Antoine de Montchrestien (, or ''Montchrétien'') (c. 15757 or 8 October 1621) was a French soldier, dramatist, adventurer and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

. Montchrestien was born in

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. Son of an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

named Mauchrestien and orphan at a young age, Montchrestien came under the protection of François Thésart, baron de Tournebu and des Essarts, and became the valet of Thésart's children (allowing him to participate in their studies); he would later (1618) marry Thésart's daughter Suzanne. Later in his life he would also be favored by Henri II de Bourbon, prince de Condé. Montchrestien initially sought a literary career (inspired by

François de Malherbe François de Malherbe (, 1555 – 16 October 1628) was a French poet, critic, and translator. Life He was born in Le Locheur (near Caen, Normandie), to a family of standing, although the family's pedigree did not satisfy the heralds in terms of ...

): in 1595 he published his first tragedy, '' Sophonisbe or La Carthaginoise''. In 1601, he published five more plays: the tragedies ''L'Ecossaise'' (on Mary Stuart), ''Les Lacènes'', ''

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

ou l'Adultère'', ''

Aman Aman may refer to:Poli People First names * Aman Hambleton (born 1992), Canadian chess grandmaster * Aman Hayer (born 1979), Bhangra musician * Aman Verma (actor) (born 1971), Indian actor Surnames * Mohammed Aman (born 1994), Ethiopian mi ...

'', and the pastoral ''La Bergerie''. In 1604, he added his tragedy ''

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

'' (which may not have been performed). Montchrestien was involved in several

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

s (illegal in France from 1602 on); in 1603 he was left near dead; in 1604 or 1605 he killed his opponent and was forced to flee to England temporarily to avoid royal prosecution, but most likely through the influence of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

, to whom he dedicated his tragedy, ''L'Ecossaise'', he was allowed to return to France, and he established himself at Auxonne-sur-Loire, where he set up a steel

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

. In 1615 he published ''Traicté de l'économie politique'', based chiefly on the works of

Jean Bodin Jean Bodin (; c. 1530 – 1596) was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is known for his theory of sovereignty. He was also an influential writer on demonology. Bodin l ...

. In the

history of economic thought History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

, it is the first use of '

political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

' in the title of a work claiming to be a treatise. It challenged

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

's position on the independence of

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

from other social life, including economic activities. It also developed some major elements of subsequent

Mercantilist Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce ...

thought, such as the value of productive labor use and

wealth Wealth is the abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial assets or property, physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for financial transaction, transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the ...

acquisition in promoting political stability.P. Bridel, 1987 008 "Montchrétien, Antoyne de," '' The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 3, p. 546 p.546-47
• Alain Béraud and Philippe Steiner, 2008. "France, economics in (before 1870)," ''

The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'' (2018), 3rd ed., is a twenty-volume reference work on economics published by Palgrave Macmillan. It contains around 3,000 entries, including many classic essays from the original Inglis Palgrave Diction ...

'', 2nd Edition
Abstract.
br/> • Peter Groenwegen, 1987

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...

"'political economy' and 'economics'," ''The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 3, p. 905 [pp. 904–07 (brie
link
]. From around this time, Montchrestien was favored with several official positions (including governor of Châtillon-sur-Loire in 1617) which were financially advantageous, and he took the title "baron" and married. In 1620 Montchrestien joined the rebellion of the

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

s (there is no evidence that he shared the religious opinions of the party for which he fought; he had earlier belonged to the moderate party which had rallied round Henry IV) and was forced to fight against his former protector the prince de Condé. Unable to hold the city of

Sancerre Sancerre () is a medieval hilltop town (ville) and commune in the Cher department, France overlooking the river Loire. It is noted for its wine. History Located in the area of Gaul settled by the powerful Celtic (Gaule Celtique) tribe, the Bitu ...

, Montchrestien returned to

to attempt a raise troops, but on the night of October 7, 1621, he was discovered in an inn at

Les Tourailles Les Tourailles () is a commune in the Orne département and the region of Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Athis-Val-de-Rouvre. Geography * Watercourses: The river Rouvre. History * Notre ...

, near Falaise, and was killed. Tried posthumously, Montchrestien's body was put on the wheel and burned for

lèse-majesté Lèse-majesté () or lese-majesty () is an offence against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from the French, w ...

Montchrestien's theater

Together with

Robert Garnier Robert Garnier (1544 – 20 September 1590) was a French poet and dramatist. He published his first work while still a law-student at Toulouse, where he won a prize (1565) in the Académie des Jeux Floraux. It was a collection of lyrical pi ...

and

Alexandre Hardy Alexandre Hardy (c. 1570/1572 – 1632) was a French dramatist, one of the most prolific of all time. He claimed to have written some six hundred plays, but only thirty-four are extant. He was born in Paris, and seems to have been connected mo ...

, Montchrestien is one of the founders of 17th century French drama. Montchrestien's tragedies are "regular"; they are in five acts, in verse and use a chorus; battles and shocking events occur off stage and are reported by messengers. His style shows an attention to detail (he reworked his verses extensively), and avoids both pedantry and convoluted syntax (unlike Alexandre Hardy). He was fond of laments, the use of

stichomythia Stichomythia ( grc, στιχομυθία, stikhomuthía) is a technique in verse drama in which sequences of single alternating lines, or half-lines (hemistichomythia

and Gnome (rhetoric), gnomic or sententious lines (often indicated in his published plays by the use of marginal quotation marks). Montchrestien's plays have been frequently criticized for being too close to

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

Senecan tragedy Senecan tragedy refers to a set of ten ancient Roman tragedies, probably eight of which were written by the Stoic philosopher and politician Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Senecan Tragedies The group comprises: * '' Hercules Furens'' * ''Medea'' * ...

in their lack of dramatic action and concentration on pathos and lament, and also for their dramatic inconsistencies. In ''L'Ecossaise'',

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

first pardons

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, and no explanation is given of the change that leads to her execution. In Hector, the first two acts have

Andromache In Greek mythology, Andromache (; grc, Ἀνδρομάχη, ) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler ...

, Priam and

Hecuba Hecuba (; also Hecabe; grc, Ἑκάβη, Hekábē, ) was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War. Description Hecuba was described by the chronicler Malalas in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "da ...

trying to convince

to avoid fighting; act three has Hector rushing to the battle without a word to aid his faltering troops; act four has the residents of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

believe that Hector has won the battle; the final act relates Hector's death and the play ends in lamentation. Despite this lack of action, there is a great debate of ideas in this play (Is it better to seek glory or remain prudent? If prudence is mocked, does it affect one's reputation? Is one's duty to one's parents and king superior to one's duty to personal honor? Is virtue seen only through action?) that prefigures the dramatic debates and cult of heroism of

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

(''Horace'', ''Le Cid'') and Montchrestien's emotional women (touched by dreams and bad omens) also mirror Corneille's tragic female characters. Montchrétien's ''Aman'' has been compared not too unfavourably with

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

's ''Esther'', and the hatred of Haman for Mordecai is expressed with more vigour than in Racine's play. Poet, economist, iron-master, and soldier, Montchrétien represents the many-sided activity of a time before literature had become a profession, and before its province had been restricted in France to polite topics.

Works

* Montchrestien, Antoine de, 1615. ''Traicté de l'oeconomie politique''. F. Billacois, ed., 1999, critical-editio
preview

Notes

References

* Dandrey, Patrick, ed. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le XVIIe siècle.'' Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1996. * Scherer, Jacques, ed. 1975. ''Théâtre du XVIIe siècle.'' (An anthology). Collection: Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. Paris: Gallimard.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montchrestien, Antoine De 1570s births 1621 deaths People from Falaise, Calvados Writers from Normandy French economists 17th-century French male writers 17th-century French poets 16th-century French dramatists and playwrights 17th-century French dramatists and playwrights Translators to French