Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette
Encyclopedia
Duke of Épernon
Duke of Épernon was a noble title in the peerage of France granted to Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette by Henry III of France in 1581. It is named after Épernon.-List of Dukes of Épernon, 1581—1736:...
, was a powerful member of the French nobility at the turn of the 17th century. He was deeply involved in plots and politics throughout his life.
He was born at Caumont
Caumont
Caumont is the same as Chaumont in common French and the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Caumont, Aisne, Picardy*Caumont, Ariège, Aquitaine*Caumont, Eure, Haute-Normandie*Caumont, Gers, Aquitaine*Caumont, Gironde, Aquitaine...
in Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
, the son of Jean de Nogaret de La Valette
Jean de Nogaret de La Valette
Jean de Nogaret de La Valette was a Lieutenant General of France.He was born at Caumont-Guienne, the son of Pierre Nogaret de La Valette and Marguerite de L'Isle de St...
and Jeanne de Saint-Lary de Bellegarde. His father and grandfather being both military men, it was natural that young Jean Louis would choose a soldier's life. He fought on the Catholic side in the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
; at the Siege of La Rochelle (1572–1573), he first came to the notice of the duc d'Anjou, the future Henry III of France
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
.
By December 1578, Nogaret had been accepted into Henri's most intimate circle of favourites, Les Mignons
Les Mignons
Les Mignons was a term used by polemicists in the toxic atmosphere of the French Wars of Religion and taken up by the people of Paris, to designate the favourites of Henry III of France, from his return from Poland to reign in France in 1574, to his assassination in 1589, a disastrous end to which...
. In 1581, Henry sold him the town of Épernon
Épernon
Épernon is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre region in northern France. It lies some 27 km northeast of Chartres, at the confluence of the Drouette and the Guesle.-History:...
, at the same time raising it to the rank of a duchy thus creating Nogaret the first duc d'Épernon. The new duke of Épernon was highly favored by Henry, who showered titles upon him, among them maître de camp
Maître de camp
Maître de camp was a rank in the Ancien Régime French army equivalent to Colonel. A maître de camp commanded a regiment. A regiment's commander was initially called a Colonel from the time of Francis I to that of Henry II, then a Mestre de camp from then until 1661, after which the name of the...
of the Champagne regiment (1579), Governor of Fère (1580), Colonel-general of the infantry (1581), First Gentleman of the King's Chamber (1582), Chevalier de l’Ordre du Saint-Esprit, Governor of Boulonnais, Loches, Lyon, Metz and its surrounding areas (1583), Chevalier des Ordres du roi (1584), and Governor of Provence (1586). At the death of the duc de Joyeuse
Anne de Joyeuse
Anne de Batarnay de Joyeuse, Baron d'Arques, Vicomte then Duke of Joyeuse was a royal favourite and active participant in the French Wars of Religion....
(1587) he was awarded the titles of Admiral of France
Admiral of France
The title Admiral of France is one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France, the naval equivalent of Marshal of France.The title was created in 1270 by Louis IX of France, during the Eighth Crusade. At the time it was equivalent to the office of Constable of France. The Admiral was responsible...
, Governor of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, of Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, and of Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
.
In 1587 he married the wealthy heiress Marguerite de Foix-Candale (1567–1593) of the Montmorency family
Montmorency family
Montmorency, pronounced , the name of one of the oldest and most distinguished families in France, derived from the city of Montmorency, now in the Val-d'Oise département, in the immediate neighborhood of Enghien-les-Bains and Saint-Denis, about 9 miles northwest of Paris.The family, since its...
, and they had four sons:
- HenryHenry de Nogaret de La ValetteHenry de Nogaret de La Valette was the eldest son of Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette , first Duke of Épernon and Admiral of France, and his wife Marguerite de Foix , comtesse de Candale...
, duke of Foix-Candale (1591–1639); - Bernard, duc d'ÉpernonBernard de Nogaret de La Valette d'ÉpernonBernard de Nogaret de La Valette , duke of Épernon and a French general, was the son of Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette and Marguerite de Foix-Candale, granddaughter of the constable of Montmorency...
(1592–1661); - Pierre (1589–?),
- Louis (1593–1639), cardinal de La Valette.
With his second wife, Anne Castelet de Monier, he had a son, Jean-Louis (1600–?), known as the Sieur de La Valette (Knight of Valette).
He also had three other natural children with Diane, the sister of Gabrielle d'Estrées
Gabrielle d'Estrées
Gabrielle d'Estrées, Duchess of Beaufort and Verneuil, Marchioness of Monceaux was a French mistress of King Henry IV of France, born at either the Château de la Bourdaisière in Montlouis-sur-Loire, in Touraine, or at the château de Cœuvres, in Picardy....
); a daughter Louise, and two sons, Louis, bishop of Mirepoix, then bishop of Carcassonne and Bernard, prior of Bellefonds
Bellefonds
Bellefonds is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France....
.
After the assassination of Henri III in 1589, Épernon opposed the accession of Henry of Navarre (Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
) and attempted to install an independent government in Provence. His attempt failed and in 1596 he was obliged to submit himself to the king, which he did. He had not forgiven or forgotten, however, and in 1610 he was involved in the conspiracy that resulted in the assassination of Henry IV by Ravaillac
François Ravaillac
François Ravaillac was a French factotum in the courts of Angoulême and a regicide. A sometime tutor and Catholic zealot, he murdered King Henry IV of France in 1610.-Early life and education:...
, who lodged, in his preparatory visits to Paris, with Épernon's mistress, Charlotte du Tillet. He played a large part in the immediate acceptance of Henri's widow, Marie de' Medici
Marie de' Medici
Marie de Médicis , Italian Maria de' Medici, was queen consort of France, as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon. She herself was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici...
, as regent, her son Louis XIII being then too young to rule.
The duc d'Épernon was active in government until 1618 or so; in 1617, he participated in the persecution and murder of the Huguenots in Guienne. He was named military governor of Guienne in 1622, where he lived quietly for more than ten years in the Château de Cadillac. In 1634, however, his deteriorating relationship with Henri de Sourdis
Henri de Sourdis
Henri d'Escoubleau de Sourdis was a French naval commander and Archbishop of Bordeaux.Like many churchmen of his day, de Sourdis was a military man as well as a prelate. He fought in the Thirty Years' War and in 1628 served as commander of the artillery at the Siege of La Rochelle...
(brother and successor of Cardinal François de Sourdis
François de Sourdis
François d'Escoubleau de Sourdis was a French Catholic prelate, the Archbishop of Bordeaux and founder of the Irish College there in 1603.-Biography:...
) led to a public altercation in which Épernon struck Sourdis. Furious, Sourdis demanded his excommunication and Épernon was disgraced and exiled. He gave up his post at Guienne in 1638 and died in the Château de Loches
Château de Loches
The Château de Loches is a castle located in the département of Indre-et-Loire in the Loire Valley in France; it was constructed in the 9th century...
in January 1642 at the age of 88.
Jean Louis and his wife Marguerite were buried at Saint-Blaise de Cadillac, Gironde
Cadillac, Gironde
Cadillac is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Geography:Cadillac is directly across the Garonne river from Sauternes, and is known for producing sweet dessert wines under the Cadillac AOC designation.-History:...
. The tomb, built of marble and surmounted by a winged female figure in bronze, was inspired by the great royal tombs at Basilica of Saint Denis
Saint Denis Basilica
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis is a large medieval abbey church in the commune of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy...
and by the monument of Anne de Montmorency
Anne de Montmorency
Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France.-Early life:...
. The tomb was destroyed in 1792 and the bronze statue of Fame by Pierre Biard now resides in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
; other fragments of the tomb, including marble heads of the duke and duchess, are in the museum of Aquitaine, in Bordeaux.
Through his son Pierre's granddaughter Anne Catherine de La Valette (1653–1699) and her husband Daniel Collot-d'Escury, Seigneur de Landauran (1643–1714), he is an ancestor of actress Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
.
The arms of the Duke of Epernon are a white castle on a blue field, surmounted by three gold fleur-de-lis.
See also
- Bernard de Nogaret de La Valette d'ÉpernonBernard de Nogaret de La Valette d'ÉpernonBernard de Nogaret de La Valette , duke of Épernon and a French general, was the son of Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette and Marguerite de Foix-Candale, granddaughter of the constable of Montmorency...
- Guillaume de NogaretGuillaume de NogaretGuillaume de Nogaret or William of Nogaret was councillor and keeper of the seal to Philip IV of France.- Early life :...
- Jean Parisot de la ValetteJean Parisot de la ValetteFra' Jean Parisot de Valette was a French nobleman and 49th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1557 to 1568. He succeeded La Vallette as grandmaster and continued the construction of Valletta...
