Ca. 1550-1621
Charles II de Cossé, comte and then duc de Brissac (1620) was the son of Charles I de Cossé, marshal of France (1550) and governor of Normandie (1562).
He sided with the Guises, was an early member of the Holy League and became governor of Antwerp. After the execution of the Guises in December 1588, he was arrested but quickly set freed. He returned to the League, fighting alongside the duc de Mayenne, who appointed him marshal for the League (1593). As governor of Paris (January 1594), he quickly became aware that the tide was turning in favour of the king, and negotiated his move to the other side. He decided to help the king enter the capital, and withdrew certain troops. Early in the morning of 22 March 1594, Brissac stood at the Porte-Neuve to welcome the king. Henri IV named him marshal of France, and Brissac then waged war against Mercœur. The king's death did not slow his rise to power, as he was named duc and pair in 1611, and governor of Brittany in 1615.