Porthos


Porthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, Athos and Aramis, are friends of the novel's protagonist, d'Artagnan. Porthos is a highly fictionalized version of the historical musketeer Isaac de Porthau.

Name

In The Three Musketeers, his family name is du Vallon. In Twenty Years After, having made a financially advantageous marriage, his surname is du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds,. He eventually earns the title of Baron. His real first name is never given; "Porthos" is a nom de guerre, assumed upon joining the Musketeers.

Personality

Porthos, honest and slightly gullible, is the extrovert of the group, enjoying wine, women and song. Though he is often seen as the comic relief, he is also extremely dedicated and loyal toward his friends and fellow Musketeers and stands out for his physical strength and size. His eating abilities even impress King Louis XIV during a banquet at Fontainebleau. As the story advances, he looks more and more like a giant, and his death is that of a titan.
At the time of The Three Musketeers he apparently has few lands or other resources to draw from. He is finally able to extract sufficient funds from an elderly lawyer's somewhat younger wife to equip himself for the Siege of La Rochelle.
The fictional Porthos is very loosely based on the historical musketeer Isaac de Porthau.

Film and television

Actors who have played Porthos on screen include: