Jean II d'O, sieur de Manou and Beauce (1552–1596) was a French noble, courtier, royal favourite, soldier and captain of the guard during the latter French Wars of Religion. Brother to the more famous François d'O, Manou began his career during the reign of Charles IX, entering the service of the king's brother Anjou at the time of the siege of La Rochelle in 1573. He travelled with Anjou upon his election as king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and upon Anjou's return as Henri III of France he became first an échanson (cup-bearer) in 1574 then gentilhomme de la chambre by 1577 before finally being elevated to the prestigious post of captain of the guard in 1580. In 1575 he fought in the Fifth War of Religion and saw action under the overall command of the Duc de Guise at the Battle of Dormans.
In 1585 he became a chevalier (knight) of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit (Order of Saint-Esprit), the highest royal order of French chivalry. The following year he became a conseiller d'État (councillor of state). With the king at war with the Catholic Ligue (League) in 1589, Manou was with the king as he prepared to besiege Paris. He was therefore present for the assassination of the king on 1 August, and after some negotiations, remained loyal to the royalist cause by swearing loyalty to his Protestant successor Henri IV on condition of his conversion and the maintenance of his office. He died in 1596.
Early life and family
Jean II d'O was born in 1552 the son of Jean I d'O and Hélène d'Illiers. The couple was married in 1534 and would have six children. Jean I d'O served as the captain of François I's guardes éccosais (Scots guard). He was also the governor of Meulan and 'grand maréchal de Normandie' (grand marshal of Normandie). He died around 1563. Hélène d'Illiers was the dame de Manou.
Jean II's elder sister, Françoise d'O (1550–) married the royal favourite of Henri III the sieur de Maintenon. His elder brother, François d'O would become one of the king's closest favourites prior to his disgrace in 1581. He had three younger brothers: René d'O (–1586) sieur de Fresnes and gentilhomme de la chambre du roi (gentleman of the king's chamber) in 1580; Louis d'O (–1583) sieur de La Ferrière, who died in service of the duc d'Alençon in Nederland Charles d'O sieur de La Ferrière, abbot of Saint-Étienne de Caen and Saint-Julien de Tours then gentilhomme de la chambre du roi in 1594.
Jean II d'O came from an ancient Norman noble family. The family had seen service at the battle of Azincourt in 1415 with a member of the house being killed on the field. The D'O served Charles VIII and Louis XII in the capacity of chamberlains.
In the division of the family lands, Jean's elder brother François received the Norman and Perche seigneuries of O, Fresnes and Maillebois. Meanwhile, Jean inherited those territories that had been brought into the family by his mother Hélène, Manou and Beauce. The brothers would benefit at court from the memory of their father.
Marriage and children
Jean II d'O married Charlotte de Clermont, dame de Tallard, a daughter of a gentleman in the ducal household of Anjou, Antoine III de Clermont-Tallard. This marriage was part of a strategy of building networks among the court families.
They couple had the following issue: Louise d'O, married in Gabriel du Quesnel, the marquis d'Allègre in 1599.
After his arrival in Paris he initially resided with his brother in a hôtel on the rue Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre. In the 1580s Manou moved to a residence on the rue Saint-Honoré named 'l'Hermine'.
Reign of Charles IX
Manou's royal service began around 1565.
Anjou
From 1572 Manou would serve as a gentilhomme de la chambre (gentleman of the chamber) in the ducal household of the duc d'Anjou, brother to king Charles.
He accompanied his lord for the attempted siege of La Rochelle in 1573, the city having gone into rebellion after the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. After several months of inconclusive struggle the siege was brought to a conclusion by the news that Anjou had been elected as king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a peace was therefore arranged between the crown and the Protestants.