Anne de Montmorency

Montmorency, Anne de

 

Born Mar. 15, 1493, in Chantilly; died Nov. 12, 1567, in Paris. French military leader and statesman. Marshal of France from 1522, constable from 1538.

Montmorency took part in the battle of Marignano in 1515. In 1525 he was taken prisoner along with the French king Francis I at Pavia and helped negotiate the Treaty of Madrid in 1526. During the reign of Henry II (1547–59), Montmorency was one of the closest advisers of the king. In 1548 he directed the suppression of a popular uprising in Bordeaux, and in 1551 Henry II made him a duke.

Captured by the Spanish in 1557 after his defeat in the battle of St. Quentin, Montmorency was released under the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in 1559. In 1561 he was a member of a triumvirate, along with Francois, the Due de Guise and the Marshal de Saint-Andre, that was organized for the struggle against the Huguenots. In the religious wars that resulted, Montmorency commanded the royal forces and was fatally wounded at the battle of St. Denis on Nov. 10, 1567.