Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay Bernard René Jourdan, marquis de Launay (1740–1789) was the French governor of the Bastille, the son of a previous governor, and commander of its garrison when the prison-fortress in Paris was stormed on 14 July 1789 ("see Storming of the Bastille"). The marquis Bernard-René Jordan de Launay was born on the night of 8/9 April 1740 in the Bastille where his father, René Jourdan de Launay, was governor. At the age of eight he was appointed to an honorary position in the King's Musketeers ("mousquetaires du roi"). He subsequently entered the French Guards ("gardes-françaises"), a regiment
Bernard de Montgaillard Bernard de Montgaillard Bernard de Montgaillard (1563–1628) was a French Cistercian preacher and abbot of Orval Abbey. Bernard was born the son of Bertrand de Percin, lord of Montgaillard, in 1563. In 1579 he joined the Congregation of the Feuillants and became a preacher. His eloquence brought him to royal notice and he was invited to preach in Paris. At the death of Henry III of France in 1589, he became a prominent figure in the Catholic League opposing the accession of Henri IV. He left Paris in 1593 and went into exile in the Spanish Netherlands. There he was