Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis of Cinq-Mars (1620 – 12 September 1642) was a

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 ...

of King

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

, who led the last and most nearly successful of many

conspiracies A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

against the Cardinal Richelieu, the king's powerful first minister.

Life

Cinq-Mars was the son of Marshal Antoine Coiffier de Ruzé, marquis d'Effiat, a close friend of Cardinal Richelieu, who took the boy under his protection on his father's death in 1632.

Career

As the son of the marquis d'Effiat, a famous Superintendent of Finances who was also a good friend of Richelieu's, Cinq-Mars came to court very early. In 1639, after the exile of the royal favourite

Marie de Hautefort Marie de Hautefort (1616 – 1691), was a French noble and lady-in-waiting, a trusted confidante and adviser of King Louis XIII of France. They did not have a sexual relationship and she was thereby a favorite rather than a royal mistress. She w ...

, Richelieu introduced the young Cinq-Mars to Louis, hoping he would find favour with the king, thus allowing Richelieu to exercise even greater control over the king. Cinq-Mars indeed quickly established himself as a royal favourite, and was raised to Grand Squire of France. The cardinal believed he could easily control Cinq-Mars, but instead Cinq-Mars pressed the king for important favours and tried to convince the king to have Richelieu executed. In 1641, Cinq-Mars was active in the Comte de Soissons' rebellion, but the effort failed. The next year, he conspired again with the king's brother, Gaston, Duke of Orleans, to try to get support for the rebellion from Philip IV, the king of Spain; Richelieu's spy service caught him doing so. Consequently, Richelieu had Cinq-Mars imprisoned and

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...

in the

Place des Terreaux The Place des Terreaux is a square located in the centre of Lyon, France, on the Presqu'île between the Rhône and the Saône rivers, at the foot of the hill of La Croix-Rousse in the 1st arrondissement. It borders both the Hôtel de Ville and ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

, along with his accomplice, François Auguste de Thou. The French writer, Tallemant, relates that the king showed no emotions concerning the execution: he said "''Je voudrais bien voir la grimace qu'il fait à cette heure sur cet échafaud''" ('I would like to see the grimace he is now making on this scaffold'). The Marquis of Cinq-Mars' last words were, "''Mon Dieu! Qu’est-ce que ce monde''" ('My God! What is this world?').

Miscellaneous

Alfred de Vigny Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare. Biography Vigny was born in Loches (a town to which he never r ...

wrote a novel ''Cinq-Mars'', inspired by the story of the marquis, and published in

1826 Events January–March * January 15 – The French newspaper '' Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a weekly. * January 30 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford, is opened between the island ...

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

wrote an opera of the same name which premiered on April 5, 1877. Barbara Strozzi composed a cantata about the execution of the marquis
Il lamento sul Rodano severo
). A famous historical painting by

Paul Delaroche Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (17 July 1797 – 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subjects from English ...

shows Cardinal Richelieu in a gorgeous barge, preceding the boat carrying Cinq-Mars and De Thou to their execution. Historical accounts are Jeanne-Pauline Basserie, ''La conjuration de Cinq-Mars'' (Paris, 1896) and Anaïs Bazin, ''Histoire de France sous Louis XIII'' (Paris).Vol I (1840)Vol IIILivre IX
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Footnotes

External links

*
Historiettes
(in 17th century French)

(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cinq-Mars, Henri Coiffier De Ruze, Marquis Of 1620 births 1642 deaths Coiffier de Ruze, Henri Grand Squires of France Executed French people People executed by France by decapitation French royal favourites LGBT nobility 17th-century executions by France Male lovers of royalty 17th-century LGBT people Court of Louis XIII