On April 27, 1578, at dawn, they met at the Parisian horse market (Place de Vosges of today) six young courtiers. Four of them were close associates of the king, Henry III, the other two belonged to the retinue of the Duke of Guise, although the later collective memory, to which Dumas-Father also made sure to contribute with his generous talent, divided them into two distinct groups, supporters of the king versus supporters of the duke.
However, we remember well that Georges de Schomberg, Baron of Strasbourg, was also among the young and ardent retinue of the last king of the Valois dynasty, and this duel lacked “political” motives.
The mistress who caused the massacre
The reason for the meeting was the exchange that had taken place the day before: the king's favorite, Jacques de Lévis, comte de Caylus, encountered one of the Duke of Guise's associates, Charles de Balsac d'Entragues, baron de Dunes et comte de Graville, as the latter was leaving his mistress's room (de Lévis's, I mean) and joked, in the presence of witnesses, that "the lady is much more beautiful than she is pious."
D'Entrague did not appreciate the joke and arranged to meet the next day. Thus began the famous “Duel of the Minions.” No, not the lovable yellow creatures, but as a derogatory nickname given to the members of Henry III’s entourage. And so the two arrived, each accompanied by a pair of witnesses, at the market square.
François d'Adès, the Viscount of Ribeirac (one of de Guise's men), tried to carry out his role and reconcile the hawks, but one of the witnesses from the other side, the belligerent minion Louis de Maugiron, Marquis d'Ampoille, rudely interrupted him, and this provocation led to a duel between these two witnesses as well, in serious violation of the accepted rules of the time.
Georges de Schomberg, who, as we recall, was also a "minion", although he had come there as a witness for d'Entrague, saw the situation escalating and responded to this with a question: "Four are fighting, what will we do?" To which Guy d'Arce, Baron of Livaro, replied: "Then we will fight too!", and the last two witnesses joined the commotion.
The pious Viscount of Ribeirac prayed for a long time before the fight, until de Maugiron's patience ran out and he pounced on his kneeling opponent. The result was that the two impaled each other with their swords. De Maugiron died on the spot, de Ribeirac suffered until the next day.
De Schomberg beheaded his opponent for a large part of his life, but in return he was fatally stabbed in the heart. With his last breath, he brought the hilt of his sword down on Guy d'Arcy's head.
The wounded Baron of Livaro will need a long recovery, which will not teach him anything – three years later he will challenge the young Antoine de Monilly, who has just returned from advanced swordsmanship studies in Italy, to a duel. The young man will kill him, and D'Arsa's servant will stab the winner to death in the back, and will be hanged for it.
And what about the main culprits in the duel? Well, contrary to tradition, Jacques de Levi forgot his dagger at home (it was customary at the time to hold a weapon in each hand), and his opponent, de Balzac, was not about to give up his advantage: he attacked the foolish Count of Clos with a sword and dagger, and the latter was forced to defend himself with his bare hand, not only losing the fight, but also receiving 19 stab wounds in the process. D'Entrague suffered only a single minor cut on his hand.
The king is forced to feed his wounded confidant with his own hands, spending days and nights by his bedside at the Hôtel de Mayenne and feeding him consommé from a spoon, but a fool remains a fool, and after a month of recovery, de Clos decides that he is well enough to ride, which reopens his wounds and finally buries him.
Henry III, devastated by the deaths of two of his closest associates, erects a beautiful monument to them (which the Parisian League mob will destroy a few years later) and causes the evil and sharp tongues at his court to coin a new expression: “to cut into marble” (tailler en marbre).
Public opinion was divided: the responsible adults, including Brantome and Montaigne, absolutely condemned the terrible and pointless violence, while the young, whose stupid opinion usually rules, saw it as pure romance - the number of fights had increased dramatically, and the witnesses, who had hitherto been required to mediate and supervise, were now half-expected to take an active part in the fight.
More articles related to the topic
- If the subject of the duel interests you, you are welcome to read the article. A duel that lasted 19 years.
- If you would like to get to know the Marais district better, I recommend this article. Le Marais – The Complete Traveler's Guide.
- And finally, if you are interested in the period covered by the article, allow me to recommend the following articles to you: Catherine de Medici – The Unlucky Queen וQueen Margo and her hapless lovers.