil war, still a great enemy of the Huguenots, mutinous, seditious, shaking and boiling all over, with mutiny and envy, always spilling blood, ... he rendered them supple and easy to handle like a buckskin glove from Vendôme, with which the King was greatly satisfied."Mémoires de M. Pierre de Bourdeille, Seigneur de Brantôme, 1735, second volume, p. 129: Or outre que monsieur de Montmorency fut valeureux, il étoit sage et a[d]visé capitaine et fort politique, et pour ce le Roi, quand il s'en alla faire le tour de son Royaume, il le laissa gouverneur de l'isle de France et de Paris, là il montra bien sa sagesse et bonne conduite; car ayant rouvé ce peuple de Paris, qui de frais ne sortoit que la guerre civile, encore grand ennemi des Huguenots, mutin, seditieux, croullant, et bouillant tout de mutination et d'envie dépandre toujours du sang, ... Il le rendit souple et maniable comme un gant chevrotin de Vendôme, dont le Roy en eut très-grand contentement....
Reign of Henri II With the advent of a new king's reign, Montmorency had a part to play in the coronation at Reims. He and the other three representatives of the oldest baronies in France (Martigues, Harcourt and Thouars) travelled to the Basilica of Saint-Remi where they demanded the transportation of the sacred oils to anoint Henri be taken to the cathedral. He and the other nobles stayed in the basilica until the important oils were returned as hostages.
Italian Wars As tensions rose in Italy between the duke of Parma and the Emperor the French began preparing to offer military support to their ally. Marshal Brissac was created governor of Piedmont and put in charge of military support. Henri dispatched military companies to assist him in the coming conflict. The flower of the French nobility joined the forces, among them the younger sons of the duke of Guise, the Bourbon-Vendôme prince's of the blood and Montmorency. In 1551 Brissac's force executed a coup with the capture of Chieri, surprising the Emperor who had expected the French to relieve Parma. For now France and the Empire were not formerly at war, both providing assistance to proxies, however this fiction would be shattered the following year.
During April 1552 Montmorency briefly campaigned in Italy, besieging the castle of Lanzo under Brissac's direction with little success. He and many of the other high ranking nobles who had flocked south in search of glory, hurried back north to join with Henri. Alongside Henri he participated in the capture of Ivoy and Damvillers. With the capture of Metz, Henri dispatched Montmorency and Villars to bring word of the army's entry into Germany to the Protestant princes with whom France was allied. After the successful defence of Metz against the Emperor, Henri was feeling confident, and lost himself in celebrations for this landmark accomplishment. He staged a grand procession in the city featuring Montmorency and his brother Damville who had assisted the duke of Guise in the defence of the city. The emperor meanwhile readied a new army and struck at Thérouanne in 1553 which held a strategic position between Calais and Flanders. After a month-long siege, the fortress at last fell to the imperial forces, who razed the settlement to the ground and captured 1000 prisoners, among them Montmorency who had been among the defenders of the city. Indeed it was Montmorency to whom the task of negotiating the surrender fell. Shortly after the destruction of Thérouanne the imperial army meted out the same fate to Hesdin. Among the casualties at Hesdin was the Duke of Castro, newly wed to the king's daughter Diane de France.
Ransom With a ransom set at 80,000 écus, a reduction from the original 100,000 the Constable was promised that the ransom attained from the most prominent imperial prisoner the duke of Aarschot would be used to buy back his son's freedom. In May 1556 Aarschot escaped his imprisonment, infuriating Montmorency, both for the violation of aristocratic honour and the loss of revenue it represented. In July word reached the court that the Imperial captors would lower the ransom to 50,000 écus, furthering the Constables desire for peace. In August with the ransom paid, Montmorency returned to France. The Constable was at first overjoyed, until he learned of his son's marital situation.
Governor Constable Montmorency was still keen for his son to receive the key governorship of Paris, and ensured it was earmarked for him while Montmorency was still in Imperial captivity. In 1556, Montmorency received appointment as governor of the Île de France and city of Paris. In this role he replaced his cousin Gaspard II de Coligny, who had held the post since 1551. Coligny in turn was shuffled into the governorship of Picardie. He would hold these posts largely uninterrupted until his death in 1579, the role of governor of Paris changing hands a couple of times. In 1561 Marshal Thermes was appointed as lieutenant-general of Paris, only to be replaced by Marshal Brissac in May 1562 who was in turn replaced by the future Marshal Cossé before Montmorency again assumed the role. In a further twist, during 1562 Cardinal Bourbon would hold the role of governor of Paris. Upon receiving the appointment in 1556, Montmorency was granted a large monetary gift by the town council of Paris. He made his entrance to the hôtel de ville with a retinue of 200 nobles.
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