Martin Ruzé, Lord of Beaulieu of Longjumeau and Chilly (c. 1526, in

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

– 6 November 1613, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French politician of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, who was

Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi The secretary of state of the Maison du Roi () was the Secretary of State (Ancien Régime), secretary of state in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration in charge of the Département de la Maison du ...

(or King's Secretary) under

Henry III of France Henry III (; ; ; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. As the fourth son of King Henry II of France, he ...

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

and

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. ...

Biography

Martin Ruzé was the son of William Ruzé, adviser to the Parliament, and Catherine Briconnet. William was the son of another William Ruzé, Lord of Beaulieu, Receiver General of

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...

, Mayor of

in 1534, and had a brother, also named William Ruzé (born about 1520; died 28 September 1587), who was confessor and adviser of kings Henry II, Charles IX and Henri III, and who was appointed bishop of

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

1570, then bishop of

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

on 29 August 1572. Martin began his career in the entourage of the king in 1551, starting with Henry II. From 1571 to 1588 he was general superintendent of ammunition and food. In 1573-1574 he was secretary to the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

and in that capacity, he countersigned and raised the royal seal on the letters of King. In August 1574 he was appointed fifth secretary of state. On 25 September 1576, Martin Ruze became King Henry's Secretary of Finance, and adviser to the King and to the Queen Mother (

Catherine de Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II. She was the mother of French kings Fran ...

). In 1578, after the resignation of Louis Valley, he was provided with the load controller of the Chancellery. On 10 April 1589, he became Grand Treasurer of the Order of the Holy Spirit to replace the former Secretary of State

Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy Nicolas IV de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy (1543 – 12 November 1617) was a secretary of state under four kings of France: Charles IX, Henry III, Henry IV, and Louis XIII. The most distinguished of all sixteenth-century French secretaries, ...

(who had resigned in disgrace), and retained that office until his death. On 15 April 1589, Ruze installed, for King Henry III,

Philippe de Mornay Philippe de Mornay (5 November 1549 – 11 November 1623), seigneur du Plessis Marly, usually known as Du-Plessis-Mornay or Mornay Du Plessis, was a French Protestant writer and member of the anti-monarchist '' Monarchomaques''. Biography H ...

in the office of Governor of

Saumur Saumur () is a Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgu ...

. The ceremony took place in front of the arbor:

Florent Lessart Florent is a French version of the Latin personal name Florentius. It is also used as a surname. People with the first name *Florent Amodio (born 1990), French figure skater *Florent Avdyli (born 1993), Kosovan footballer * Florent Aziri (born 198 ...

, the former governor, faithful to Henry III brought the keys of the city, but out of spite and shame, he dropped to the ground. It is the king's secretary, who then picked up and presented them to the new governor. In 1596, Ruze bought land at

Longjumeau Longjumeau () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne department, France. It is located south from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Inhabitants of Longjumeau are known as ''Longjumellois'' () in French. History Longjumeau Party Sch ...

, Chilly-Michel Gaillard. Having no children, he bequeathed his property to

Antoine Coëffier de Ruzé Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French ...

, Marquis

Effiat Effiat () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. Its inhabitants are called ''Effiatois''. See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of the 463 communes of th ...

, his nephew, who later became

Superintendent of Finance Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

(1626) and

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

(1631). In 1601, during the reign of Henry IV, Ruze was appointed

Grand Master of Mining Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), s ...

and

Pierre de Beringhen Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

comptroller-general. Sully ordered them to form a committee to study and conduct excavations in the kingdom of France. On 3 March 1606 Henri IV enlisted

Antoine Lomenie Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French ...

, to relieve the elderly Ruze in his tasks as adviser to the King, as Cabinet Secretary, and the royal chief clerk. Ruze established a will on 26 August 1609 he to his heir nephew

Antoine Coëffier de Ruzé d'Effiat Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French ...

, on condition of taking the name and arms of Ruze. Ruze died on 6 November 1613. His black marble tomb, topped by a statue of Ruze kneeling, can be seen in the church of Saint-Etienne de Chilly-Mazarin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruzé de Beaulieu, Martin 1520s births 1613 deaths Ministers of marine and the colonies 17th-century French people