Fra Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon | |
|---|---|
 Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon | |
| Born | 1510 Provins,Seine et Marne,France |
| Died | 9 January 1571 (aged 61-60) Beauvais,Picardy,France |
| Allegiance |  Order of Saint John Kingdom of France |
| Years of service | 1521–1571 |
| Battles / wars | |
Nicolas Durand, sieur de Villegaignon, alsoVillegagnon (1510 – 9 January 1571) was a commander of theKnights of Malta,[1] and later a French naval officer (vice-admiral ofBrittany) who attempted to help theHuguenots in France escape persecution, beforeturning against them due toEucharistic disputes.
A notable public figure in his time, Villegaignon was a mixture of soldier, scientist, explorer, adventurer and entrepreneur. He foughtpirates in theMediterranean and participated in several wars.
Villegagnon was born inProvins,Seine et Marne,France, a nephew ofPhilippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Grand Master of theOrder of Malta.[2] He was received as a Knight of the Order in 1521.
Nicolas de Villegagnon fought in numerous campaigns against theOttoman Empire. Although the French usually refrained from participating in actions against the Ottomans, due to theFranco-Ottoman alliance, Villegagnon's first allegiance was with the Order of Malta, which generally supported theHabsburgs and fought the Ottomans. Villegagnon participated in the ill-fatedexpedition against Algiers in 1541.[1] He also fought against the Ottomans in Hungary in 1542 following theSiege of Buda (1541) until 1546.
In 1548, he commanded the French naval fleet that tookMary, Queen of Scots, then five years old, to France, since she waspromised to marry the Dauphin of France. This was a daring operation, covertly sailing galleys aroundScotland, while the English fleet was expecting an attack from the other direction. After setting out fromDumbarton Castle, the French ships were forced by an adverse wind back into theFirth of Clyde, and anchored at the "road ofLamlash", beside theHoly Island, before making a successful voyage toRoscoff.[3]
Back in Scotland in March 1549, in February he helped captureFerniehirst Castle from the English. The commanders then discussed their next move. Nicolas insisted they should halt and build a fortification atRoxburgh and decided the best position. The Scottish high command held a vote which was inconclusive, but finally, after the intervention of the French ambassadorHenri Cleutin, Nicolas's plan was adopted.[4]
Commanding the Knights inMdina, Villegagnon helped repel the Ottomans atMalta in 1551 before they went on to lead theInvasion of Gozo (1551).[1]He was then present at theSiege of Tripoli (1551) against theOttoman Empire, and wrote an account about it in 1553.[5][6] Villegagnon illustrated himself by courageously defendingGaspard de Vallier, the vanquished Commander of Tripoli, who was being heavily criticized by the Grand Masterd'Homedes who wished to assign all the blame for the defeat on him. Nicolas de Villegagnon staunchly defended him and exposed the duplicity of d'Homedes.[7]
Villegaignon became an important historical figure in the attempt for kingHenry II to build a "France Antarctique", by invading present-dayRio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1555 with a fleet of two ships and 600 soldiers and colonists, mainly French Huguenots andSwissCalvinists who sought to escape Catholic persecution in Europe. A disagreement over Eucharistic theology soon caused Villegagnon and the Calvinists to quarrel. Villegagnon eventually expelled those who held to Calvin's view of the Eucharist from his fortified island.[8]
Villegagnon's initial plan was to help the Huguenots establish a colony in the New World. He wanted also to secure a permanent base in Brazil in order to exploitbrazil wood, then a very valuable source of reddye and hardwood for construction (which gave the name to what was to become Brazil), and to exploreprecious metals andstones, which the Europeans believed to exist in abundance in the land.
After a number of battles against thePortuguese, the French colonists were defeated byEstácio de Sá, a nephew of the third Portuguese Governor-General of Brazil,Mem de Sá, on 15–16 March 1558.
Villegaignon had already returned to France, in 1559, disgusted with the infighting between Catholics and Protestants in the small colony. He had left the colony under the command of his nephewBois-le-Comte [fr], endeavouring to obtain more funds and ships for the colony.[9] The internal fight against the Calvinists however made colonial adventures less of a priority for the Crown. After the colony fell to the Portuguese, Villegagnon finally agreed to give up his claims toFrance Antarctique after receiving 30,000écus from the Portuguese Crown.
In 1560, Villegagnon challenged Calvin to a theological debate on theeucharist, which the latter declined. He became actively involved against the Protestants, and participated in the repression of theAmboise conspiracy.[9]
In 1561,Pierre Richier published a pamphlet against Villegagnon's actions in Brazil, entitled"Réfutation des folles resveries, excecrable blasphèmes, erreurs et mensonges de Nicolas Durand, qui se nomme Villagagnon" [Refutation of the foolish imaginations, terrible blasphemies, errors and lies of Nicolas Durand, named Villagagnon].
New attempts were made to create a Huguenot colony in the New World, again at the instigation ofColigny, this time inFrench Florida from 1562 to 1565, underJean Ribault andRené de Laudonnière.
From 1568, Villegagnon became the representative of the Order of Malta at the French Court. The next year, in 1569, he published in Paris a new controversy about the eucharist, entitled"De Consecratione, mystico sacrificio et duplici Christi oblatione".
Villegagnon became Commander of the Order of Malta Commandery inBeauvais, where he died on 9 January 1571, aged about 60.
The CatholicAndré Thévet, who had accompanied him on the first trip to Brazil, published in 1572 a description of the Brazil adventure and an attack on the Protestants, in his"Cosmographie Universelle". The ProtestantJean Léry would respond to it in 1578 with his"Histoire d'un voyage faict en la terre du Brésil".
In his book,Brazil, A Land of the Future, Austrian writerStefan Zweig describes the colorful character of Villegaignon:
Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon, half pirate, half scientist, a dubious but attractive figure, is a typical product of theRenaissance (...) He has been brilliant in war and a dilettante in the arts. He has been praised byRonsard and feared by the Court, because his character is incalculable. Hating any regular occupation, despising the most enviable positions and the highest honours, his volatile spirit prefers to be free to indulge unhampered its fantastic moods. The Huguenots believe he is a Catholic and the Catholics believe he's a Huguenot. Nobody knows which side he is serving, and he himself probably doesn't know much more than that he wants to do something big, something different from anyone else, something wild and daring, something romantic and extraordinary.
On 2012 French-Portuguese-Brazilian TV seriesRouge Brésil/Vermelho Brasil (Red Brazil), on the history of France Antarctique, Villegaignon (spelled Villegagnon) is portrayed by Swedish actorStellan Skarsgård.[10]
The island in Rio de Janeiro where he resided still bears his nameVillegagnon Island.
A street in the Maltese city ofMdina is named after Villegaignon.
He appears as an important supporting character inThe Course of Fortune byTony Rothman (J. Boylston, 2015), a novel that concerns the events leading to theGreat Siege of Malta, 1565.
He is a supporting character inDorothy Dunnett's novelThe Disorderly Knights, the third volume of herLymond Chronicles series.
The knight is featured inEight Pointed Cross by Marthese Fenech (BDL 2011), a historical novel, thefirst of a trilogy, now completed, that culminates in theGreat Siege of Malta, 1565.
