biography
| name: |
Retz (Jean François Paul de Gondi), Cardinal de
|
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1614–79)
|
| biography:
| Clergyman, born in Montmirail, NC France. He plotted against Mazarin, and exploited the Parlementary Fronde (1648) to further his own interests and the power of the Church. After transferring his allegiance between the rebel factions and the crown, he received a cardinal's hat, though in 1652 he was imprisoned on Louis XIV's personal orders. After making peace with Louis (1662), he received the abbacy of St Denis. In his last years he wrote his Mémoires, a classic in 17th-c French literature. |
|
|
