Charles II de Cossé, Duke of Brissac

Charles II de Cossé (1550-1621) was the first Duke of Brissac from 1611 until his death. He was also a Marshal of France, a title conferred upon him by King Henry IV after Charles opened the gates of Paris to him in 1594.

He was the son of Charles de Cossé, comte de Brissac the Grand Falconer of France and younger brother of Timoléon de Cossé. After the latter's death he was Grand Falconer. Charles married his first wife Judith in 1579. They had a daughter and two sons, including Francis who succeeded him as Duke of Brissac. Judith died in 1598 and he remarried four years later.

He fought in the French Wars of Religion on the side of the House of Guise.

Sources

Crabb, George (1833). Universal Historical Dictionary. London: Baldwin & Cradock. http://books.google.com/books?id=uVZBAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA3-PA56&lpg=RA3-PA56&dq=Charles+II+de+Coss%C3%A9&source=bl&ots=viAsYpteUo&sig=cdq4USkFQ2E59QV-TTHlrnw9Z2o&hl=en&ei=HhUjTvazDIiatweNyozFAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved July 18, 2011. 

 Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Brissac, Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=mP4tAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA574&lpg=PA574&dq=Charles+II+de+Coss%C3%A9&source=bl&ots=PMXQrtL_0G&sig=n80ejwqhKzw8cVOF3KRtgxc9amI&hl=en&ei=8JwjToK_A6Hn0QHk8_3BAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB8Q6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q&f=false.