Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc
Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc | |
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Marie Thérèse de Noailles |
Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc, duc de Vaujours, duc de La Vallière (9 October 1708 – 16 November 1780), was a French nobleman, bibliophile and military man. The present duc d'Uzès and duc de Luynes descend from him.
Family and childhood
Louis César was the son of Charles François de La Baume Le Blanc, marquis and then duc de La Vallière, and his wife, Marie Thérèse de Noailles, a daughter of
His father was a nephew of
When Louise de La Vallière left Versailles for a religious life after her displacement in the king's affections by
In 1727 at the early age of nineteen, Louis César was promoted to the rank of colonel of the regiment under the title of duc de La Vallière. In 1730, his father also gave him the duchy of Vaujours. With this new title came the rank of pair de France. Even though his father officially gave up the duchy in 1732, he was still styled at court as the duc de Vaujours.
Adulthood
In 1732, Louis César married Jeanne Julie Françoise de Crussol d'Uzès, the daughter of Charles Emmanuel de Crussol (1743–1815) and his wife, Emilie de La Rochefoucauld. His wife was a member of the
Upon his father's death in 1739, Louis César became the new duc de La Vallière and was made the governor of Bourbonnais. In addition, he inherited the Château de Champs-sur-Marne. Around 1750, he added a beautiful rococo salon chinois (Chinese salon) to the château with wall paintings by noted artist Christophe Huet. The property had been given to his father by his cousin, the princesse de Conti, in 1718 in order to settle some debts. At the château, Louis César entertained many of the famous writers of the day, including Diderot, Voltaire, d'Alembert and François-Augustin de Paradis de Moncrif, with whom he also corresponded regularly.
Monsieur de La Vallière was also created the Captain of the Hunt by
After the construction of a magnificent new château at
Louis César was one of the greatest bibliophiles of his time. With the assistance of his librarian, the abbé Rive, he bought entire libraries and sold whatever he already had. His great library was eventually sold in three stages, first in 1767; then in 1783 and again in 1788. Part of the famous collection was acquired by the
The duke also wrote two books: Ballets, opera, et autres ouvrages lyriques (1760) and the Bibliothèque du Théâtre-Français (1768, 3 vol. in-12). The latter was edited by Barthélemy Mercier de Saint-Léger.
Issue
Louis César and his wife, Jeanne Julie Françoise de Crussol d'Uzès, had only one child, a daughter. As the duchy of La Vallière had previously been held by several women, including Louise de La Vallière and her daughter, the princesse de Conti, his daughter was able to inherit the title. On her death, however, the title became extinct.
- Adrienne Emilie Félicité de La Baume Le Blanc[1] (29 September 1740 – 15 May 1812), duchesse de Châtillon et de La Vallière, dame de Wideville, married 4 April 1756 to Louis Gaucher, duc de Châtillon, and had issue.
Ancestry
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Sources
- Cardinal Georges Grente (dir.), Dictionnaire des lettres françaises. Le XVIIIe siècle, nlle. édition revue et mise à jour sous la direction de François Moureau, Paris, Fayard, 1995
- Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc, duc de La Vallière », dans Gustave Vapereau, Dictionnaire universel des littératures, Paris, Hachette, 1876, 2 volumes
- Dominique Coq, « Le parangon du bibliophile français : le duc de La Vallière et sa collection », dans : Histoire des bibliothèques françaises, Cl. Jolly dir., Paris, Promodis Cercle de la Librairie, 1988
References
External links
- Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc on data.bnf.fr