July, 21st. This monument for Henri II de Rohan is in a chapel of the same name in St Peter’s Cathedral, Geneva. I was left open-mouthed when I saw the name. I had already seen it as the name of an important road right in the Paris city centre, close to the Louvres. The name wouldn’t have struck me if one of the Grand Masters of the Order of St John in Malta hadn’t had the same name.
Following some research, I found that that Henri II is the second in the line of the House of Rohan but the family is much older than that. . It adopted this name around the middle of the 16th century The family comes from the locality of Rohan and Brittany and in time became a family of viscounts, later dukes and princes with great connections with the French and English royal houses.
Henri who lived between 1579 and 1638. was already a soldier and courtier at the age of 16. His ‘protestant’ beliefs and high rank made him (automatic) leader of the Huguenots. Following a troubled life because of his religion and his concurrent allegiance to the French crown he retired to Geneva. He died in 1638 after receiving a mortal wound at the Battle of Rheinfelden. His body is buried at Geneva.
The huguenot difficulties of the 1600's led to the family scattering to all parts of the world. Emmanuel de Rohan, the future Grand Master of the Order of St John and Malta, was born in 1725 in La Mancha, Spain. He died in 1797 and is buried in St John’s Co-cathedral. I haven’t traced any connection between the two De Rohan though I am convinced that there must be. The Grand Master came around 150 years after Henry II. The House of Rohan continues to be a line in France up to this day.
Thank you very much for looking and for your lovely comments on yesterday’s picture.
A very interesting history. Jeff's mother's side is of Huguenot descent. And although his father's side is rather sketchy we think that there might be some Huguenot on that branch too. My family tree is also connected to Protestant background but not persecuted as the Huguenots were. It does spark my imagination to wish that I could talk with our ancestors to find out what life was like for them. Impressive monument and nice shot.
@jeffzam@olivetreeann Thank you so very much for your comments. Thank you also for the information on your family tree, Ann. Quite interesting, I must say.
November 21st, 2012
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