"The History of Project"
The History of Musketeers
Contributed by:
Ted Anthony Roberts
In
1600 A.D., King Henri IV gave himself bodyguards. Arming them with Carbine
firearms, they became known as the King's Carabineers: a special
group of men that no ordinary soldier could match in firing, swordplay, or
battle.
King Louis XIII, his son,
re-armed these men in 1622 with the more advanced flintlock musket, calling
them the King's Musketeers. They were daredevils and extraordinarily
gifted soldiers.
But what of our Three
Musketeers: Athos, Porthos and Aramis? Did they actually exist? Happily,
they did! Unhappily, we have very little details.
Gatien de Courtilz de
Sandras, in his Memoirs of Monsieur d'Artagnan, gave the world the
first glimpse of these men. Courtilz would have us believe that they were
all brothers, but this is not true, even though Athos and Aramis were
actually related, and related also to Treville, captain of the musketeers.
Athos was, in real life,
Armand de Sillegue d'Athos d'Auteville. Born around 1615, he joined
the Musketeers at the age of 25 in the late 1630's or early 1640's, and died
in Paris from a duel in 1643. His name was found listed amongst the fallen
duelists in a monastery.
Aramis was Henri
d'Aramitz, born in Gascony, joined the musketeers in 1640, married in
1654, had four children, became a churchman, and died around 1674. He was
never, however, involved with the Jesuits.
Porthos was Isaac de
Portau, born in Pau, Gascony, a town close to one from which d'Artagnan
came. They were, perhaps, excellent friends in life. Both were Guards at the
same time Athos and Aramis were already Musketeers, and they entered the
Musketeers almost at the same time.
As far as d'Artagnan is
concerned? Well, that is another story...
Read more at:
www.swashbucklingpress.com/tedanthonyroberts.htm
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Last updated:
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