Jacques d'Albon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jacques d'Albon |
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| Seigneur de Saint André | |
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| Portrait of Jacques d'Albon c. 1562 (musée national du château et des Trianons, Versailles | |
| Spouse(s) | Marguerite de Lustrac |
| Issue | |
| Catherine d'Albon de Saint-André | |
| Nobility | Famille d'Albon (Lyonnais) |
| Father | Jean d'Albon de Saint-André |
| Mother | Charlotte de la Roche |
| Born | 1505 Kingdom of France |
| Died | 19 November 1562 (aged 42) Kingdom of France |
Jacques d'Albon, Seigneur de Saint-André (born around 1505 – died 1562) was an important French noble. He was a governor, a Marshal (a high military rank), and a close friend of King Henri II.
Jacques started his career as a trusted friend of the young prince Henri. He grew up with Henri at court, as his father was the prince's governor. When Henri became king in 1547, Jacques became his father's assistant. He served as a top official in the Lyonnais region. At the same time, he joined the king's special council and was made a Marshal and the Grand Chamberlain. This meant he had a lot of power and influence.
During the Italian Wars, Jacques d'Albon helped protect the city of Verdun in 1552. In 1557, he was captured during the terrible Battle of Saint-Quentin. He was held prisoner for about a year. After being freed in 1559, he pushed the king to be tougher on Protestants. This led to the Edict of Ecouen, a law against Protestants.
When King Henri II died, Jacques d'Albon remained powerful under the young King François II. He helped the king stop the Conspiracy of Amboise, a plot against the government. After François II died, Jacques d'Albon joined forces with other powerful nobles, Anne de Montmorency and Guise. They formed an alliance known as the 'triumvirate'. Their goal was to protect the Catholic faith in France. He fought for the king during the first war of religion. He captured the towns of Poitiers and Angoulême. Sadly, he was killed on the battlefield of Dreux after being captured by an enemy.
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Early Life and Family Connections
Jacques d'Albon, Seigneur de Saint-André, was the son of Jean d'Albon de Saint-André. In 1530, Jean was put in charge of Prince Henri's household. Jean brought his son Jacques to live at court with him. Jacques became an enfant d'honneur, which means a "child of honor." He grew up alongside the young prince Henri. In 1539, Jean was given control of the important Lyonnais region as governor.
When Jacques's father died, his wealth went to his daughter. However, Catherine de Medici stopped her from marrying Condé's son.
Serving King Henri II
A Trusted Friend of the King
In 1547, King François I died. Henri was not supposed to be at the funeral. But he secretly watched it with his close friends, Jacques d'Albon and Vielleville. Henri became very sad and cried. His friends reminded him how his older brother had once celebrated a false report that Henri had drowned. They hoped to turn his sadness into anger.
In 1547, when Henri became king, Jacques d'Albon was made a top official in the Lyonnais region. In the same year, he became the Grand Chamberlain and a Marshal of France. Another Marshal, Claude d'Annebault, had to give up his title so Jacques could get it. As Grand Chamberlain, Jacques even slept in the king's room. This gave him a lot of access and influence over the king. In 1550, he took over his father's role as governor of Lyonnais.
In the early years of Henri's rule, Jacques and his father were always part of the king's private council. After his father died in 1549, Jacques continued to be a key member of this important group. By 1550, his power had grown. He governed Lyonnais, Forez, Beaujolais, Auvergne, and Marche. He quickly became the richest and most connected person in that entire region.
Military Campaigns
The Italian Wars started again in 1551. France had some early successes, taking control of the Three Bishoprics. In late 1552, Emperor Charles V tried to get these towns back. Jacques d'Albon was sent to defend Verdun. However, Charles chose to attack Metz instead, where Guise was. After a few months, Charles gave up the siege.
Charles V quickly got revenge for this loss. In 1553, he attacked and destroyed the town of Thérouanne. This sudden attack surprised King Henri. He had thought the city was safe. Henri stayed in his rooms for a day, refusing to speak to anyone except Jacques d'Albon and his mistress Diane de Poitiers. In 1553, Montmorency and Jacques d'Albon led the main royal army into Picardy. Under Montmorency's command, the army did not achieve much. They fought a very careful campaign.
Captured in Battle
In 1557, the French army, led by Montmorency, was defeated. They were trying to help the city of Saint-Quentin when the Duke of Savoy attacked them. Many important people were captured, including Montmorency and Jacques d'Albon. King Phillip II knew how valuable these two prisoners were to Henri. So, in 1558, he allowed Jacques d'Albon to visit the French court. He hoped Jacques could convince the French king to make peace with Spain. Jacques d'Albon was eventually freed in March 1559 for a large sum of money, 500,000 écus.
The King's Death
Diane de Poitiers and Jacques d'Albon strongly encouraged King Henri to stop Protestantism. They supported the Edict of Compiègne and the Edict of Ecouen in early 1559.
Jacques d'Albon was one of the king's main negotiators during the peace talks after his release. In 1559, during the celebrations for the end of the Italian Wars, King Henri was accidentally killed. He died during a jousting match against Montgommery. Jacques d'Albon was one of three special guards who watched over the king's body for forty days before the funeral. The others were Montmorency and Coligny.
Serving King François II
Jacques d'Albon remained powerful after King Henri II's accidental death. He was an ally of the Guise family, who were now very influential. So, he was not sent away from court when the new king, François II, took the throne. However, the government was in financial trouble. To raise money, the king took back some royal lands that had been given away. Jacques d'Albon lost his land of Saint-Seine-sur-Vigeanne during this time.
The Amboise Conspiracy
In early 1560, a plot formed against the Guise government. Armed groups tried to attack the court while it was staying at the castle of Amboise. On March 15, Jacques d'Albon was sent from the castle with 200 horsemen. He was allowed to gather more soldiers from local garrisons. His mission was to make sure Tours remained under the government's control.
It was suspected that Condé was involved in the plot. This was later confirmed when a planned uprising in Lyons was linked to him. So, Navarre and Condé were called to court. They had to answer questions about their involvement in rebellious activities. Jacques d'Albon supported the king during this tense meeting with the princes.
Serving King Charles IX
Losing Influence
The crown began to accept Protestantism more and more. This happened under the leadership of Michel de l'Hôpital and the queen mother, Catherine de Medici. Jacques d'Albon joined Montmorency and Guise in opposing this. In April 1561, they agreed to work together to keep France Catholic. They all attended a special church service together on April 7. Guise and Montmorency, who had been rivals for ten years, even exchanged a "kiss of peace."
At the same time, an agent from the Lyons city council reported that Jacques d'Albon had lost much of his influence at court. This was a big change from the previous two reigns. François d'Agoult was made governor of the town of Lyon in 1561. This was a lower position than Jacques d'Albon's. Although François d'Agoult was not openly Protestant, he was very sympathetic to the religion. This was different from his superior, Jacques d'Albon.
Opposing Religious Tolerance
In January 1562, Catherine de Medici called a meeting at Saint-Germain. She hoped to create a law to solve the religious problems. Guise and Montmorency were not there. However, Jacques d'Albon attended to represent those who opposed any tolerance for Protestants. Despite his presence, the meeting created the Edict of January. This law officially allowed Protestantism for the first time.
The First Civil War
Soon after the Massacre of Wassy, where Guise's men attacked Protestants, Catherine ordered Jacques d'Albon to return to his government. This was on March 3. However, he ignored this order. Instead, he entered Paris with the Constable and Guise. They were warmly welcomed by the strong Catholics in the city. Now united, they began to plan how to raise troops and money.
In the peace talks during the early months of the first war of religion, Condé made a demand. He said he would disarm his forces only if several figures were removed from court, including Jacques d'Albon.
Fighting for the Crown
When talks failed, Jacques d'Albon tried to capture the city of Lyons in July. But he was not successful. Moving on from Lyons, he quickly took Poitiers from the rebels in early August. He followed this victory by quickly recapturing Angoulême.
In October, a large group of hired soldiers, called mercenaries, entered France. They were led by Andelot and hired by the rebels. Jacques d'Albon gathered most of the army's cavalry. He also pulled away the small force that was weakly attacking Orléans. His goal was to stop Andelot's forces from joining the main rebel army under Condé. However, he failed. Andelot outsmarted him and joined Condé. In the same month, Navarre was killed while attacking Rouen. After his death, there was talk of making Jacques d'Albon a deputy to the new governor of Guyenne.
The Battle of Dreux
With more soldiers, Condé decided to try and attack Paris. However, he could not get past the outskirts of the city. He was forced to retreat north. Forces led by Montmorency, Guise, and Jacques d'Albon followed him. They managed to bring his army to battle at Dreux on December 19, 1562.
At the Battle of Dreux, Jacques d'Albon was second in command under Montmorency. He was eager to attack quickly. But his command of the right side of the army was more in name than in practice. He could not advance without Guise's permission. About two hours into the battle, the royal left wing, led by Montmorency, was destroyed. Finally, Guise and Jacques d'Albon advanced into the fight. They crushed the Huguenot (Protestant) foot soldiers. However, Jacques d'Albon was captured on the battlefield by de Mézières. De Mézières held a personal grudge against him and executed his prisoner.
Images for kids
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A statue of Jacques d'Albon, Seigneur de Saint-André by Jean-François-Théodore Gechter, located in the Galerie des batailles at the Château de Versailles.
Sources
See also
In Spanish: Jacques d'Albon de Saint-André para niños
