Mathieu Molé (1584 – 3 January 1656) was a French statesman.

Biography

The son of Edouard Molé (d. 1614), who was for a time ''procureur-général'', he was educated at the

University of Orléans The University of Orléans (french: Université d'Orléans) is a French university, in the Academy of Orléans and Tours. As of July 2015 it is a member of the regional university association Leonardo da Vinci consolidated University. History ...

. Admitted conseiller in 1606, he was ''président aux requêtes'' in 1610, ''procureur-général'' in succession to Nicolas de Bellièvre in 1614, and took part in the assembly of the Notables summoned 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 ...

in 1617. He fought in vain against the setting up of special tribunals, or commissions, to try prisoners charged with political offences, and for his persistence in the case of the brothers Louis and

Michel de Marillac Michel de Marillac (October 1563 in Paris – 7 August 1632 in Château de Châteaudun) was a French jurist and counsellor at the court of Louis XIII of France, one of the leading '' dévots''. His uncle was Charles de Marillac, Archbishop of ...

he was suspended in 1631, and ordered to appear at

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

in his own defence. Hitherto Molé's relations 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 ...

had been fairly good, but his inclination to the doctrines of

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

increased the differences between them. It was not until after Richelieu's death that he was able to secure the release of his friend, the abbé de St Cyran. In 1641 he was appointed first president of 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 ...

, with the preliminary condition that he should not permit the general assembly of the chambers except by express order of the king. After Richelieu's death the pretensions of the parlement increased; the hereditary magistrature arrogated to itself the functions of the states-general, and in 1648 the parlement with the other sovereign courts (the ''

cour des aides The Courts of Aids (French: ''Cours des aides'') were sovereign courts in ''Ancien Régime'' France, primarily concerned with customs, but also other matters of public finance. They exercised some control over certain excise taxes and octroi dutie ...

'', the ''grand conseil'', and the ''

cour des comptes The ''Cour des Comptes'' ("Court of Accounts") is France's supreme audit institution, under French law an administrative court. As such, it is independent from the legislative and executive branches of the French Government. However, the 1946 and ...

'') met in one assembly and proposed for the royal sanction twenty-seven articles, which amounted in substance to a new constitution. In the long conflict between

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unti ...

and the parlement, Molé, without yielding the rights of the ''parlement'', played a conciliatory part. In the popular tumult known as the day of the barricades (26 August 1648) he sought out Mazarin and the queen to demand the release of

Pierre Broussel Pierre Broussel (c. 1575–1654) was a councillor in the Parlement of Paris under Louis XIII and Louis XIV, and later its president. He was a popular politician, in part due to his opposition to tax plans proposed by Cardinal Mazarin and his sup ...

and his colleagues, whose seizure had been the original cause of the outbreak. Next day the parlement marched in procession to repeat Molé's demand. On their way back they were stopped by the crowd. Molé was threatened with death unless he brought back Broussel or Mazarin as a hostage. Many magistrates fled; the remnant, headed by the intrepid Molé, returned to the Palais Royal, where Anne of Austria was induced to release the prisoners. Molé's moderating counsels failed to prevent the outbreak of the first

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 ...

, but he negotiated the

peace of Rueil The Peace of Rueil (french: Paix de Rueil, or ), signed 11 March 1649, signalled an end to the opening episodes of the Fronde (a period of civil war in the Kingdom of France) after little blood had been shed. The articles ended all hostilities ...

in 1651, and averted a conflict between the partisans of Condé and of the

Cardinal de Retz Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

within the precincts of the Palais de Justice. He refused honours and rewards for himself or his family, but became

keeper of the seals The title keeper of the seals or equivalent is used in several contexts, denoting the person entitled to keep and authorize use of the great seal of a given country. The title may or may not be linked to a particular cabinet or ministerial offi ...

, in which capacity he was compelled to follow the court, and he therefore retired from the presidency of the parlement. The ''Mémoires'' of Molé were edited for the

Société de l'histoire de France The Société de l'histoire de France (SHF) (English: ''Society of the History of France'') was established on 21 December 1833 at the instigation of the French minister of Public Instruction, François Guizot, in order to contribute to the renewa ...

(4 vols., 1855) by

Aimé Champollion-Figeac Aimé () is a French masculine given name. The feminine form is Aimée, translated as "beloved". Aimé may refer to: Given name * Saint Amatus or Saint Aimé (died 690), Benedictine monk, saint, abbot and bishop in Switzerland * Aimé, duc d ...

, and his life was written by Baron AGP de Barante in ''Le Parlement et la Fronde'' (1859). See also the memoirs of

Omer Talon Painting is of Omer Talon Lawyer 1595 - 1652 not Omer Talon Humanist 1510 - 1562. Omer Talon (Audomarus Talaeus) (c. 1510–1562) was a French humanist, a close ally of Petrus Ramus. Biographical details are few; and there are some quite serious ...

and of De Retz.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mole, Mathieu 1584 births 1656 deaths 17th-century French politicians French memoirists French male non-fiction writers 17th-century memoirists