An enigmatic and feared character, who is rumoured to run a spy service for the King, rivalling the Cardinal's service...
Our heroes were of assistance to him, and in turn have been rewarded, one way or another...
A blog about our All For One campaign.
Showing posts with label Notable Figures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Notable Figures. Show all posts
Sunday, May 30, 2021
Sunday, May 2, 2021
Roger Dupin
Chapitre IV: Le Maître d'Escrime, pt I
- Student of Maitre St Pierre, who is very convincing when pretending to be drunk in order to fool his opponent.
Andre
Chapitre IV: Le Maître d'Escrime, pt I
- Street urchin, recruited by Gerard as his lackey.
- Old beyond his age, due to a hard life on the streets of Paris.
Signori Sapristi
Chapitre IV: Le Maître d'Escrime, pt I
- Villainous Italian of short stature, who ordered his students to kidnap Maitre St Pierre and kill and injure his students.
Viscount de Bouvard
- Noble student of Maitre St Pierre, who organized a demonstration of the Ecole de Position de Fer at his mansion outside of Paris
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Madame Camille Suchet
Chapitre III La Dame de La Rochelle pt I
- The heroes received a letter to the sister of a dying man. In the end, the letter turned out to be hand-copied notations of time-tables, maps and troop strengths within the fortresses of Ille de Ree, and names of Catholic rebels in the city.
- They changed the contents and delivered the note anyway, hoping they would get away with the deception
Alexandre Touchard-Lemoines
Chapitre III: La Dame de La Rochelle pt I
- On his deathbed, Touchard-Lemoines wishes to send a last letter to his sister, begging her forgiveness for these years of neglect and mistreatment. But she is inside La Rochelle, and no ordinary messenger, can reach her. He was able to convince the heroes to do this for him.
- In the end, the letter turned out to be hand-copied notations of time-tables, maps and troop strengths within the fortresses of Ille de Ree, and names of Catholic rebels in the city.
Le Comte de Rochefort
- Le Comte de Rochefort was leading the delegation into La Rochelle, officially attempting to sue for peace.
- On the side, he had a number of volunteers assessing and documenting the waek points of the city, while they also made contact with Catholic Royalists inside the city.
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Cardinal Richelieu
Born September 9, 1585
Richelieu, was the master statesman and Machiavellian politician who held France together while Louis XI II was young, and brought it to great power, through personal endeavour, during his rule. Richelieu was born to the aristocracy, and was ordained and made a Bishop in 1607.
He became a statesman, and was noticed by Marie de Medici's in 1614, and appointed as First Minister in 1616. He suffered by the whims of the young King in 1617, when he was exiled to Blois with Marie de Medici's, but he returned to court in 1619, and patched things up between the quarrelling King and Queen Mother, Richelieu's plans for France were to make it stable within, and invincible without.
To accomplish this, he crushed the French Protestants, who offered an internal conflict, but, at nearly the same time, allied with the Protestant side in the Thirty Years' War, to France's great advantage.
He was a competent General, an eloquent courtier, and a master of espionage and Realpolitik. He was so powerful under the often timid King Louis XIII, that it was sometimes said that there were two Kings in France.
Sunday, March 21, 2021
Fernand de Clemenceau
Together with the heroes he saved the life of the Cardinal and exposed a conspiracy against the Red Duke (Chapitre I: Le Peril du Cardinal). As a gesture of gratitude, he offered Jean and Gerard a position in the Gascon Regiment (a very highly regarded unit of the King), led by his brother.
Lieutenant Laurent du Grenniers et de Lamoye
A rising star in the service of the Cardinal marked out for the highest favour and honour. Was murdered behind the Palais de Luxembourg, part of a conspiracy to ambush and murder Cardinal Richelieu.
Viscomte de Remoilles
Former Lieutenant in the King's Army, not an officer in the Old City Guard. His uncle, the Duke of Montauban, is a very powerful and independent nobleman currently out of favour with the King and the Cardinal. Both Duke and Viscount are known as ruthless men.
Le Duc de Montauban
A thin, saturnine older aristocrat, encountered by our heroes during Le Peril du Cardinal.
The Duke is said to be visiting Paris this month, a rare enough thing since the Cardinal's rise to power. The two men detest one another both personally and politically, and the Duke was once heard to denounce the Cardinal as a 'bloody-minded tyrant determined to play the puppet-master to our Sovereign.'
Montauban was stripped of all government posts, and rumour has it that the Cardinal is set on seizing his estates, titles, and other possessions as well, given half a chance.
Friday, February 12, 2021
The Powers that Be
HENRY IV
- Born December 13,1553, died May 14,1610
- Henry IV was the first King of France during the 17th Century, and was a powerful and heroic figure indeed. He was born Protestant, and was forced to fight a series of bitter civil wars with the hard-line Catholics of France for his crown.
Before he ascended to the throne in 1589, however, he became a Catholic, to assuage religious tensions. He continued, though, to have Protestant sympathies, and in 1598, he issued the Edict of Nantes, giving the Huguenots the right to worship as they wished, and protecting their rights under law. Most of the internal conflict subsided, also in 1598, and Henry IV led France into a period of prosperity and internal peace.
His powerful personality, leadership, and military ability made his country a political and military power in Europe. Henry IV was assassinated in 1610 by a Catholic fanatic.
Henry IV
MARIE DE MEDICI
- Born April 26, 1576
- Marie de' Medici, originally a scion of the powerful and rich ‘House of Medici’, was the Queen of France and the second wife of the King of France, Henry IV.
After King Henry IV was assassinated she was made the regent for her son Louis by the Parliament of Paris until the time he came of age. She was guided by Concino Concini in reversing the anti-Spanish policy implemented by King Henry IV. She, along with Concino, continued to govern ignoring and using the name of King Louis XIII even after he came of age.
She had strained relation with her son King Louis XIII for her endless political affiliations and even faced exile. She is noted for her remarkable artistic patronage, lavish and capacious building constructions that till date rank among some of the finest works in Paris.
Marie de Medici
LOUIS Xlll
- Born September 27, 1601
- King Louis Xlll was in many ways a bland and timid man, and although France advanced to greatness during his rule, this was chiefly due to his dependency on Richelieu, and his willingness to pass all matters of state over to the Cardinal. His father, Henry IV, was assassinated in 1610, and he became King at age 9. His mother, however ruled for him until 1614, and continued to dominate the government, with her favourite from her home of Florence, Concino Concini, until 1617.
Louis, finally, took on an advisor of his own, Charles d'Albert, who had Concini assassinated, and Marie de Medici's exiled to Blois with her first minister, Richelieu. This was the start of Louis' bad relations with his Italian Queen Mother. Before she was exiled, however, Marie managed to wed Louis to Anne of Austria, the proud young daughter of King Phillip I l l of Spain. This was a match which was never very popular with Louis himself.
While Marie was away from court, she attempted to incite two unsuccessful rebellions. Finally, in 1620, Richelieu brought Marie back to court, and reconciled mother and son, or, at least, established an uneasy truce. In 1621, Louis' favourite advisor, d'Albert, died, and he began to rely on Richelieu, although he still distrusted him. When the Huguenot uprisings took place, Louis fought in several battles, and with Richelieu's aid, established a strong France internally.
Wars continued, but Louis was a victim to ill health and depression, and Richelieu increased his hold on the government.
Louis XIII
QUEEN ANNE
- Born 22 September 1601
- In November 1615, Anne and Louis were married. They were both 14 years old.
Louis's mother, Marie de' Medici, continued to be the Queen of France. She did not discuss things with her daughter-in-law. Anne, with her Spanish ladies-in-waiting, continued to live according to Spanish custom. She failed to improve her French.
The duc de Luynes tried to make the queen and king closer. He sent away the Spanish ladies and hired French ones instead. He also organised court events that would bring the queen and king together more happily.
However, a number of 'wretched miscarriages' again made their relations cold. Louis angrily blamed her. Anne remained without a child for 16 more years.
Through his life Louis had a cool behaviour towards Anne. He was always fearful that his wife "had a great passion for the interests of Spain". In 1625 the English George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, shocked the French court by admitting his passion for Anne.
Anne of Austria
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