Who doesn’t know Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and of course d’Artagnan, the adventurous and headstrong heroes of Alexandre Dumas’ novels? But who knows that they existed? I didn’t. I stumbled across this fact by accident, and it caught my attention. After doing some research, I found out that the musketeers are well-known in France, of course, and there are quite a few leads to figure out where they came from.
They are more popular in the Southwest of France, their homeland. There is a larger-than-life statue of d’Artagnan on the staircase in Auch. In Lupiac an equestrian statue in the village square honors the famous countryman, and in front of the Cathedral Saint-Pierre in Condom, the four musketeers are immortalized together.
The places where the real musketeers lived, about four hundred years ago, were not hard to find because back then, people often carried their roots in their name. Usually, they were named after their birthplaces or family estates. I just had to follow the names and some other useful sources. It’s all there in the old land of Béarn, and the French Basque Country (Pays Basque) at the foothills of the Pyrenees. As well as in a region in the heart of Gascony (Gascogne), called Armagnac.
After my research, I planned a trip to Southwest France. A lovely B&B in Pau was my headquarters for five nights, from where I explored the land of the musketeers with my camera.
THE KING
Pau is the place to start understanding the history of the musketeers. Henri IV, king of Navarre and later of France, was born 1553 in Pau. At that time, it was the capital of Basse-Navarre (the French Basque Country). After the southern part of Navarre was conquered by the Spanish Kingdom of Aragón, south of the Pyrenees, Basse-Navarre remained. This part was administered with the then province of Béarn, and Pau became the new residence of the ruling Albret family. Navarre, although united with the French crown in 1620, kept its independence and special rights until the French Revolution. Today it is part of the department (district) Pyrénées-Atlantique.
During the French religious wars between Catholics and Huguenots (French Protestants), Navarre became a refuge for Huguenots because of Henri’s grandmother Marguerite de Navarre (sister of the French king Francis I), and his mother Jeanne d’Albret. Henri IV was the only Protestant king in French history, although he eventually had to convert to Catholicism to secure his power.
Under his rule for over twenty years, France experienced stability and economic prosperity. Infrastructure was improved, and agriculture and administration were reformed. The increased focus on the rural population earned Henri IV the strong adoration of his countrymen. He also secured basic and civil rights for French Protestants and a degree of religious tolerance, which ended the religious wars. After Henri IV became king of France, many of his compatriots from Basse-Navarre and Béarn came to Paris, proud to serve their king. In 1610, Henry IV was murdered by a fanatic Catholic in Paris.
Henri IV was the first to establish a company of soldiers, a royal guard, for his protection. He founded a troop of guardsmen on horseback who were armed with light rifles (carabiners).
In 1622, his son Louis XIII decided to create a new company and equipped them with more modern rifles, the so-called muskets (mousquets). The company was named after the rifles it carried: the musketeers of the royal guard (la compagnie des mousquetaires du roi).
The musketeers were part of the king's royal guard who accompanied him whenever he left the palace and was outside. Inside the palace, there was another guard, the so-called palace guard. In times of peace, the company escorted the king on his travels, and in times of war, they accompanied him into battle. After Louis XIII had died, the company was dissolved and had been revived under his son Louis XIV in 1657.
THE CAPTAIN
A man who also appears in Dumas' novel is Monsieur de Tréville, the captain of the musketeers. In real life, he was born in 1598 as Jean-Arnaud du Peyré Comte de Troisville in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, a town about 30 km southwest of Pau. The family house in Pau, Hôtel de Peyré, is opposite the castle's entrance, straight over the bridge. The family seemed to have some importance in Pau.
Troisville joined the military in 1622 and in 1634, after a remarkable career in the French Royal Army, he became captain of the company of the musketeers, under Louis XIII. The headquarters of the company in Paris, Hôtel de M. Troisville, was in the district of Saint-Germain near the church of Saint-Sulpice on the other side of the river Seine, opposite the Louvre.
When the Musketeers were formed, a man from Languedoc, a province in southern France bordering Gascony, was appointed captain. He preferred to select men from the southwest of France for the company. These young men, proud of their heritage, were spirited, swashbuckling, and sometimes boastful, but loyal from the bottom of their hearts. They spoke poor French, for their mother tongue was Occitan, had strange-sounding names, and they stuck firmly together. Perhaps it was their reputation for being brave and courageous, or it was the adoration for Henri IV, of whom his compatriots of the South were proud long after his death. The reasons are not exactly known, but this tradition was kept and continued by his successors, like Troisville.
Troisville was always loyal to the King and after the King's death, his loyalty was to Anne of Austria, widow of Louis XIII and mother of Louis XIV. However, his dislike of Cardinal Richelieu and his successor Cardinal Mazarin cost him his position as captain of the musketeers. After the death of Louis XIII, the company of the musketeers lost its protection and was dismantled in 1646 by Cardinal Mazarin after Troisville refused to resign from his post. Finally removed from his charges, Troisville returned home and became governor of Foix, a province next to Béarn. From 1660 to 1663, he had Eliçabéa Castle built in Trois-Villes, where he lived until he died in 1673.
The village of Trois-Villes is located in Soule, a region in the French Basque Country. The dark red shutters and wooden beams of the houses are an architectural feature of this region. It is therefore immediately noticeable when you cross the invisible border and enter the Basque Country.
ARAMIS
Just 16 km east of Trois-Villes in the Vallée de Barétous lies another small village called Aramitz. By the name, you can already guess whose home it was. Right, Aramis, with full name Henri d’Aramitz was born there in 1620. His parents owned a lay abbey, which had arisen due to Protestantism in the area. His grandfather was Pierre d’Aramitz, a Huguenot and a captain in the military during the French religious wars in the sixteenth century. Pierre d’Aramitz was also the grandfather of Monsieur de Tréville, on his mother’s side. So, Aramis and Monsieur de Tréville were first cousins. This was certainly very useful in faraway Paris, where Aramis arrived around 1640 to join the company of musketeers until 1646. He came back to Béarn when the company was dissolved and married in 1650. It is believed that Aramis was involved in the Fronde, political uprisings between 1648 and 1653, directed, among others, against Cardinal Mazarin.
From the former property of the Aramitz family, only the archway is left. The decrepit house was demolished in 1980. In the archway, an information board remembers the famous musketeer.
PORTHOS
Still in the Vallée de Barétous between Aramitz and Trois-Villes is Lanne-en-Barétous. Here, Porthos enjoyed spending his later years.
He was born Isaac du Portau in 1617, also in Pau but grew up in Camptort, a family estate northeast of Navarrenx, which lies around 50 km east of Pau. He came from old Protestant Béarnaise families on both sides and was related to Aramis on his mother’s side.
Porthos’ father became a secretary and royal advisor of Béarn in 1606 and traveled several times to Paris when Henri IV was king of France and Navarre. Porthos’ elder brother, Jean du Portau, followed in his father's footsteps and became a secretary of Navarre. Later, he became controller of the artillery of the fortress of Navarrenx. Porthos on the other hand chose the military. He probably went to Paris in 1640 and joined the company of the musketeers in 1642. Around 1650 he returned to his homeland and was given a post as a guard of the ammunition depot of the fortress of Navarrenx, which he certainly owed to the influence of his brother. Often such positions were given to men who were incapacitated by wounds so that they could stay in the military, as a retirement benefit.
ATHOS
Around 50 km east of Navarrenx is the village Athos-Aspis. Exactly, that is the place where Athos was born around 1615 as Armand de Sillègue d’Athos et d’Auteville. He came from an old Béarnaise merchant family with roots in Sillègue, a family estate in the French Basque Country, south of Sauveterre-de-Béarn. Athos’ mother, Nicole de Peyré, was a first cousin of Monsieur de Tréville. As a younger son of the family, Athos chose the military and came as well to Paris in 1640 to join the company of the musketeers. Again, the family relation to Monsieur de Tréville probably helped here. Unfortunately, Athos died too young. An entry of December 21st, 1643, in the church registry of Saint-Sulpice in Paris proves that he died near the Pré-aux-clercs. These meadows behind the monastery Saint-Germain were a well-known place where forbidden duels took place. So, it is assumed that Athos died during a duel. The monastery and the church were located near the musketeers' headquarters, Hôtel de M. Tréville. The family had estates in Athos-Aspis and Auteville, but none of these houses do exist anymore. The house in Athos-Aspis burned down in 1943 and only some walls are left. A plaque still remembers it.
D’ARTAGNAN
To explore the home country of d’Artagnan one must drive 40 km north of Pau. This region is called Armagnac, famous for its brandy, and lies in the heart of the Gascony, today’s department (district) Gers. There is a small town called Lupiac where d’Artagnan’s father, Bertrand de Batz de Castelmore, was a merchant. Today there is a statue in the village square as well as a museum to remember the famous son of the region. If in Paris d’Artagnan sits at the feet of Alexandre Dumas as his dazzling novel hero, the monuments in Gascony, however, stand for the man whose real life was no less adventurous.
Just a few kilometers north of Lupiac the family had two estates, La Plange and Castlemore. In the manor of Castelmore d’Artagnan was born around 1615 as Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan.
The name d’Artagnan came from his mother’s side, Françoise de Montesquieu d’Artagnan, who came from an influential family in the region. The small villages Montesquieu and Artagnan are around 20 km and 40 km east and south of Lupiac.
The Montesquieu family seemed to have a long tradition of military service. Young men at that time often owed their entry into one of the royal military companies to the influence of their families. So, it was not surprising that the name d’Artagnan opened more doors than the name Batz de Castelmore. Therefore, the young d’Artagnan used his mother's name to gain a foothold in Paris.
D’Artagnan served as a musketeer under Louis XIII. Unlike Tréville and probably some other young men from Béarn, d’Artagnan was loyal to Cardinal Mazarin and started a successful career. After Cardinal Mazarin disbanded the company of the musketeers in 1646, d’Artagnan was appointed a courier to fulfill official missions as well as secret missions as a messenger, but also as a diplomat.
When Louis XIII died, Louis XIV, his son, and successor was still a child and political turmoil broke out, because Anna of Austria, the mother of Louis XIV, was ruling for him under the strong influence of Cardinal Mazarin. D’Artagnan was one of the child king’s closest protectors, and throughout his life, he had the absolute trust of Louis XIV. Therefore, d’Artagnan was not just fighting in wars, but also in internal political power battles. He was one of the opponents of the Fonde, political uprisings among others, against Cardinal Mazarin, while Amaris probably fought against him. In 1657 d’Artagnan became captain of the musketeers when the company got reinstated under Louis XIV and he made sure that they got their recognition and admiration back.
For his whole adult life, d’Artagnan served and fought for king and country, and so he died on the battlefield during the siege of Maastricht in 1673. A bullet severely wounded his throat, but before he died, he was honored with the title Marshal of France.
What made the musketeers so special, even long before Dumas’ novels? Well, it was a tradition to recruit most young men from the south of France, like Gascony, Béarn, or Languedoc. They were deeply rooted in their homeland, proud, loud, and bold, spoke French poorly, and got into fights quickly to defend their honor. But they were also brave men taking risks at dangerous maneuvers during battles. Escorting the king into war, with their agility and speed, they were particularly maneuverable and therefore given special assignments. They quickly gained attention due to their remarkably reckless appearance. Soon they were leading attacks in battle, which was very risky. The pride and prestige of the company increased and within a short time, they were in the favor of the king and became popular at the French court.
So, where did Alexandre Dumas, almost two hundred years later, get the idea for his novels about the musketeers? While researching Louis XIII in the library of Marseille, he found an old book called the "Memoires de Monsieur d'Artagnan" by a certain Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras, published in 1700. De Sandras served under d’Artagnan in the company of the musketeers and later became a journalist and writer. Obviously fascinated, Dumas used these characters for his novels and shifted the story a little bit in time, but he conducted no further research on the three men called Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. In the "Memoires", de Sandras described the three as brothers. In reality, they were cousins.
In the end, I had an unforgettable journey walking through the small towns and villages of Southwest France. In the old alleys with winding houses in the midday sun, I hardly encountered a single person. Here, history suddenly felt alive. It is very easy to feel transported back centuries amid this landscape with old manors and small castles. Little villages like Montesquiou lie dreamy in the sunlight, and ancient towns like Sauveterre-de-Béarn tell of legends. When I walked past the former barracks of Navarrenx, I thought I could hear commands and saber-rattling in the silence. In Auch, in the heart of the historic city center, the impressive Sainte-Marie Cathedral proudly thrones over the town, while d’Artagnan stands self-confident on the stairs below, and the majestic city of Pau still gives a glimpse of the long-gone glory of the kingdom of Navarre.
SOURCES
Books
"Mémoires de M. d'Artagnen", Gatien de Courtliz de Sandras (1700), Éric W. Mercier, Press d’Aubin Maître;
Poitiers, 1967
"Die Drei Musketiere", Alexandre Dumas, Deutscher Bücherbund GmbH & Co, Stuttgart München, 1990
" Triosvilles, D'Artagnan et Les Trois Mousquetaires: études biographiques et héraldiques", Jean de Jaurgain,
Paris, H. Champion, 1910
"D'Artagnan, captaine des mousquetaires du roi: histoire véridique d'un héros de roman", Charles Samaran,
Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 1912
"D'Artagnan – Biographie du Capitaine-Lieutenant des Grans Mousquetaires du Roy", Odile Bordaz,
Balzac Éditeur, 2001
"Sur les chemins de d'Artagnan et des Mousquetaires", Odile Bordaz, Balzac Éditeur, 2005
"The Four Musketeers", Kari Maund, Phil Nanson, 2005
"Les Cadets de Gascogne" une histoire turbulente", Véronique Larcade, Éditions SudOuest, 2005
Web
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