HENRI II OF MONTMORENCY — Son of Henri I, born at Chantilly on 30 April 1595, died at Toulouse on 30 October 1632. From Henri IV he received the governorship of Languedoc. In 1612 Louis XIII appointed him admiral. In 1625 he defeated the rebel Soubise; in 1629–30 he took part in the Piedmontese campaign, winning at Avigliano and Saluzzo.
The policy of monarchical centralisation pursued by Richelieu necessarily drove M., as one of the most authoritative representatives of the old aristocracy, into opposition. The refusal to grant him the office of Constable was only an incidental cause of the rupture. In 1630, when Richelieu’s position was thought to be shaken and his fall imminent, Gaston of Orléans placed himself at the head of the malcontents. But the journée des dupes unexpectedly reaffirmed Richelieu’s power. Gaston risked an armed rising: defeated, he fled to Nancy. M. had joined the rebel, attempting to stir up Languedoc. The province, however, did not follow him, and M., defeated at Castelnauary by Marshal Schomberg, was taken prisoner. Richelieu had him executed. This harsh execution marked the cardinal’s triumph and removed from the French nobility any hope of preventing the consolidation of royal absolutism.