Henri du Plessis-Guénégaud, Lord of the Plessis-Belleville, Marquis de La Garnache (1610 – 16 March 1676) was a French scholar and a Secretary of State during the reigns of

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. ...

and

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

Career

Henri de Guénégaud became Trésorier de l'Épargne (Treasurer of Savings) in 1638, succeeding his father, who died that year.Braham 1973, p. 186. In 1643, he became Secretary of State of several regions of France, including Paris, the

Maison du Roi The Maison du Roi (, 'King's Household') was the royal household of the King of France. It comprised the military, domestic, and religious entourage of the French royal family during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon R ...

, and ecclesiastical affairs. He also became Secretary of State of the Navy that same year. Dubuisson Aubenay, who later wrote a history of the Fronde, became his secretary in 1645. He supported Anne d'Autriche during the

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

and was made

Garde des Sceaux 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 offic ...

in 1656, but was disgraced in 1669, when he was succeeded as Secretary of State by

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

Family

He was the elder son of Gabriel Guénégaud, Lord of the Plessis-Belleville (died 1638), and Marie La Croix, Dame du Plessis-Belleville (died 1655). In 1642 he married Elizabeth (Isabel), daughter of the Maréchal Charles de Choiseul, Marquis de Praslin. Their children included: * Gabriel 1643 * Caesar Phoebus + * Roger 1645 * Claire Bénédicte 1646–1675 * Henry 1647–1722 * Emmanuel * Elisabeth Angelique He was the brother of Claude's treasurer, brother-in-law of César d'Albret who married his sister Madeleine.

Residences

Guénégaud was a patron of the architect

François Mansart François Mansart (; 23 January 1598 – 23 September 1666) was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into the Baroque architecture of France. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' identifies him as the most accomplished of 17th-c ...

and possibly a friend. In 1642 he gave Mansart the site for Mansart's house in the Rue Payenne, and in 1650 he gave the architect 50,000 ''

livres Livre may refer to: Currency * French livre, one of a number of obsolete units of currency of France * Livre tournois, one particular obsolete unit of currency of France * Livre parisis, another particular obsolete unit of currency of France * F ...

''. In 1646 Guénégaud purchased the Hôtel de Nevers on the Quai de Nevers (just east of the

Tour de Nesle The Tour de Nesle () was one of the four large guard towers on the old city wall of Paris, constructed at the beginning of the 13th century by Philip II of France and demolished in 1665. The tower was situated on the left (south) bank of the ...

) and commissioned Mansart to transform it into the Hôtel de Guénégaud (1648–1652). He also had Mansart make alterations to the Château de Fresnes. He and his wife, who were known for their

Jansenist Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of free will and divine grace in response to certain development ...

sympathies, held a famous ''

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

'' at their ''hôtel'' on the Quai de Nevers. Among their friends were Mademoiselle de Scudéry,

Madame de Sévigné Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution) Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement ...

, and Simon Arnauld. It was at their ''salon'' that Racine first became known in Paris. In 1670, after his disgrace, Guénégaud exchanged the Hôtel de Guénégaud on the Quai de Nevers for a country house in Bouchet and the Hôtel de Conti on the Quai Malaquais in Paris, both belonging to Cardinal Mazarin's niece Anne-Marie Martinozzi, Princesse de Conti. Thereafter the house on the Quai Malaquais became known as the

Hôtel du Plessis-Guénégaud The Hôtel du Plessis-Guénégaud () was a French aristocratic townhouse (''hôtel particulier''), built 1630–1632 for the financier to the designs of architect Clément Métezeau. It was located at what is now 13 Quai Malaquais in the 6th ...

, and the house on the Quai de Nevers, as the Hôtel de Conti.Braham 1973, p. 239.

Offices

* Secretary of State for the Royal Household in 1643 to 1669 under Louis XIV * State Secretary of the Navy 23 March 1643 to 1662 under Louis XIII and Louis XIV * Keeper of the Seals of the Order of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

* Advisor to the King and treasurer of his savings

Notes

Bibliography

* Braham, Allan; Smith, Peter (1973). ''François Mansart''. London: A. Zwemmer. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Guenegaud, Henri De 1610 births 1676 deaths Ministers of marine and the colonies Prisoners of the Bastille