This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Jean Hérault, Baron of Gourville" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(February 2012)
He was born in La Rochefoucauld, in today's Charentedépartement. At the age of eighteen he entered the house of La Rochefoucauld as a servant, and in 1646 became secretary to François de La Rochefoucauld, author of the Maximes. Resourceful and quick-witted, he rendered services to his master during the Fronde, in his intrigues with the parliament, the court or the princes. In these negotiations he made the acquaintance of Condé, whom he wished to help to escape from the château of Vincennes; of Mazarin, for whom he negotiated the reconciliation with the princes; and of Nicolas Fouquet.
After the Fronde he engaged in financial affairs, thanks to Fouquet. In 1658 he farmed the taille in Guienne. He bought depreciated rentes and had them raised to their nominal value by the treasury; he extorted gifts from the financiers for his protection, being Fouquet's confidant in many operations of which he shared the profits. In three years he accumulated an enormous fortune, still further increased by his unfailing good fortune at cards, playing even with the king. He was involved in the trial of Fouquet, and in April 1663 was condemned to death for peculation and embezzlement of public funds; but escaping, was executed in effigy. He sent a valet one night to take the effigy down from the gallows in the court of the Palais de Justice, and then fled the country.
He remained five years abroad, being excepted in 1665 from the amnesty accorded by Louis XIV to the condemned financiers. Having returned secretly to France, he entered the service of Condé, who, unable to meet his creditors, had need of a clever manager to put his affairs in order. In this way he was able to reappear at court, to assist at the campaigns of the war with Holland, and to offer himself for all the delicate negotiations for his master or the king. He received diplomatic missions in Germany, in Holland, and especially in Spain, though it was only in 1694, that he was freed from the condemnation pronounced against him by the chamber of justice. From 1696 he fell ill and withdrew to his estate, where he dictated to his secretary, in four months and a half, his Mémoires, an important source for the history of his time. In spite of several errors, introduced purposely, they give a clear idea of the life and morals of a financier of the age of Fouquet, and throw light on certain points of the diplomatic history. They were first published in 1724.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gourville, Jean Herauld". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 288–289.
Further readingedit
Freudmann, Félix Raymond (1960). L'Étonnant Gourville (in French). Geneva: E. Droz. Formats and editions at WorldCat.
Lecestre, Léon (1894). Mémoires de Gourville (2 volumes, in French). Paris: Renouard. Vol 1 (1646–1669) and Vol. 2 (1670–1702) at Gallica.
January 01, 1970
jean, hérault, baron, gourville, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, relies, largely, entirely, single, source, relevant, discussion, found, . This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Jean Herault Baron of Gourville news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2012 This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations February 2012 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Jean Herault Baron of Gourville July 10 1625 June 14 1703 was a French adventurer and aristocrat Jean Herault Baron of GourvilleJean Herault de Gourville par Gerard Edelinck d apres Hyacinthe RigaudBorn 1625 07 10 July 10 1625La Rochefoucauld Charente FranceDiedJune 14 1703 1703 06 14 aged 77 Paris FranceOccupationadventurer aristocratNationalityFrenchNotable worksMemoires de Gourville He was born in La Rochefoucauld in today s Charente departement At the age of eighteen he entered the house of La Rochefoucauld as a servant and in 1646 became secretary to Francois de La Rochefoucauld author of the Maximes Resourceful and quick witted he rendered services to his master during the Fronde in his intrigues with the parliament the court or the princes In these negotiations he made the acquaintance of Conde whom he wished to help to escape from the chateau of Vincennes of Mazarin for whom he negotiated the reconciliation with the princes and of Nicolas Fouquet After the Fronde he engaged in financial affairs thanks to Fouquet In 1658 he farmed the taille in Guienne He bought depreciated rentes and had them raised to their nominal value by the treasury he extorted gifts from the financiers for his protection being Fouquet s confidant in many operations of which he shared the profits In three years he accumulated an enormous fortune still further increased by his unfailing good fortune at cards playing even with the king He was involved in the trial of Fouquet and in April 1663 was condemned to death for peculation and embezzlement of public funds but escaping was executed in effigy He sent a valet one night to take the effigy down from the gallows in the court of the Palais de Justice and then fled the country He remained five years abroad being excepted in 1665 from the amnesty accorded by Louis XIV to the condemned financiers Having returned secretly to France he entered the service of Conde who unable to meet his creditors had need of a clever manager to put his affairs in order In this way he was able to reappear at court to assist at the campaigns of the war with Holland and to offer himself for all the delicate negotiations for his master or the king He received diplomatic missions in Germany in Holland and especially in Spain though it was only in 1694 that he was freed from the condemnation pronounced against him by the chamber of justice From 1696 he fell ill and withdrew to his estate where he dictated to his secretary in four months and a half his Memoires an important source for the history of his time In spite of several errors introduced purposely they give a clear idea of the life and morals of a financier of the age of Fouquet and throw light on certain points of the diplomatic history They were first published in 1724 Gourville died in Paris on June 14 1703 References edit nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Gourville Jean Herauld Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 12 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 288 289 Further reading editFreudmann Felix Raymond 1960 L Etonnant Gourville in French Geneva E Droz Formats and editions at WorldCat Lecestre Leon 1894 Memoires de Gourville 2 volumes in French Paris Renouard Vol 1 1646 1669 and Vol 2 1670 1702 at Gallica Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jean Herault Baron of Gourville amp oldid 1221586648, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
