Guy d'Arces

Around this time, he entered the favour of the king's brother Alençon, as his cousin had, serving the prince as his écuyer d'écurie.

It was through this that he came to the attention of the king, Henri, who desired to peel off the key regional favourites that his brother had acquired.

Livarot was close to another favourite of the kings, Caylus, during the tense months when Alençon was in the capital in early 1578.

Despite his earlier duel, Livarot would go on to serve under a member of the house of Guise at this time, fighting under Mayenne in Dauphiné at the siege of La Mure in October.

He had by this time accumulated significant military office as maître de camp for the French infantry, and in his absence, his regiments became violently disorderly.

[3] Initially a member of Alençon's household, Livarot served as écuyer d'écurie to the young prince.

[3] With Alençon's return to court in early 1578, the situation in the capital between the king and his brother was explosive.

Livarot for his part expressed his deep friendship for Caylus, and his willingness to follow his political lead.

The two sides met at the horse market near porte Saint-Antoine, in the hopes of settling a dispute that had nominally arisen over a woman, according to Brantôme.

[8] The king's favourites had been angling to strip Guise of his office of grand maître so that it might be given to Caylus, and it is possible this was also a factor in the duel.

[10] In the rapier combat that followed, Maugiron was killed on the field, and Caylus wounded in such a way as to linger on for a month before dying.

Livarot for his part was the only favourite of the king to survive the encounter, he had squared off against Schomberg during the engagement, and it was from him that he received a severe blow to the head, that would keep him convalescing for the next six weeks.

[20] The following year, while the court was resident at Blois, he entered a new quarrel over a woman, arranging a duel for her favour with Antoine d'Hallwyn the marquis de Piennes on 2 May.

[16] Laurent de Maugiron had been attempting to secure from the king a guarantee that Livarot could inherit his office of lieutenant-general of Dauphiné.