Which nobleman, known as the Comte de Solages, was a prisoner in the Bastille?

The nobleman known as the Comte de Solages was a prisoner in the Bastille when it was stormed on 14 July 1789. He is generally identified more fully as Hubert de Solages, and he was one of only seven prisoners found inside the fortress.

Solages had been confined under a lettre de cachet, an order that allowed the French monarchy to imprison someone without a public trial. His detention followed a family dispute involving his sister, Pauline de Solages, whom he had helped flee her marriage. His father arranged for him to be imprisoned in several royal fortresses.

He reached the Bastille in 1784 and remained there until the Revolutionaries released him. The other prisoners included four alleged forgers and two men considered mentally ill, so the crowd did not find the large population of political victims that revolutionary propaganda had suggested.

The name can appear with or without the title “Comte,” but “Comte de Solages” is the standard quiz answer. He should not be confused with the Marquis de Sade, who had been transferred from the Bastille shortly before its capture.