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Preferred Citation

The Present Policies of France, 1685, Accession #11090, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This item was transferred from the Rare Books Division to the Manuscripts Division, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library, on March 13, 1993.

Biographical/Historical Information

Jacques Nicolas Colbert ("James Nicholas Colbert"), born in Paris in 1655, was the second son of Jean-Baptist Colbert (1619-1683), Louis XIV's chief advisor and government administrator. He was archbishop of Rouen from 1691 until his death in 1707. 1

Daniel de Cosnac, born in 1627 or 1630 at his family's chateau in Limousin, was the youngest son of Baron Cosnac. His father intended him for a church career and Cosnac was sent to the household of Francois- Louis de Bourbon, prince de Conti (1664-1709), and became a favorite of the Duchess of Longueville (Anne-Genevi趥 de Bourbon-Cond马 and later, the prince himself. He gained influence over the prince but at the conclusion of the Fronde, Cosnac persuaded the prince to reconcile with the royal court while Louis de Bourbon, prince de Cond鬠military leader of the forces against the king, offered his services to Spain, France's chief enemy. 2

Seventeenth century France experienced severe religious persecutions and civil war. The First Fronde (1648-1649), was a rebellion of the middle class and nobility in opposition to higher taxes and suspension of interest payments on state bonds ordered by Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602-1661), the king's chief political, spiritual and intellectual advisor and administrator. [Frondes were slings used by Paris criminals.] Such was the turmoil caused by the Fronde that Louis XIV and the royal family fled Paris and remained away from the capital for nearly a year. 3

Cosnac became first chaplain to Monsieur, Philippe, duc d'Anjou and later, duc d'Orl顮s (1640-1701), the king's brother. Thanks to the influence of Prince Conti, Cosnac was appointed bishop of Valence in 1654 although he had not been formally admitted to holy orders (nor was even a sub-deacon). Nevertheless, Cosnac stood high in Philippe's favor and became his chaplain in 1658. Following a quarrel with the Chevalier de Lorraine (Philippe de Lorraine-Armagnac) caused in part because Cosnac sided with Madame (the Monsieur's wife), Philippe ordered him to leave Paris; however Madame used her influence to effect his return. Cosnac was later accused of being a counterfeiter, arrested and tried by a bishop's tribunal which exiled and confined him at L'Ile-Jourdain [a small village in Armagnac; later the chief town of the canton of the department of Gers] for thirty-two months (1670-1672). Louis evidently did not hold this against him, for he later gave Cosnac opportunities to demonstrate his loyalty to the crown.

Three years later Cosnac was appointed archbishop of Aix. He proved zealous on the crown's behalf as a member of several general assemblies of clergy (1655-1657, 1665-1666, 1681-1682, 1685, 1690, 1695, 1701, 1707) and was a signatory of the Declaration of the Four Articles, sometimes known as the Four Gallican Articles of 1682. The first of the Articles reaffirmed the overall authority of the king; the second, third and fourth articles rejected the supremacy of the papacy and held that the final authority over religion in France rested with the Assembly of Clergy and the king ("Gallicianism"). The pope (Innocent X; reigned 1676-1689) was declared to have but limited control over the Gallican (French) Church. 4

The persecution of French Protestants (Huguenots) became state policy in October 1685 when Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes (1598) which had guaranteed state toleration of Huguenots (his act was known as the Revocation). During this period Cosnac, as head of a commission on religious affairs and a spokesman for French Catholic clergy, publicly joined the defense of the liberties of the French Church and vigorously persecuted Protestants in his diocese. He was called to the bishopric of Aix in 1687 but did not officially take possession of his see until 1695. He died at Aix-en-Provence on 18 January 1708. A contemporary, Louis de Rouvroy, second duc d'Saint-Simon (1675-1758), described him as a man of intelligence, justice, vivacity and resourcefulness, but also a fearsome, ambitious intriguer. Cosnac's two volume Memoires, written with humor and eccentric details of the author's intrigues, were not published until the summer of 1852 by his descendant, Gabriel Jules, Comte de Cosnac (1819-1893), for the Society of the History of France. 5

1 Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Larousse , 1982, vol. 3, 2361. Additional biographical information on Colbert is not available.

2 Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Larousse , 1982, vol. 3; La Grand Encyclopedia , 1886, vol. 12, p. 1135; and Jules de Cosnac, Memoires De Daniel De Cosnac (New York, reprint, 1968), vol. 1, pp. 471-479.

3 The Second Fronde (1659), a rebellion of nobles, some of whom began treasonable negotiations with Spain to replace Louis XIV. But the middle class withheld its support and Cardinal Mazarin suppressed it by creating a strong court (royal) coalition.

4 G. R. R. Treasure, Seventeenth Century France (London, 1966), 340-342; L'Ile-Jourdain identified in Memoires De Daniel De Cosnac , vol. 1, p. 394.

5 Le Comte Jules De Cosnac, Memoires De Daniel De Cosnac , 2 volumes (Paris, 1852; reprint, New York, 1968); Cosnac as head of the religious commission, page 311, vol. 2.

Scope and Content Information

This item is an eighteenth century manuscript in a nineteenth century binding whose spine bears the title The Present Policies of France, 1685 , eight pages, of a handwritten English translation of "A Speech made to the French King, at Versailles the 14th Day of July 1685 By Daniel De Cosnac, Bishop and Earl of Valence and Die; in the Name of all The Lord Archbishops, Bishops and other Deputies of the General Assembly, Held at St. Germain in the same year---At ye opening of the Session." Cosnac (1627 or 1630-1708) was a minister of religious affairs during the reign of Louis XIV (born 1638; reigned 1643-1715). Also present is a similarly entitled "A Speech made to the French King, at Versailles the 21st of July 1685 By James Nicholas Colbert [Jacques Nicolas Colbert], Archbishop, and Primate of Carthage and Assistant in The Archbishoprick of Rouen, in the Name of all The Lord Archbishops, Bishops and Other Deputies of the General Assembly, Held at St. Germain in the same year./At the End of the Session, and taking leave of his Majesty." The manuscript closes with "A Panegyric made some years since on the Dauphin of France," post 1711.

Researchers should note the existence of similarly titled but unrelated works of the period: Randal Taylor, The Spirit of France, and the Political Maxims of Lewis XIV laid open to the World (London, 1689), sometimes known by the alternative title of The Present Policies of France, and, The Present Policies of France and the Maxims of Lewis XIV plainly laid open detecting the management of his intrigues against the princes and states of Europe (London, 1689). Microfilm copies of these are available in the Microforms Department of Alderman Library.

Speeches

These lengthy orations primarily praise Louis XIV as the greatest king on earth, defender of France and the true Catholic Church, and urge religious unity. Colbert hails Louis as a powerful, merciful genius who "can pour out your Thunder beyond the Bounds of Africa." French Protestants (Huguenots) are characterized as instigators of domestic strife and urged to be loyal Frenchmen by rejecting Protestantism. Cosnac accuses them of violating the laws and practicing heresy. He also urges Louis to offer military assistance to James II of England [reigned 1685-1688] to restore Catholicism in that kingdom. These speeches are typical of various general religious assemblies held in France during the seventeenth century which tended to agreed unanimously on the issues of the day and not dispute the king.

The unidentified speaker of the panegyric, post 1711, eulogizes the Grand Dauphin [title of the official heir to the French throne], Louis de France (1661-1711). As Louis XIV's son and intended heir, he was usually addressed as Monseigneur and died on April 12, 1711. The speaker identifies the Dauphin's godfather as Pope Clement IX (reigned 1667-1670) and the date of his christening as August 24, 1668. The Dauphin is portrayed as first among men, a man of virtue and merit, and a brave, skillful soldier. [According to the Library of Congress, Louis de France (1682-1712) was the son of the Grand Dauphin Louis (1661-1711). It is possible this panegyric has them confused.] 1

The volume concludes with a postscript statement (whose ink color and handwriting suggests it was written some time after the transcript of the two speeches) praising Cosnac and the French effort to exterminate the heresy of Calvinism. Its tone indicates the possibility that this entire volume was some form of notebook or intended book or pamphlet manuscript originally preserved by an English Catholic and supporter of King James II (deposed in the "Glorious Revolution of 1688"; died 1701) and later, his son, the Prince of Wales, James Edward Stuart (styled by his supporters as "James III" and his detractors as "the Old Pretender").

In 1651 the bishop of Cummings pleaded with Louis XIV not to plunge France into a campaign of religious persecution by restricting the rights of its Protestants; the bishops of Orleans and Grenoble publicly opposed anti-Protestant measures. But between 1662 and 1684 Catholics were given control of Protestant cemeteries, Protestant funerals were forbidden in the daytime, marriages between Protestants and Catholics were banned, Protestant churches closed, and Protestants barred from many professional and public occupations, including appointments to royal service. 2

1 A probable historical explanation of the panegyric: In a limited extent, Cosnac's and Colbert's orations could be considered rebuttals of Michel de L'Hospital (1503- 1573), Chancellor of France and a proponent of religious coexistence. In a speech before the Estates General meeting at Saint-Germain and later, in the Colloquy of Poissy (1561), he argued for tolerant coexistence between Catholics and Protestants to maintain internal political stability and for the good of the king (Louis XIII), his subjects, Christianity, and civic peace in France. L'Hospital was a politique, a person who, despite his own religious convictions (L'Hospital was Catholic) and impelled by secular and temporal motives, "put the interests of the State above all else and was willing to make compromises to preserve its security and integrity." Many politiques placed great emphasis on the power of the crown because the "king pulls authority from God," and royal government's purpose was "to maintain peace, order, justice, and provide for the welfare of all its subjects, irrespective of creed." Henry Kamen, The Rise of Toleration (New York: 1967; paperback reprint 1972), 131-139.

2 Kamen, 196-198.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bluche, Francois. Louis XIV . New York, 1990.
Cosnac, Jules de. Memoires de Daniel de Cosnac . Reprint, New York, 1968.
Maland, David. Culture and Society in Seventeenth-Century France . New York, 1970.
The Present Policies of France and the Maxims of Lewis XIV plainly laid open detecting the management of his intrigues against the princes and states of Europe (London, 1689). Microfilm.
Taylor, Randal The Spirit of France, and the Political Maxims of Lewis XIV laid open to the World (London, 1689) or, The Present Policies of France . Microfilm.
Treasure, G. R. R. Seventeenth Century France . London, 1966.
Voltaire, Jean Francois Marie Arouet de. The Age of Louis XIV . London: Dent, 1978.