Constant d'Aubigné was a French nobleman, son of Théodore-Agrippa d'Aubigné

Agrippa d'Aubigné

Théodore-Agrippa d'Aubigné was a French poet, soldier, propagandist and chronicler. His epic poem Les Tragiques is widely regarded as his masterpiece.-Life:...

, the poet, soldier, propagandist and chronicler. Born into a Huguenot

Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

 family, Constant led a less structured life, first embracing Protestantism

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 and then the Catholic causes, visiting England and then in 1626 betraying the Protestants by revealing English plans to take La Rochelle

La Rochelle

La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...

. As a result he was disinherited by his father.

Legacy

Constant was twice married. His first wife, Anne Marchant, left a son Theodore. His second wife, Jeanne de Cardilhac, was the mother of Mme. de Maintenon and Chevalier d'Aubigné; the latter was never married. The d'Aubigné line was continued through Anne Marchant's son, Theodore (1613–1670) . The name of d'Aubigné can be found on the rolls of Battle Abbey among the list of knights who fell at The Battle of Hastings. Others survived the conquest, and are mentioned in Hume's History as champions of Magna Charta.

Final Days

Richelieu had d'Aubigné and his family imprisoned at Niort

Niort

Niort is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France.The Latin name of the city was Novioritum.The population of Niort is 60,486 and more than 137,000 people live in the urban area....

 in 1629 for correspondence with the English. Released in 1639 following the death of Richelieu, the family went to the French West Indies

French West Indies

The term French West Indies or French Antilles refers to the seven territories currently under French sovereignty in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: the two overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, the two overseas collectivities of Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy, plus...

, where d'Aubigné had been made governor of Marie-Galante

Marie-Galante

Marie-Galante is an island of the Caribbean Sea located at the south of Guadeloupe and at north of Dominica. Marie-Galante is a dependence of Guadeloupe which is a french overseas department....

, though he and his family remained on Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

. d'Aubigné returned around 1645, nearly destitute, and died in 1647. His wife and children returned to France the same year.

Resources

• Haag, Eugéne & Émile. "La France Protestante". Paris, 1877.
• Smedes, Susan Dabney. "A Southern Planter: Social Life in the Old South". Pott, 1887; p. 7,8
• Bellet, Jaquelin & Jaquelin. "Some Prominent Virginia Families". J.P. Bell company, 1907; p. 87-93

External links