Porthos

Also known as: Baron du Vallon / Le Seigneur de Bracieux et de Pierrefonds / M. du Vallon / M. le Baron du Vallon / Monsieur du Vallon / Monsieur le Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds / monsieur le baron / the Baron du Vallon / the baron · Family: Musketeers · Role: musketeer · First appears: Chapter 1

In chapter 1, D’Artagnan counted Porthos among his friends while investigating Aramis and trying to discover Porthos’s whereabouts. By chapter 2, Porthos was at Fouquet’s in Saint-Mande, and Baisemeaux warned him that Aramis had visited the Bastile and made inquiries. At Belle-Isle and Fontainebleau, Fouquet appeared as Porthos’s friend and patron, relocating him after his strength damaged a lightly built lodging and giving him five horses. Porthos agreed to carry Aramis’s urgent letter with D’Artagnan, accepted D’Artagnan’s plan to present him at court, and was described as having been Aramis’s prisoner. He also missed Mousqueton, his servant, while taking pleasure in Planchet’s company and restoring their former familiar manner of speaking.

At Fontainebleau, Porthos courted Truchen, with D’Artagnan teasing him about his flirtations, but he stopped treating her romantically when he learned that Louis XIV expected him. Through D’Artagnan, he was presented to Louis XIV as one of France’s bravest gentlemen, invited to supper, and later honored by sharing the king’s wine. Porthos’s ring and generosity restored Truchen to her proper position, and he remained connected with Planchet and Celestin; Fouquet also promised him increased rank through Aramis’s influence. Aramis and Porthos were presented to Louis XIV as “Excellent friends, sire; the one can answer for the other,” alongside M. le Comte de la Fere in the celebrated group of four.

By chapter 54, Porthos was arranging a formal position for Mouston among his domestics and was greeted warmly by his young friend Raoul. At Vincennes, he acted for Raoul by challenging Saint-Aignan, becoming Saint-Aignan’s enemy when the challenge was issued. Later, Raoul kept a promise made to Porthos, embraced him before departing with Athos, and left Porthos and D’Artagnan the carriage for Paris. When D’Artagnan explained that fighting Saint-Aignan would effectively mean fighting Louis XIV, Porthos accepted the explanation; he remained a friend of Athos, whom he called “best of friends.”