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Y313: The Ascendancy of France 1610–1715

Depth study: Richelieu’s relations with the French court and nobility — statesmanship

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 3

Overview

Recall questions on his statesmanship, his principles e.g. raison d état’, his edicts and methods, his policies towards the nobility and court e.g. the edict banning duelling, patronage and clientage.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What state did Richelieu leave France in at his death in 1642?

Key term

Define raison d'état.

Key term

Why was the execution of Montmorency-Bouteville in 1627 such a deliberate act?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Define raison d'état.

    Model answer

    The principle that the interests and security of the state override other considerations, including religious solidarity, private morality and established legal forms.

  2. 2

    Give the clearest illustration of raison d'état in Richelieu's policy.

    Model answer

    A cardinal of the Roman Church subsidised Lutheran Sweden and allied with German Protestant princes against the Catholic Habsburgs, because he judged that Habsburg power, not heresy, was the danger to France.

  3. 3

    How did Richelieu use edicts and special tribunals against the nobility?

    Model answer

    He legislated against duelling, ordered the demolition of castles not needed for frontier defence, and had opponents tried before commissions and hand-picked judges rather than in the ordinary courts, which his critics condemned as a denial of justice.

  4. 4

    Why was the execution of Montmorency-Bouteville in 1627 such a deliberate act?

    Model answer

    Bouteville came from one of the greatest families and duelled openly in Paris to defy the edict, so beheading him proved that the king's law applied to the highest nobility and that noble honour could not override royal justice.

  5. 5

    How did patronage and clientage work in Richelieu's system of power?

    Model answer

    He built a network of relatives, dependants and provincial brokers whom he placed in governorships, bishoprics, financial offices and army commands, so that his personal following extended royal influence into the provinces while making his own position formidable.

  6. 6

    What did Richelieu gain personally from office?

    Model answer

    He accumulated governorships, the new post of grand master of navigation and commerce, a duchy, one of the largest private fortunes in France and a great town house in Paris, which his enemies used as evidence that his patriotism served his own ambition.

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