Thanks to the violent fantasy of Alexandre Dumas père, the whole world knows both from novels and numerous films that in the time of Louis XIII there were royal musketeers and guardsmen of Cardinal Richelieu. And who would now remember the 17th century with nostalgia, and also buy toy figures of the king and cardinal and their defenders, if not for Dumas? But what they represented in reality is known mainly to historians. We are content with pictures. These are the cardinal's guards. Photo shows modern toys.
Cardinal Richelieu
In fact, he was an associate of the king. But on the pages of the novel, he appears as a powerful secret ruler of France. And the guardsmen of the cardinal - although brave, but mostly vile people who do not disdain to achieve their goals by any means. Brightest of all in the novel sparkles completely invented villain, Count Rochefort, who wants to wipe out the brave d'Artagnan and his friends from the face of the earth. Rochefort is the right hand of Cardinal Richelieu. What was Armand Jean du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu really like?
This politician was one of the youngest sons of his family and, according to the laws of the majorate, he could not receive an inheritance. And how can an intelligent person who wanted to climb the social ladder exist? The easiest way was to become a monk. And so he did. And thanks to his mind, Richelieu advanced quickly. And when he became a bishop, the king drew attention to him, since the young twenty-two-year-old bishop had diplomatic skills and skillfully maneuvered between warring court factions, and also eloquently defended the interests of the church. He was made confessor to the young queen, and then secretary for foreign affairs and military policy. Richelieu did not have any defenders in those years. After the queen mother was disgraced and exiled to Blois, the young bishop mended the relationship between the king and the queen dowager. At her suggestion, Louis XIII nominated him for the post of cardinal. So at the age of 37, Richelieu became a cardinal and set himself 4 tasks: to completely break the Huguenots, destroy the opposition of the aristocracy, keep the people in obedience and raise the authority of the king and France in the international arena. As the influence of the cardinal grew, the number of enemies who attempted on his life grew. The king, worried about this, ordered his guards to be arranged.
Cardinal Richelieu's Guard
In 1629, after the cardinal's own brother was killed in a duel, Louis XIII of his guards gives his faithful assistant fifty mounted archers with arquebuses. Richelieu added thirty more to them. So the first guardsmen of the cardinal appeared. Their form wasfrom a red cloak (the color of a cardinal), which was sewn from four parts. It could be buttoned up or worn wide open. Here is a modern reconstruction of the suit, made in France.
A white cross was sewn on the chest and back, which consisted of equilateral crossbars. The head was covered with a wide-brimmed hat with a white plume of feathers. On his feet were high boots. This is how the guards of Cardinal Richelieu looked, who accompanied him everywhere. They were inseparable from him. All the palaces of the cardinal had a room for their leader - the captain.
Squad Growth
After five years, the number of guards has quadrupled. One hundred and twenty were light cavalry, one hundred were heavy cavalry, and another hundred were on foot. By 1642, an additional hundred guards were recruited. There were 420 of them in total, which was almost three times the size of the king's company, which consisted of one hundred and fifty musketeers. It was not easy to get into the detachment where the cardinal's guardsmen served. This required the recommendation of a person whom Richelieu knew well and was firmly convinced of the devotion of the applicant. It also had to be a mature, experienced person at least twenty-five years old who had 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 disgrace." The cardinal's guards were originally raised as people of honor and courage. They were trained not only for the personal protection of His Eminence, but also as future naval officers, since the powerful minister in everythingtried to act for the good of France.
Paying the Guards
The duke regularly paid his guards high salaries, which exceeded the pay of the king's musketeers. He also produced the equipment of his guardsmen at his own expense. This, together with the horses, amounted to considerable sums.
Attitudes towards duels
From the second half of the 16th century, the French kings continually issued ordinances banning duels. They were a state crime, since the valiant aristocrats were supposed to fight the Huguenots for the good of the country, and not destroy each other for the slightest reason.
Therefore, the abundance of fights in which the king's musketeers and the cardinal's guards took part and which Dumas described in his famous trilogy is impossible. This is the product of his wild imagination. The cardinal's guards, trying not to lose their lucrative position and fulfilling the duty of true Catholics, almost certainly avoided senseless fights. The Brittany, from which the guard was recruited, were northern people and cold, reasonable.
Enemies of the "Red Duke"
The brilliant aristocracy of the court now and then conspired against the firm and tough Richelieu, who persistently and consistently suppressed her independence, creating an absolute monarchy. The question of who fought the cardinal's guards suggests the answer is the rebels of the Duke of Montmorency, who was later convicted and executed.
Fight against Protestants
Faithful championCatholicism, and he could not be otherwise, Cardinal Richelieu pursued a firm policy aimed at combating the Huguenots at home and the Protestants of England, who took possession of the fortress of La Rochelle on the continent. The British in 1627 attacked the coast of France from the sea. In 1628 the siege of the fortress began. It involved not only regular troops, but also detachments of musketeers and guardsmen. The Protestant troops are the sworn enemy of the cardinal's guards. The war for the true faith has always been a special goal for the holy mother of the Catholic Church. And in La Rochelle, England's claims to the lands of France were also involved. Of course, neither the king nor his powerful minister could allow the kingdom to weaken, giving away lands to sworn enemies since the Hundred Years War, Protestants and heretical English.
Some information about the King's Musketeers
The first bodyguard, which, by the way, did not help him, and he was stabbed in his carriage with three blows to the chest, was started by Henry IV. His company of carabinieri was eventually rearmed and received muskets. It was an inconvenient weapon, very heavy, and in order to use it, a squire was required. By the name of the weapon, they began to be called musketeers.
The first actual commander was a Gascon, fellow countryman of Henry IV, Comte de Troyville, who later began to call himself de Treville. Naturally, he recruited his countrymen from Gascony and Bearn to serve the king.
The uniform of the musketeers had the colors of the coat of arms of the royal house. The cloak was azure with gold lilies and white velvet crosses.
The horse was required necessarily gray. In addition to him and the musket, a sash for carrying cartridges, a powder flask, a bag for bullets, a good sword, pistols and a dagger were definitely needed. Everything except the musket, the musketeer had to provide for himself. And there served mainly the younger sons of a noble family. Although they were aristocrats, they were very poor. Collecting equipment, as we know from the novel "The Three Musketeers", was very difficult for them. Wages were paid meager and irregular.
Their duties included accompanying the king on walks and on military campaigns. They served not in the premises of the Louvre, but on the street.
When d'Artagnan became commander, the number of musketeers grew almost one and a half times. Comte d´Artagnan is a historical figure.
In Paris, a monument was erected to him. Musketeers under him lived in barracks in the Faubourg Saint-Germain.
This detachment existed, changing, from 1660 to 1818.
Thus, following the historical data, one should represent the protection of the King and His Grace the Duke of Richelieu.
