Isaac de Porthau (also Portau or Portaut; January 30, 1617, Pau – July 13, 1712) was a Gascon black musketeer of the

Maison du Roi The Maison du Roi (, 'King's Household') was the royal household of the King of France. It comprised the military, domestic, and religious entourage of the French royal family during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon R ...

in 17th century

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In addition, he was the first cousin once removed of the

Comte de Troisville Jean-Armand du Peyrer, Comte de Troisville (or Tresville) (1598 – 8 May 1672) was a French officer. He was fictionalized under the name Monsieur de Tréville in Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel ''The Three Musketeers''. Biography Origins Du Pe ...

, captain of the

Musketeers of the Guard The Musketeers of the military household of the King of France ( or ''compagnie des mousquetaires du roi''), also known as the Musketeers of the Guard () or King's Musketeers (), were an elite fighting company of the military branch of the Maiso ...

(the captain of the musketeers could only be the king himself), and first cousin of Armand d'Athos. Porthau served as the inspiration for

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

's character "

Porthos Porthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), '' Twenty Years After'' (1845), and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847–1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the o ...

" in the

d'Artagnan Romances ''The d'Artagnan Romances'' are a set of three novels by Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870), telling the story of the 17th-century musketeer d'Artagnan. Dumas based the character and attributes of d'Artagnan on captain of musketeers Charles de Batz ...

Life

Born in

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

to Isaac de Porthau de Camptort de Campagne de Castetbon (Secretary of the Parliament of Béarn) and Clémence de Brosser, as the eldest of four children: Jean, Jeanne, and Sarah. Some sources say he was merely a guard while his brother Jean was the black musketeer, and may be in part responsible for the fictional representations of Porthau. Porthau served in the company of Alexandre des Essarts, cousin of the

, before joining the

in 1642. He had two sons: Arnaud and Jean. Following his father's death in 1654, he resigned from the Guard and took over as Secretary of the Parliament of Béarn.

Pedigree and arms

According to an issue of '' Macmillan's Magazine'' from 1899:

The Porthaus were an ancient family of
Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...
, taking their name from one of the old ''porthaux'' or ''portes'' (small frontier towers resembling the peel-towers of the British Border) with which the French and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Pyrénées The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. F ...
were studded.

Clearly the Porthaus accepted this interpretation of their name, since the

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

of their

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

(without tinctures, as the source is a

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

) was: A lion rampant and in chief two towers crenellated, masoned and inflamed, one to the dexter and the other to the sinister.''Un lion rampant, accompagné en chef de deux tours ouvertes, crenélées, maconnées et allumées, l'une au canton dextre et l'autre au canton senestre.'' These arms were granted to the Porthaus on November 24, 1674. It is unrecorded what, if anything, their arms were prior to this date.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porthau, Isaac De 1617 births 1712 deaths People from Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques 17th-century French military personnel 18th-century French people The Three Musketeers Musketeers of the Guard

Life

Pedigree and arms

See also

References