Anne de Batarnay de Joyeuse, Baron d'Arques, Vicomte then Duke of

Joyeuse Joyeuse (; fro, Joiuse; meaning "joyous, joyful") was, in medieval legend, the sword wielded by Charlemagne as his personal weapon. A sword identified as Joyeuse was used in French royal coronation ceremonies since the 13th century, and is now ...

(1560 – 20 October 1587) was a royal

favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated s ...

and active participant in the French

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

. An intimate friend of Henry III of France, he was keeper of the king's chambers. With these serious responsibilities he also gained a number of privileges around the court, including the wearing of royal colors, such as royal blue, purple, and red. He also had the right to wear jewelry of high majesties of the court, such as a well-known red ruby and diamond ring given to him by the king: it had been confiscated from Princesse

Marguerite de Valois Margaret of Valois (french: Marguerite, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615), popularly known as La Reine Margot, was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became Queen of Navarre by marriage to Henry III of Navarre and then also Queen of France ...

as punishment for having accused Anne of trying to interfere with a meeting with the king, as requested of her by Catherine de' Medici. Anne was also a member of the circle of young courtiers known as '' Les Mignons''.

Life

Anne was born in 1560 in the château de Joyeuse. He was the eldest son of Guillaume, 8th Vicomte de Joyeuse, the owner of the rights to the Bishopric of Alet and

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

in 1575. Cardinal

François de Joyeuse François de Joyeuse (24 June 1562 – 23 August 1615) was a French churchman and politician. Biography Born at Carcassonne, François de Joyeuse was the second son of Guillaume de Joyeuse and Marie Eléanor de Batarnay. As the younger son of a ...

was his younger brother. He was reared in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

and attended the

Collège de Navarre The College of Navarre (french: Collège de Navarre) was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris, rivaling the Sorbonne and renowned for its library. History It was founded by Queen Joan I of Navarre in 1305, who provided for th ...

, starting in August 1572. Wedding of Duc de Joyeuse with Marguerite de Vaudemont 24 September 1581 French school 1581 1582

As a ''mignon'' of Henry III of France, Anne was made gentleman of the chamber in 1577 and by 1579 he was Chamberlain. During this time, Anne accompanied his father in the annual expeditions against the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

and

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

. In 1579, he was put in charge of a compagnie d'ordonnance and was soon appointed governor of Mont Saint-Michel. In 1580, he took part in the siege of

Fère-en-Tardenois Fère-en-Tardenois (, literally ''Fère in Tardenois'') is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is named for the Tardenois region. Population Personalities It was the birthplace of Camille Claudel (18 ...

. The King arranged Joyeuse's marriage to his sister-in-law, Marguerite, daughter of Nicholas, Duke of Mercœur. The nuptials were celebrated on 18 September 1581 with unprecedented magnificence. King Henry used the marriage as a pretext for elevating his favourite to the dignity of Duc de Joyeuse. He was given precedence over all other dukes and peers of France, with the exception of princes of the blood. In addition to more than 300,000

écu The term ''écu'' () or crown may refer to one of several French coins. The first ''écu'' was a gold coin (the ''écu d'or'') minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. ''Écu'' (from Latin ''scutum'') means shield, and the coin ...

s in dowry, he was given the

seigneury ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...

of Limours. In 1582, Anne was made Grand- admiral de France (1 June) and commander in the

Order of the Holy Spirit , status = Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Henry III of France , head_title = Grand Master , head = Disputed: Louis Alphonse, Duke of AnjouJean, Count of Pari ...

, the kingdom's highest chivalric order (31 December). He was appointed governor of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

in 1583 and

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

in 1584. After the death of Duke François the Joyeuse brothers were allowed to govern the duchies of

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

and Alençon in the name of the king. At the onset of the War of the Three Henrys, Anne, appointed by Henry III, led royal troops against the king's arch-enemy,

Henry of Navarre Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

in Poitou. He suffered a defeat at the hands of the Huguenots at the

Battle of Coutras The Battle of Coutras, fought on 20 October 1587, was a major engagement in the French Religious Wars between a Huguenot (Protestant) army under Henry of Navarre (the future Henry IV) and a royalist army led by Anne, Duke of Joyeuse. Henry of Na ...

and while trying to surrender was killed, as was his 18-year-old brother Charles, lord of Saint-Sauveur. He was childless and was succeeded as Duke of Joyeuse by another brother,

François François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

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Life

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Further reading