François de Harlay de Champvallon (François III de Harlay; 14 August 1625 – 6 August 1695) was the fifth
Archbishop of Paris
The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. ...
.
Life and church
Early years
Harlay de Champvallon was born in Paris, the nephew of
François de Harlay
François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis.
People with the given name
* Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters"
* Francis II of France, King ...
,
archbishop of Rouen
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the ...
. He was presented to the
abbey of Jumièges
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conc ...
immediately on leaving the
Collège de Navarre
The College of Navarre (french: Collège de Navarre) was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris, rivaling the Sorbonne and renowned for its library.
History
It was founded by Queen Joan I of Navarre in 1305, who provided for t ...
, and he was only twenty-six when he succeeded his uncle in the archiepiscopal see. He was transferred to the see of Paris in 1671. In 1674 the domain and lordships of
Saint-Cloud
Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthiest to ...
,
Maisons-Alfort
Maisons-Alfort () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.
Maisons-Alfort is famous as the location of the National Veterinary School of Alfort. The Fort de Charenton, constructed betw ...
,
Créteil
Créteil () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Créteil is the '' préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of ...
Archbishops of Paris
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
, although it was not registered 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 Fr ...
until 1690. Harlay was the first to bear the title, which was then held by his successors at Paris till the Revolution. The Duke was likewise a ''pair'' of France. Harlay was also commander of the chivalric
Order of the Holy Spirit
, status = Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC
, founder = Henry III of France
, head_title = Grand Master
, head = Disputed:Louis Alphonse, Duke of AnjouJean, Count of Paris
, ...
and a 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 ...
. In 1690 he was proposed by the king for the
cardinalate
The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appo ...
, though this did not have effect.
Career
During the early part of his political career he was a firm adherent of Mazarin, and is said to have helped to procure his return from exile. His private life gave rise to much scandal, but he had considerable learning, was an eloquent and persuasive speaker and had a great capacity for business. He secured the favour of
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 Ve ...
by his support for the claims of the Gallican Church formulated by the declaration made by the clergy in assembly on 19 March 1682, when
Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), French bishop and theologian, uncle of Louis
* Louis Bossuet (1663–1742), French parliamentarian, nephew of Jacques-Bénigne
See als ...
accused him of truckling to the court like a valet.
Though no official act has survived, it is reliably thought that Harlay officiated in a private ceremony at the king's marriage with
Madame de Maintenon Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ...
confessor
Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways.
Confessor of the Faith
Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Marquis de Montchevreuil, the
Chevalier de Forbin
Claude, chevalier, then count de Forbin-Gardanne (6 August 1656 – 4 March 1733) was a French naval commander. In 1685–1688 he was on a diplomatic mission to Siam. He became governor of Bangkok and a general in the Siamese army, and left Sia ...
and
Alexandre Bontemps
Alexandre Bontemps (1626–1701) was the valet of King Louis XIV and a powerful figure at the court of Versailles, respected and feared for his exceptional access to the King. He was the second of a sequence of five Bontemps to hold the position ...
. Harlay was hated by the bride for using his influence with the king to keep the matter secret.
He had a weekly audience of Louis XIV in company with Père la Chaise on the affairs of the Church in Paris, but his influence gradually declined, and Saint-Simon, who bore him no good will for his harsh attitude to the
Jansenists
Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...
, says that his friends deserted him as the royal favour waned, until at last most of his time was spent at his Château de Conflans (in
Charenton-le-Pont
Charenton-le-Pont () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, to the north of the confluence of the Seine and Marne rivers; the () part of the name refers to the stone bridge across ...
)The château got its name from its location near the confluence of the
Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plate ...
and the Marne (F. Hamilton Hazlehurst, "Le Nostre at Conflans, Garden of the Archbishop of Paris", pp. 27–40, in ''The French Formal Garden'', Washington, DC, Dumbarton Oaks, 1974). See als "Château de Conflans à Charenton-le-Pont" in the company of Paule-Françoise de Gondi, duchess of Lesdiguieres, who alone was faithful to him. Saint-Simon records that they were fond of walking through the magnificent gardens there, while a servant followed at a respectful distance to rake the gravel disturbed by their feet.
Harlay urged the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without ...
and this took place in 1685. As a result,
Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newh ...
, of which he was temporal and spiritual lord, saw 3,000 of its
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 Bez ...
citizens flee abroad, partly it is said on account of Harlay's severity.
Personal life
Harlay de Champvallon died suddenly, without having received the sacraments, on 6 August 1695. His funeral discourse was delivered by Père Gaillard, and
Mme de Sévigné
Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French ''mad ...
made on the occasion the severe comment that there were only two trifles to make this a difficult matter — his life and his death.
Notes
References
*Abbé Legendre, ''Vita Francisci de Harlay'' (Paris, 1720) and ''Eloge de Harlay'' (1695)
*Saint-Simon, ''Mémoires'' (vol. ii., ed. A de Boislisle, 1879)
*Numerous references in the ''Lettres'' of Mme de Sévigné.
*