Retz, Jean-François-Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de

Retz, Jean-François-Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de

▪ French priest
born September 1613, Montmirail, France
died August 24, 1679, Paris

      one of the leaders of the aristocratic rebellion known as the Fronde (Fronde, the) (1648–53), whose memoirs remain a classic of 17th-century French literature.

      Of Florentine origin, the family into which Gondi was born had risen to prominence in the French court in the 16th century. Destined by his family for an ecclesiastical career, he received his early education under the Jesuits and completed his theological studies at the Sorbonne in 1638. While still a student, he sympathized with the opposition to Cardinal de Richelieu, chief minister of Louis XIII from 1624 to 1642, who sought to weaken the power of the nobility. In 1643 Gondi was ordained a priest and was appointed coadjutor (acting deputy and successor-designate) to his uncle, Jean-François de Gondi, who was the archbishop of Paris.

      Gondi received the opportunity to play a major political role with the outbreak of the Fronde, a rebellion against the government of Anne Of Austria (who was regent for her son, Louis XIV) and her chief minister, the Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin. Throughout the Fronde, Gondi worked primarily to advance his own interests, shifting his allegiance between the rebels and the government. During an interlude in the civil war he was persuaded to support the government's arrest of the powerful Prince de Condé in January 1650. But, reversing his position and that of his followers, he helped obtain the release of Condé and the temporary exile of Mazarin (February 1651). In an attempt to win his support, Anne nominated Gondi to the cardinalate on September 22, 1651. His nomination was accepted by Pope Innocent X on February 19, 1652, and from that time Gondi styled himself Cardinal de Retz. But his political maneuvering cost him his popularity in Paris, while the government mistrusted him and waited for revenge.

      With the government victorious over the rebels, Retz was arrested on December 19, 1652, and taken to the prison at Vincennes. Upon his uncle's death in March 1654, Retz was immediately appointed archbishop of Paris but was pressured to resign this office a few days later. Pope Innocent, however, refused to accept Retz's resignation, and Retz, who had escaped from prison in August 1654, waged a battle for control of the diocese from exile. After Mazarin's death in 1661, Retz returned to France and in February 1662 agreed to resign the archbishopric of Paris in return for the abbacy of Saint-Denis and a substantial income.

      Unable to gain favour with King Louis XIV, Retz lived away from court, on his estates or in his French abbeys. Claiming a religious conversion, he lived his last years in penance.

      Retz's Mémoires, written during his retirement, is an account of his life to 1655 and contains a description of his role in the events of the Fronde, portraits of contemporaries, and maxims drawn from his experiences.

Additional Reading
A biography is J.H.M. Salmon, Cardinal de Retz (1969). Derek A. Watts, Cardinal de Retz: The Ambiguities of a Seventeenth-Century Mind (1980), analyzes Retz's Mémoires.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Retz, Jean-François-Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de — (1613 1679)    political figure, satirist, writer    Born at the château of Montmirail, Jean François Paul de Gondi was destined for the church, although, as he said, he had neither the taste nor the disposition for it. Despite a stormy youth, he …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Jean-François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz — Jean François Paul de Gondi Pour les articles homonymes, voir Gondi (famille) et Retz. Cardinal …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz — (September 29, 1613 – August 24, 1679) was a French churchman, writer of memoirs, and agitator in the Fronde.The Florentine banking family of the Gondi had been introduced into France by Catherine de Medici; Catherine offered Jérome (Girolamo) de …   Wikipedia

  • Jean François Paul de Gondi — Cardinal de Retz Jean François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz (September 29, 1613 – August 24, 1679) was a French churchman, writer of memoirs, and agitator in the Fronde. The Florentine banking family of the Gondi had been introduced into… …   Wikipedia

  • Jean-Francois Paul de Gondi — Jean François Paul de Gondi Pour les articles homonymes, voir Gondi (famille) et Retz. Cardinal …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean-François Paul De Gondi — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Gondi (famille) et Retz. Cardinal …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean-François Paul de Gondi — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Gondi (famille) et Retz. Cardinal …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean-françois paul de gondi — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Gondi (famille) et Retz. Cardinal …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean-Francois de Gondi — Jean François de Gondi Jean François de Gondi Jean François de Gondi 1584 21 mars 1654 à Paris. Fils d Albert de Gondi et de Claude Catherine de Clermont, il est le premier archevêque de Paris L occupation du siège épiscopal de Paris est réservée …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean-François De Gondi — Jean François de Gondi 1584 21 mars 1654 à Paris. Fils d Albert de Gondi et de Claude Catherine de Clermont, il est le premier archevêque de Paris L occupation du siège épiscopal de Paris est réservée pendant …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”