The Duke of Guise: One must fight to the last even amidst seemingly impossible odds

September 21, 2010

During the battle for La Rochelle, the ship of the Duke of Guise caught fire.  La Rochefoucault approached to inform him:  “Sir, everything is lost!”

Charles de Lorraine, fourth duke of Guise

The Duke immediately turned to the pilot and commanded:  “Turn the ship around. There’s no difference if we go cooked or roasted.”

Edmond Guérard, Dictionnaire encyclopédique d’anecdotes (Paris: Firmin Didot, 1872), Vol. II, p. 105. (Nobility.org translation.)

Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 9

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