Robert le Maçon
Encyclopedia
Robert le Maçon was chancellor of France
, advisor to Charles VII
and supporter of Joan of Arc
.
Le Maçon was born at Château-du-Loir
, Sarthe. He was ennobled in March 1401, and became six years later a councillor of Louis II, duke of Anjou and king of Sicily. A partisan of the house of Orléans
, he was appointed chancellor to Isabeau of Bavaria
on 29 January 1414, on 20 July 1414 commissary of the mint, and in June 1416 chancellor to the count of Ponthieu, afterwards Charles VII of France
. On 16 August 1416 he bought the barony of Trèves
in Anjou
, and henceforeward bore the title of seigneur of Trèves.
When Paris
was surprised by the Burgundian
s on the night of 29 May 1418 he assisted Tanguy du Chastel in saving the Dauphin Charles. His devotion to the cause of the latter having brought down on him the wrath of John the Fearless, he was excluded from the political amnesty known as the peace of Saint-Maur-des-Fosses, though he retained his seat on the king's council. He was by the dauphin's side when John the Fearless was murdered at the bridge of Montereau
on 10 September 1419. He resigned the seals at the beginning of 1422; but he continued to exercise great influence, and In 1426 he effected a reconciliation between the king and John VI, Duke of Brittany
.
Having been captured by Jean de Langeac, seneschal of Auvergne
, in August 1426, he was shut up for three months in the château of Usson
. When set at liberty he returned to court, where he staunchly supported Joan of Arc
against all the cabals that menaced her. It was he who signed the patent of nobility for the Arc family in December 1429. In 1430 he was once more entrusted with an embassy to Brittany.
Having retired from political life in 1436, he died on 28 January 1443, and was interred at Trèves, where his epitaph may still be seen.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, advisor to Charles VII
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
and supporter of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
.
Le Maçon was born at Château-du-Loir
Château-du-Loir
Château-du-Loir is a commune in the Sarthe department in the Pays de la Loire region in north-western France.-References:*...
, Sarthe. He was ennobled in March 1401, and became six years later a councillor of Louis II, duke of Anjou and king of Sicily. A partisan of the house of Orléans
House of Orleans
Orléans is the name used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. It became a tradition during France's ancien régime for the duchy of Orléans to be granted as an appanage to a younger son of the king...
, he was appointed chancellor to Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria was Queen consort of France as spouse of King Charles VI of France, a member of the Valois Dynasty...
on 29 January 1414, on 20 July 1414 commissary of the mint, and in June 1416 chancellor to the count of Ponthieu, afterwards Charles VII of France
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
. On 16 August 1416 he bought the barony of Trèves
Trèves
-France:Trèves is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Trèves, in the Rhône department* Trèves, in the Gard department* Trèves, former commune of the Maine-et-Loire department, now part of Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault...
in Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
, and henceforeward bore the title of seigneur of Trèves.
When 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...
was surprised by the Burgundian
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
s on the night of 29 May 1418 he assisted Tanguy du Chastel in saving the Dauphin Charles. His devotion to the cause of the latter having brought down on him the wrath of John the Fearless, he was excluded from the political amnesty known as the peace of Saint-Maur-des-Fosses, though he retained his seat on the king's council. He was by the dauphin's side when John the Fearless was murdered at the bridge of Montereau
Montereau-Fault-Yonne
Montereau-Fault-Yonne, or simply Montereau, is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Name:...
on 10 September 1419. He resigned the seals at the beginning of 1422; but he continued to exercise great influence, and In 1426 he effected a reconciliation between the king and John VI, Duke of Brittany
John VI, Duke of Brittany
John VI the Wise , was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort, and titular earl of Richmond, from 1399 to his death...
.
Having been captured by Jean de Langeac, seneschal of Auvergne
Auvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
, in August 1426, he was shut up for three months in the château of Usson
Usson
-Places:Usson is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Usson, Puy-de-Dôme in the Puy-de-Dôme département* Usson-en-Forez in the Loire département* Usson-du-Poitou in the Vienne département...
. When set at liberty he returned to court, where he staunchly supported Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
against all the cabals that menaced her. It was he who signed the patent of nobility for the Arc family in December 1429. In 1430 he was once more entrusted with an embassy to Brittany.
Having retired from political life in 1436, he died on 28 January 1443, and was interred at Trèves, where his epitaph may still be seen.