Zacharie Jacob
Encyclopedia
Zacharie Jacob known as Montfleury, was a famed French
actor
and playwright
of the 17th century.
Jacob was born in Anjou
during the last years of the 16th century. He was enrolled as one of the pages to the duc de Guise, but he ran away to join some strolling players, assuming the stage name of Montfleury. About 1635, he was a valued member of the company at the Hôtel de Bourgogne
, and he was in the original cast of the Cid (1636) and of Horace (1640).
Richelieu thought highly of him, and when in 1638, Montfleury married the actress Jeanne de la Chalpe (d. 1683), the cardinal desired the ceremony to take place at his own country house at Rueil.
He was the author of a tragedy, La Mort d'Asdrobal, performed in 1647. His son, Antoine Jacob
, who was also known as Montfleury, was a rival of Molière
and Cyrano de Bergerac
. Both father and son feuded with Molière. Zacharie was mocked for his girth in a Molière play, to which Antoine responded with one mocking Molière. Shortly before his death, Zacharie denounced Molière to King Louis XIV
as having committed incest
, a rumor which has never gone away.
Montfleury died in Paris from the rupture of a blood-vessel, while playing the part of Orestes
in Andromaque, in December 1667. It is believed that a metal belt he used to support his enormous belly was the cause.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
of the 17th century.
Jacob was born in Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
during the last years of the 16th century. He was enrolled as one of the pages to the duc de Guise, but he ran away to join some strolling players, assuming the stage name of Montfleury. About 1635, he was a valued member of the company at the Hôtel de Bourgogne
Hôtel de Bourgogne
Until the 16th century, the Hôtel de Bourgogne was the name of the Paris residence of the Dukes of Burgundy. Today, the last vestige is the Tour Jean sans Peur, 20 rue Étienne Marcel, in the 2nd arrondissement.-Theatre:...
, and he was in the original cast of the Cid (1636) and of Horace (1640).
Richelieu thought highly of him, and when in 1638, Montfleury married the actress Jeanne de la Chalpe (d. 1683), the cardinal desired the ceremony to take place at his own country house at Rueil.
He was the author of a tragedy, La Mort d'Asdrobal, performed in 1647. His son, Antoine Jacob
Antoine Jacob
Antoine Jacob de Montfleury , known as Montfleury, was a French actor and playwright who was a chief rival of Molière.He was the son of Zacharie Jacob, who was the first to adopt Montfleury as a stage name, and had achieved great fame as an actor and playwright himself...
, who was also known as Montfleury, was a rival of Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
and Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac
Hercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand...
. Both father and son feuded with Molière. Zacharie was mocked for his girth in a Molière play, to which Antoine responded with one mocking Molière. Shortly before his death, Zacharie denounced Molière to King Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
as having committed incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, a rumor which has never gone away.
Montfleury died in Paris from the rupture of a blood-vessel, while playing the part of Orestes
Orestes
Orestes was the son of Agamemnon in Greek mythology; Orestes may also refer to:Drama*Orestes , by Euripides*Orestes, the character in Sophocles' tragedy Electra*Orestes, the character in Aeschylus' trilogy of tragedies, Oresteia...
in Andromaque, in December 1667. It is believed that a metal belt he used to support his enormous belly was the cause.
External links
- Profiles of Zacharie Jacob and Antoine Jacob
- Montfleury biography at Molière website
- Roxane et les autres: Montfleury biography at Cyrano de BergeracCyrano de BergeracHercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand...
website