MAXIMILIEN DE BÉTHUNE
(13 December 1560 – 22 December 1641)
Maximilien de Béthune was born near Mantes-la-Jolie, France, and died in
Villebon, France. He was a French statesman who, as the trusted minister of King
Henry IV, substantially contributed to the rehabilitation of France after the
Wars of Religion between 1562 and 1598.
During his life, Sully inherited or acquired the following titles: Duke of
Sully; Peer of France; Marshal of France; Sovereign Prince of Henrichemont &
Boisbelle; Marquess of Rosny & of Nogent-le-Béthune; Count of Muret and of
Villebon; Viscount of Meaux and of Champrond; Baron of Conti, of Caussade,
Montricoux, Montigny, Breteuil & Francastel; Lord of La Falaise, of Las,
Vitray, Lalleubellouis & other places.
Rosny's power eventually eclipsed that of the chancellor, Pompone de
Bellièvre, who stood for the old tradition of the French monarchy. Rosny was
indeed "the king's man," subordinating private and particular interests to the
authority of the state.
The political role of Sully effectively ended with the assassination of Henry
IV on 14 May 1610. Although a member of the Queen's council of regency, his
colleagues were not inclined to put up with his domineering leadership, and
after a stormy debate he resigned as superintendent of finances on 26 January
1611, retiring into private life.
Sully left a collection of memoirs written in the second person very valuable
for the history of the time. His most famous works was the idea of a Europe
composed of 15 roughly equal states, under the direction of a "Very Christian
Council of Europe", charged with resolving differences and disposing of a common
army. This famous "Grand Design," is often cited as one of the first grand plans
and ancestors for the European Union.
Two folio volumes of the memoirs were splendidly printed, nominally at
Amsterdam. Two other volumes appeared posthumously in Paris in 1662.
0 comentários:
Post a Comment