The Origins of French Absolutism, 1598-1661

This controversial study takes the provocative line that the French monarchy was a complete success. James turns the idea of royal 'absolutism' on its head by redefining the French monarchy's success from 1598 - 1661. The Origins of French Absolutism, 1598-1661 maintains that building blocks were not being laid by the so-called architects of absolutism, but that by satisfying long-established, traditional ambitions, cardinal ministers Richelieu and Mazarin undoubtedly made the confident, ambitious reign of the late century possible. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Introduction to the Series Acknowledgements Chronology Map: France in 1620 Introduction Part One: The Background 1. Early Bourbon Monarchy The ‘Peace’ of Nantes The Recovery of Royal Authority The Early Reign of Louis XIII Part Two: Analysis 2. Religion The Catholic Reformation The Cardinal Ministers The Huguenots Jansenism 3. War Early Aims and Ambitions France in the Thirty Years’ War, 1635–48 Mazarin and the Peace of the Pyrenees, 1648–59 4. Government Popular Rebellion Money Officers of the Crown Fronde of the Parlement, 1648–49 Personal Government 5. Social Order The Fronde of the Nobles, 1650–53 Louis XIII and the Nobility Historians and the Nobility The Dynastic State Part Three: Assessment 6. The Origins of French Absolutism? The Fouquet-Colbert Rivalry The End of Government by First Minister? The Golden Years, 1659–61 Conclusion Part Four: Documents Document 1: Henri IV to the Bishop of Rennes, 7 March 1598 Document 2: Henri IV to the Constable, Henry of Montmorency, 5 April 1598 Document 3: Henri IV on the Promulgation of the Edict of Nantes, 5 May 1598 Document 4: Sully on Opposition to the Article of the Edict of Nantes Relating to Synodal Assemblies, 1599 Document 5: Opposition to the Establishment of Catholicism in Béarn, July 1599 Document 6: Henri IV to Sully, 17 March 1606 Document 7: Charles de Loyseau on ‘The High Nobility’, 1610 Document 8: The Prince of Condé to Duplessis-Mornay, February 1614 Document 9: Richelieu’s Thoughts on the Most Pressing Needs of France, 1624 Document 10: The Prince of Condé to Louis XIII, 1626 Document 11: Richelieu on Duelling, 1626 Document 12: Memoir From the Prince of Condé to Louis XIII, October 1627 Document 13: Memoir From Richelieu to Marie de Medici, May 1630 Document 14: Richelieu to Louis XIII, 12 November 1630 Document 15: An Anonymous Warning to Louis XIII, 1631 Document 16: A Popular Uprising in Bordeaux, 1635 Document 17: Richelieu to the Baron of Charnacé, November 163 Document 18: A Circular Letter From the King to the Bishops of France, July 1636 Document 19: A Memoir From Richelieu to a Representative in Rome and to the Pope’s Representative in Paris, April 1637 Document 20: The Duke D’épernon to the Chancellor, Séguier, June 1637 Document 21: The Prelate in the Army, 1638 Document 22: A Circular Letter From the King to the Bishops of France, February 1641 Document 23: Richelieu to Louis XIII, May 1642 Document 24: The Testament Politique of Cardinal Richelieu Document 25: Mazarin to Abel Servien, 14 August 1648 Document 26: Turenne to his Sister, Mademoiselle de Bouillon, 9 December 1648 Document 27: From the Memoirs of the Cardinal of Retz, December 1648 Document 28: A Mazarinade of 1650 Document 29: The Prince of Condé to the Parlement of Dijon, 8 July 1651 Document 30: A Mazarinade of 1651 Document 31: A Formal Statement Issued by the Ormée of Bordeaux, 16 May 1652 Document 32: A Report From the Ormée, 20 May 1652 Document 33: Le Tellier to Turenne on an Offer of Peace to Condé, 26 September 1652 Document 34: Turenne to his Wife, 7 January 1653 Document 35: Mazarin to Louis XIV, 17 September 1659 Document 36: Fouquet to Mazarin, 6 January 1660 Document 37: Mazarin to Fouquet, 14 February 1660 Document 38: A Memoir Dictated by Louis XIV, 9 March 1661 Document 39: The Early Days of the Personal Reign of Louis XIV Who’s Who Further Reading References Glossary Index

Each book in the Seminar Studies in History series provides a concise and reliable introduction to complex events and debates. Written by acknowledged experts and supported by extracts from historical documents, a chronology, glossary, who’s who of key figures and guide to further reading, Seminar Studies in History are the essential guides to understanding a topic.

In 1598, France emerged exhausted from nearly forty years of damaging civil and religious warfare. By 1661 this same country was the leading power in Europe and set to embark on one of the most celebrated periods of its history. The system of government founded during this period became known to historians as royal ‘absolutism’. It was closely associated with both Cardinal Richelieu and his successor Cardinal Mazarin who, in turn, were seen as instrumental in brokering the changes that took place within both government and society at this time.

Alan James argues that there was no conscious plan to modernise France or to create a new, more centralised and bureaucratic form of government. Instead the ministries of Richelieu and Mazarin were based on the traditional values of religion, war, and privilege. Organised thematically, the book examines the key priorities of government in turn to come to an assessment of the success of French absolutism, defined in its own terms.

Alan James is a lecturer in the Laughton Naval History Unit of the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. His is author of The Navy and Government in Early Modern France, 1572-1661 (Boydell, 2004) for which he was awarded the prize of ‘Best Young Academic Author of the Year’ by the college.