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 Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state. Types of branches Unified armed forces The Canadian Armed Forces is the unifie ...

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 ...

, the royal household of the

French monarchy France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

History

They were founded in 1622 when

Louis XIII 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. ...

furnished a company of

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and body armor, armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was p ...

(the ''carabins'', created by Louis' father Henry IV) with

muskets A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

. The Musketeers fought in battles both on foot (

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

) and on horseback (

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

). They formed the royal guard for the king while he was outside of the royal residences (within the royal residences, the king's guard was the ''

Garde du corps A ''Garde du Corps'' (French for lifeguard (military), lifeguard) is a military unit formed of Royal Guard, guards. A ''Garde du corps du roi, Garde du Corps'' was first established in France in 1445. From the 17th century onwards, the term was us ...

'' and the '' Gardes suisses''). The Musketeers of the Guard wore an early type of military uniform with a

tabard A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more developed ...

(known as ''soubreveste''), indicating that they "belonged" to the King, and an embroidered white cross denoting the fact that they were formed during the

Huguenot rebellions The Huguenot rebellions, sometimes called the Rohan Wars after the Huguenot leader Henri, Duke of Rohan, Henri de Rohan, were a series of rebellions of the 1620s in which French people, French Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots), mainly located in ...

in support of the Catholic cause. Mousquetaires du roi

Shortly after the Musketeers were established, a second company was founded to report to

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

. At the cardinal's death in 1642, the company passed to his successor

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

, who disbanded his Musketeers in 1646. He revived the Musketeers in 1657 with a company of 150 men. Upon Mazarin's death in 1661, the cardinal's Musketeers passed to

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. In 1664, the two companies were reorganized: one company took the name "Grey Musketeers" (''mousquetaires gris'') from the color of their matched horses, while the second were called "Black Musketeers" (''mousquetaires noirs''), mounted on black horses. At roughly the same time, the size of the Musketeer companies was doubled. The Musketeers were among the most prestigious of the military companies of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, and in principle membership in the companies was reserved for nobles. With the reforms of

Michel le Tellier Michel Le Tellier, marquis de Barbezieux, seigneur de Chaville et de Viroflay (19 April 1603 – 30 October 1685) was a French statesman. Biography Le Tellier was born in Paris to a Parisian magistrate, Michel III Le Tellier, and his wife, Cla ...

– which mandated a certain number of years of military service before nobles could attain the rank of officer – many nobles sought to do this service in the privileged Musketeer companies. In 1776, the Musketeers were disbanded by

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

for budgetary reasons. Reformed in 1789, they were disbanded again shortly after the French Revolution. They were reformed on 6 July 1814 and definitively disbanded on 1 January 1816.

Notable Musketeers of the Guard

The following are some of the notable Musketeers: *

Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fra ...

(The historical basis of

Alexander 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 ...

' character

d'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fr ...

in his 1844 novel ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'') *

Henri d'Aramitz Henri, Seigneur d'Aramitz ("Lord of Aramits"; – 1655/1674) was a Gascon ''abbé'', and black musketeer of the Maison du Roi in 17th century France. In addition, he was the nephew of the Comte de Troisville, captain of the Musketeers of the ...

(The historical basis of Dumas' character

Aramis René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, 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 other two musketeers, ...

in ''

'') *

Armand d'Athos Armand, Seigneur de Sillègue, d'Athos, et d'Autevielle ("Lord of Sillègue, Athos, and Autevielle"), better known as Armand d'Athos (c. 1615 – December 21, 1643), was a Gascon Black Musketeer of the Maison du Roi in 17th-century France. He ...

(The historical basis of Dumas' character Athos in ''

'') *

Isaac de Porthau Isaac de Porthau (also Portau or Portaut; January 30, 1617, Pau – July 13, 1712) was a Gascon black musketeer of the Maison du Roi in 17th century France. In addition, he was the first cousin once removed of the Comte de Troisville, captain of ...

(The historical basis of Dumas' 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 ''

'') * Jean-Armand du Peyrer de Troisville (The historical basis of Dumas' character Monsieur de Tréville in ''

'') *

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

(later American Revolutionary War general) *

Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, Grandee of Spain, GE (; 16 January 16752 March 1755), was a French soldier, diplomat, and memoirist. He was born in Paris at the Hôtel Selvois, 6 rue Taranne (demolished in 1876 to make way for the Boulevard ...

Étienne de Boré Jean Étienne de Boré (27 December 1741 – 1 February 1820) was a Creole French planter, born in Kaskaskia, Illinois Country, who was known for producing the first granulated sugar in Louisiana. At the time, the area was under Spanish rule. Hi ...

, first

Mayor of New Orleans The post of Mayor of the City of New Orleans () has been held by the following individuals since New Orleans came under American administration following the Louisiana Purchase — the 1803 acquisition by the U.S. of of the French province '' ...

Gallery

Mousceteor.jpg, Musketeer of the Guard c. 1660 1663-Louis-XIV -Maison-Du-Roi -Mousquetaires.jpg, Musketeers c. 1660 Mousquetaires-de-la-maison-du-roi-.jpg, The Musketeers, late 17th century Jean+Alaux,+dit+le+Romain,+Prise+de+Valenciennes.+17+mars+1677.jpg, Musketeers in the storming of Valenciennes on 17 March 1677. A fragment of the picture. Mousquetaires au prise de Gand en 1678.jpg, Musketeers in the storming of Ghent, 1678. A fragment of the picture. Brevet de mousquetaire du marquis de Janson 1693.jpg, Promotion of Joseph de Forbin, Marquis de Janson, to second sous-lieutenant of the musketeers, 1 November 1693 Mousquetaires-1729.jpg, Review of Black Musketeers in the plain of Sablons. By Robert Paul Ponce Antoine, 1729 Mousquetaires de la Garde Musician Marbot.jpg, Musicians of the Musketeers of the Guard in 1724. Oboeist of the 2nd company and drummer of the 1st company (image source: Priscille Lamure) Musketeer 1730-50.jpg, Musketeer of the Guard, 1724 Mousquetaires de la Garde Marbot.jpg, Grey and black musketeers, 1745 Mousquetaire 06303.JPG, 1816, second company Mousquetaire gris 6305.jpg, 1816

In pop culture

* ''

'' * ''The Three Musketeers'' (1993 film) * '' Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers'' * ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011 film) * ''The Musketeers'' (2014-2016)

References

*This article is based in part on the article

Mousquetaire A musketeer ( ) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare, particularly in Europe, as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a precursor to the riflem ...

from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia () is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...

, retrieved on September 9, 2006.''

History

Notable Musketeers of the Guard

Gallery

In pop culture

See also

References

Further reading