Antoine de Gramont | |
|---|---|
| 2ndDuke of Gramont | |
 Antoine, Duke of Gramont | |
| Born | 1604 (1604) Chateau d'Hagetmau |
| Died | 12 July 1678(1678-07-12) (aged 73–74) Bayonne |
| Noble family | Gramont |
| Spouse | Françoise Marguerite du Plessis |
| Issue | Guy Armand, Count of Guiche Catherine Charlotte, Princess of Monaco Antoine Charles, 3rd Duke of Gramont Henriette Catherine, Marquise of Raffetot |
| Father | Antoine II de Gramont |
| Mother | Louise de Roquelaure |
Antoine de Gramont, 2ndDuke of Gramont,comte de Guiche,comte de Gramont,comte de Louvigny,Souverain deBidache (Antoine Agénor; 1604 – 12 July 1678) was a French military commander and diplomat. He served asMarshal of France from 1641, Viceroy ofNavarre andBéarn, and Governor ofBayonne.
Antoine de Gramont came from an old southern French noble family. His father wasAntoine II de Gramont, and his mother was Louise de Roquelaure (d. 1610), daughter of MarshalRoquelaure (1544–1625). He had a younger half-brother,Philibert de Gramont, from their father's second marriage to Claude de Montmorency.
Gramont was a loyal supporter ofRichelieu. It is said that he once toasted to Richelieu saying that the cardinal was more important to him than the king and the entire royal family.
Gramont took part in many battles of theThirty Years War, was promoted toMarshal of France on 22 September 1641, and obtained the title ofDuke of Gramont in 1648 for himself and his heirs. He became minister in 1653, ambassador to theReichstag inFrankfurt am Main in 1657, and was sent to Spain in 1660 to ask the hand in marriage ofMaria Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain forLouis XIV. He died in 1678.[1]
His memoirs ("Mémoires du maréchal de Gramont", Paris 1716) were published by his sonAntoine Charles IV de Gramont.
As the Comte de Guiche, he is a major character inEdmond Rostand's 1897 playCyrano de Bergerac, where he is depicted at first as vain, lustful, and opportunistic. He is infatuated with Roxane, the heroine of the play, and tries to arrange her marriage to the Vicomte de Valvert as a "front" in order that he (the Count) may become her secret lover. When Cyrano kills Valvert in a duel, De Guiche becomes more open in his desires and tries to arrange his own marriage to her. After he is thwarted by Cyrano long enough for her to be able to marry her sweetheart Christian de Neuvillette, he vengefully sends both Christian and Cyrano to do battle at the1640 Siege of Arras, in which Christian is killed. At Arras, however, de Guiche shows gallantry toward Roxane and a willingness to sacrifice his life to protect her after she arrives at the battlements. In doing this, he wins Cyrano's respect, and later becomes one of his most loyal friends. He is last seen warning Roxane of a plot to kill Cyrano - a plot which succeeds.[2]
His younger half-brother wasPhilibert, comte de Gramont (1621–1707), renowned for his memoirs describing the love affairs of the English court ofCharles II, edited byAntoine Hamilton.
In 1634, he marriedCardinal Richelieu's niece, Françoise Marguerite du Plessis (1608–1689).They had four children:
According to CountPhilibert de Gramont, their father, Antoine II de Gramont, viceroy of Navarre, was assumed to be a bastard child of kingHenry IV byDiane d'Andoins, knowns as "La Belle Corisande". This has been challenged by some modern historians.[3]
| French nobility | ||
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| Preceded by | 2ndDuke of Gramont 1648–1678 | Succeeded by |
