Condé, Louis II de Bourbon, prince de

(1621-1686) (the Grand Condé)

   leader of anti-royalist revolt known as the Fronde

   The French general who led the nobles against the Crown in the last revolt of the fronde, Louis II de Bourbon, prince de Condé (known for his military achievements as "le Grand Condé"), was born in Paris, the great-grandson of louis i, prince de condé. Until the death of his father, he was known as the duke of Enghien. In 1641, he married a niece of Cardinal richelieu. Trained from youth for a military career, Condé was given command of the French armies in the north at age 22 and, in 1643, during the thirty years' war, won a great victory over the Spanish at Rocroi. In 1645, he defeated an army of the Holy Roman Empire at Nordlingen, Germany. He later (1646) defeated the Spanish at Dunkerque and again (1648) at Lens. In 1646, he succeeded his father as prince de Condé. His military fame and growing power, as lord of Burgundy, Berry, and sections of Lorraine, however, was of concern to Cardinal mazarin, the king's minister. In 1648, during the Fronde, Condé led the royal forces, but his brother, Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti, and his brother-in-law, the duke de Longueville, supported the Frondeurs. Condé himself soon wavered between the two opposing forces and, after the truce of 1649, joined the Fronde. In 1656, these three nobles were arrested but were freed the following year after a new uprising by the Frondeurs. Condé, thereafter, fought on the side of Spain against the French Crown until he was defeated (1658) by Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, viscount de Turenne, near Dunkerque. A year later, Condé was pardoned by King louis XIV, then he retired. He later reentered the service of the king and, in 1668, conquered Franche-Comté and subsequently fought in the Dutch wars. He was made commander of the French army in 1675, the year of his last battle, fought against the army of the Holy Roman Empire on the Rhine. Retiring finally to Chantilly, Condé in his later years surrounded himself with writers and poets, including jean racine. His funeral oration was given by jacques bénigne bossuet.