The King's Musketeers and the Guardsmen of the Cardinal

Thanks to the wild fantasy of Alexandre Dumas-father, the whole world knows both from novels and from numerous movies that in the time of Louis XIII there were royal musketeers and guardsmen of Cardinal Richelieu. And who would now recall with nostalgia XVII century, and also bought the toy figures of the king and the cardinal and their defenders, if not for Dumas? But what they represented in reality, historians know in the main. We are content only with pictures. These are the guards of the cardinal. Photo shows modern toys.

Cardinal Richelieu

In fact, he was an ally of the king. But on the pages of the novel he acts as a powerful secret ruler of France. And the guardsmen of the cardinal - though brave, but mostly vile people, who do not shy away from achieving goals by any means. The most brilliant villain, Count Comte Rochefort, shines brightest in the novel, who wishes to wipe out the brave D'Artagnan and his friends. Rochefort is the right hand of Cardinal Richelieu. What was Armand Jean du Plessis, the Duke de Richelieu really?

This politician was from younger sons in his family and under the laws of a majorate inheritance could not. And how to exist an intelligent person who wanted to climb the social ladder? The easiest way was to go to the monks. So he did. And thanks to his mind, Richelieu quickly advanced. And when he became a bishop, the king paid attention to him, since the young twenty-two-year-old bishop had diplomatic abilities and skillfully maneuvered between the warring court groups, and also eloquently defended the interests of the church. He was made the confessor of the young queen, and then secretary for foreign affairs and military policy. No defenders in those years, Richelieu did not possess. After the disgrace and exile of the Queen Mother in Blois, the young bishop adjusted the relationship between the king and the dowager. At her suggestion, Louis XIII nominated him for the post of cardinal. So at 37, Richelieu became a cardinal and set himself 4 tasks: to completely break down the Huguenots, to destroy the opposition of the aristocracy, to keep people in obedience and to elevate the authority of the king and France in the international arena. As the influence of the cardinal grew, he had a growing number of enemies who attempted his life. The king concerned about this, ordered to organize his protection.

Guard of Cardinal Richelieu

In 1629, after the brother of the cardinal's brother was killed in a duel, Louis XIII of his guard gives his faithful assistant fifty mounted riflemen with arquebus. Richelieu added thirty more to them. So the first guardsmen of the cardinal appeared. Their form consisted of a red cloak (cardinal color), which was sewn from four parts. It could be buttoned or worn open. Before you is a modern costume reconstruction, made in France.

On the chest and on the back was a stitched white cross, which consisted of equilateral crossbeams. The head was covered with a wide-brimmed hat with a white sultan of feathers. On their feet were high boots. This was the case of the guardsmen of Cardinal Richelieu, who accompanied him everywhere. They were always with him. In all the palaces of the cardinal there was a room for their leader - the captain.

Growth of the detachment

Five years later, the number of guards increased fourfold. One hundred and twenty people were light cavalry, a hundred people were heavy, and a hundred more were on foot. By 1642, another hundred guardsmen were added. They totaled 420 people, almost three times the size of the company of the king, which consisted of one hundred and fifty musketeers. To get into the detachment, where the guardsmen of the cardinal served, it was not easy. This required the recommendation of a man whom Richelieu knew well and was firmly convinced of the devotion of the applicant. Also it should have been a mature, experienced man of not less than twenty-five years old, who served in the army for at least 3 years. Usually the detachment was replenished by the inhabitants of Brittany. This area had a motto: "Better death than shame." The cardinal's guards were originally raised as people of honor and courage. They were prepared not only for the personal protection of His Eminence, but also as future naval officers, since the powerful minister in all tried to act for the good of France.

Payment to guardsmen

The Duke regularly paid his defense a high salary, which exceeded the payment of the king's musketeers. He also outfitted his guards at his own expense. This, together with the horses, was considerable.

Relationships to dueling

Since the second half of the 16th century, French kings have issued ordinances on the prohibition of duels. They were a state crime, since valorous aristocrats had to fight the Huguenots for the good of the country, and not to destroy each other at the slightest occasion.

Therefore, the abundance of fights involving the Musketeers of the King and the Guards of the Cardinal, and which Dumas described in his famous trilogy, is impossible. This is the fruit of his fervent imagination. The cardinal's guards, trying not to lose their profitable place and carrying out the duty of true Catholics, almost certainly avoided senseless fights. The Brittans, of whom the Guards were recruited, were people of the north and cold, reasonable.

Enemies of the "Red Duke"

The brilliant aristocracy of the court consisted of conspiracies against the hard and tough Richelieu, which persistently and consistently suppressed her independence, creating an absolute monarchy. The question of who fought with the guards of the cardinal, suggests an answer - the rebels of the Duke of Montmorency, who was later convicted and executed.

Fighting Protestants

A faithful champion of Catholicism, and to others he could not have, Cardinal Richelieu was pursuing a firm policy aimed at combating Huguenots inside the country and Protestants of England, who took over the continent by the fortress of La Rochelle. The English in 1627 attacked the coast of France from the sea. In 1628 the siege of the fortress began. It was attended not only by regular troops, but also by musketeers and guardsmen. The troops of the Protestants are the sworn enemy of the cardinal's guardsmen. The war for true faith for the holy mother of the Catholic Church has always been a special goal. And in La Rochelle, England's claims to the land of France were also implicated. Of course, neither the king nor his powerful minister could allow the kingdom to weaken, giving the land to sworn enemies since the Hundred Years' War, Protestants and heretic Englishmen.

Some information about the king's musketeers

The first personal guard who, by the way, did not help him, and he was killed by a knife in his carriage with three blows to the chest, was started by Henry IV. His company of carabineers was rearmed over time and received muskets. It was an uncomfortable weapon, very heavy, and, to use it, it was necessary to have a squire. By the name of their weapons, they began to be called musketeers.

The first actual commander was a Gascon, fellow countryman Henry IV, Count de Troisville, who later began to call himself de Treville. Naturally, he recruited his countrymen from Gascony and Bearn to the service of the king.

The form of the Musketeers was the color of the coat of arms of the royal house. The cloak was azure with gold lilies and crosses of white velvet.

The horse was necessarily gray. In addition to him and the musket, a sling for carrying cartridges, flasks, a bag for bullets, a good sword, pistols and a dagger were necessary. All but the musket, the musketeer had to provide for himself. And there served mainly younger sons of the noble family. They were at least aristocrats, but very poor. Collect the equipment, as we know from the novel "Three Musketeers", it was very difficult for them. Earnings were paid sparse and irregular.

Their duties included accompanying the king on walks and in combat campaigns. They carried the service not in the premises of the Louvre, but in the street.

When the commander was D'Artagnan, the number of musketeers grew almost a half times. Count d'Artagnan is a historical person.

In Paris he placed a monument. The Musketeers lived with him in barracks in the suburbs of Saint-Germain.

This squad existed, mutating, from 1660 to 1818.

Thus, following historical data, one should represent the protection of the King and His Eminence Duke of Richelieu.