Mathieu de Montmorency

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Mathieu Jean Felicité de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency-Laval (10 July 1767 – 24 March 1826) was a French statesman during the French Revolution and Bourbon Restoration. He was elected as the youngest member of the National Assembly in 1789. He is also known for his military expertise and his relation with Mme de Staël. When France became a republic, Montmorency turned into an ultra-royalist. Napoleon regarded him as a member of the Catholic opposition. During the Restoration, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Early years

Mathieu de Montomorency was born in

In 1788, Mathieu de Montmorency married his first cousin Hortense de Luynes. Despite being married he actually paid very little attention to his wife. Due to the very relaxed nature of marriages, he often was seen without his wife.[2] In actuality, Montmorency was madly in love with another cousin by the name of Marquise de Laval. When Laval died in Summer 1790, Montmorency went to a great depression.^[2] Madame de Stael brought Montmorency out of his depression since writing a series of letters to each other.

Career

Originally known by the title of Comte de Montmorency-Laval, Mathieu served as an adolescent with his father in the American War of Independence with Lafayette.^[1] America was a new nation that had built its nation on democracy and liberty. Montmorency is credited for bringing these new governmental ideas to France. He became the governor of the city and castle of Compiègne, from 1804 to 1809, and from 1812 to 1814.^[3]

Montmorency was a member of the noble class. The nobility had a very negative reputation, as they were known for being greedy and discourteous. However, Montmorency's actions began to change the way the nobility was viewed at the start of the revolution. He was extremely generous and showed great remorse to people, unlike others.^[2] His ultimate goal was to make the French people happy, while still preserving the nobility.

He was the deputy of

In 1803, he again joined the

References

• "Mathieu, Jean, Félicité de Montmorency-Laval - Base de données des députés français depuis 1789 - Assemblée nationale". www2.assemblee-nationale.fr.
• "Montmorency, Mathieu Jean Felicite de Mont-Morency-Laval". Encyclopedia Britannica. Chicago, IL. 2002.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Gautier, Paul (1908). Mathieu de Montmorency et Madame de Staël. Paris: Plon. pp. 1–42.
• Biographie des hommes vivants:... L.G. Michaud. 1818. p. 490.
• Staël, Anne Louise Germaine de (2012). Selected Correspondence. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 110.
  ISBN 978-94-011-4283-0
  .

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Montmorency, Mathieu Jean Félicité de Montmorency-Laval, Duc de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 788. Endnotes:
  • M. Vétillard, Notice sur la vie de M. le duc Mathieu de Montmorency (Le Mans, 1826)
  • P. Gautier, Mathieu de Montmorency et Mme de Staël, d'après les lettres inédites de M. de Montmorency à Mme Necker de Saussure (1908), for his curious relations with
    Mme de Staël
  • Madame de Boigne (Adélaïde d'Osmond) Mémoires: Récits d'une tante, Mercure de France, t.2

Further reading

• Fairweather, Maria (2013). Madame de Stael. Little, Brown Book Group. p. ~132.
  ISBN 978-1-4721-1330-6
  .