Editing Musketeer (section)

===France===
[[File:Mousquetaires du roi.jpg|thumb|Uniforms of Musketeers of the Guard, 1660–1814]]
The [[Musketeers of the Guard]] were a junior unit, initially of roughly company strength, of the [[military branch]] of the [[Maison du Roi|Royal Household]]. They were created in 1622 when [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]] furnished a company of [[light cavalry]] (the "[[Carabinier#French Carabiniers-à-Cheval|carabiniers]]", created by Louis' father [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]]) with muskets. Musketeers fought in battle both on foot as infantry and on horseback as [[dragoons]].<ref>{{cite book
|first=Rene
|last=Chartrand
|pages=8, 15
|publisher=Osprey Publishing
|year=2013
|title=French Musketeer 1622–1775
|isbn=9781780968612}}</ref> At the [[Battle of Fontenoy]] in 1745 the King's Musketeers served as regular cavalry, charging British infantry with drawn swords.

As one of the junior units in the Royal Guard, the Musketeers were not closely linked to the royal family. Traditional bodyguard duties were in fact performed by the {{lang|fr|[[Garde du Corps (France)|Garde du Corps]]}} and the {{lang|fr|[[Swiss Guards|Cent-suisses]]}}. Because of its later establishment, the Musketeers were open to the lower classes of French nobility or younger sons from noble families whose oldest sons served in the more prestigious {{lang|fr|Garde du Corps}} and {{lang|fr|Chevau-legers}} (Light Horse). The Musketeers, many of them still teenagers, soon gained a reputation for fighting spirit and unruly behaviour.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rene|last=Chartrand|pages=22–23|title=French Musketeer 1622–1775|date= 2013|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-78096-861-2}}</ref>

Their high esprit de corps gained royal favor for the Musketeers, and they were frequently seen at court and in Paris. Shortly after their creation, [[Cardinal Richelieu]] created a bodyguard unit for himself. So as not to offend the king with a perceived sense of self-importance, Richelieu did not name them Garde du Corps like the king's personal guards, but rather Musketeers after the Kings' junior guard cavalry. This was the start of a bitter rivalry between the two corps of Musketeers. At the cardinal's death in 1642, the company passed to his successor [[Cardinal Mazarin]]. At Mazarin's death in 1661, the Cardinal's Musketeers passed to [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]], contrary to the wishes of both the King's Musketeers and the Cardinal's Musketeers themselves. The Musketeers were subsequently reorganized as a guard cavalry regiment of two companies. The King's Musketeers became the first company, popularly known as "Grey Musketeers" ({{lang|fr|mousquetaires gris}}), while the Cardinal's Musketeers became the second company, known as "Black Musketeers" ({{lang|fr|mousquetaires noirs}}) for riding grey and black horses, respectively. From their establishment, the musketeers wore blue cloak-like cassocks, lined with red and edged with silver embroidery. From 1688, the cassocks were replaced by smaller {{lang|fr|soubrevestes}} or sleeveless coats in the same colours. In the early decades of the corps, the musketeers had worn civilian dress under their cassocks, according to personal taste and means, but in 1677 a scarlet uniform was adopted.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rene|last=Chartrand
|page=40
|title=French Musketeer 1622–1775
|isbn=9781780968612
|publisher=Osprey Publishing
|year=2013}}</ref>

[[File:Statue d'Artagnan Paris.jpg|thumb|[[D'Artagnan]]'s monument in Paris]]

In terms of recruitment, entry into the Musketeers was much sought after by those sons of the aristocracy who did not possess the [[Quarters of nobility|quarterings of nobility]] required for the {{lang|fr|Garde du Corps}} and {{lang|fr|Chevau-legers}}.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rene|last=Chartrand|page=18|title=French Musketeer 1622–1775|date= 2013|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-78096-861-2}}</ref> These two senior guard units were closed to all but the highest ranking and wealthy noble families. Accordingly for lesser gentry, or ambitious commoners, service in the Musketeers was the only way to join a mounted unit in the royal household and perhaps catch the King's eye. However, enlistment did require both letters of recommendation and evidence that a recruit had the family means to support the costs of service. These included the provision of horses, swords, clothing, a servant and equipment. Only the musket, the sleeveless soubreveste and the distinctive blue cassock were provided by the monarch.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rene|last=Chartrand|pages=23, 28|title=French Musketeer 1622–1775|date= 2013|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-78096-861-2}}</ref>

In 1776, the Musketeers were disbanded by [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] for budgetary reasons. Following the first Bourbon Restoration, the Musketeers were reestablished on 6 July 1814 along with the other military units of the former royal household. These expensive and aristocratic regiments proved ineffective when [[Napoleon]] returned from Elba, mostly dispersing, though some accompanied [[Louis XVIII]] into brief exile. Following the second restoration of the monarchy, the Musketeers were finally disbanded on 31 December 1815.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rene|last=Chartrand|page=23|title=French Musketeer 1622–1775|date= 2013|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-78096-861-2}}</ref>

Decades later, starting in 1844, this group was the subject of the now-famous serial publication ''[[The Three Musketeers]]'', first published in the magazine {{lang|fr|Le Siècle}} between March and July 1844. The author, [[Alexandre Dumas, père]], based his work on the book {{lang|fr|Mémoires de [[Monsieur d'Artagnan]], capitaine lieutenant de la première compagnie des Mousquetaires du Roi}} (''Memoirs of Mister d'Artagnan, lieutenant captain of the first company of the King's Musketeers'') by [[Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras]] (Cologne, 1700),<ref>{{cite book|first=Rene|last=Chartrand|pages=6–7|title=French Musketeer 1622–1775|date= 2013|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-78096-861-2}}</ref> a fictionalized account of the life of [[Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan]] (c. 1611–1673). Other musketeers served as inspirations for some of the other characters. [[Isaac de Porthau]] (1617–1712) was the inspiration for Dumas's character [[Porthos]]. Jean-Armand du Peyrer, [[Comte de Troisville]] (1598–1672), was fictionalized as Monsieur de Tréville.

Other Musketeers include:
* [[Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars]] (died 1708), better known as the jailor of the [[Man in the Iron Mask]]
* [[Pierre de Montesquiou d'Artagnan]] (1640–1725), later a Marshal of France
* [[Jean-François Leriget de La Faye]] (1674–1731)
* [[Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon]] (1675–1755)
* [[Germain-François Poullain de Saint-Foix]] (1698–1776), later a writer and playwright
* [[Thomas de Treil de Pardailhan]] (1754–1822)
* [[François-Henri de Franquetot de Coigny]] (1737–1821), later a Marshal of France
* [[Alexandre de Beauharnais]] (1760–1794), first husband of the future Empress Josephine
* [[Charles Sevin de Quincy]] (1660–1738), ''sous-brigadier des mousquetaires noirs'' (1689), later lieutenant-general and historian[[File:Jacob de Gheyn - Wapenhandelinge 4.jpg|thumb|A Dutch musketeer, holding a [[musket]]; painting by [[Jacob de Gheyn II|Jacob van Gheyn]] in 1608]]