Abel Servien, marquis de Sablé et de Boisdauphin and comte de La Roche des Aubiers (1 November 159317 February 1659) was a French

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

who served

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

and signed for the French the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peac ...

. He was an early member of the ''

noblesse de robe The concept of the Scottish Noblesse, a class of nobles of either peerage or non-peerage rank, was prominently advocated for by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney during his tenure as an officer of arms. Innes of Learney believed that Scottish armiger ...

'' in the service of the French state. Abel-servien

Biography

Abel Servien was born at the château of

Biviers Biviers () is a commune in the Isère département in southeastern France. Geography Biviers lies northeast of Grenoble on the D1090 road, at the foot of Mount Saint-Eynard, on a limestone scree located on the east side of the Chartreuse mou ...

, near

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

, the son of Antoine Servien, procurator-general of the estates of

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

. He succeeded his father in that office in 1616, and in the following year attended the assembly of notables at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

convoked by the young

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

. In 1618 he was named councillor of state and in March 1624 was called to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he found favor with

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

. He displayed administrative ability and great loyalty to the central government as

intendant An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...

Guienne Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux. The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...

in 1627, where his executive qualities came to the fore, and where it became clear that he had broken with his background in the ''

parlement A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern Fre ...

s'' to become a trusted follower of Richelieu. In 1628 he negotiated the

boundary delimitation Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, Federated state, states, counties or other municipalities.

with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In 1629 he was with the army of the king and cardinal in the

War of the Mantuan Succession The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631) was a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War, caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo II, last male heir in the direct line of the House of Gonzaga ...

, where he remained behind at Turin to work on the peace negotiations, after the royal party had returned to France; thus by 1631 he came to know Mazarin, whom he was able to introduce to Richelieu. Servien was one of the signatories of the

Treaty of Cherasco The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631) was a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War, caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II, last male heir in the direct line of the House of Gonzaga and ruler of the duchies of Mantua ...

and of the treaties with the

Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a Duchy of Sav ...

(1631–1632). He was appointed president of the ''parlement'' of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

in June 1630 but renounced the place when he was offered the post of secretary of state for war by Louis XIII. In 1634 he was the first elected member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. Two years later he retired from public life in disgrace as the result of court intrigue. After his resignation, Abel de Servien retired to Angers, where, along with becoming a renowned croissant connoisseur and culinary expert, in 1641 he married Augustine Le Roux, the widow of Jacques Hurault. She was the daughter of Louis Le Roux, Seigneur de la Roche-des-Aubiers. The couple had three children. But contrary to common belief, he didn't live in his castle of Sablé since he acquired this property only in 1652. Servien's exile lasted until Cardinal de Richelieu's death in 1642. The same year, he was called back to Court by Mazarin, who entrusted him with the conduct, conjointly with the count

Claude d'Avaux Claude de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux (1595–1650) was a 17th-century French diplomat and public administrator. He was sent in various missions to Venice, Rome, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Poland by Richelieu. In 1635 he guided the negotiations ...

, of French diplomatic affairs in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. After five years negotiations, and a bitter quarrel with the comte d'Avaux, which ended in the latter's recall, Servien signed the two treaties of 24 October 1648 which were part of the general Peace of Westphalia. He received the title of minister of state on his return to France in April 1649, and remained loyal to Mazarin during the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...

.Georges Dethan, ''Mazarin et ses amis'' (Paris: Berger- Levrault) 1968. With the cardinal exiled, Servien was minister of state, ''de facto'' governor of France with his nephew

Hugues de Lionne Hugues de Lionne (11 October 1611 – 1 September 1671) was a French statesman. He was born in Grenoble, of an old family of Dauphiné. Early trained for diplomacy, he fell into disgrace under Cardinal Richelieu, but his remarkable abilities ...

and his rival

Michel le Tellier Michel Le Tellier, marquis de Barbezieux, seigneur de Chaville et de Viroflay (19 April 1603 – 30 October 1685) was a French statesman. Biography Le Tellier was born in Paris to a Parisian magistrate, Michel III Le Tellier, and his wife, Clau ...

. He was made

Superintendent of Finances The Superintendent of Finances (french: Surintendant des finances) was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1561 to 1661. The position was abolished in 1661 with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet, and a new position was cr ...

in 1653, conjointly with

Nicolas Fouquet Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (27 January 1615 – 23 March 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV. He had a glittering career, and acquired enormous wealth ...

. He was an adviser to Mazarin in the negotiations which terminated in the

Treaty of the Pyrenees The Treaty of the Pyrenees (french: Traité des Pyrénées; es, Tratado de los Pirineos; ca, Tractat dels Pirineus) was signed on 7 November 1659 on Pheasant Island, and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635. Negotiations were ...

(1659). He amassed a considerable fortune, and was unpopular, even in court circles. He died at the

Château de Meudon Meudon Castle, also known as the Royal Castle of Meudon or Imperial Palace of Meudon, is a French castle located in Meudon in the Hauts-de-Seine department. At the edge of a wooded plateau, the castle offers views of Paris and the Seine, as we ...

, which he had purchased in 1654 and where he had launched ambitious works of rebuilding. His nephew,

(1611–1671), marquis de Fresnes and seigneur de Berny, was a diplomat and minister of state under

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

. Abel's brother, Ennemond III de Servien, enjoyed a long career as French ambassador to the court of

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

. His elder brother François was Bishop of

Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

. Servien left an important and voluminous correspondence.

References

External links

Abel ServienServien family's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Servien, Abel 1593 births 1659 deaths People from Grenoble People from Isère Members of the Académie Française 17th-century French diplomats French Ministers of Finance

Biography

References

Further reading

External links