2.5.3. HEROES OF GLAMORIZED WAR

NOBLES' ELDEST SONS INHERIT THE LAND, TITLE AND FORTUNE, SECOND SONS ENTER THE CHURCH. DAUGHTERS REINFORCE THE CLAN BY USEFUL MARRIAGES OR JOIN A CONVENT.

The only honorable occupation for junior sons is war, where heroic deeds they can bring royal favor. 

• They wear armor in their portraits or are shown in a martial way to emphasize their stories:

Portrait of a Knight in Armor, 16th century (proposed for sale); Portrait of a Young General by Van Dyck, 1624 / zoom: Charles III, duke of Bourbon ( commissioned by Louis-Philippe from a copy, 1834) / zoom

Batons indicate command and curtains underscore grandeur.

 For the story of Marie-Louise de Montpensier, please click.

Mort [Death] du Connetable de Bourbon, print, 1527 / zoom

The Duke of Bourbon (portrait above) joins Spain and betrays the king. He is killed scaling a wall in the sack of Rome (in 1527).

        Design of the Funeral Monument to Henri II de Montmorency in Moulins by Michel Anguier, 17th century / zoom

He is beheaded for rebelling against Richelieu (in 1632).

Even in a painting that has nothing to do with fighting, the artist includes an idealized soldier in Roman military garb: please read on.

Saint Peter Preaches, Saint-Merri church in Paris, toward 1600 / zoom

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Their ethic of honor and loyalty are irrelevant to commerce, and they lose their privileges should they engage in it. In any case, most lack the capital to do so. A few find new sources of revenue, through figureheads or by slave-based estates in the West Indies... 

                  The Count of Vaudreuil by François-Hubert Drouais, 1758 / zoom

The red heel and the armor slip in to show noble status.

The count points to a map of Saint Domingo, where he owns a plantation and becomes  governor. 

...but most can only fight.

They back aggressive foreign policies

and 3000 join the American rebels.

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2.5.4.

Allegory, nobles' response to rising capitalists