Eustache de Refuge
Encyclopedia
Eustache de Refuge, seigneur
de Précy
et de Courcelles
(1564 - September 1617), was an Early Modern French
courtier
, statesman
and author
.
origin that asserted a noble ancestry reaching back to the 14th century. His father was a member of both the Parlement
of Brittany and the Parlement of Paris
, and his mother and stepmother were both daughters of members of the Parlement of Paris.
He studied law at Bourges
, and was graduated in 1586. In 1592 he acquired a position as a Conseiller of the Parlement of Paris, as part of the loyalist majority in Tours
.
In 1595, de Refuge married Helène de Bellièvre, the widowed daughter of Pomponne de Bellièvre
, a retired diplomat and administrator who had served as the king’s representative in Lyon
. De Bellièvre was called out of retirement to serve as the Chancellor of France for Henri IV in 1599, a position which he held until his death in 1607. His patronage was therefore of great value to Eustache de Refuge during his career, particularly during his years in Lyon.
In 1597, de Refuge was dispatched by de Bellièvre for two years to report on financial irregularities in Montpellier
. On his return, he was sent to Guyenne
to see to the implementation of the Edict of Nantes
. He was also sent on the king’s business to Lyonnais
, Dauphiné
and Provence
. In 1599 he lost out in a competition to become Lieutenant General
of Toulouse
to a young man “who had the great merit of contributing 7000-8000 écus” to secure it. In 1600, however, he was promoted to Maître des requêtes
: an acknowledged stepping-stone to career advancement in the administrative hierarchy.
In 1601 he was again promoted, this time to Intendant
at Lyon. His mandate focused primarily on improving local finances, maintaining law and order in the region, and seeing to the application of the Treaty of Lyon
between France and Savoy
.
De Refuge remained in his position at Lyon until 1607, when he was appointed French ambassador to the thirteen cantons of Switzerland
at Solothurn
, where he was required to renegotiate the alliance with the cantons, including the provision of mercenary troops for the anticipated war with the House of Austria. De Refuge held this position until 1611, when he was appointed Counsellor of State
and dispatched as ambassador to Holland (1611–1613), to Flanders
, and back to Holland in 1614. He was then appointed Intendant in the army of the Marshal
of Boisdauphin (1615), and in 1616 was made Intendant charged with setting up a Parlement in Béarn
.
He lived to see the early career of Armand du Plessis
, later Cardinal Richelieu, but died in 1617.
and The Courtier, the Treatise on the Court, or Instruction of Courtiers was first published anonymously in Holland in 1616. It consists of two books, the first of which is traditional and general in nature.
De Refuge is best known, however, for the second book of the Treatise, which is an instruction manual for success at court. It is an early example of a complete work on organizational behaviour
, with advice that is still taken to be as generally relevant today. It plots every step in a career, and elaborates on how to respond to many specific circumstances.
Consider, for example, the following extracts from the Treatise on the Court:
Book two of the Treatise was a bestseller
for a century after its publication, with over thirty editions in French, English, Italian, German and Latin.
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
de Précy
Précy-sur-Marne
Précy-sur-Marne is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-People:* Barbara, a French singer, had a house in the village, and had dedicated a song to it...
et de Courcelles
Courcelles-en-Bassée
Courcelles-en-Bassée is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region.-External links:* *...
(1564 - September 1617), was an Early Modern French
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
, statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Biography
De Refuge was born into a family of BretonBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
origin that asserted a noble ancestry reaching back to the 14th century. His father was a member of both the Parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
of Brittany and the Parlement of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and his mother and stepmother were both daughters of members of the Parlement of Paris.
He studied law at Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
, and was graduated in 1586. In 1592 he acquired a position as a Conseiller of the Parlement of Paris, as part of the loyalist majority in Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
.
In 1595, de Refuge married Helène de Bellièvre, the widowed daughter of Pomponne de Bellièvre
Pomponne de Bellièvre
Pomponne de Bellièvre was a French statesman, chancellor of France .-Life:Bellièvre was born in Lyon in 1529....
, a retired diplomat and administrator who had served as the king’s representative in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
. De Bellièvre was called out of retirement to serve as the Chancellor of France for Henri IV in 1599, a position which he held until his death in 1607. His patronage was therefore of great value to Eustache de Refuge during his career, particularly during his years in Lyon.
In 1597, de Refuge was dispatched by de Bellièvre for two years to report on financial irregularities in Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
. On his return, he was sent to Guyenne
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne , , ; Occitan Guiana ) is a vaguely defined historic region of south-western France. The Province of Guyenne, sometimes called the Province of Guyenne and Gascony, was a large province of pre-revolutionary France....
to see to the implementation of the Edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...
. He was also sent on the king’s business to Lyonnais
Lyonnais
The Lyonnais is a historical province of France which owes its name to the city of Lyon.The geographical area known as the Lyonnais became part of the Kingdom of Burgundy after the division of the Carolingian Empire...
, Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
and Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
. In 1599 he lost out in a competition to become Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
to a young man “who had the great merit of contributing 7000-8000 écus” to secure it. In 1600, however, he was promoted to Maître des requêtes
Maître des requêtes
Masters of Requests are high-level judicial officers of administrative law in France and other European countries that have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages.-Old Regime France:...
: an acknowledged stepping-stone to career advancement in the administrative hierarchy.
In 1601 he was again promoted, this time to Intendant
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
at Lyon. His mandate focused primarily on improving local finances, maintaining law and order in the region, and seeing to the application of the Treaty of Lyon
Treaty of Lyon (1601)
The Treaty of Lyon was signed on January 17, 1601 between France, Spain, and Savoy. Based on the terms of the treaty, Henry IV of France relinquished Saluzzo to Savoy. In return, he acquired Bugey, Valromey, Gex, and Bresse. Eventually, the territory of Bresse was attached to the French military...
between France and Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
.
De Refuge remained in his position at Lyon until 1607, when he was appointed French ambassador to the thirteen cantons of Switzerland
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
at Solothurn
Solothurn
The city of Solothurn is the capital of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. The city also comprises the only municipality of the district of the same name.-Pre-roman settlement:...
, where he was required to renegotiate the alliance with the cantons, including the provision of mercenary troops for the anticipated war with the House of Austria. De Refuge held this position until 1611, when he was appointed Counsellor of State
Conseiller d'État
A French Councillor of State is a high-level government official of administrative law in the Council of State of France.-Under the Old Regime:...
and dispatched as ambassador to Holland (1611–1613), to Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, and back to Holland in 1614. He was then appointed Intendant in the army of the Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
of Boisdauphin (1615), and in 1616 was made Intendant charged with setting up a Parlement in Béarn
Viscountcy of Béarn
The viscountcy of Béarn is a former province of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France...
.
He lived to see the early career of Armand du Plessis
Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu et de Fronsac was a French clergyman, noble, and statesman.Consecrated as a bishop in 1608, he later entered politics, becoming a Secretary of State in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Catholic Church and the French government, becoming a...
, later Cardinal Richelieu, but died in 1617.
Traicté de la cour, ou instruction des courtisans (1616)
A popular work in the courtly literature tradition of The PrinceThe Prince
The Prince is a political treatise by the Italian diplomat, historian and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus . But the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after...
and The Courtier, the Treatise on the Court, or Instruction of Courtiers was first published anonymously in Holland in 1616. It consists of two books, the first of which is traditional and general in nature.
De Refuge is best known, however, for the second book of the Treatise, which is an instruction manual for success at court. It is an early example of a complete work on organizational behaviour
Organizational studies
Organizational studies, sometimes known as organizational science, encompass the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people act within organizations...
, with advice that is still taken to be as generally relevant today. It plots every step in a career, and elaborates on how to respond to many specific circumstances.
Consider, for example, the following extracts from the Treatise on the Court:
- Many good pilots have been lost at sea despite their knowledge and experience of navigation, whereas others less knowledgeable, with neither astrolabe nor compass, have successfully completed many a long and perilous voyage. This doesn't lead us to conclude, though, that we should just throw ourselves to the mercy of the winds without skill, science or compass.
- A courtier must be careful to avoid giving counsel the outcome of which may be doubtful or dangerous. If the project is a success the prince will take the credit, while if it is not the advisor will take the blame.
- Though the desire for vengeance is always very violent, fear will drive an adversary to oppose you with even greater passion. For this reason, it is far harder to divert someone who is driven by fear than someone who is driven by hatred.
- It's a common trick at court to stick your leg out and trip someone so that later you can help them to their feet, and thereby earn their gratitude and bind them to you.
- Avarice is just as odious as cruelty to the common people, but they will endure it longer because of the excuse of public need which is usually used to justify increased taxes and reduced public expenditures.
- Many hold that it's better to be indebted to your leader than to have your leader indebted to you. A prince is better disposed towards those he has helped, and believes have good reason to think well of him, than towards those for whom he's done little or nothing.
Book two of the Treatise was a bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
for a century after its publication, with over thirty editions in French, English, Italian, German and Latin.
Other works
- Géographie historique, universelle et particulière, avec un Traité de la préséance du roy de France contre celuy d'Espagne, par feu M. de Refuge (published 1645), a survey of politicsPoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and the geographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
of the then-known world. - Traité de la reformation de la justice (c.1615), written in whole or in part by de Refuge, possibly based on a text by Michel de l'HôpitalMichel de l'HôpitalMichel de l'Hôpital was a French statesman.-Biography:De l'Hôpital was born near Aigueperse in Auvergne ....
, who was Chancellor of France from 1560 to 1567, concerning structures and governanceGovernanceGovernance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
.