[1] Coming from a family pushed into prominence in the sixteenth century by François I, Carrouges was initially beholden to the House of Guise for political favour, supporting them in their plans concerning Scotland and arrests related to the Conspiracy of Amboise.

By 1583 Henri III had new favourites he wished to please, and as such he sought to reconsolidate the governorship of Normandie, necessitating the compensation of Carrouges, Matigon and Meilleraye.

By the end of the year the king had irrevocably broken his authority in Rouen through his assassination of the duke of Guise, while Carrouges continued to try and contain the liguer sentiments in the town, they burst into a coup in February 1589 that secured the city for the ligue.

They had languished in obscurity until the reign of François I during which time the favour shown by the king to Jehan Le Veneur, making him a cardinal, brought the family to prominence in Norman society.

[1] In 1550 he married Madeleine de Pompadour and together they had four children: [1] In 1559 the Guise family, which was ascendent, had considerable ambitions as related to Scotland, to this end they needed to organise an expedition in Normandie to travel up to the kingdom.

[4] Ultimately the Scottish plan would be under the authority of René, Marquis of Elbeuf, a brother of the duke of Guise, however national events in the following year would ensure the failure of the scheme.

[5] Trusted by the Guise, Carrouges was entrusted with the sensitive task of arresting the Prince of Condé's mother in law, after their suspected involvement in the Conspiracy of Amboise.

[2] Having now achieved high office, he cultivated connections at court at the expense of his previous Guisard loyalties that he had demonstrated during the reign of François II.

[7] Rouen was plagued by disturbances in 1567 and 1568, in reporting to the crown on the matter in early 1568, Carrouges blamed the 'haughty attitudes' and 'insolent words' of the towns Protestant population, as being inducements to violent action.

He was keen to follow the letter he had received from Charles IX on 24 August bemoaning a 'great and terrible sedition' that was underway in the capital and instructing him to make sure the peace was kept in every municipality under his authority.

[16] Buoyed by the increased authority of being made governor, Meilleraye and Carrouges supplemented the size of their companies in Normandie, until they rivalled those of the national grandees in the region.

[18][19] Rumours of armed bands led to the crown informing Carrouges to be on the watch for a potential attack on Rouen in August 1576, however none materialised.

[20] A more famous ligue would be formed by Jacques d'Humières in Péronne later that year in response to the Peace of Monsieur, which radical Catholics loathed for giving too much to the Protestants.

[27] With the death of Alençon in 1584, creating the prospect of a Protestant heir to the throne, the ligue movement, which had been dormant since the Treaty of Bergerac quelled the grievances caused by the peace of Monsieur, roared back to life.

Regardless Carrouges decided to impose a 6pm curfew on non naturalised residents, he also supplemented the city guard and implemented searches on inbound ships to locate any weapons.

[29] For Carrouges' loyalty he was to be rewarded with a spot as a Marshal of France when a vacancy opened up in the institution, his son was not so loyal and was drawn increasingly into ligue activities in the town.

Carrouges would however attempt to do so, as soon as news reached Rouen he sprung into action, stationing spies throughout the city to alert him to dangerous developments in public opinion, exiled and disarmed former Protestants who were now Catholic and banning preachers from mentioning the assassination.

[32] On 14 January he was called before the Council of 24 and accused of conspiring to allow royal troops to enter the town, a charge he successfully denied.

[34] Carrouges who was held up in the Abbey of St Ouen was persuaded to hand over control of the two royal strongholds by the ligue leadership to avoid any bloodshed.

[37] In 1590 Mayenne installed Jean de Saulx Tavannes into the position, but the notables of Rouen worked poorly with him, and he in turn was replaced by Villars in 1591.