Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers: Chapter 41
100 Days of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers June 1 - August 31, 2024
100 Days of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers
June 1 - August 31, 2024
All for One and One for All: "The Three Musketeers" at 180
July 25
Chapter 41
We FINALLY reached the historical event we have been waiting for - the Siege of La Rochelle!!! Two years have passed since the start of the action of The Three Musketeers - we are in 1627 and Richelieu is following in the footsteps of Joan of Arc (1412-1431), the great French national heroine who fought against the English invaders!!! Please consider rereading the article I posted earlier this month dedicated to Richelieu and his role in the taking of La Rochelle. It provides the historical background that is crucial for our understanding of this event!!!
Instead of presenting dry historical facts, Dumas adds thrills to the narrative - Richelieu is not just serving France during this military campaign - he is avenging his wounded pride - the Queen rebuffed his love and chose the enemy - thus Buckingham AND England must be punished!!!
“It was thus a question, for Richelieu, not only of ridding France of an enemy, but of revenging himself on a rival; more-over, the vengeance had to be great and terrible, and worthy in every way of a man who held the forces of an entire realm like a sword in his hand.
Richelieu knew that, in fighting England, he was fighting Buckingham; that in triumphing over England, he was triumphing over Buckingham; finally, that in humiliating England, he was humiliating Buckingham in the queen's eyes.”
D’Artagnan is separated from his friends who are waiting the convalescence of the King, whom they serve, before marching west to La Rochelle. And the thrill of action reaches d’Artagnan even before he gets to the Atlantic coast!!! In this chapter, bullets are flying EVERYWHERE!!! D’Artagnan is ducking assassin’s bullets before he gets La Rochelle - AND during his first military action!!! His magnanimity towards one of the assassins pays off - he learns that Constance is alive - and safely concealed in a convent where she was delivered on the orders of the Queen!!! But he is still blissfully unaware of the full extent of Milady’s plans of vengeance…
“This tranquillity proved one thing: that d'Artagnan did not yet know Milady.”
Since this chapter contains a multitude of historical references - I am posting the notes from Richard Pevear’s translation:
”Joan of Arc and the duc de Guise: Jeanne d'Arc (1412-31) began the ultimately successful effort to drive the English from French territory. François de Lorraine, duc de Guise (15 19-63), was a skillful general who, among other exploits, took the port of Calais from the English in 1558.
The Order of the Holy Spirit: See note 45. For Bassompierre, see note 13. In 1627 Bassompierre had refused to join with the duc d'Angoulême at the siege of La Rochelle, but a year later he agreed to share command with the duc and Schomberg. It was at La Rochelle that he converted to Catholicism.
The revocation of the Edict of Nantes: The Edict of Nantes, signed by Henri IV in 1598 and aimed at ending the wars of religion, granted freedom of conscience and civil rights to the Protestants.
Those rights were gradually eroded, and in 1685 Louis XIV revoked the edict itself, causing many Protestants to emigrate.
The comte de Toiras: Jean de Caylar de Saint-Bonnet, comte de Toiras (1585-1636), was in charge of the defense of the ile de Ré, some three miles off the coast of La Rochelle. Richelieu's construction of the forts of Saint-Martin and La Prée on the island had aroused the opposition of the Protestant forces in La Rochelle, under the leadership of Benjamin de Rohan, prince de Soubise (1583-1642), a native of the town, who sought the aid of the duke of Buckingham. In the summer of 1627, Buckingham's forces landed on the ile de Ré and drove the French into their two citadels, where he hoped to starve them into submission. But the French managed to resupply their troops, and in November, Toiras and Schomberg routed the English. Meanwhile, Richelieu and Louis XIII blockaded La Rochelle by land and by sea, Richelieu's famous dike having been begun that same November.
The Protestant forces in the town numbered one thousand sol-diers, two hundred English troops left behind by Buckingham, and a militia of four thousand townsmen. The French had seventeen regiments of infantry and twenty-two companies of cavalry.
Mme de Sévigné: Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné (1626-96), was the author of Lettres, addressed to her daughter and others, which in their spontaneity and freshness of style are classics of French prose, and which abound in interesting details of the time. Her father, Baron Celse Bénigne de Rabutin-Chantal, a famous duelist, was indeed killed on July 22, 1627, the first day of Buckingham's assault on the ile de Ré.
The duc d'Angoulême: Charles de Valois, comte d'Auvergne, duc d'Angoulême (1573-1650), the natural son of Charles IX
(1550-74), belonged to the cadet branch of the old Capetian family of Valois-Orléans. He fought alongside Henri IV, spent ten years in the Bastille for his involvement in court intrigues, and was pardoned by Louis XIII in 1616.
The Minimes: The order of the Minims (Ordo Minimorum Eremitarum) was founded by San Francesco di Paula (ca. 1416-1507). Work on their monastery and the chapel of Notre-Dame de la Victoire, on the southern side of the bay of La Rochelle, was begun in 1634 on orders from Louis XIII.
Rochelois: The citizens of La Rochelle.
Arquebus: The arquebus, or harquebus (from the German Hakenbüchse), was the first portable firearm, supported on a forked rest and fired by means of a matchlock. It was used by the French armies from 1525 to 1630.”
The images below help us situate ourselves on the French Atlantic coast and give us an idea of the strength of the fortifications of La Rochelle. Please note the two islands on the map that are situated right in front of the La Rochelle harbor - the port could be easily blockaded by an enemy fleet controlling these islands - which are mentioned in today’s chapter!!!