Bernard de Nogaret, seigneur de La Valette (1553 – 11 February 1592) was a French governor, military officer, favourite, courtier and statesman during the latter French Wars of Religion. The eldest son of Jean de Nogaret and Jeanne de Saint-Lary, La Valette was born into a provincial noble family on the rise, his father elevating himself to lieutenant-general of Guyenne during his lifetime. La Valette received his first military service in 1570 under his father at Arnay-le-Duc before being introduced to the future king Henri III at the siege of La Rochelle in 1573. Unlike many other favourites of Henri, the Nogaret family would become close to the king late, and it was not until 1579 that La Valette began to enjoy the fruits of favour, when upon the death of Marshal Bellegarde Henri selected him to assume the governorship over Saluzzo and French Piedmont. By 1580, La Valette was among those in the king's inner circle with whom he travelled on private retreats. In 1582 he became Chambellan to the king, and then a member of the exclusive conseil des affaires. Henri planned further advancement for him with receipt of the provincial governate of the Lyonnais, however this would not materialise. In 1584 the king's brother Alençon died, and the prospective succession of the Protestant Navarre motivated the reformation of the Catholic ligue which successfully forced Henri to renounce Navarre's succession and make war on Protestantism. La Valette was established in Dauphiné to lead the fight against the Protestant commander Lesdiguières. The lieutenant-general of Dauphiné Maugiron allied with him in this fight, and resigned his charge as lieutenant-general to him in 1587.
That year the duke of Joyeuse was killed at Coutras, and La Valette's younger brother Épernon became governor of Normandie. Thereafter he ceded his authority as governor of Provence to La Valette, though La Valette would not formally assume the charge of governor until 1590. Bellegarde would also be killed during the battle, and La Valette became maître de camp of the light cavalry. The disgrace of Épernon and La Valette had by now become central objectives to the ligue, and after the humiliation of the king during the Day of the Barricades, he was compelled to disgrace Épernon by the ligueurs. Épernon agreed to cede his authority as governor of Provence and Admiral to his brother, and was replaced as governor of Normandie by the duke of Montpensier. Around this time La Valette entered alliance with his former enemy, Lesdiguières to protect his families position in Provence. In September, while the Estates General of 1588, another concession to the ligue, was in session, the duke of Savoie invaded and occupied Saluzzo with little resistance. At the Estates, Guise moved to have Épernon and La Valette declared heretics in league with Navarre, however this failed. This humiliating attempt however further convinced Henri of the necessity to assassinate the duke of Guise. With the duke killed much of France rebelled against Henri, including the major cities of Provence. The duke of Savoie allied with the ligue for an invasion of France proper, and had considerable success despite losing a battle to La Valette and Lesdiguières. Shortly before the Estates General closed, it compelled Henri to divest La Valette of the office of Admiral, which he ceded to Beauvais-Nangis in February. On 2 January 1590, Navarre, now styled Henri IV after the murder of Henri III appointed La Valette formally as governor of Provence. He would die on 11 February 1592 of wounds sustained while besieging the ligueur held town of Roquebrune.
Early life and family Parents and siblings
Bernard de Nogaret was born in 1553 the eldest son of Jean de Nogaret and Jeanne de Saint-Lary. Jean brought the noble family up from a situation of relative poverty to prominence, serving as maître de camp of the royal light cavalry, and then being named lieutenant-general of Guyenne in 1574, one year before his death. His mother Jeanne meanwhile was the sister of Marshal Thermes and daughter of Pierre de Saint-Lary the lieutenant-general of Comminges. His younger brother Jean Louis de Nogaret, known as 'Caumont' prior to 1582 would become a paramount favourite of Henri III. He also had three sisters, all younger: Catherine de Nogaret, Hélène de Nogaret and Anne-Marie de Nogaret.
The Nogaret family were relatively recent arrivals to nobility, having been ennobled in the latter parts of the fourteenth century. They would claim more prestigious origins, asserting that they were the descendants of the chancellor of Philippe IV, Guillaume de Nogaret, however this is unproven.
Early years The early years of Bernard's life were spent at the family seat of Caumont.
After some years, Bernard and Jean-Louis were dispatched by their father to Paris, where they studied at the Collège de Navarre from 1567 before military events terminated their education. The family lands having been devastated by Protestant forces in early 1570, Jean called both of them back to provide him military support. The two would serve under their father at the Battle of Arney-le-Duc that year.
Marriage On 13 February 1582, La Valette was married to Anne de Batarnay, aunt of the king's other paramount favourite Joyeuse. The marriage contract had been drawn up only two days prior. By this means Henri sought to tie together the network of favourites that he had built around himself, however his two chief favourites would remain rivals. On the occasion of the marriage, the king awarded him a gift of 200,000 livres, the payment of which was staggered over the next years. Anne received a gift of 100,000 livres concurrently, which the family quickly converted into land purchases.
Henri had decided on the marriage at the same time as he arranged the marriage of Henri de Batarnay, comte de Bouchage to Catherine de Nogaret. At the ceremony itself Henri took the place of the brides father, as Anne's father had died 2 years previously. Anne received jewels from Catherine de' Medici, presented to her at the wedding by madame de Combault. The newlyweds were escorted to bed by Henri, Louise de Lorraine, his queen and Catherine. Henri greeted them again the following morning while they were resting. Contemporaries were surprised at the 'relative modesty' of the ceremony, in contrast with the grandeur that would accompany Joyeuse's.
Bernard and Anne would have a very close marriage despite the great difference in their respective ages. Bernard wrote in letters of his 'dear lover', meanwhile Anne fretted when Bernard was out on campaign that some harm might come of him. Anne would predecease her husband by a year, dying in 1591.
Reign of Charles IX
La Valette and his brother were present at the siege of La Rochelle in 1573, the crown having dispatched the brother to the king, Anjou to lead the siege effort in the hopes of bringing the city back into obedience. At the siege the two brothers were introduced to Anjou by the duke of Guise. The family would however get off to a poor start with the future king, due to the relationship Caumont had established with the Protestant king of Navarre, a distant cousin of Charles IX and the first prince of the blood.
Reign of Henri III
Charles IX was sickly, and died in 1574 without heir, leaving his brother Anjou, now styled Henri III to succeed him as king.
In 1575 the two brothers continued their military education with their father. Both served in his company, La Valette as a man at arms, and Caumont as an archer. He would receive appointment as a gentilhomme ordinaire de la chambre du roi in 1579.
Saluzzo Marshal Bellegarde, the disgraced former favourite of Henri, and governor of Saluzzo died on 20 December 1579. This left the governate of the important border territory vacant, though he had a son Bellegarde who wished to succeed him to the office. Henri however preferred to grant the governate to La Valette. To achieve this negotiations had to be undertaken with the young Bellegarde to consent to the loss of the governorship from his family. La Valette had been involved in the negotiations between the crown of France and the duke of Savoie over the rebellious Marshal Bellegarde in the previous year.
Bellegarde took a great deal of time to dislodge from Saluzzo, and negotiations were led by Marshal Retz and Jacques de La Fin. They eventually succeeded by deceiving Bellegarde into believing that the governorship was to be given to the king's brother Alençon who would surely devolve authority over the region to Bellegarde while he attended to other affairs. Bellegarde was also granted the office of maître de camp for the light cavalry as compensation. By this means Bellegarde was removed in February 1581.
While negotiations over Saluzzo were ongoing, La Valette was established as governor of the rest of French Piedmont in 1580, granting him authority over the few remaining possession of France in the region. As of 1574, France had ceded Pinerolo, Savigliano, La Pérouse, Labayye and Gevolle to the duke of Savoie. This left La Valette with Carmagnola, Ravel and Centallo. In his capacity as governor, La Valette selected sieur de Laffitte to represent him as his lieutenant-general in the region. Governing French Piedmont was an expensive responsibility for La Valette, as the location of the towns on France's border necessitated large garrisons. In total La Valette would devote 137,000 livres a year to the garrisoning of the territory. Regardless it would be a simpler government for La Valette than the great governates such as Dauphiné or Provence, as with the frontier nature of the towns under his authority there was no need for him to balance his authority against that of local noble interests.
Favour By 1580, La Valette was among those close enough to Henri's intimate circle, that when the king retired from court in February to Saint-Germain, he brought with him his favourites D'O and Anne de Joyeuse, the captain of his guard Châteauvieux and La Valette. He would again be with the king in a retreat during Autumn. During these absences from the administrative responsibilities of state, Henri and the group attended various balls. When Henri visited the ill Joyeuse in May 1581, La Valette accompanied him to Montrésor.
In November 1581, La Valette's brother Caumont was created duke of Épernon by Henri. At this time he was granted the key governorship of the Three Bishoprics, which controlled much of France's border with the Empire. That same year, La Valette was established as the captain of a hundred men-at-arms. The following year Épernon and Joyeuse were made premier gentilhomme de la chambre, this freed up the offices they had held previously of Chambellan, which they resigned to their brothers. Joyeuse resigning his charge to Bouchage, while Épernon provided his to La Valette. La Valette would remain as Chambellan for a year, before letting the office lapse.
In January 1582, La Valette joined the exclusive conseil des affaires which had only eight members and set the policy agenda of the state. The other members were his brother Épernon, Joyeuse and his brother Bouchage, Villequier and Marshal Retz, alongside three administrative nobles.
Southern affairs