Historical Figure
Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan
d. 1673
French captain of musketeers (1611–1673)
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Biography
Charles de Batz de Castelmore, also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan, was a French musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalised account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of Alexandre Dumas père, most famously including The Three Musketeers (1844). The heavily fictionalised version of d'Artagnan featured in Dumas' works and their subsequent screen adaptations is now far more widely known than the real historical figure.
Timeline
The story of Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan, told in moments.
Born at the Chateau de Castelmore near Lupiac in Gascony, France. His father was the son of a newly ennobled merchant. He took his mother's more distinguished name, d'Artagnan, when he left for Paris.
Entered the Musketeers in Paris through the influence of his uncle. Served under Captain des Essarts and saw action at multiple sieges in the early 1640s.
After years as Cardinal Mazarin's agent and spy, King Louis XIV made him captain-lieutenant of the Musketeers of the Guard. He arrested Nicolas Fouquet, the powerful finance minister, on the king's orders.
Killed at the Siege of Maastricht during the Franco-Dutch War. Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, published in 1844, made a heavily fictionalized version of him world-famous.
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