François de Balsac
Late 16th-century French governor and soldier / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
François de Balsac, seigneur d’Entragues (c. 1541 –c. 1613)[1] was a French noble, governor, military commander and courtier during the French Wars of Religion. Born into a prominent noble family from the Massif-Central, Entragues began his career serving as an officer in the company of the duke of Longueville. He caught the attention of the court, and was made lieutenant-general of the duchy of Orléans in 1568. This was shortly followed with specific authorities over the important city of Orléans in 1571. Unlike his two brothers Clermont and Dunes he was not a favourite of Henri III. He thus aligned with the duke of Guise and the Catholic ligue in the succession crisis that began in 1584 upon the death of the king's brother Alençon. When the ligue went to war with the king in 1585 in opposition to his chosen heir, his Protestant cousin Navarre, Entragues entered rebellion with them. Bringing the city of Orléans with him, he was at first driven back by royalist forces under the duke of Montpensier, holding off the duke with cannonades from the citadel, before returning to the offensive with an effort against Gien. This effort too was pushed aside by the royal favourite the duke of Épernon, however the war still concluded with a capitulation to the ligue.
François de Balsac | |
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seigneur d'Entragues | |
Born | c. 1541 |
Died | c. 1613 |
Noble family | Maison d'Entragues |
Spouse(s) | Jacqueline de Rohan (-1578) Marie Touchet (1578-1613) |
Issue | Charles de Balsac, seigneur d’Entragues César de Balsac, baron de Gié Charlotte-Catherine de Balsac Henriette-Catherine de Balsac Marie-Charlotte de Balsac |
Father | Guillaume de Balsac |
Mother | Louise d'Humières |
Henri was keen in the wake of the war to resecure the loyalties of the various nobles who had affiliated with the ligue. Épernon was tasked with bringing Entragues into the royalist fold, and with the assistance of Entragues' brother Entraguet and his poor financial state, succeeded in making him into a royalist. He attempted to support the king in the Estates General of 1588 with the selection of royalist deputies, but was outmanoeuvred by the ligueur elite of the city. After the assassination of the duke of Guise by the king, Henri was once more at war with the ligue. Orléans rose up in support of the ligue and Entragues was besieged in the citadel, forced from the city by the end of January 1589. In 1602 Entragues was once again drawn into Malcontent conspiracies, this time that of the duke of Biron, while initially able to avoid reprisals on the uncovering of the conspiracy, in 1605 information that severely compromised him was uncovered, and he was sentenced to death, though this would be annulled by the king in favour of house arrest.