Gabriel Montgomery

Gabriel Montgomery, Count (ca 1530 - 1574 in Paris) Scotch captain of the Scottish Guard of the King Henry II of France, who killed the King in a freak jousting accident.

Related Topics:
1530 - 1574 - Paris - Scottish - Henry II of France

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On July 1, 1559, during a match to celebrate a peace treaty between Henry II and his longtime enemies, the Habsburgs of Austria and to celebrate the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth to King Philip II of Spain, King Henry's eye was pierced by a sliver that penetrated the brain, from the shattered lance of Count Montgomery. He was absolved of any blame by Henry on his deathbed.

Related Topics:
July 1 - 1559 - Habsburgs - Philip II

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Montgomery later converted to Protestantism and was one of Coligny's most able commanders.

Related Topics:
Protestantism - Coligny

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He was one of the few refugees to survive the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre: nervous after the attempt to murder his mentor, he had wisely withdrawn from the city and was warned by a wounded Huguenot who swam the Seine to warn him.

Related Topics:
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre - Huguenot - Seine

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A price was put on his head, and bounty hunters chased him all the way to England. Catherine de Medici repeatedly requested his extradition. Queen Elizabeth I replied, "Tell the Queen Mother that I will not act as France's executioner."

Related Topics:
Catherine de Medici - Queen Elizabeth I

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Catherine seized her prize a few years later when Montgomery was captured after leading a failed insurrection in Normandy. He was sentenced to death.

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Waiting on the scaffold, Montgomery was informed that by royal edict, his property would be confiscated and his children deprived of their titles. The Scottish captain told his executioners, "Tell my children that if they have not the ability to restore what was taken away, then I damn them from the grave."

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A fictionalized version of the Montgomery story is told in the Alexandre Dumas, père novel The Two Dianas.

Related Topics:
Alexandre Dumas, père - The Two Dianas

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