Posted on 11/16/2008 8:57:19 AM PST by BGHater
PARIS - A five-year quest to locate the tomb of d'Artagnan -- the inspiration for Alexandre Dumas's novel The Three Musketeers -- has led to a small Dutch church where new research suggests the swashbuckling hero is buried.
Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan died during the Siege of Maastricht on June 25, 1673, and, according to a leading French historian, was laid to rest only few kilometres away at Saint Peter and Paul Church in Wolder.
"The trail is very precise," said Odile Bordaz, the author of several works on the musketeer.
Ms. Bordaz discounted theories that d'Artagnan's body was brought back to France, and is pressing the Dutch authorities and the Catholic Church to approve an archaeological dig of the site.
"I would rate the chance of success at 50/50," she said. "But it would be wonderful to find him. It's like a police inquiry."
Dumas wrote The Three Musketeers in 1844 after reading about d'Artagnan's exploits in Les Memoires de Monsieur d'Artagnan, which was published almost 150 years earlier. Although he brought the action forward by 15 years and invented much of the storyline, the main characters are rooted in history.
D'Artagnan was born in southwestern France between 1611 and 1615 and became a member of the King's musketeers by the age of 20. Athos, Porthos and Aramis were among his comrades. He engaged in cloak-and-dagger operations for Louis XIII and then for Louis XIV, the Sun King, who appointed him to lead the musketeers in 1658.
Ms. Bordaz said that his reputation as a lady-killer was justified: "The musketeers and their officers led joyous lives and multiple conquests not only on the battlefield but also in the secret of the alcoves."
(Excerpt) Read more at canada.com ...
History, brave French guy ping.
If he was buried in the Netherlands, does that mean he was a Huguenot?
My favorite D’Artagnan was Michael York.
My first thought, too. Almost certainly not, since he was serving a Catholic Monarch during the Seventh Century. A good number of Huguenots lived and died in Holland and other parts of the Netherlands, percisely to avoid France, the French Monarch and the Roman Church.
ping
And what of Athos, Porthos, and Aramis?
ping
"Henri D'Aramitz (Aramis) was a squire and a lay priest, the nephew of M. de Tresvilles, the captain of the Musketeers. Armand de Sillegue, Lord of Athos, (Athos) was killed in a duel before D'Artagnan ever joined the Musketeers. Isaac de Portau (Porthos) arrived in Paris only a year before D'Artagnan and was initially turned down by the Musketeers, but was later accepted (1643) after he had proved himself within regiment. Cardinal Richelieu was the de facto ruler of France from 1624 on. Richelieu's older brother had been killed in a duel, and he worked steadily to try to enforce laws forbidding dueling for many years. Milady, Duchesse de Winter was actually the Countess of Carlisle, who was, in fact, an agent of Cardinal Richelieu. (She stole two diamond studs from the Duke of Buckingham!) "
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072281/And Charlton Heston played Richelieu in 4:
Pretty amazing that they could turn around and do a sequel in just a year.
Nowadays, the television series [like the Sopranos, or Battlestar Galactica] can't even stick to a one-year schedule.
Tres bien, merci. Of moet ik zeggen, dank je!
Watched a neat program on Michael York that I’d downloaded from a UK site. In it he traveled to Wales and learned about his family heritage. On his trip, he learned quite a bit about his father’s youth and service time in WWII. It’s interesting to note that he’s been married to the same woman since 1968. He’s only been married once. That’s something you rarely see in Hollywood.
Also reported there: "He died of a heart attack in a bar after downing three bottles of Captain Morgan's Jamaica rum, eight bottles of German beer, numerous doubles of Famous Grouse whiskey, and beating five much younger Royal Navy sailors at arm-wrestling. His bar bill for that final lunch time totaled 270 Maltese lira, almost £450."
He was quite the character according to his biography on IMDB.
Thank you.
I love that update.
I just loved the movie with Gean Kelly.
I didn’t realize what had happen to d’Artagnan in real life. I thought he had lived forever.
Thank you again.
Awesome statue. Very interesting story. Thanks for the links!
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