Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis of Cinq-Mars

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Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis of Cinq-Mars (1620 - September 12, 1642) was a "favourite" of King Louis XIII of France who led the last and most nearly successful of the many conspiracies against the king's powerful first minister, the Cardinal Richelieu.

Cinq-Mars was the son of Marshal Antoine Coiffier-Ruzé, marquis d'Effiat, a close friend of Richelieu, who took the boy under his protection on his father's death in 1632.

In 1642, Louis had no "favourite" (a close friend, usually a lover at court, who usually had a major influence on the King's decisions). Richelieu had introduced the young Cinq-Mars to Louis, hoping Louis would take Cinq-Mars as a lover. The cardinal believed Cinq-Mars was easy to control. Instead, the marquis tried to convince the king to have Richelieu executed. Cinq-Mars brought some French nobility into revolt, but the effort failed, Richelieu had him imprisoned and then beheaded in Lyon, together with François de Thou.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Alfred de Vigny wrote a novel Cinq-Mars, inspired by the story of the marquis, and published in 1826. Charles Gounod created an opera of the same name on April 5, 1877.

For historical accounts, consult Basserie, La conjuration de Cinq-Mars, (Paris, 1896); Bazin, Histoire de France sous Louis XIII, (Paris, 1846).