Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron

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Armand de Gontaut Biron

Also Known As: "Marshal of France"
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Au Chateau de Biron, Biron, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Death: July 26, 1592 (67-68)
Épernay, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France
Immediate Family:

Son of Jean I de Gontaut, baron de Biron and Renée Anne de Bonneval
Husband of Jeanne, dame d'Ornesan et de Saint Blancard
Father of Philibert de Gontaut Biron; Charlotte de Gontaut Biron; Charles de Gontaut, I. duc de Biron; Alexandre de Gontaut Biron; Jean de Gontaut Biron, II and 5 others
Brother of Claude de Gontaut-Biron and Jeanne de Gontaut Biron

Managed by: Private User
Last Updated:

About Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_de_Gontaut,_baron_de_Biron

Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron (1524 – July 26, 1592) was a celebrated French soldier of the 16th century.

Biography

His family, one of the numerous branches of the House of Gontaut, took its title from the territory of Biron in Périgord, where on a hill between the Dropt and the Lide still stands the magnificent Château de Biron begun by the lords of Biron in the 11th century.

As a page of Queen Marguerite de Navarre, Biron attracted the notice of the marshal de Brissac, with whom he saw active service in Italy. A wound he received in his early years made him lame for life, and gave him the nickname Armand Le Boiteux (the limper). But he did not withdraw from the military career, and he held a command in Guise's regiment of light horse in 1557. A little later he became chief of a cavalry regiment, and in the French Wars of Religion he repeatedly distinguished himself.

His great services to the royal cause at the Battle of Dreux, Battle of Saint-Denis, Battle of Jarnac and Battle of Moncontour were rewarded in 1569 by his appointment as a privy councillor of the king and Grand Master of Artillery. He commanded the royal forces at the siege of La Rochelle in 1572, and four years later was made a marshal of France. From 1576 to 1588 he was almost continuously employed in high command.

After the assassination of Henry III in 1589, he was among the first to support the cause of Henry of Navarre, but he was suspected of prolonging the civil wars in his own interest. He brought a part of Normandy under subjection, and dissuaded Henry from going into England. He distinguished himself in the battles of Arques and Ivry against the Catholic League. Armand was killed by a cannon ball at the siege of Épernay on July 26, 1592.

In 1585 he was chosen a godfather for Armand-Jean du Plessis, future cardinal Richelieu.

He was a man of considerable literary attainments, and used to carry a pocketbook, in which he noted everything that appeared remarkable. Some of his letters are preserved in the Bibliothèque nationale and in the British Museum; these include a treatise on the art of war. His son, Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron (1562-1602), also became Marshal of France in 1594. A grandson of his second son, Henry, was Charles-Armand de Gontaut, another Marshal of France.

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Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron's Timeline

1524
1524
Au Chateau de Biron, Biron, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
1560
1560
Dordogne, Aquitaine, France
1561
1561
France
1562
1562
Saint-Blancard, Gers, Midi-Pyrénées, France
1563
1563
Dordogne, Aquitaine, France
1564
1564
1565
1565
Dordogne, Aquitaine, France
1566
1566
Dordogne, Aquitaine, France
1570
1570
France