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Philibert de Gramont

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Philibert de Gramont
Count of Gramont
Philibert de Gramont Engraving.jpg
Detail from the portrait below
Born1621
Died30 January 1707
Paris
Spouse(s)Elizabeth, Countess de Gramont
Issue
Detail		Claude Charlotte & Marie Élisabeth
FatherAntoine II de Gramont
MotherClaude de Montmorency-Bouteville

Philibert, Count de Gramont (1621–1707), was a French courtier and soldier, known as the protagonist of the Mémoires written by Anthony Hamilton (his brother-in-law). He was a younger half-brother of Antoine III of Gramont and uncle of Catherine Charlotte de Gramont, princess of Monaco.

Birth and origins

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Philibert was born in 1621, probably at the Château de Bidache,[1] the second son of Antoine II de Gramont and his second wife, Claude de Montmorency-Bouteville. His father was the head of the Gramont family and ruler of the Principality of Bidache. At the time of Philibert's birth his father was count of Guiche but later became duke of Gramont. His first wife had been Louise de Roquelaure.

Philibert's mother was his father's second wife. She was the eldest daughter of Louis de Montmorency-Bouteville [fr], baron of Bouteville, and sister of François de Montmorency-Bouteville. The Montmorency-Boutevilles were a cadet branch of the House of Montmorency.

Philibert's paternal grandmother, Diane d'Andouins, comtesse de Guiche, was "la belle Corisande," one of the mistresses of Henry IV. The grandson assumed that his father, Antoine II de Gramont, viceroy of Navarre, was a son of Henry IV, and regretted that his father had not claimed the privileges of royal paternity.

Family tree
Philibert de Gramont with wife, children, parents, and other selected relatives.[a]
Philibert
comte de
Guiche
1552–1580		Diane
d'Andouins
1554–1621
Louise de
Roquelaure
d. 1610		Antoine II
Duke of
Gramont
1572–1644		Claude de
Montmorency
d. 1652
Antoine III
Duke of
Gramont
1604–1678		Henri
count of
Toulongeon
d. 1679		Philibert
de
Gramont
1621–1707		Elizabeth
Hamilton
1641–1708
Antoine
Charles IV
Duke of
Gramont
1641–1720		Henry
1st Earl
Stafford
c. 1648 – 1719		Claude
Charlotte
d. 1739		Marie
Elizabeth
1667–1729
Abbess
Antoine V
Duke of
Gramont
1672–1725
Legend
XXXSubject of
the article		XXXComtes et ducs
de Gramont		XXXEarls of
Stafford

His parents had married in 1618.[3] Philibert was one of six full siblings and also had two half brothers from his father's first marriage. See the lists in his father's article but also Antoine, duke of Gramont, his eldest half-brother, by himself.

Early life

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Philibert was destined for the church, and was educated at the college of Pau, in Béarn. He refused the ecclesiastical life, however, and joined the army of Prince Thomas of Savoy, then in 1643 besieging Trino in Piedmont.[4] He afterwards served under his elder half-brother, Antoine, Marshal Gramont, and the prince de Condé. He was present at the battles of Freiburg[5] and Nördlingen,[6] and served with distinction in Spain and Flanders in 1647. In 1654 he fought at Arras where Turenne relieved the town besieged by the Spanish.[7]

Philibert favoured Condé's party at the beginning of the Fronde, but changed sides before he was too severely compromised. Despite his record in the army, he never received any important commission either military or diplomatic.[8] He was, however, made governor of the Pays d'Aunis and lieutenant of Béarn. He visited England during the Commonwealth.

Exile and marriage

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In 1662 Philibert was exiled from France for courting Anne-Lucie de la Mothe-Houdancourt, one of the king's mistresses.[9][10] He went to England where he found at the court of Charles II an atmosphere congenial to his talents for intrigue, gallantry and pleasure. He arrived in London in January 1663.[11] Philibert quickly entered into the English court's inner circle.[12] Not much adaptation was needed as French was the predominant language at the Restoration court.[13] Philibert courted Anthony's sister Elizabeth.[14][15]

An anecdote tells how Philibert tried to leave her but was intercepted by her brothers George and Anthony at Dover.[16] They asked him whether he had not forgotten something in London.[17] He replied "Pardonnez-moi, messieurs, j'ai oublié d'épouser votre sœur." (Forgive me, Sirs, I have forgotten to marry your sister).[18][19][20] This episode might have occurred in autumn 1663 when Gramont's sister Susanne-Charlotte[21] in error told him that he could return to France.[22][23] He went but found that he was not welcome.[24] However, perhaps Philibert attempted to leave Elizabeth later, in December just before he consented to marry her.[25] It has been said that this incident suggested to Molière his comedy Le mariage forcé, first presented 29 January 1664.[26]

Philibert married Elizabeth in London in December 1663 or early in 1664.[27][28][29] In March 1664, having heard of his marriage, Louis XIV allowed Philibert to come back.[30] On 28 August the couple had a son who died as an infant.[31][32][33]

Back in France

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In 1664 Philibert was allowed to return to France.[34] He revisited England in 1670 in connection with the Sale of Dunkirk, and again in 1671 and 1676. In 1688 he was sent by Louis XIV to congratulate James II on the birth of an heir. From all these small diplomatic missions he succeeded in obtaining considerable profits, being destitute, and having no scruples whenever money was in question.

engraved portrait of Philibert de Gramont, showing a clean-shaven man wearing a long curly wig, armour and a sash
Philibert de Gramont wearing the cordon-bleu

In June 1673, during the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), Philibert fought at the Siege of Maastricht in which Louis XIV took the town from the Dutch.[35]

In 1679, Philibert succeeded his elder brother Henri, count of Toulongeon, who died unmarried.[36] Thereafter, he called himself "Comte de Gramont" instead of "Chevalier de Gramont". Henri also had bequeathed him his lands,[37] and he inherited the château at Séméac.

On 31 December 1688 Count Gramont was made a knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit in a ceremony performed in the Chapel of the Château de Versailles.[38] This gave him the right to wear the blue sash called the cordon bleu that hangs over his right shoulder on his portrait.

At the age of 75, he fell dangerously ill, which caused him to become reconciled to the church. His penitence does not seem to have survived his recovery.

Children

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His wife gave him two children, daughters both:

  1. Claude Charlotte (c. 1665 – 1739), who married Henry Stafford-Howard, 1st Earl of Stafford[39][40][41] She died on 14 May 1739 and was buried at St James, Westminster.[42]
  2. Marie Élisabeth (1667–1729), who in 1695 became abbess of the Chapter of Poussay [fr] in Lorraine[43][44][45]

Both were maids-of-honour to Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, whom the Grand Dauphin married in 1680.[46][47] Saint-Simon comments that they did not have much success at the court.[48]

He also had a bastard daughter, born in Piedmont, at the siege of Trino: Giacomo or Jacques, daughter of Countess Theresia de' Medici, granddaughter of don Antonio de' Medici via his son Antonfrancesco.[citation needed]

Memoirs

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Coat of arms of Philibert de Gramont.

Count Gramont was 80 years old when he supplied his brother-in-law, Anthony Hamilton, with the material for his Mémoires.[49][50] Hamilton pretended that they had been dictated to him, but no doubt he was the real author. The account of Gramont's early career was doubtless provided by himself, but Hamilton was probably more familiar with the history of the court of Charles II, which forms the most interesting part of the book. Moreover, Gramont, though he had a reputation for wit, was no writer, and there is no reason to suppose that he was capable of producing a work that remains a masterpiece of style and of witty portraiture.

His biographer Hamilton was far superior as a writer to Count Gramont, but he relates the story of his hero without comment, and no condemnation of the prevalent code of morals is allowed to appear, unless by an occasional touch of irony. The portrait is drawn with such skill that the count, despite his biographer's candour, imposes by his grand air on the reader much as he appears to have done on his contemporaries. The book is the most entertaining of contemporary memoirs, and in no other book is there a description so vivid, truthful, and graceful of the licentious court of Charles II. There are other and less flattering accounts of the count. His scandalous tongue knew no restraint, and he was a privileged person who was allowed to state even the most unpleasing truths to Louis XIV.[51]

When the Mémoires were completed, it is said that Gramont sold the manuscript for 1500 francs; and kept most of the money for himself. Fontenelle, then censor of the press, refused to license the book from considerations of respect to the strange old man, whose gambling, cheating and meanness were so ruthlessly exposed. But Gramont himself appealed to the chancellor and the prohibition was lifted.

Death and timeline

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Gramont died in the night from 29 to 30 January 1707 in Paris,[52] and the Mémoires appeared six years later.[53]

Timeline
Dates, even those referring to his stay in England, are in New Style. Italics for historical background.
Age Date Event
0 1621 Born
21–22 14 May 1643 Death of Louis XIII; Regency until the majority of Louis XIV[54]
21–22 1643 Fought at the siege of Trino.[4]
21–22 13 Dec 1643 Father created duc de Gramont
22–23 3–9 Aug 1644 Fought at Freiburg.[5]
22–23 16 Aug 1644 Father died at the Château de Séméac.
23–24 3 Aug 1645 Fought at Nördlingen[6]
29–30 3 Sep 1651 Majority of Louis XIV, end of his mother’s regency.[55]
30–31 3 Apr 1652 Mother died.
32–33 25 Aug 1654 Fought at Arras where Turenne relieved the town besieged by the Spanish.[7]
41–42 Jan 1663 Came to live at the court of Charles II of England at Whitehall.
42–43 1664 Married Elizabeth Hamilton.[28]
42–43 7 Sep 1664 Birth of a son who died in his infancy.[33]
43–44 About 1665 First daughter, Claude Charlotte, born.[40]
45–46 27 Dec 1667 Second daughter, Marie Elisabeth, born[43]
46–47 1668 Took part in the conquest of the Franche Comté.
51–52 15–30 Jun 1673 Fought at the Siege of Maastricht.[35]
57–58 1 Sep 1679 Succeeded brother Henri as count and inherited the Château de Séméac.[36]
66–67 31 Dec 1688 Made a knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit[38]
72–73 3 Apr 1694 Daughter Claude Charlotte married Henry Stafford-Howard, 1st Earl of Stafford.[39]
82–83 1704 Told his life to Anthony Hamilton, who wrote the Mémoires du comte de Grammont.
85–86 30 Jan 1707 Died in Paris[52]

Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^ This family tree is partly derived from the Gramont family tree in Lewis (1958).[2] Also see the list of children in the text.

Citations

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  1. ^ Chisholm 1911, p.  333, left column, line 5. "... born in 1621, probably at the family seat of Bidache."
  2. ^ Lewis 1958, p. 9
  3. ^ La Chenaye-Desbois 1866, p. 641, line 33. "& 2o [secondo] par contrat du 29 Mars 1618, Claude de Montmorency, fille ainée de Louis, Baron de Bouteville ..."
  4. ^ a b La Chenaye-Desbois 1866, p. 641, line 51. "Il se distingua au siège de Trino en 1643."
  5. ^ a b La Chenaye-Desbois 1866, p. 641, line 52. "... au combat de Fribourg en 1644;"
  6. ^ a b La Chenaye-Desbois 1866, p. 641, line 53. "... et à la battaille de Nordlingen en 1645;"
  7. ^ a b La Chenaye-Desbois 1866, p. 641, left last line. "... à la levée du siège d'Arras en 1654"
  8. ^ Laporte 1857, p. 324, left column, line 54. "... mais jamais il ne commanda les armées, et il ne fut point employé dans les négociations."
  9. ^ Auger 1805, pp. 2–3. "Près de deux ans après le rétablissement de Charles II, arriva à Londres le fameux chevalier de Grammont, exilé de France pour avoir voulu disputer à son maître le cœur de mademoiselle La Mothe-Houdancourt."
  10. ^ Hamilton 1713, p. 104. "La Motte Houdancourt étoit une des filles de la Reine-Mère."
  11. ^ Saint-Simon 1899, p. 560, line 8. "Il [Gramont] arriva à Londres le 15 janvier 1663, et retrouva entre autres camarades, les Hamilton, de grande maison écossaise et catholique, dont il avait fréquenté plusieurs jeunes gens au Louvre dans l'entourage de la veuve et du fils de Charles 1er."
  12. ^ Lewis 1958, p. 169, line 5. "... [Philibert] was at once welcomed into the king's raffish entourage of mistresses and roués ..."
  13. ^ Auger 1805, p. 2, line 26. "... on parloit françois a St.-James presqu'aussi habituellement qu'à Versailles."
  14. ^ Lewis 1958, p. 171, line 13. "Then he [Philibert] met Miss Hamilton and in a trice Middleton and Warmestre were forgotten ..."
  15. ^ Jusserand 1892, p. 94, line 13. "With this view [of marriage] he [Gramont] has cast his eyes on a beautiful young demoiselle of the house of Hamilton ..."
  16. ^ Adams 1865, p. 81, line 18. "Her brothers immediately pursued him and came up with him near Dover, resolved to extort from him an explanation, or to obtain satisfaction with their swords ..."
  17. ^ Wheatley 1912, p. 263, note 15. "This well known story is told in a letter from Lord Melfort to Richard Hamilton ..."
  18. ^ Auger 1805, p. 3. "Chevalier de Grammont, lui crièrent-ils [Anthony and George] du plus loin qu'ils l'aperçurent chevalier de Grammont avez-vous rien oublié à Londres? — Pardonnez-moi, Messieurs, j'ai oublié d'épouser votre sœur."
  19. ^ Michel 1862, p. 368, line 9. "... Antoine et George ... lui dirent en l'abordant 'Chevalier de Grammont, n'avez-vous rien oublié à Londres?'—'Pardonnez-moi, messieurs, j'ai oublié d'épouser votre sœur.'"
  20. ^ Adams 1865, p. 81, line 24. "'Excuse me' he rejoined, with his accustomed self-possession, 'I forgot to marry your sister.'"
  21. ^ La Chenaye-Desbois 1866, p. 642, line 28. "Susanne-Charlotte mariée à Henri Mitte, Marquis de Saint-Chamond ..."
  22. ^ Clark 1921, p. 22, line 19. "... it might seem as if the two 'troublesome brothers', alarmed by the chevalier's sudden departure for France, had delayed his expedition and exacted a public engagement."
  23. ^ Lewis 1958, p. 173, line 28. "Later in the year Philibert heard from his sister, Madame de St-Chaumont ... that Louis XIV had given him leave to return ..."
  24. ^ Lewis 1958, p. 174, line . "... a visit from his brother the Maréchal, with orders for him to return to England at once."
  25. ^ Clark 1921, p. 23–24. "... marriage only took place in the end of December and amidst circumstances which would completely justify one in placing the anecdote there."
  26. ^ Adams 1865, p. 81, footnote. "This incident, we are told, suggested to Molière his comedy 'Le Marriage Forcé.'"
  27. ^ Hartmann 1930, p. 378. "The chevalier de Gramont's rare constancy had met with its reward long before, towards the end of December 1663."
  28. ^ a b Paul 1904, p. 55. "she [Elizabeth] married in 1664 the dissipated Philibert, Count de Gramont ..."
  29. ^ Saint-Simon 1899, p. 563, line 8. "Le contrat de mariage fut passé sans autre retard, le 9 décembre 1663 (style anglais) ..."
  30. ^ Louis XIV 1806, p. 170. "Au comte de Grammont. Paris le 6 mars 1664. Monsieur le Comte de Grammont. Il ne faut point que l'impatience de vous rendre auprès de moi, trouble vos nouvelles douceurs. Vous serez toujours le bien-venu ..."
  31. ^ Saint-Simon 1899, p. 563, line 11. "... ayant déjà un fils né le 7 septembre, mais qui ne vécut point."
  32. ^ Brunet 1883, p. xii. "Comminges à Lionne, Londres, 29 août — 8 septembre 1664. Madame la comtesse de Grammont accoucha hier au soir d'un fils beau comme la mère ..."
  33. ^ a b Jusserand 1892, p. 229. "Comminges to Lionne Sept. 8, 1664 [NS]. Madame la comtesse de Grammont accoucha hier au soir d'un fils beau comme la mère ..."
  34. ^ Chisholm 1911, p.  333, left column, line 21. "In 1664 he was allowed to return to France."
  35. ^ a b La Chenaye-Desbois 1866, p. 642, line 3. "... se trouva aux sièges de Maëstricht en 1673 ..."
  36. ^ a b La Chenaye-Desbois 1866, p. 641, line 44. "Henri, Comte de Toulongeon Maréchal-des-Camps & Armées du roi ... mort sans alliance le 1er Septembre 1679;"
  37. ^ La Chenaye-Desbois 1866, p. 642, line 5. "Le comte de Toulongeon, son frère, l'institua pour héritier par son testament ..."
  38. ^ a b Anselme 1733, p. 229. "Philibert de Gramont, dit le comte de Gramont, seigneur de Semeac ... mourut à Paris le 30 janvier 1707 ..."
  39. ^ a b Rigg 1890, p. 147, left column. "They had two daughters only: (i) Claude Charlotte, who married at St. Germains on 3 April 1694 Henry Howard, earl of Stafford ..."
  40. ^ a b Corp 2004a, p. 787. "The Count and Countess de Gramont had two daughters: Claude-Charlotte (b. c. 1665) and ..."
  41. ^ La Chenaye-Desbois 1866, p. 642, line 18. "Claude Charlotte, mariée, le 6 Avril 1694, à Henri Howard, comte de Stafford ..."
  42. ^ G. E. C. 1896, p. 217. "His widow with whom he seems to have been on the worst of terms, d [died] 14 and was bur. 22 May 1739, at St James, Westm., aged about 80."
  43. ^ a b Paul 1904, p. 56. "Marie Elizabeth de Gramont, born 27 December 1667, abbesse de St Marine of Poussay in Lorraine."
  44. ^ Saint-Simon 1902, p. 502, line 4. "L'aînée, pour faire une fin, se fit abbesse de Poussay, qui est un chapitre en Lorraine ..."
  45. ^ Gaspard 1871, p. 42. "Marie-Elisabeth de Grammont fut élue le 6 janvier 1695, les bulles sont du 9 de novembre de la même année. Elle est fille de Philibert, comte de Grammont, vicomte d'Aster, commandeur des ordres du roi, et d'Elisabeth d'Hamilton d'Albercorne."
  46. ^ Michel 1862, p. 407. "... qui avaient été filles d'honneur de la Dauphine de Bavière ..."
  47. ^ Dangeau 1854, p. 228. "Le roi a accordé à madame la comtesse de Grammont pour sa seconde fille ... la place de fille d'honneur de Madame la Dauphine ..."
  48. ^ Saint-Simon 1902, p. 502, line 1. "Les deux filles de la comtesse de Gramont n'ont pas prospéré, avec l'esprit de deux demons, méchantes et galantes à l'avenant, quoique fort laides ..."
  49. ^ Chisholm 1911, p.  333, left column, line 41. "He was 80 years old when he supplied his brother-in-law, Anthony Hamilton, with the material for his Mémoires."
  50. ^ Corp 2004b, p. 217, line 33. "Hamilton's decision to write the 'Mémoires de la vie du comte de Grammont' his brother in law, was originally taken in 1704, while the two men were at Séméac in Gascogne ..."
  51. ^ Chisholm 1911, p.  333, left column, line 70. "His scandalous tongue knew no restraint, and he was a privileged person who was allowed to state even the most unpleasing truths to Louis XIV."
  52. ^ a b Dangeau 1857, p. 293. "Dimanche 30 ... Le comte de Gramont mourut à Paris la nuit passée."
  53. ^ Chisholm 1911, p.  333, left column, line 58. "He died on 10 January 1707, and the Mémoires appeared six years later."
  54. ^ Goubert 1984, p. 399, line 5. "1643, 14e mai: Mort de Louis XIII."
  55. ^ Goubert 1984, p. 400, line 14. "1651, 7 septembre : Majorité du roi [Louis XIV]."

Sources

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Attribution:

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