Jean or Jehan Champhuon, sieur du Ruisseau was a French lawyer and an administrator and chamberlain of the estates of

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 List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

. He served on her French council.

Family connections

Increasingly over the years, the French lawyers and clerks serving Mary in England were drawn from closely related families. Du Ruisseau married Claire Nau in 1563, her younger brother

Claude Nau Claude Nau or Claude Nau de la Boisseliere (d. 1605) was a confidential secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots, in England from 1575 to 1586. He was involved in coding Mary's letters with cipher keys. Career Nau was a successful lawyer practicing in Par ...

became Mary's secretary for the French language during her years in England. Jérôme Pasquier, a household clerk for Mary in England was married to their daughter Madeleine Champhoun. Du Ruisseau was master of Mary's (French) accounts from 1575. His brother, Pierre Champhuon, joined Mary's French council in 1584. Claude Nau wrote twice to his brother, meaning du Ruisseau, from

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

in August 1577 using cipher codes. He hoped that du Ruisseau could be promoted to be treasurer of Mary's French dowry, and that du Ruisseau would speak to his own advantage at the French court. Nau also asked him to buy some jewellery and send it to him in a sealed package (''une petite boite fermee et cachetee''); a pair of bracelets in the latest fashion, and a diamond or emerald shaped like a heart or triangle. In a letter to Claude Nau,

Albert Fontenay Albert Fontenay or Fontaine was a French servant of Mary, Queen of Scots and acted as her diplomat in Scotland in 1584. Fontenay wrote a frequently cited description of the young James VI and I, James VI of Scotland. Some of his correspondence with ...

, a diplomat and relation of Claude Nau, described M. du Ruisseau's affection to their cousin "de Beauvois" and their mutual blood relatives of the surname Nau. Du Ruisseau was going to help negotiate Fontenay's marriage to the daughter of Masuyer, another Parisian lawyer already within their family circle.

Roles

Jean Champhuon served on Mary's council for her French estates. He was superintendent of

Vermandois Vermandois was a French county that appeared in the Merovingian period. Its name derives from that of an ancient tribe, the Viromandui. In the 10th century, it was organised around two castellan domains: St Quentin (Aisne) and Péronne ( Som ...

in 1581. He was promoted to be Mary's chancellor and keeper of her seals for French administration on 2 May 1585. He was frequently mentioned in her correspondence for money matters and as a conduit for the passage of her letters to her allies and the French court. The French ambassador in London,

Michel de Castelnau Michel de Castelnau, Sieur de la Mauvissière ( 1520–1592) was a French soldier and diplomat, ambassador to Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth I. He wrote a memoir covering the period between 1559 and 1570. Life He was born in La Mauvissière (now pa ...

, helped get a passport for Du Ruisseau so he could travel and help Mary in her affairs. He visited Mary at

Sheffield Manor Sheffield Manor Lodge, also known as Sheffield Manor or locally as Manor Castle, is a lodge built about 1516 in what then was a large deer park southeast of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, to provide a country retreat and further accommoda ...

, and she gave a list of instructions. He was thought to be involved in international intrigue to restore Mary to rule. He was detained by the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

at Sheffield for a month. Ruisseau was then allowed to take some of Mary's requests to Elizabeth, who responded point by point. Letters from Mary in code, identified in the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

and newly deciphered in 2023 include her responses to these events. Du Ruisseau looked after the finances of members of Mary's household in England. In January 1586, Mary wrote to the conspirator Thomas Morgan that Ruisseau would pay him 200 French crowns. On 20 March 1586, at Chartley, Jérôme Pasquier and

Bastian Pagez Bastian Pagez was a French servant and musician at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was born in Auvergne. He devised part of the entertainment at the baptism of Prince James at Stirling Castle in 1566. When Mary was exiled in England, Bastia ...

witnessed a document in which Jacques Gervais, Mary's surgeon, placed his affairs in the hands of Jean Champhuon, sieur du Ruisseau. A note in an inventory of Mary's possessions at

Chartley Castle Chartley Castle lies in ruins to the north of the village of Stowe-by-Chartley in Staffordshire, between Stafford and Uttoxeter (). Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned on the estate in 1585. The remains of the castle and associated earthworks ...

in August 1586 mentions that Du Rousseau had recently sent a parcel of linen.

Invasion plans

In September 1583, Mary arranged for Du Ruisseau to have an audience with the

Duke of Guise Count of Guise and Duke of Guise ( , ) were titles in the French nobility. Originally a Fiefdom, seigneurie, in 1417 Guise was erected into a county for René I of Naples, René, a younger son of Louis II of Anjou. While disputed by the House of ...

to discuss possible plans in response to the

Raid of Ruthven The Raid of Ruthven, the kidnapping of King James VI of Scotland, was a political conspiracy in Scotland which took place on 23 August 1582."Ruthven, William", by T. F. Henderson, in ''Dictionary of National Biography'', Volume 50 (Smith, Elder, ...

in Scotland. The pro-English coup had upset her scheme for an "

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

" with her son James VI. Possibilities included taking James VI to France and invading Scotland with 600 musketeers, possibly with

papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

funding. Mary envisaged a landing at

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and the capture of

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Falkirk, Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by George Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness ...

and

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

William Barclay Turnbull William Barclay David Donald Turnbull (1811–1863) was a Scottish antiquary and archivist. Life Born in Edinburgh, Turnbull studied law, and was admitted as an advocate at the Scottish bar 1832, but devoted much time to the study of the anti ...

, ''Letters of Mary Stuart'' (London, 1845), pp. 307-311.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champhuon, Jean

Ruisseau A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long, large streams a ...

16th-century French people 16th-century French lawyers Date of death unknown