The Prince of Condé is, in 1648, the chief general of France, its most influential noble and head of the Princes’ faction; the outcome of the conflict depends on which way he falls.
| Type | Character |
| Faction | The Princes |
| Spanish entry | Príncipe de Condé |
Description
Negotiators call him “the big one among the nobles”. He is extremely young for his command, “a kind of Alexander”, aged 23 to 25 by one account, 27 by another. He is seen only in the field, before fortresses, dependent on lines of communication and on the arrival of gunpowder.
History
On the northern frontier he has been defeating Archduke Leopold, and he kept the enemy from reaching Paris, which owes him its preservation. Near Barcelona, in the Catalan south, he “tried and tried and could not” take a heavily fortified place: his first defeat, recorded as not serious.
Its cause is disputed: the gunpowder did not arrive; communications failed; the lords west of the frontier gave no support. Treason was spoken of. Some call him “the new Roland”, betrayed by the western lords as Roland was by Ganelon, except that this Roland is alive, and some still want to kill him.
The Princes
Condé is the highest of a wider layer of “princes and nobles” open to negotiation. His faction, the Princes, is one of the kingdom’s three main factions, rival to the Royalists and the Frondeurs. His loyalty is a bargaining chip: alliances in the region turn on whether one has been “a friend of Condé or not”. The Princes make “openings” to the board’s intermediate figures.
Open questions
- His appearance (face, voice, arms, standard, escort) is not recorded.
- His age is contradictory (23–25 or 27).
- The Catalan fortress and the siege’s length are not named.
- Whether “Gondé”, a known negotiable noble, is Condé, Conti, or two different nobles is unsettled.
- What “painted with a D” refers to (initial, emblem or other) is unexplained.
- His formal relation to the crown, whether he can be dealt with face to face, and who still wants to kill him are unknown.