Procession, service and interment of the defunct Armand Athos dautubiele, musketeer of the king’s guard, gentleman of Bearn, taken close to the market of Pré-aux-Clercs.
So reads
an entry found in the mortuary register of the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris
and dated 22 December 1643. One short sentence to round off a life.
The entry was discovered by Auguste Jal, the
historian, archivist, writer and art critic, who reproduced it in his Dictionnaire
critique de biographie et d'histoire (1st ed. 1867). As succinct
as it is, the entry nevertheless reveals something about the man who was buried
that day.
In the first instance, it gives his name as Armand Athos dautebiele. Autebiele is the Béarnais form of Autevielle, and the man referred to here is Armand de Sillègue d’Athos d’Autevielle, to give him his full name. This is the man upon whom Alexandre Dumas based his character, Athos.
As can be seen, Armand is associated with
three places, all of which are situated in today’s département of
Pyrénées-Atlantiques: Sillègue, now known as Arbérats-Sillègue; Athos, today’s
Athos-Aspis and Autevielle, or Autevielle-Saint-Martin-Bideren to use its
modern name. This cluster of three villages comprise farmland lying to the south-west
of Salies-de-Béarn along the gave d’Oloron and all three had belonged to
Athos’s family since the fifteenth century.
Although his precise date of birth is not
known, Armand came into the world at some point between 1615 and 1620, the son
of Adrien de Sillèque d’Athos, seigneur d’Autevielle. His mother was the
demoiselle N. de Peyré. Her given name is not known for certain, but she was a
lady from a noble family of the Oloron valley. The demoiselle de Payré was
first cousin to the comte de Troisvilles, or Captain de Treville as he appears in
The Three Musketeers. Since it was not at all uncommon for serving
Musketeers to assist younger family members to join the company, it is very possible
that this connection aided the young Armand as he embarked on his military
career.
As it was, Armand entered the Musketeers shortly
after May 1640. Nothing is known about his service or what rank he achieved. Indeed,
the only firm piece of evidence relating to him is the mortuary register, which
shows that he was buried on 22 December 1643, having died the previous day.
The next item to note is that Armand is
described as a Musketeer of the King’s Guard. Since he entered the Musketeers
in 1640 and died in 1643, he would have served under two kings: Louis XIII, who
had founded the Musketeers in 1622, and Louis XIV, who acceded to the throne
upon the death of his father in May 1642. While Louis XIV would make several
significant changes to the Musketeers in terms of service, lodgings and uniform
among other things, these reforms were still many years in the future. As a
Musketeer, Armand would have been physically fit, strong and capable of
thinking on his feet. He would have been given military training, including
rigorous drills and parades. This built upon the education he received as a
child growing up in the country, which would have including learning to ride
and to handle a sword. These essential skills were improved upon and practised
once he was recruited into the Musketeers.
Armand is also described as a gentleman of
Béarn. Indeed, as shown by the spelling of his name, dautebiele, as
recorded in the register, it can be accepted that he and his associates spoke
with a discernible Béarnais accent. Gentilhomme simply referred to a man
born into a noble family.
As it was, Armand was the second son, meaning
that, under the laws of the period, he would not inherit the titles, estates
and any fortune the family might have. These would go, instead, to the eldest
brother. As such, Armand would be obliged to make his own way in the world. His
status, however, limited his choice of occupation. Under the law as well as the
rules of society, there were only two professions open to him: the church or the
military. As a relative of the comte de Troisvilles, he may have been encouraged
to choose the latter, and this association, as previously noted, would have
assisted him in this endeavour.
The mortuary entry goes on to state that Armand was found dead near the market of Pré-aux-Clercs. The wording is quite precise, specifying that he was ‘taken,’ which suggests an unexpected death, perhaps a violent one. This, and the laconic nature of the entry, strongly hints that Armand died as a result of a duel.
The Pré-aux-Clercs was a popular area for duelling. This practice had arisen during the mediaeval period, with young men settling their differences by the sword. Such differences were almost always personal, usually being matters of pride, and were often trivial. The slightest provocation, such as a slur or even a ‘wrong’ glance could result in anger that only a duel could assuage.
The practice of duelling, however, was disapproved of by the authorities. The Church, in particular, condemned it because it wasted the lives of so many young men. It has been estimated that some 10,000 might have died this way in the twenty years between 1588 and 1608. The first Bourbon king, Henri IV, forbade duelling by an edict issued in 1609, but this was largely ignored, and the practice continued much as it had before. It was not until Henri’s son and successor, Louis XIII, ascended to the throne that the law was revisited. In 1626, ten years after his accession, Louis issued a fresh edict outlawing the practice. Now, anyone caught duelling would lose not only his commission in the royal service but his pension as well. Sometimes, the penalty was much worse.
On the day this new edict was published, 24 March 1626, one François de Montmorency, comte de Bouteville, ignoring the new law, took part in a duel. In this instance, it played out on a busy thoroughfare, and many people were witnesses to it. The veteran of some twenty duels, Bouteville was arrested, condemned and beheaded. Such harsh treatment, over and above the prescribed punishment given in the edict, was meant to serve as a stern warning. Despite this, duels continued to take place, but now they were held in secluded areas, far away from prying eyes.
Prior to this, the near-contemporary author, Gatien de Courtiltz de Sandras, mentions the Pré-aux-Clercs in his pseudo memoir, Mémoires de M. d’Artagnan. Here, he rightly notes that the meadow was a favourite meeting spot for duellists, but it also came to be used by Musketeers for drills.
That Armand was found ‘near’ the Pre-aux-Clercs suggests that the duel might have spilled into the surrounding areas. Alternatively, he might have been set upon either on the way to the duel or, having survived it, as he was leaving the area. Since the wording of the register is vague as to the precise whereabouts, it is impossible to say in which street he might have died.
Armand was carried to the nearby church of Saint-Sulpice, where he was buried. His interment is recorded in the church’s mortuary register, dated 22 December 1643. Given the slow speed at which news travelled and the distance between Paris and the Béarnais village of Athos, his family home, Armand would have been dead and buried before his family received the news of their loss.
Armand de Sillègue d’Athos d’Autevielle, Musketeer of the King’s Guard and gentleman of Béarn died very young, and almost certainly as a result of a duel. Unlike his beloved fictional counterpart, made so famous by Alexandre Dumas, the historical Athos would not live into old age. Instead, he died at no more than twenty-eight years old, after a mere three and a half years in royal service.
This, then, is what can be gleaned from a laconic entry hidden in the mortuary register at Saint-Sulpice. Had it not been for Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras and, after him, Alexandre Dumas, the memory of this young Musketeer would, in all probability, have been lost to time.
