Michel de Sèvre or de Seurre (active 1539–1593) was a member of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

, a French courtier and diplomat, and Grand Master of the

Order of Saint Lazarus The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by Crusaders during the 1130s at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose car ...

from 1564 to 1578 and from 1586 to 1593.

Early life

Michel de Sèvre was born in Lumigny-en-Brie, the son of Antoine de Sèvre, lord of Ville-du-Bois in the parish of Lumigny, and of Louise de Verdelot, daughter of Georges de Verdelot, lord of Prèz, and Catherine de Sailly, lady of Mersan. On 11 June 1539 he entered the Knights Hospitaller in the Grand Priory of France.

Career

De Sèvre and

Nicolas de Villegagnon Nicolas Durand, sieur de Villegaignon, also Villegagnon (1510 – 9 January 1571) was a commander of the Knights of Malta, and later a French naval officer (vice-admiral of Brittany) who attempted to help the Huguenots in France escape persecuti ...

commanded the fleet that brought

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 ...

from

Dumbarton Castle Dumbarton Castle (, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton. History Dumbarton Rock was forme ...

to France in July 1548. In 1560, de Sèvre was Ordinary Gentleman of the King's Chamber, King's Chamberlain, Counselor in his Privy Council and captain of fifty men-at-arms. In March, he was sent to the court of Queen

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

as ambassador of King

Francis II of France Francis II (; 19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1559 to 1560. He was also List of Scottish consorts, King of Scotland as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in ...

. He wrote to

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French people, French noblewoman of the ...

in Scotland about the friction caused by the controversial use of the heraldry of England by

, and Francis II. In Scotland, the Reformation crisis led to the

siege of Leith The siege of Leith ended a twelve-year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. French troops arrived in Scotland by invitation in 1548. In 1560 the French soldiers opposed Scottish supporter ...

. De Sèvre made complaints about the activity of

William Wynter Admiral Sir William Wynter (c. 1521 – 20 February 1589) held the office of Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy for 40 years, from 1549 until his death in 1589, and combined that with the office of Master of Navy Ordnance from 1557. He was an admira ...

against French shipping. He wrote of attacks on three ships of Mary of Guise, one carrying artillery to

st Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

, and two smaller boats guarding the Forth captained by Frenchmen. Wynter's ''Lyon'' had captured a Breton ship, the ''Marie Babuilduc'' which had carried a cargo of grain belonging to the King of France. In March 1560, De Sèvre wrote to the French diplomats Jacques de La Brosse,

Henri Cleutin Henri Cleutin, seigneur d'Oisel et de Villeparisis (1515 – 20 June 1566), was the representative of France in Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland from 1546 to 1560, a Gentleman of the Chamber of the King of France, and a diplomat in Rome 1564–1566 d ...

, and Nicolas de Pellevé, describing Elizabeth's pretence that Wynter would be punished. He hoped they could help resolve the escalating conflict in Scotland.

James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Châtellerault, 2nd Earl of Arran ( – 22 January 1575), was a Scottish nobleman and Regent of Scotland during the minority of Mary, Queen of Scots from 1543 to 1554. At first pro- English and Protestant, he conv ...

, a Protestant leader in Scotland, heard that de Sèvre had told Elizabeth I that the Scottish Protestants had abandoned their cause and sought a pardon from Mary of Guise. Hamilton said any of a hundred men of his surname would fight a duel with him and prove him a liar. De Sèvre was involved in the negotiations for the withdrawal of French and English forces from Scotland. He continued in office as ambassador until 1562, when he was recalled by King

Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II of France, Francis II in 1560, an ...

. In 1564 he was appointed Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus, serving in that capacity until 1578, and then again from 1586 to 1593. Seigneur de Sèvre was known for his cynical and caustic wit. In 1584 he was physically assaulted in the council chamber by King

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 ...

, for a perceived insult.

Pierre de L'Estoile Pierre de L'Estoile (1546 – 8 October 1611) was a French diarist and collector. Life Born in Paris into a middle-class background, Pierre de l'Estoile was tutored by Mathieu Béroalde. He knew Agrippa d'Aubigné. He became a law student at Bou ...

, ''Mémoires et Journal'', Collection complète des mémoires relatifs à l'histoire de France 45, ed. Alexandre Petitot et al., 1825, pp. 272-273.

References

Bibliography

* David Potter, ''A Knight of Malta at the Court of Elizabeth I: The Correspondence of Michel de Seure, French Ambassador, 1560-1561''. Camden Fifth Series, v. 45. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press for the Royal Historical Society, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sevre, Michel People of the Tudor period Knights Hospitaller Ambassadors of France to the Kingdom of England 16th-century French diplomats Recipients of the Order of Saint Lazarus Grand masters of the Order of Saint Lazarus