VILLEMAIN 221 VILLIERS and it was soon his duty to act as guardian of the rights of the widowed princess, Blanche of Navarre. Having concluded a treaty in her name with the king, Philippe Auguste, he departed for the East, where he distinguished him- self greatly in the conflict which finally placed Baldwin of Flanders on the throne of the Byzantine empire. Re- warded by the monarch with extensive lands on the Hebrus, and appointed Marshal of Rumania, he repaid the favor by saving the crusaders from disastrous defeat near Adrianople in 1205. On his death in 1213 his nephew Geoifroi in- herited his title and possessions. The narrative of the fourth crusade by which Villehardouin ranks among the most im- portant historians of the time, covers the period from 1198-1207, and consists largely of his own personal experience. First published by Blaise de Viginere as "History of the Conquest of Constanti- nople by the French Barons, associated with the Venetians in the year 1204, in the Change of its Absolute Languap-e to one more Modern and Intelligible" (1584), it has been frequently re-edited by Ducange (1657) ; by Petitot in his "Collections of Memoirs" (1819) ; by Bouquet in his "Things Gallic." "Scrip- tures" (1838) ; and bv Natalia de Wailly (1st ed. 1871, 2d 1874). There is an English translation by T. Smith, "Chron- icles concerning the Conquest of Con- stantinople" (1829), and a German translation by Todt (1878). VILLEMAIN-, ABEL ERANCOIS, a French author; born in Paris, June 11, 1790. Educated at the Lycee Louis-le- Grand, he was at the age of 20 appointed assistant Professor of Rhetoric at the Lycee Charlemagne, and soon afterward professor at the Ecole Normale. In 1812 he gained the prize of the Academy for his "Eulogy of Montaign*^"; on April 21, 1814, he read before the King of Prussia, the Czar Alexander, and the elite of Parisian society his essay "The Advan- tages and Inconveniences of the Critic," and two years after, he was crowned a third time for his "Eulogy of Mon- tesquieu." Deputy for Evreux from July, 1829, he was made a peer of France in 1832. and from March 13, 1839, to March 1, 1840, was Minister of Public Instruc- tion. Reappointed on Oct. 20, he was the leading promoter of the banishment of the Jesuits in 1844. About the end of that year ill-health forced him to forbear all mental labor, but in 1847 he had wholly recovered. After the establish- ment of the empire, Villemain resigned all his appointments save his place in the Academy, to which he had been elected in 1821. He died May 8, 1870. Cyc VILLENA, ENRIQUE DE ARAGON, commonly styled Marques de, a Spanish poet; born in 1384. He wrote: "The Troubadour's Art"; "The Art of Carv- ing"; "The Labors of Hercules" (1483); "Treatises on Consolation"; "Fascinol- ogy" (on the evil eye) ; "On Leprosy." He also translated the JEneid and the "Divine Comedy." He died in Madrid, Spain, Dec. 15, 1434. VILLENEUVE, PIERRE CHARLES JEAN BAPTISTE SILVESTRE DE, a French naval officer; born in 1763; en- tered the navy in 1777. He led the rear division at the battle of the Nile, and escaped with his own and four other ships to Malta. In 1804 he was made vice-admiral, and in 1805 Napoleon ap- pointed him to the command of the Tou- lon squadron, with orders to divert the British fleet from the European coasts. He was eventually shut up in Cadiz by Nelson, but with the hope of repairing his ill success by a brilliant victory he sailed out of Cadiz, along with the Spanish fleet under Gravina, and offered the enemy battle off Cape Trafalgar. Villeneuve's flagship, the "Bucentaure," was captured, and the admiral taken as prisoner to England. In April, 1806, h« was released and returned to France, but learning that his reception by the em- peror would be unfavorable he com- mitted suicide. VILLEROI, FRANCOIS DE NEITP- VILLE, DUG DE, a t'rench majshal; born April 7, 1644; was educated at court with Louis XIV. ; but was banished to Lyons for a love affair. In 1680 he returned to court, and in 1693 became a marshal, having distinguished himself at Neerwinden. As commander in the Netherlands in 1695-1696 he showed great incapacity; and sent in chief com- mand to Italy in 1701, he was there de- feated and taken prisoner by Prince Eu- gene. Again he commanded in the Netherlands, but was defeated by Marl- borough at Ramillies. Madame de Main- tenon got him made guardian to Louis XV. Orleans sent him to live on his estate in 1722, because of his intrigues; but he was subsequently governor of Lyons, and died in Paris, July 18, 1730. VILLIERS, CHARLES PELHAM, an English statesman; born Jan. 3, 1802; was graduated at St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1824; called to the bar in 1827; and elected to Parliament as a Free Trade Liberal in 1834. He repre- sented his constituency for 63 years. In 1838, at the head of 38 Free Traders in Parliament, he led the movement for an investigation of the Com Laws; in 1840 moved their repeal, and continued to 15 Vol. X
