Comte de Rochefort

The Comte de Rochefort was a secondary, but important, character in Alexandre Dumas, père's d'Artagnan Romances. Described as "around forty or forty-five, fair with a scar across his cheek".

We first meet him in the opening chapter of The Three Musketeers, where he insults d'Artagnan and steals his letter of recommendation to Monsieur Treville, causing d'Artagnan to swear revenge. He reappears from time to time as the story progresses; it is he who kidnaps Constance Bonancieux, and we eventually learn that he is the main agent of Cardinal Richelieu. However, in the end he and an older and wiser d'Artagnan, having fought inconclusively on three occasions, settle their differences and become friends.

Rochefort would reappear in the sequel, Twenty Years After. Having been put into bad favor with Richelieu's succesor Mazarin, he only comes out of the Bastille after five years. When Mazarin dismisses him from service for being too old, he joins the side of the Frondeurs. He aids Athos in freeing the Duke of Beaufort and reappears in the end at the riot against Mazarin's return. Not realizing who he was in the chaos, d'Artagnan kills his old friend, as he had predicted he would if they fought a fourth time.

As d'Artagnan was the subject of Courtilz de Sandras' writings, which Dumas used to make the Romances, Rochefort was as well. The fictional Memoirs of Monsieur Le Comte de Rochefort was written in 1678, although Dumas did not take much from the story aside from the name. It is speculated that our Rochefort was based on Henri-Louis d'Aloigny, the Marquis de Rochefort, although he was born many years later, long after his fictional counterpart had died.

In film Rochefort has been played by:

• Christopher Lee in the 1973 movie The Three Musketeers, as well as the sequel The Four Musketeers.
• Michael Wincott in the 1993 Disney movie The Three Musketeers.