Louis II, Louis de Bourbon was born on September 8, 1621 in Paris. He came from an old family of Bourbons, who were kings of France in 1589-1792, 1814-1830. He became so famous that his contemporaries called him Conde the Great.

He married quite early in those days - at the age of twenty. His wife was the niece of the all-powerful Cardinal Richelieu.

The first period of the reign of Louis fell on the time of the planned flourishing of the economy and politics, the time of the bright splendor of the royal court, the time of unprecedented festivities and entertainment.

Military career

The military talent of the Prince of Condé manifested itself even then, at the very beginning of his adult life. At the age of twenty-two, the prince, surrounded by musketeers, is already entering the city of Rocroix he has taken. The banners of the defeated enemy bowed at the feet of the victor. This battle immediately entered the history of military art as an example of military leadership talent. And from this battle, the Prince of Condé was recognized as great. At twenty-two!

In the same year, 1643, Prince Condé ended the military campaign of the year with the capture of Thionville and a number of other cities. And Conde began the next military campaign as the commander of all French troops in Germany and won a resounding victory in the battle of Freiburg, defeating the army of the Bavarian general Mercy. For this victory, the French king Louis XIV awarded the prince the title of generalissimo.

Conde justified his high military rank in the military campaign of 1645, when, without much loss and effort, he took Mainz, Philippsburg, won the battle of Nördlingen, and once again won the bloody battle of Freiburg.

In 1646, after a series of successful military operations, Condé captured Dunkirchen. Then the king transferred him to Catalonia. But here Conde was waiting for an unsuccessful siege of the fortress of Lleida. Well, even the great ones fail.

A year later, the Spaniards tried to take revenge in the Netherlands for the victories of the French troops under the command of the Prince of Condé. But this attempt also ended for them with another defeat from Conde, who won a very impressive victory in the battle of Lance. The victory was so serious that it and the entry of the Fronde led to the conclusion of peace in 1648.

"Parliamentary" period in the history of the Fronde

The history of the Fronde is divided into two stages - the "parliamentary" (1648-1649) and the "Princes' Fronde" (1650-1653).

The Parisian parliament was against the financial burden of the nobility, and before its eyes there was an example of England, so the parliament spoke on May 13, 1648 against the financial edicts of Cardinal Mazarin, who replaced Cardinal Richelieu as the first person of France. Thus began the first Fronde.

Parliament at that time was only a judicial institution, having only the right to register new laws. Therefore, Parliament chose the only Possible Solution within the framework of his powers - refused to register these edicts.

Also, the parliament decided to expand its own powers by carrying out a number of reforms: new taxes are introduced only with the approval of parliament, a ban on arrest, persecution without approval, and the abolition of quartermasters.

In response, Mazarin, taking advantage of the rise in government authority after the victory of the Prince of Condé at the Battle of Lens, decided to attack the Fronde and ordered the detention of the two most influential members of parliament. The Parisian population responded with barricades. Soon the Peace of Westphalia was signed, then the government and the court had no choice but to flee from Paris.

When Conde the Great returned to Paris, he immediately began the siege of the rebellious city. Parliament and Parisians prepared to fight to the end. The war requires money, then the parliament seized the property of the supporters of the court and, with the proceeds, capuited weapons for the defenders of the city. The Parisians were able to hold out for three whole months against the trained and experienced troops of the Prince of Condé.

During the siege, class differences arose between ordinary Parisians and the bourgeoisie. The poor peasants demanded drastic measures against the grain speculators, and by this they seriously frightened the bourgeoisie. In Paris, there was a smell of revolution "according to the English model." Therefore, the bourgeoisie considered it best to conclude a truce and the royal court again entered Paris.

Period of the "Fronde of Princes"

In 1650, the second period began - the "Fronde of Princes". High-ranking nobles decided, out of personal selfish motives, to take advantage of popular discontent, offended by Cardinal Mazarin. The Prince of Conde also joined the Fronde and paid for fighting against Paris. Mazarin responded by arresting him.

The people stood up for the rebellious generalissimo and released him. Frightened, Mazarin fled the capital for the second time, and parliament, following him, under pressure from the people, declared the royal court outlaws.

Unrest began again in many provinces of France. And again, worried about the scope of the performances, the nobles rushed to bow to Mazarin. Together they were able to drown the unrest in the blood, and on October 12, 1652, Mazarin returned to Paris again. Nevertheless, he had to satisfy the demands of the Fronde.

However, the Prince of Condé was not satisfied and decided to continue the fight. Then Mazarin threw against him the army of Marshal Tyureny, loyal to the king, and in 1653 the prince's troops were defeated, and he himself had to flee to Spain. But he had no luck here. He began to serve the Spanish king and fought against his homeland. In this Franco-Spanish war of 1655-1659, France defeated Spain, and along with the latter, the Prince of Condé was also defeated.

After the defeat of the second Fronde, Conde the Great reconciled with the French king Louis XIV solemnly and sincerely. And he was forgiven. But if the king forgave, then his courtiers harbored enmity.

Election of Condé the Great to the Polish Throne

Condé the Great is back on military service. France at that time was shaken by a number of serious peasant unrest - in 1664 in Gascony, in 1666 in Roussillon, in 1670 in Languedoc ... Conde participated in the suppression of some of them.

During the War of Devolution, the Prince of Condé conquered Franche-Comté in two weeks in 1668. At the same time, he achieved his election to the Polish throne, in which the French court was extremely interested. Moreover, there was a tradition - in 1573, the first French generalissimo, Henri of Anjou, was the king of Poland.

After Conde the Great received the Polish crown, he approved the so-called "Heinrich Article". This article established a procedure that allowed the participation of the entire Polish gentry in the election of kings.

The king was obliged to regularly convene the diet, without the consent of the diet he could not declare war or conclude a peace treaty. However, Conde miscalculated: he was unpopular among the gentry and the Polish people. As a result, in 1674 another king occupied the Polish throne, from the Poles - Jan Sobieski, and Condé returned to the royal military service in France.

Return of Condé to France

In 1672 - 1675, Generalissimo Conde successfully led the fighting of the French troops in the Netherlands and Alsace. His victories ensured the power of France in Europe.

In 1675, the generalissimo retired, leaving an opinion in the history of military art about himself as a brilliant tactician and strategist. He spent the last years of his life in the Chantilly estate, surrounded by the most enlightened minds of France. Conde the Great died on December 11, 1686 at Fontainebleau.

Participation in wars: Thirty Years' War. War with the Fronde. Second Dutch War.
Participation in battles: Roussillon campaign. Battle of Rocroix. Battle of Allerheim Capture of Dunkirchen. Battle of Lans. Conquest of Franche-Comté. Battle of Seneff.

(Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé) Louis (Louis) II de Bourbon-Condé, Prince de Condé. Commander of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the Fronde (1648-1659) and the 2nd Netherlands War (1672-1678)

Always aspired to military glory. The first military distinction fell to the lot of the nineteen-year-old prince in the years Thirty Years' War during the capture of Arras by the French. In 1642 Conde participated in Roussillon campaign and managed to gain fame and general respect for his diligence and courage so much that in 1643 Louis XIII handed over to Conde, who at that time was 21 years old, the defense of the northern borders of France.

Commanding an army (17 thousand infantry and 7 thousand cavalry), Conde opened campaign in the Netherlands against the Spanish army General de Melos(18 thousand infantry and 8 thousand cavalry).

15 May 1643 Viceroy of the Spanish Netherlands Don Francisco de Melos, intending to invade Champagne, chose the small town of Rocroix for this, a few kilometers from the then Spanish border, west of the Meuse River. Attacked, the city of Rocroix bravely defended itself, although there were only 400 people of the garrison.

Duke of Enghien was in the vicinity of Verbena when he learned of the siege of Rocroix. At the council of war on May 17, he, with the support of Jean Gassion (a student Gustav II Adolf) insisted that a general battle be given. The French had 15 infantry battalions in the center, artillery was in front, and cavalry on both flanks.

On May 19, 1643, the battle began. At first, the left wing of the French was broken through by the Alsatian cavalry, but the Duke of Enghien at the head of the cavalry rushed to the left wing of the enemy, crushed it and swept in a whirlwind to the opposite end of the battlefield, overturning everything in its path. After the arrival of the reserve, the Spanish infantry were surrounded and the battle ended in a complete victory for the French. Spanish troops lost 8 thousand killed, 6 thousand prisoners, 24 guns and about 200 banners.

Victory at Rocroi saved France from the danger of enemy invasion, opened the way for the French to the Spanish Netherlands, strengthened the regency Anna of Austria and brought great fame to the 22-year-old prince.

Having ended the campaign with the conquest of the important frontier fortress of Thionville, Condé returned to Paris.

In 1644, the prince took command of the Rhine army (6 thousand infantry and 3 thousand cavalry) against the Bavarian general merci, who took possession of the Freiburg fortress after the success won over a small corps Turenne.

On August 2, Condé joined up with Turenne and on 3 August attacked the Mersey near Freiburg from the front, while Turenne went around the enemy's left flank. After a fierce two-day battle, Mersey took up a new position, joining the right flank to Freiburg. On August 5, a battle took place here, which, according to the plan of action of Conde, should have ended in the complete defeat of Mercy, but due to an unreasonable, inconsistent with the situation, display of initiative Generala d'Espenanton, entailed only unnecessary losses and did not give decisive results. merci retreated, weakly pursued by the French, who occupied the enormously important fortresses of Philipsburg and Mainz.

The campaign of 1645 found Conde in Lorraine, from where he had to rush to Turenne's rescue. Having taken the main command of the army, Condé forced Mercy to take the battle at Allerheim, where he inflicted a complete defeat on the Bavarians. The commander-in-chief of the Bavarians, General Mercy, was killed.

After leaving the army for Flanders Duke of Orleans Conde took command of it and on October 11, 1646 took possession of Dunkirchen, overcoming the greatest difficulties, in view of the Spanish army, which Conde managed to defeat. Then, surrounded by the enemy, he managed to carry out food transport to the fortress of Courtrai.

In 1647, Conde moved from Flanders to Catalonia, where he intended to fulfill the main goal of the campaign - to capture the fortress of Lleida. However, the head of the French government Mazarin, settling personal scores with Conde, did not take care of supplying his army with food and violated all the calculations of the commander. Lleida remained in the hands of the Spaniards.

The following year, Conde again acted in Flanders against the imperial troops of Archduke Leopold. On May 19, he took Ipern, and on August 20 he defeated the enemy. under Lance. This victory ended the participation of France and Condé himself in Thirty Years' War 1618-1648.

But in the same year it began internecine war of the Fronde with the government of Cardinal Mazarin. Warmly responding to the call of the members of the Fronde, Conde hurried to France, blockaded Paris, where he achieved decisive success, and demanded the return Turenne sent into exile by the government. However, the successes of the Fronde were quickly replaced by failures. Mazarin managed to capture Conde and imprison him in the Château de Vincennes.

Having received his freedom, Conde went to the Netherlands and, joining the Spaniards, took up arms against his fatherland.

In 1651, Conde quickly subjugated southern France, where he opposed the royal troops with a hastily formed army. While his opponents were Count Harcourt and Marshal Hohencourt, Conde won victories, but at Bleneau there was his meeting with Turenne, and the prince had to retreat. Taking Saint-Denis, Conde went to Charenton, but Turenne, thanks to the superiority of his forces, overtook him and, energetically attacking, drove him into the Saint-Antoine suburb of Paris. Here Condé faced imminent death, but the Parisians let him through the city in the suburbs of St. James, where he was able to connect with the Spanish detachment on the left bank of the Seine. Not counting on further success, Condé retired to the Netherlands.

Only in 1653 did the prince again decide to venture against the French government, but the actions of both sides were not distinguished by decisiveness.

In 1654, the Condé detachment laid siege to Arras, but Turenne, by a surprise attack, forced him to lift the siege. During the retreat, the detachment under the command of Condé covered the withdrawal of the main Allied forces.

In 1656, Condé avenged Arras by a surprise attack on Turenne at Valenciennes, which forced Turenne to lift the siege of this fortress and retreat.

In 1657, Conde managed to free Cambrai from the siege, but he was forced to abandon his intention to seize Calais by a surprise attack. From that time on, Conde, tormented by a serious illness, remained inactive until the very conclusion. of the Iberian world 1659

Arriving in France after an absence of eight years, Condé convinced Louis XIV in need conquer Franche-Comté and within two weeks carried out his campaign plan.

At the start 1st Dutch War 1672-1678 Conde and Turenne became the real organizers of brilliant victories.

From 1673 to 1675, Conde commanded the Army of the Rhine, but the actions of the entire campaign were not carried out decisively enough.

Only on August 11, 1674, did Conde give the famous battle of Seneffe to the allied army under the command of the prince William of Orange. The battle ended with the retreat of both sides, each of which attributed victory to itself.

After this, Conde, again tormented by illness, returned to France and joined the army in 1875 after the death of Turenne. With skillful maneuvering, he upset the plan Montecuculi and brilliantly ended the war.

Conde spent the last years of his life in the company of Corneille, Racine, Boileau and Bossuet. Conde devoted most of his life to the war, but his military genius could never be fully revealed, since the government that directed his actions often put obstacles in his way to achieving combat success. Conde developed his natural talent as a commander with serious theoretical training, even on a campaign without parting with books. Combining calculation with decisiveness in war, Conde always showed outstanding courage and selfless bravery.

Very conflicting opinions

"... During the life of his father, Conde bore the title of Duke of Enghien. He was a prince of the blood, that is, a direct relative royal family... From an early age, the noblest of the noble aristocrats of France was distinguished by audacity, ambition and courage .... The prince began his military career at 17... at 22 the prince had already commanded the French royal troops in the Thirty Years' War with the Spaniards. In that war, on May 19, 1643, Conde won his first victory in the battle near the city of Rocroix ...
In ... 1644, the prince became the head of the French royal army, replacing the experienced viscount de Turenne at this post."
http://interpretive.ru/dictionary/967/word/lui-ii-burbon-konde-velikii-konde
I remind you that the young man was 23 years old.

Further: "... Victories ... strengthened the military authority of Louis Conde. The army, inspired by victories over the Spaniards and the Bavarian army, literally idolized Conde. However, now many influential people in France began to seriously fear the increased popularity of Conde, and in the next ten years he I had to put in a lot of effort to pacify them ... "

The following lists and describes multiple battles, the meaning of which I do not really understand ...
The impression is that from the age of 17 to 54, the prince only fought ... As we will see below, the impression is deceptive.

"... Having become one of the most popular people in France, the prince found himself in the thick of the political struggle. In the war of royal power with the Fronde (this was the name given to the internal unrest in France in 1648-1658), he first took the side of the Italian Cardinal Giulio Mazarin and Queen Anne of Austria, the regent of the son - the young crowned son of Louis .... But between the ambitious and arrogant commander Louis Conde and the power-hungry first minister of France, a clash was inevitable ...
The Prince of Conde led a new Fronde (the so-called Fronde of Princes), intending to overthrow Cardinal Mazarin and even turn his considerable possessions into an independent state. His closest associate was his younger brother, Prince Conti...
Anarchy in the French capital, strife between him and the rest of the leaders of the Fronde, the return to Paris of his enemy Cardinal Mazarin forced the prince to flee from his fatherland to the Netherlands and there in 1653 to surrender to the Spaniards, his recent enemies. In 1654, he was sentenced in absentia to death in France for high treason.
Now Conde turned his weapons and military art against the fatherland .... But in this war, the prince rarely had good luck - the French army educated and trained by him fought against him ... The civil war ended in 1659 (38 years - my approx.) the conclusion of peace and the strengthening of royal power. Cardinal Mazarin made peace with Prince Louis II of Conde, to whom Spain decided to give an independent principality near the northern French border. The death sentence in absentia was also canceled for the prince for treason against France and its monarch Louis XIV, who married Maria Teresa, daughter of the Spanish king Philip IV. Conde was restored in all his titles and rights, but remained out of work for 8 years ...
Thanks to his military talent and political influence at the royal court, Prince Conde managed to once again become the commander of the French army ...
At the end of 1675, Conde resigned and last years spent his life in his possession of Chantilly. He died at Fontainebleau.
In all the wars in which Prince Louis Condé participated, he demonstrated, above all, high tactical skill. hallmark famous French commander were his famous "inspirations". Thanks to this, he more than once defeated opponents who surpassed him in strength. But Conde's contemporaries rightly reproach him for the fact that for the sake of a quick and strong onslaught, he did not spare people. Troops Conde in foreign territory became famous for robberies and violence."

I read about these numerous battles, exile-forgiveness ... you can write a novel. Further - I highlight reviews of the Great Conde in blue. Very conflicting reviews.

"A real masterpiece was the bronze bust of Prince Condé. A very successful commander, Louis II Conde was distinguished by cruelty, blasphemy, rude behavior, even with his inner circle. He is one of those anti-patriots who turned his weapons against his homeland. Conde is a supporter of the Fronde, who fought against the king and Cardinal Mazarin. He devastated the northern regions of France, he tried to create an independent principality in his lands. He spent his youth stormily, his stay in prison and illness made him unpleasant and antipathetic. Even after a political reconciliation with the king and the cardinal, he was suspended for eight years because he was not trusted. The sculptor faced the difficult task of creating a representative portrait of a patient (he suffered from rheumatism) and an unpleasant but dangerous face. Cuasevox coped with the task with dignity, highlighting Condé's sumptuous attire and brilliant bronze processing tools. This slightly overshadowed the boldly zmalvana, a truthful and indispensable characterization of the image. None of the portraits of Louis II Conde conveys with paint the complexity of the character of the prince's crippled face in its own way.

Undoubtedly, a very expressive portrait.
Another sculptural portrait:

Louis II, 4th Prince of Bourbon and Conde (1621-86), 1817 (plaster), David d "Angers, Pierre Jean 1788-1856 Musee des Beaux-Arts, Angers, Franc.


Juste d "Egmont Louis II de Bourbon, dit le Grand Condé Huile sur toile. Chantilly, Musée Condé Photo Musée Condé.

"... Contemporaries could love him or hate him, but, despite his political miscalculations and personality traits still admired him. Perhaps the most striking characterization was given to him in his memoirs by the famous frondier Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz: "Prince de Conde was born a commander ... Fate, sending him to a warlike age, let courage unfold in all its splendor; family upbringing... boxed the mind too tight. The prince was not inspired from an early age ... what is called consistency ... Already in his youth he was ahead of the rapid development of great events and the habit of success ... possessing by nature a gentle soul, he committed injustices, with the courage of Alexander ... was not alien to weakness, possessing a wonderful mind, acted imprudently, possessing all the virtues ..., did not serve the state as he should have ... He did not manage to rise to his talents, but still he is great, he is beautiful...
François de La Rochefoucauld wrote in his memoirs that the Duke of Enghien "... stately, endowed with a large, clear, penetrating and all-round mind, covered himself with the greatest glory...". And the prosecutor-general of the Dijon Parliament, Pierre Lenet, spoke of him like this: "He satisfied the desires of his subordinates, ignoring many particulars... The prince won a huge reputation, having fought battles at Rocroix, Freiburg, Nordlingen and Lans, taking Thionville, Philippsburg, reaching the heart of the Rhine - Koblenz, showing courage and generosity at Dunkirk ...
In a speech delivered in Notre Dame Cathedral on March 10, 1687, on the occasion of the death of Prince de Condé, Bishop Meaux, the outstanding historian and educator of the Dauphin Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, not only presented him as an outstanding statesman, but also placed him above another great commander of the century - Henri de Turenne. A distinctive feature of the military genius of the commander, the bishop called the speed of the plan that descended on him in the middle of the battle - his famous "inspirations". And Louis XIV after the death of Conde said: "I lost" the greatest man in my kingdom...
On the whole, Conde is rightly reproached for the fact that for the sake of a quick and strong onslaught that could lead to victory, he shed torrents of blood, and his army was distinguished by robbery and violence. His style consisted of audacity and aggressive attacks ... At the same time, Condé is called a true military intellectual, gifted and independent.".

The created image makes it possible to feel the scope and passionarity of the personality ... but it is perceived, nevertheless, VERY one-sidedly ... IT'S TIME TO EXPAND THE BORDERS OF THE IMAGE:

Artist Juste d'Egmont (1601-1674), Musée de l'Armée.
Taken from here: http://www.danielbibb.com/content/exhibits/detail1.php?itemID=30006
I really liked the portrait and, in my opinion, it most of all looks like a child. At first I did not pay attention - the head is visible behind Conde, there is a character, he is almost invisible (below, I gave this picture in full).

Artwork attributed to the artist Louis Elle Ferdinand
Taken from here: http://www.danielbibb.com/content/exhibits/detail1.php?itemID=30006
This portrait causes great doubts in me, it is not very similar to the painting of that era.

"... Louis II de Bourbon Prince de Conde was born on September 8, 1621 in Paris. His parents were Henri II Bourbon (1588 - 1646), Prince de Conde, and Charlotte-Marguerite de Montmorency (1594 - 1650), Princess de Condé and Godmother of Louis XIV..."

FatherHenri II of Bourbon (1588 - 1646)Prince de Condé:

I was surprised that no more of his portraits came across.

MotherCharlotte-Marguerite de Montmorency (1594 - 1650), Princess de Condé:

"... The education of the young Duke of Enghien was traditional for his estate. In 1630 - 1636, he studied Latin classics, Aristotle's philosophy, mathematics, Justinian's codes and political history at school Jesuits in Bourges. He was not a particularly diligent student, however, he mastered Latin, rhetoric and philosophy with great success. For a long time he was considered a freethinker on religious matters. His education was completed at the Royal Military Academy in Paris, where he showed excellent results. Already at the age of 17, his father sent Louis to act as governor of Burgundy ... "
"... At the insistence of Henri Conde, on February 9, 1641, the young man married Claire-Clement de Maillet-Brez (1628 - 1694), daughter of Urbain de Maillet, Marquis de Breze, and Nicole du Plessis, Richelieu's niece. However, politically and economically a profitable union (the bride brought Louis a dowry of 600 thousand livres and a number of land holdings) was personally unsuccessful.For the sake of it, he had to leave his beloved Mademoiselle du Vizhan (Marthe Poissard, daughter of the royal bedkeeper Francois Poissard, Baron du Vizhan). three children were born - the sons of Henri III Jules (1643-1709), Prince de Conde, Louis (16 52 - 1653 ) and the daughter of Mademoiselle de Bourbon (16 57 - 1660 )..."

Wife:

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BB%D1%8D%D1%80-%D0%9A%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B5% D0%BD%D1%81_%D0%B4%D0%B5_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%B5

The Great Condé and his son Henry III of Bourbon Condé:

I did not find a portrait of Mademoiselle du Vizhan.
"...his beloved in 1647 was sent to the Carmelite convent..."
http://svitoc.ru/index.php?showtopic=556

Further: "The great Conde spent the last 11 years of his life in his possession Chantilly 49 km from Paris. The castle was located among dense oak forests and towered on a huge rock surrounded on all sides by water .... it was the Great Conde who commissioned the royal architect Le Nôtre to lay out a magnificent park with fountains around the castle. The king took part in one of the holidays arranged in it, which was recorded in her letters to Madame de Sevigne. The fountains of Chantilly are still among the most beautiful in France. No wonder Louis XIV, during the construction of Versailles, took them as a model. (it turns out :), the Great Conde had good taste and a desire for creation- my comment) Imitating Italian palace architecture, the prince ordered to decorate the facade of the castle with balustrades and columns, and it turned out that it combined elements of the Gothic style (powerful bastion walls, pointed spiers, drains in the form of snake-like monsters) and baroque design of facades. In fact, Chantilly turned from a castle into a luxurious palace and became a symbol of the transition of the aristocracy from military campaigns to festivities, patronage and art collecting. But the entrance to Chantilly, decorated in the Renaissance style and protected by iron bars and pikes, reflected the "profession" of the owner. ..
At generals, ministers, big bourgeois and, of course, the most enlightened minds of France gathered there. Being a fan and patron of the arts, Conde invited famous creative personalities to his castle. Even during his stay out of work after the Peace of the Pyrenees, the prince spent time there in the brilliant company of such geniuses as Molière, Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, Mansart, Le Nôtre, Bossuet and many others. Once, the poet Vincent Voiture remarked to Condé: "If you would at least once deign to lift some kind of siege, we, your fans, could take a break and recover, as this would add some variety to the course of events." In Chantilly, the first performance of "Tartuffe" by Jean-Baptiste Moliere took place, which the author first read in the salon of Ninon de Lanclos back in 1664. In honor of the guests of Prince Le Nôtre, he laid out the avenue of the Philosophers in the park, which can serve as proof that The great Conde not only followed the aristocratic fashion of that time, but also really appreciated the beautiful..."

So, and how does this agree with the negative characteristics given to him above? Almost nothing.
"... This extraordinary man was exceptionally rich by the standards of the 17th century. His huge fortune was second only to the wealth of Cardinals Mazarin (40 million livres) and Richelieu (20 million livres) and was estimated at 14 million livres. Like other politicians and commanders of that time he collected works of art, old books and manuscripts, concentrated primarily in Chantilly. The Duke of Omalsky, who received in 1830 along with the title and the castle, bequeathed it, along with a rich library and art gallery, French Institute. In the Conde Museum, in addition to the personal belongings of the princes of the blood, artistic treasures are also exhibited - hundreds of manuscripts and early printed books (including the Johannes Gutenberg Bible), a rare collection of porcelain and the "Magnificent Hours of the Duke of Berry" - a famous illustrated manuscript of the 15th century, numerous engravings and paintings by Botticelli , Clouet, Poussin. It is there that Raphael's "Three Graces", Poussin's "Massacre of the Innocents", Durer's "Saint Jerome" and other famous paintings are located today. The prince was the owner of one of the most famous diamonds in history, weighing 9.01 carats, which adorned the head of his cane, the "Pink Conde" or "Great Conde", received by him from Louis XIV for military merit ... "
How does this fit in with the specifications above?
"In 1685, the only grandson of the commander, Louis de Bourbon, married Louise-Francoise, Mademoiselle de Nantes, eldest daughter King and Madame de Montespan. In the middle of 1686, Louise-Francoise, while in Fontainebleau, fell ill with smallpox. It was the prince who brought her back to life, spending days near her bed and feeding her with a spoon. Louise-Francoise survived and continued the Conde family, giving her husband 10 children, but Conde himself became infected from her ... "

I see the image of a beautiful, indeed, royally gifted person.
Many thanks to Hatamoto: http://svitoc.ru/index.php?showtopic=556
and the author of the article: Ivonina Lyudmila Ivanovna - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of Smolensk State University.

P.S. Looked at the artist - found!

Portrait du Grand Condé devant le champ de bataille de Rocroi (May 19, 1643)
I can't understand - what is it on the right, something red, curved...?
Here the head is not visible to the left of Condé. And yet ... almost all military men of the 17-18 and even the 19th century hold a strange stick in their hand. At first I thought it was a spyglass. But it's too thin, I think it's something else.

The assertion of absolutism in France also provoked a counter-absolutist movement, which culminated in middle of the XVII century, when the young son of Louis XIII Louis XIV was on the throne, and his mother Anna of Austria was the regent. This movement became known as the Fronde literal translation- "sling").

As in England, the strengthening central government in France was looking for ways to fill the treasury (for example, huge funds were needed to participate in the Thirty Years' War). Manufactory production and trade were heavily taxed, which caused discontent among the bourgeoisie. At the same time, power limited the influence of the aristocracy. This policy towards the nobility was followed by both Richelieu and his successor, Cardinal Giulio Mazarin. It is not surprising that the foreigner, who received unlimited powers, irritated the tribal nobility, who was removed from the leadership.

In the mid-1640s, the situation in France escalated to the limit. In 1647, the Mazarin government launched a new financial offensive. On the one hand, taxes on the peasantry and urban population were increased, on the other hand, part of the tax burden was transferred from the financiers (who, in turn, were under similar oppression two years earlier) to other groups of the French bourgeoisie. Mazarin even ventured to question the right of officials to inherit positions.

At the beginning of 1648, the Parlement of Paris forbade the further imposition of taxes without its consent. This was done clearly under the influence and following the example of the Parliament in England, where the revolution had been going on for 8 years. Mazarin tried to arrest the leaders of the opposition. In response, on August 26-27, an armed uprising began in the capital, barricades appeared in the city, the streets were blocked with chains. These events marked the beginning of the Fronde. The king and queen had to endure a siege at the Palais Royal, after which they were forced to release those arrested, whose extradition was demanded by the envoys of parliament.

The nobility also played a prominent role in the Fronde, in particular the uncle of the king, Gaston of Orleans. Assistant to the Archbishop of Paris (coadjutor) Paul de Gondi acted as an intermediary between the people and the queen, while supporting anti-government sentiments. He entered into negotiations with Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, who dreamed of the position held by Mazarin.

The cardinal sought to withdraw France from the Thirty Years' War as quickly as possible in order to return troops loyal to him to the country. The Prince of Conti (the younger brother of Condé), the Duke of Longueville, Gondi and the top of the Parliament developed a plan civil war. Conde himself broke with the oppositionists and promised the court to use his army to crack down on the Fronders.

Shortly after the signing of the Peace of Westphalia, the government and court fled Paris. In January 1649, the royal troops besieged the capital. The Duke of Elbeuf, Duke of Bouillon, Duke of Beaufort, Prince Marsillac (famous writer, future Duke de La Rochefoucauld) became the generals of the Fronde. The Parlement of Paris called on all French parliaments to fight. Guyenne, Normandy, Poitou decided to support Paris. Everywhere the peasants attacked the government troops. Naturally, these rebellions frightened the bourgeoisie and the nobility. The parliamentarians did not trust the aristocratic generals either. On March 11, 1649, Parliament made peace with the cardinal.

The results of the parliamentary Fronde did not satisfy the aristocrats, who demanded the return of power to the king. They also insisted on reducing the income of the tax-farmers, curtailing the privileges of the top officials.

By January 1650, two Fronder groups had formed in Paris, headed by the Prince of Conde and the Duke of Orleans, respectively (there were also Gondi, Beaufort, the Duchess of Chevreuse, and others). The cunning Mazarin tried by all means to quarrel opponents. In December 1649, he organized an assassination attempt on Conde and blamed the Fronders of another group for this. Those, in turn, decided that all this was organized by agreement between the cardinal and the prince. At the same time, the first minister offered Gondi a cardinal's cap and bribed many other leaders of the Fronde.

January 18, 1650 Conde, Conti and Longueville were arrested and sent to the Château de Vincennes. Immediately, their supporters decided to fight for the release of the leaders. The so-called Fronde of Princes began. The Dukes of La Rochefoucauld and Bouillon, who led the group until the liberation of Condé, tried to get help from the provinces. Enlisting the support of the Parliament of Bordeaux, in May 1650 they entered the city. The Spaniards, still at war with France, supported the Fronders with money. The king's army laid siege main city Hyena. On September 28, peace was concluded, but the princes were not released and moved to Le Havre.

Two groups of Fronders made an alliance. In February 1651, Parliament declared Mazarin an enemy of France and ordered him to leave the kingdom, which he was forced to do. The princes have finally been released. But the factions of the Fronders (instigated by Anna of Austria) quickly quarreled.

Conde started cooking new war against the yard. In November 1651 he signed an agreement with the Spaniards. The royal army was successfully commanded by Turenne. In the army of the Fronde, the commanders could not coordinate their actions. But when the queen returned Mazarin, at the end of 1651 there was again a rapprochement between the camps of the Fronde.

Negotiations resumed in Paris between the cardinal and the leaders of the Frondeurs. Meanwhile, the army of the king won victories in Guyenne. Finally, Conde moved his troops directly to Paris, where on July 2, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, he defeated the army under the command of Turenne. In Paris, a Council was established, which included Gaston d'Orléans, Condé and other leaders of the Fronde. The council, however, because of the continuous struggle for influence in the government, only increased the unrest. Royal troops besieged the capital. A famine broke out in Paris, causing riots.

On August 19, 1652, Mazarin again left France, which gave the Fronders an excuse to start negotiations with the court. Paris was granted an amnesty, but the most prominent Fronders were ordered to leave the capital. The king solemnly entered Paris, and on February 3, 1653, the first minister returned. In August 1653, the last center of resistance was crushed in Bordeaux. The parliamentary and noble Fronde came to an end. The attempt of the bourgeoisie - officials and financiers - to increase their influence failed, and the political domination of the aristocracy was ended forever.