Paul Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain

Paul Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain (1569 – 21 October 1621), lord of Pontchartrain and Villesavin, was a French statesman. He served both Marie de' Medici and her son Louis XIII during a period of conflict between Catholics and Protestants in France, the French Wars of Religion. He was one of the negotiators of the Treaty of Loudun in 1616.

Paul Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain
Paul Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain
Born	1569 Blois, France
Died	October 21, 1621 (1621-10-22) (aged 52) Castel-Sarrazin, France
Nationality	French
Occupation	Statesman
Known for	Treaty of Loudun

Early years

Paul Phélypeaux was born in Blois in 1569, son of Louis Phélypeaux, lord of La Cave and La Vrillière.[1] His family could be traced back to the 13th century.[2] His father had married in 1557 and had five sons and three daughters. The eldest, Raimond, lord of Herbault and Verger, became Secretary of the King's chamber in 1590. Paul was the fourth son, born in Blois in 1569.[1]

In 1588, at the age of nineteen Phélypeaux entered the office of the minister Louis de Revol to study administration.[3] After Henri III died in 1589, Phélypeaux continued to work for Revol, who was retained as Secretary of State under Henri IV. In 1594 Revol died but Phélypeaux remained in office under his successor, Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy.[4] Phélypeaux and Villeroy became connected through marriage when Villeroy's grandson Henri married Phélypeaux's niece Marie, daughter of his brother Raymond. The bond between these two families remained strong into the reign of Louis XIV.[4]

In 1600 Phélypeaux was named secretary to Queen Marie de' Medici.[5] In 1605 he married Anne de Beauharnais, who was to live until 1653.[6] They had four children, one boy and three girls, including Louis I Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain (1613–1685).[5][lower-alpha 1] Paul Phélypeaux acquired the Château de Pontchartrain and its estates from Antoine de Buade de Frontenac in 1609, and became lord of Pontchartrain.[7] In 1610 Henri IV made him Secretary of State for Protestant Affairs, saying he knew of nobody more worthy, faithful and capable.[5] A few weeks later Henri IV was assassinated.[4]

Statesman

Pontchartrain remained minister during the regency of queen Marie de' Medici. He set a rare example in an age of intrigue of a minister who thought only of the interests of the state, and never of his personal gain.[5] Religious disputes had become a grave concern, threatening the peace of the kingdom. Phelypeaux took a pragmatic approach, trying to calm down passions on either side. He was one of the five deputies that the young king Louis XIII sent in 1616 to negotiate the Treaty of Loudun. The reconciliation of the queen mother with the young king was in part his work.[5]

In 1621 the peace broke down with a Protestant uprising. The king went on campaign and Pontchartrain followed him. He feel ill at the siege of Montauban, and died at Castel-Sarrazin on 21 October 1621 at the age of fifty-two.[2] He left memoirs that cover the events from 1610 to 1620, giving a clear and simple account of the events he had witnessed and accounts of other events, a valuable historical source.[5] His son Louis was just nine years old when he died. Raymond Phélypeaux assumed the position of Secretary of State for Protestant Affairs, saying that he would hold it until Louis came of age, but in fact the position remained in the La Vrillière side of the family.[8]

Bibliography

• Pontchartrain, Paul Phelypeaux de; Dumaih, Pascal (2007). Journal de la régence de Marie de Médicis. Éditions Paleo. Retrieved 2013-06-16.

References

Notes

1. His three daughters married Mangot de Villarceaux, Hodicq, lord of Marly and Claude Pierre, the first president of the parliament of Grenoble.[5]

Citations

1. Phélypeaux & Petitot 1822, p. 391.
2. Chaudon, Moysant & Grosley 1779, p. 487.
3. Phélypeaux & Petitot 1822, p. 392.
4. Chapman 2004, p. 15.
5. Michaud & Poujoulat 1837, p. 295.
6. Montjouvent 2005, p. 74.
7. Frontenac & Pontchartrain 1609.
8. Chapman 2004, p. 17.

Sources

• Chapman, Sara E. (2004). Private Ambition and Political Alliances: The Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain Family and Louis XIV's Government, 1650–1715. University Rochester Press. ISBN 978-1-58046-153-5. Retrieved 2013-06-16.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Chaudon, Louis Mayeul; Moysant, François; Grosley, Pierre Jean (1779). Nouveau dictionnaire historique,: ou Histoire abrégée de tous les hommes qui se sont fait un nom par le génie, les talens, les vertus, les erreurs, &c. depuis le commencement du monde jusqu'à nos jours. Avec des tables chronologiques pour réduire en corps d'histoire les articles répandus dans ce dictionnaire. Chez G. Leroy, imprimeur du roi. Retrieved 2013-06-16.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Frontenac, Antoine de Buade de; Pontchartrain, Paul Phélypeaux de (1609). Acte par lequel le Sr. de Frontenac vend au seigneur Paul Phélypeaux la seigneurie de Pontchartrain. Retrieved 2013-06-16.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Michaud, Joseph Fr.; Poujoulat, Jean Joseph François (1837). Nouvelle collection des mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de France: depuis le XIIIe siècle jusqu'à la fin du XVIIIe; précédés de notices pour caractériser chaque auteur des mémoires et son époque; suivi de l'analyse des documents historiques qui s'y rapportent. L'Editeur du commentaire analytique du code civil. p. 295. Retrieved 2013-06-16.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Montjouvent, Philippe de (2005-04-01). Les Beauharnais: Les grands ancêtres, 1390–1846. Éditions Christian. ISBN 978-2-86496-126-0. Retrieved 2013-06-16.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Phélypeaux, Paul; Petitot, M. (1822). Mémoires concernant les affaires de France sous la régence de Marie de Médicis, avec un journal des Conférences de Loudun. Foucault. Retrieved 2013-06-16.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)