Richelieu and the French Monarchy

Men and Their Times

by C.V. Wedgwood

It is the measure of Richelieu's greatness that it should be so difficult to imagine the growth of the French monarchy, or the development of Europe in the seventeenth century, without him. The Cardinal was a personality so dominating and so impressive that in his lifetime almost every event in Europe, however remote, would be ascribed to his secret interference. He was credited wrongly by the English with having provoked the Scots Wars of 1638 and 1640, and rightly by the ?Spaniards with organising the Portugese and Catalan revolts of the same period. His spies and agents covered Europe no less than his police system covered France. In the imagination of his contemporaries he was the cunning spider seated all-powerful in the midst of an enormous web of intreague." - From Chapter 1 During the eighteen years that Cardinal Richeliu served as first minister to King Louis XIII, the power or the monarchy in France was entrenchedso firmly that it survived sunshaken through the long and perilous minority of Louis XIV old when his father died. During those eighteen years of his influence, France became the foremost power in Europe and the fountainhead of European art. His administration produced profound changes that are still being felt today in France and all of "the account," says the author, "is not yet closed."

Genres: History, France, Biography, Politics, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

155 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Dame (Cicely) Veronica Wedgwood OM DBE was an English historian who published under the name C. V. Wedgwood. Specializing in the history of 17th-century England and Continental Europe, her biographies and narrative histories "provided a clear, entertaining middle ground between popular and scholarly works."

Reviews

[Skallagrimsen]

Dame Cicely Veronica Wedgwood was a great writer as well as a great historian. It's hard to imagine anyone else with both the knowledge and literary skill to do justice, in such a short book, to the vast, complex, and multifaceted legacy of a giant of European history like Cardinal Richelieu. Before my fortuitous first encounter with her work in the 1990's, I still knew Richelieu primarily as a literary antagonist, scheming in the background of The Three Musketeers. I knew he was a real statesman from history, but beyond that little more about him than can be inferred from the novel. Thanks to Wedgwood, I learned how much better, worse, more complicated, and more interesting the real Richelieu was than even his fictional counterpart.

I've since read many other books about or pertaining to the Machiavellian cardinal, but this one remains one of my favorites. It's among the first titles I'd recommend to anyone interested in understanding France's transition from a medieval kingdom into a modern nation state.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is incredibly clear, well-written, well-thought-out history. I've always been confused by this period in Europe in which the Hapsburgs and the Bourbons jousted for dominance and the Huguenots revolted in La Rochelle. Dame Veronica Wedgwood makes it not only clear but lively and interesting. More when I am done, but it is already a 5-star book in my opinion!

I disagree with some who say that she uncritically favors Richelieu's "side" -- in fact, I think she is uncommonly fair-minded, and I have every reason to dislike Richelieu since I am descended from Huguenots. Her portrait of his character and overall purpose helped me see a rationale for his policy beyond a simple desire to stamp out heresy. Richelieu's struggle to establish France as a state which could defend itself and manage its own affairs must have seemed urgent since France was caught between Spain and the Hapsburg empire. I think that a biased historian would not have written the following: "It is a hard question to answer whether France lost more by the extinction of parliamentary criticism than she gained by the creation of a strong and stable monarchy."

I've finished the book now and my premature conclusion stands. She does not hesitate to point out Richelieu's limitations and the shortcomings of his policies. His huge misjudgment in engineering Louis XIII's affair with the youthful fool Cinq Mars nearly ended in catastrophe, but he not only realized it and paid for it, he rectified his error. One can only be glad of his 18-year-friendship and working relationship with Louis XIII, and of his foresight in training his successor Mazarin.

Insightfully, Wedgewood writes, "Richelieu's creation was an artificial system, not a natural growth rooted in the past history of France...the idea of government from above...and not the nature of existing or healthy French institutions, governed his decisions." The idea of the limitations of pre-existing ideology as a guide to governing a country is one that our country and century needs to hear. However, Richelieu "built for his own time," not seeing that "the salvation of the state in one epoch may be its destruction in the next." His foundation of a stable and powerful monarchy was taken for granted by others, perhaps, and hence it "failed in its office, had not the power of change and renewal, and became corrupt and irresponsible." It is easy to see this in hindsight but certainly not fair to hold Richelieu responsible for what others did with what he built.

[Jonfaith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brief but enjoyable account of the Cardinal's rise to prominence (so many of these narratives hinge on the fate of sibling unexpectedly passing) in a career--in which Richelieu essentially centralized the French government, shearing off medieval vestiges , established a navy which would lend France a global presence and all along was a ruthless bastard in dealing with enemies -- both political and/or sectarian. Richelieu was savvy that his power was predicated on royal approval and he appears to be constantly plotting and repositioning himself. Such political agility is always interesting. Unfortunately Richelieu confronted many issues with the arrogance of a McNamara, one can imagine his holy slide rule.

[Brady Clemens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a few biographies of the great Cardinal, including Burckhardt's three volume set, but Wedgwood's is by far the best available.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wedgwood does a good job getting us to sympathize with whom many consider a 'villain' of history. She does so in succinct fashion (150 pages) which is good because I generally don't go for the broad sweeping biography.

The cons are that she accepts Richelieu's point of view almost without question. Of course feudalism is 'bad' and central government 'good.' She always mentions the nefarious designs of the king's brother, but never tells you why they were so bad. Of course his motivations are obviously reduced to 'greed' 'power' etc. and we must just take her word for it. If needed, the book could have been a little longer to add to the tension, drama, and characters.

A couple chapters are boring, but maybe that's because 17th century French politics are also boring.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book on Cardinal Richelieu. It's well written and interesting; I had to look up a lot of the places and events referenced, though; it doesn't explain all the background for someone who isn't already familiar with Europe during the Thirty Years War, first half of the 1600s. Wikipedia is great for filling in the overarching historical picture.
I recognized characters from _The Three Musketeers_ and found it funny that all the main characters are there in some form; Buckingham really did make a pass at the Queen--- Mother---Louis's mother, not his young wife. There was a lady-in-waiting and a young buck similar to D'Artagnan. Milady de Winter is not mentioned, but Richelieu is known to have had agents all over Europe, spies, diplomats, assassins.
This historian, however, does not consider Richelieu the only spider in this web. The Queen Mother gets short shrift, as do the king's various favorites. The next king is only born because Louis the XIII happened to get stuck in a storm near his wife's castle, at a time when he's between girlfriends.
I marvel at how corrupt and yet solid France was at the time. The peasants were gaining ground, little by little; the middle classes were becoming a larger and larger proportion of the French people. The whole idea of a French nation was being birthed in large part because Richelieu worked towards it and cut off those nobility whose allegiances bled over into other rulers in feudal fashion. Well, if you marry the heiresses of other places and inherit their lands, then your allegiance isn't going to be all within the area you got from your own father, is it? The French 'king' had subjects whose lands and controlled territories were larger and richer than his, plus they had connections to the Hapsburgs on every side. The territory we now call France was surrounded by Hapsburg-controlled lands.
I'm not sure why France became the place-name and French the language of these specific acres. It could have been called Burgundy.
I also understand better, from reading Richelieu's challenges and actions, why the French border with Germany has wobbled so severely. It was never all one or all the other, and indeed can't be, if people are to trade and get supplies they need to live. The borders with Spain and Italy are largely geographic, less questioned. People didn't walk across the Pyrenees or the Alps every day for lunch.
Richelieu dealt with separatist Huguenots within the area he wanted to keep part of France, while allying with Calvinists and Dutch Protestants and even (heaven forbid) the English, to weaken the Hapsburgs. All this, while infuriating Catholics who felt he didn't go far enough!
Towards the end of the book, the historian points out that Richelieu set up and encouraged organizations to strengthen a sense of French identity, language, and art. He brought an 8 man chamber music group with him, even on military campaign, to play for him every day. He collected art and even some of his political opponents gave him art as gifts. In a world where England's wild child, the U.S. of A., has effectively won the world culture, French tastes are still distinct and valued all over, at least in part due to the organizations he set up.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

This history/biography is a readable account of an amazing man who influenced a whole era of European history. Through his policies, diplomacy, and political manipulations, he dominated the reign of Louis XIII and set up the domination of Louis XIV.

[Gib · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been carrying this book around for nearly 50 years, and finally got round to reading it. Quite fun. I can imagine the movie...

[Joseph Ficklen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book to give me background for a biography of Louis XIV that I’m reading, and it did not disappoint. It paints a vivid picture of the literal archetype of the “grey eminence,” the scheming minister with his fingers in every pie and his ears at every keyhole. It’s a short book but it goes into fairly deep detail about Cardinal Richelieu’s life and times, such as the Huguenot Rebellion, the passive and then active involvement in the Thirty Years’ War, the conflicts with Spain. Before Richelieu, France was a weak and decentralized state with threats within and without, from rebels to scheming nobles. But after him, France was on the way to becoming the most powerful state in Europe, and could truly be called a nation. The Cardinal’s successor Mazarin was not as successful, and nearly saw the French Monarchy fall into the dust again during the Fronde, but Richelieu’s policies of centralization, state-building, and vulpine foreign policy once again led France on the road to greatness during the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wedgwood is one of the greats. Her lucid prose, and keen observations really enrich her writing on her subjects. I knew when I read her The Thirty Years War I knew I would want to read more of her books, and when I saw that she had written on Richelieu, the choice of which of her books to read next was obvious.

I went in with high expectations and she more than met them. Here is a concise, lucid, and eloquently written biography of the great statesman.