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Louis II de Bourbon 4th Prince de Conde the Great Conde |
(1621-1686)
4th Prince de Conde
1646-1686
French aristocrat & general
Premier Prince of the Blood
4th Prince of Conde 1646
4th Duke of Enghien
11th Duke of Bourbon
6th Duke of Montmorency
Duke of Chateauroux
3rd Duke of Bellegarde
Duke of Fronsac
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
" . . . His eyes were blue and full of vivacity; his nose was aquiline, his mouth was very disagreeable from being very large, and his teeth too prominent; but in his countenance generally there was something great and haughty, somewhere resembling an eagle. He was not very tall, but his figure was perfectly proportioned. He danced well, had an agreeable expression, a noble air, and a very fine head." (The Life of Louis, Prince of Condé: Surnamed the Great: 10)
"Physically, as well as in the quality of their minds, the brother and sister who resembled each other in the grandeur of their characters, were very different. There was, even when he was quite young, a soldierly roughness in the speech and appearance of the Duc d'Enghien. He was not handsome, although he had that indefinable peculiarity, le grand air, as well as a fine head, a varying expression in the fiery blue eyes, whose colour was like that of his sister's, an abundance of wavy hair, and a well-proportioned, well-shaped figure. He was apt to be plain-spoken, though his manners were perfect, and his literary tastes inclined strongly to Corneille, whose magnificent language and strength of sentiments he thoroughly appreciated." (The Life of Madame de Longueville (Anne-Geneviève de Bourbon): 23)
His character.
"Unhappily for the Duc d'Enghien and for France, his father and his teachers, while spring no pains to develop his talents and to strengthen his body, had not succeeded in correcting certain grave defects of character, which, as he grew older, were to become more pronounced and to end by tarnishing his fame. The lad was fearlessly brave, open-handed, quick-witted, and full of energy and determination. But he was haughty and overbearing, thoroughly selfish, and supremely indifferent to the sufferings and susceptibilities of others, when he had ends of his own to serve." (The Love Affairs of the Condes: 183)
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| Claire-Clemence de Maille-Breze @Wikipedia |
Husband of: Claire-Clemence de Maille-Breze (1628-1694), mar 1641, Duchesse de Fronsac 1646, Comtesse de Beaufort 1646
Also known as:
Mademoiselle de Breze.
Madame la Duchesse d'Enghien
Daughter of: Urbain de Maille, Marquis de Breze & Nicole du Plessis de Richelieu.
"The niece in question was Claire-Clemence de Maille-Breze, daughter of the Marechal Duc de Breze, who had married 'solely for her beauty,' as he was never tired of reminding the Cardinal, Richelieu's pretty but eccentric sister, Nicole du Plessis. Born on 28 February, 1628, Claire-Clemence's infancy was passed with her parents at the Chateau of Milly, in Anjou. But when the unfortunate Nicole's eccentricity turned to madness, and the marshal began to console himself openly with the widow of one of his valets de chambre, the Cardinal decided that it was time to remove his niece; and, in 1633, took advantage of an epidemic which was then ravaging Anjou to send her to the Chateau des Caves, near Nogent-sur-Seine, to the Bouthilliers, whose fortune he had made, and who were entirely devoted to him." (The Love Affairs of the Condes (1530-1740): 188)
Arranged marriage with a Prince of the Blood.
"When she was five years old, her uncle, the Cardinal, arranged her betrothal to the French prince du sang, Louis de Bourbon, who would become the renowned general le Grand Condé, "the Great Condé." Under the pretext of educating her, she was taken from her family and entrusted to Mme Boutillier, wife of the Superintendent of Finance, who gave her a mediocre education. Upon her coming of age at thirteen, the marriage was concluded at Milly-le-Meugon. Louis, then the duc d'Enghien, was barely twenty years old and had already had several mistresses. In love at the time with Marthe Poussard (called Mlle du Vigean), he protested in vain against the marriage, but his father, Henri, Prince of Condé, forced him to wed Claire Clémence. The marriage took place on 11 February 1641 at the Palais-Royal in Paris." (Wikipedia)
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Louis II de Bourbon Duc d'Enghien |
His lovers were:
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Isabelle de Montmorency Duchesse de Chatillon |
1) Isabelle de Bouteville (1627-1695)
Lover in 1651.
Also known as:
Isabelle-Angelique de Montmorency-Bouteville
Isabelle de Bouteville.
Wife of: Gaspard de Coligny (d.1649), Duc d'Enghien, Duc de Chatillon, mar 1645.
Gave his mistress up to a close friend.
"Returning to Paris at the end of this campaign, he gave himself up with ardour to the pursuit of fresh amours. He fell passionately in love with Mademoiselle de Boutteville, of the House of Montmorency, and consequently a relation of the Princess of Conde; but it so happened that one of the most intimate friends of the young Prince, the Duke de Chatillon sur Loing, was in love with the same person, and wished to marry her. Chatillon was brother of Coligny, who had fought the Duke de Guise. To disarm his formidable rival, he could think of no plan so good as to call upon him and confide to him, as his friend, both his passion and his intentions. Accordingly, Enghien, touched by this candour, had the generosity to sacrifice his own love to that of his rival. He did more: he supplied Chatillon with the means of carrying off and marrying his mistress, and afterwards pacified the anger of Madame de Bouteville and the Princess of Conde; and in spite of the attachment which he still felt, he was seen, till the death of the Duke de Chatillon, scrupulously to respect the ties which he himself had formed." (The Life of Louis, Prince of Condé: Surnamed the Great: 34)
"Isabelle-Angelique de Montmorency, duchesse de Chatillon, offers another brilliant illustration of the determining influence of lineage with respect to political choices. She was a Montmorency and a close cousin of the dowager princess of Conde. In 1645, she married Gaspard de Coligny, one of the famous young courtiers in the entourage of her cousin (himself still just the duc d'Enghien at the time). Coligny became the duc de Chatillon the following year. In other words, once the Fronde began, the duchesses's side had been chosen for her in advance. After the death of her husband, who was killed during the blockade in the attack of Charenton (8 February 1649), the 20-year-old widow showed herself to be consoled by the duc de Nemours before becoming Conde's mistress in 1651. The news of the princes' arrest reached her at her estate in Chatillon-sur-Loing. She joined the dowager princess in Chantilly and, after the dowager fled, she welcomed her in Chatillon, where the princess died on 2 December 1650, a few weeks before her children were released from prison. In 1652, the duchess began to play an important role in the Fronde, owing to the influence she had gained over her cousin, Conde. Strengthened by the complete trust of the prince, she took it upon herself to negotiate on his behalf with Mazarin. Thus she left for Saint-Germain with a brilliant retinue; all she lacked, joked Nogent, was 'an olive branch in her hand.' But the shrewd cardinal appeased her with nothing more substantial than kindness. . . ." (Political and Historical Encyclopedia of Women: 45)
The most finished coquette of her time.
"Of these nymphs, two---Isabelle de Bouteville and Marthe du Vigean---were destined to figure very prominently in the life of the Great Conde. They presented a singular contrast. Isabelle de Bouteville, who, under the name of Duchesse de Chatillon, was to achieve celebrity as the most finished coquette of her time, was an imperious young beauty, who already appreciated to the full the power of her own attractions. Insatiable for admiration, she disdained no conquests, encouraging and rebuffing by turns the troop of adorers who gathered about her, and rehearsing thus early with the Duc d'Enghien and the younger of the two boys who were to bear the title of Duc de Nemours the part she was one day to play with them on another stage. . . ." (The Love Affairs of the Condes (1530-1740): 186)
2) Marthe Poussard (1623-1665)
Lover in 1641?-1645.
Also known as:
Marthe du Vigean
Mademoiselle du Vigean.
Daughter of: Francois Poussard, Marquis de Fors, Baron du Vigean, King's Gentleman of the Bedchamber & Anne de Beubourg, daughter of Roland, Sieur de Sercelles.
"Marthe du Vigean was a very different kind of girl. Modest and gentle, she hardly seemed to be aware of the admiration which she aroused . . . Unfortunately, no portrait of her, either painted or engraved, has been preserved, nor have we any detailed description of her among the writings of her contemporaries which can supply its place. But her beauty would appear to have been of a peculiarly appealing type, the reflection of a character gentle, pure and unselfish." (The Love Affairs of the Condes: 186)
Personal & family background.
"Although not in the first rank of the French nobility, the Du Vigeans were high in favour at Court, and Madame du Vigean was one of Madame la Princesse's most intimate friends. She was very rich and gave magnificent fetes at her country-seat of La Barre, and Marthe was a considerable heiress. In ordinary circumstances, therefore, the Duc d'Enghien might not have despaired of obtaining his father's and the King's---that is to say, Richelieu---consent to the match, for the princes of the House of Bourbon had often sought their wives among the daughters of noble and wealthy French families. But, unhappily for the lovers, Monsieur le Prince had other views for his son, and had long since selected a wife for him." (The Love Affairs of the Condes (1530-1740): 187)
Personal & family background.
"Although not in the first rank of the French nobility, the Du Vigeans were high in favour at Court, and Madame du Vigean was one of Madame la Princesse's most intimate friends. She was very rich and gave magnificent fetes at her country-seat of La Barre, and Marthe was a considerable heiress. In ordinary circumstances, therefore, the Duc d'Enghien might not have despaired of obtaining his father's and the King's---that is to say, Richelieu---consent to the match, for the princes of the House of Bourbon had often sought their wives among the daughters of noble and wealthy French families. But, unhappily for the lovers, Monsieur le Prince had other views for his son, and had long since selected a wife for him." (The Love Affairs of the Condes (1530-1740): 187)
"Soon afterwards, or perhaps at the same time, the young Prince became enamoured of Mademoiselle de Vigean. According to a lady of the Court---'I have more than once heard her mother, Madame de Vigean, say that he had oten told her that he would break off his marriage (having married the Duchess d'Enghien, his wife, by compulsion), so that he might espouse her daughter, and that he had even taken some steps towards this end.' Mademoiselle (thus was called the daughter of the Duke of Orleans, and the heiress of the Duke de Montpensier) adds that 'Monsieur le Duc d'Enghien had already mentioned it to Cardinal Mazarin.' But it seems that the secret having been revealed to the Prince of Conde, this latter burst into a rage against the two lovers, whose project he entirely disconcerted. It is with regret that one sees the heart of a hero conceive a project no less unjust than it was cruel, the Duchess d'Enghien having been quite as much constrained in her marriage as he was, and having ever since conducted herself in a most irreproachable manner. The Duke's judgment must have been warped by a most vehement passion; and indeed it is said that when he was obliged to separate himself from Mademoiselle de Vigean for the campaign of 1646, he swooned away with grief." (The Life of Louis, Prince of Condé: Surnamed the Great: 35)
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| Ninon de l'Enclos @Wikipedia |
3) Ninon de l'Enclos (1620-1705)
French author, courtesan & patron of the arts
Also known as:
Anne de Lenclos
Mademoiselle de l'Enclos.
"The Duc d'Enghien did not poniard himself, but neither did he amend his ways to any appreciable extent. His conquests in the pays de tendre far outnumbered those beyond the Rhine, but the very ease with which they were achieved deprived them of all value in his eyes and speedily quenched the flame of passion: indeed, the only woman to whose charms he seems to have been really sensible was the celebrated Ninon de l'Enclos, to whom his attention seems first to have been drawn by the enthusiastic praises of their common friend Saint-Evremond. For a year or two the prince was a frequent visitor at Ninon's hotel in the Rue des Tournelles, and the lady, whose vanity was flattered by the admiration of the hero of the hour, was very kind to him indeed. But it was not in Ninon's nature to be faithful to any one for long---'I shall love you for three months,' she once wrote to a new admirer,' and three months is an eternity!'---and, besides, the victor of Rocroi made war a great deal better than he made love, and preferred to receive homage rather than offer it. So gradually her affection cooled, and when the prince, on his return from the campaign of 1648, reproached her for having encouraged the intrigue between his sister Madame Longueville and La Rochefoucauld, and for permitting the lovers to meet at her house, she dismissed him and consoled herself with the Marquis de Villarceaux, who had long sued for her favours." (The Love Affairs of the Condes (1540-1730): 209)
References:
The Life of Louis, Prince of Condé: Surnamed the Great. @Google Books
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