Jacques Goyon de Matignon

Jacques II de Goyon seigneur de Matignon (1525-1598) was a governor and Marshal of France. Coming from a prominent Norman family, he assumed the role of Lieutenant-General of lower Normandy. In this position he came into conflict with the Protestant governor of Normandy Bouillon. During the first civil war Matignon would come into conflict with the governor, who occupied a third individual position between the crown and the rebels as he felt his authority eroded. In 1574 the governorship of Normandy which had become vacant was split into three separate offices between Matignon, Meilleraye and Carrouges. He would hold the governorship until it was reunited in 1583 for Henri III's favourite Anne de Joyeuse He would continue to serve the crown loyally under Henri III, subduing a rebellion orchestrated by Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery in 1574. Soon after this in 1575 he was elevated as a Marshal to oppose the influence of Retz. In 1579 he again had to subdue a Protestant rebellion, this time led by Condé Having lost out on his governorship, he was granted office in Guyenne as compensation, a role in which he enriched himself in the coming years. As the ligue triumphed in the late 1580s, Matignon half heartedly enforced their policy before joining up with Navarre whene Henri III broke with the ligue in 1588. He assisted Navarre in his difficulties with the Croquant rebellions before dying in 1598. Early life and family The Matignon family had traditionally held the lieutenant-generalship of lower Normandy. Reign of Charles IX