André de Montalembert

Who was André de Montalembert?

André de Montalembert, Seigneur d'Essé, was a French noble man and officer of the 16th century. As a young boy he fought in the Italian Wars. He was chosen by Francis I as one of his three brothers-in-arms in 1520 at the Field of the Cloth of Gold tournaments with Henry VIII of England.

In 1542, André de Montalembert was sent to Constantinople to ascertain the Ottoman offensive within the context of the Franco-Ottoman alliance, but it turned out that Suleiman, partly under the anti-alliance influence of Suleyman Pasha, was unwilling to send an army that year, and promised to send an army twice as strong the following year, in 1543.

In 1548, he was sent at the head of 6,000 men into Scotland to support Regent Arran against England in the events known as "The Rough Wooing". There he became well known, usually as d'Essé, Lieutenant-General of the Army and Navy. D'Essé spoke at the parliament at Haddington on 7 July 1548, proposing the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to the Dauphin, and d'Oysel as French ambassador accepted the unanimous approval. Haddington was occupied and fortified by the English and d'Esse laid siege.