French soldier, came of a noble family which had risen into prominence in the reign of Charles IX. His father Nicolas de Neufville, Marquis de Villeroi, marshal of France (15981685), created a duke by Louis XIV., was the young kings governor, and the boy was thus brought up in close relations with Louis. An intimate of the king, a finished courtier and leader of society and a man of great personal gallantry, Villeroi was marked out for advancement in the army, which he loved, but which had always a juster appreciation of his incapacity than Louis. In 1693, without having exercised any really important and responsible command, he was made a marshal. In 1695, when Luxembourg died, he obtained the command of the army in Flanders, and William III. found him a far more complaisant opponent than the little hunchback. In 1701 he was sent to Italy to supersede Catinat and was soon beaten by the inferior army of Eugene at Chiari. In the winter of 1701 he was made prisoner at the surprise of Cremona, and the wits of the army made at his expense the famous rhyme:
Par la faveur de Bellone, et par un bonheur sans égal, | |
Nous avows conservé Crémoneet perdu notre général. |