MONTMORENCY, ANNE DE, constable of France, was descended from one of the most ancient French families, and was born at Chantilly in 1493. He was brought up along with the young Dauphin, afterwards Francis I., and on the accession of that prince he was raised to an influential position. He was not long in proving himself worthy of his good fortune. His chivalrous valour was conspicuous in several campaigns, and gained for him a marshal's baton in 1522, soon after the outbreak of the war against Charles V. Contrary to his advice, however, the battle of Pavia was fought in 1525, and he found himself in consequence a prisoner, along with his sovereign, in the hands of the Emperor. On being
ransomed, he contributed in no small degree to effect the release of his royal master. But as Francis I. refused to fulfil the conditions of his liberation, Montmorency was in course of time called upon to defend France against Charles V. He continued by his skilful manoeuvres to harass and repel the enemy till war was superseded by negotiation. As a reward for these services, the office of constable of France was conferred upon him in 1538. In this lofty position, the austerity of his morals and the roughness of his manners appeared in greater prominence, and excited against him much dislike at court. It is not surprising, therefore, that he was disgraced in 1541. He bore his exile with great magnanimity, until the accession of Henri II., in 1547, recalled him to his office of constable, and to greater influence than ever. His military talents were called into requisition in 1557, to relieve St Quentin from a besieging army of Spaniards. But a hazardous plan, which he had begun to execute, for the purpose of entering the city, failed, and left him wounded and a prisoner in the hands of the enemy. As an aggravation of this misfortune, he discovered, when he was released at the peace of 1559, that the Guises, during his absence, had been supplanting him in the favour of the King. The death of Henri II., and the accession of Francis II., in that same year, completed his disgrace. He returned to court, however, on the accession of Charles IX., and played an important part in the struggle which was then beginning to convulse France. His firm devotion to the Catholic religion induced him to make common cause with his former enemy, the Duke of Guise, against the Prince of Condé and the King of Navarre, the leaders of the Huguenots. In the civil war that followed in 1562, he gained the victory of Dreux over Condé, but was himself made a prisoner. On his release in the subsequent year, he expelled the English from Havre. In 1567 the civil struggle was renewed, and Montmorency once more encountered the Protestants on the plains of St Denis. His troops were already in the full pursuit of victory when he received a mortal wound. He died on the 12th of November 1567.