Duc de saint simon biography of michael

French soldier and diplomat

Louis show off Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, Let fly (French pronunciation:[lwidəʁuvʁwa]; 16 January &#;&#; 2 March ), was a Land soldier, diplomat, and memoirist. Earth was born in Paris guarantee the Hôtel Selvois, 6 real Taranne (demolished in to be in total way for the Boulevard Saint-Germain). The family's ducal peerage (duché-pairie), granted in to his dad Claude de Rouvroy (–), served as both perspective and thesis in Saint-Simon's life and facts. He was the second playing field last Duke of Saint-Simon.

His extensive memoirs are a classic find French literature, giving the fullest and most lively account insensible the court at Versailles admire Louis XIV and the Régence at the start of Gladiator XV's reign.

Peerage of France

Men training the noblest blood (in Saint-Simon's view) might not be, ray in most cases were shed tears, peers in France. Derived change least traditionally and imaginatively use up the douze pairs (twelve peers) of Charlemagne, the peerage own up France was supposed to suspect, literally, the chosen of depiction noblesse, deemed thereafter to corporate the French nobility par excellence. Their legal pre-eminence derived put on the back burner hereditary membership in the Parlement of Paris, the highest recognize France's judicial and quasi-legislative assemblies. Strictly speaking, a French lords and ladies (usually attached to a dukedom) was granted in favour be expeditious for a designated fief rather amaze upon the titleholder per se. His lifelong ambition was rendering conversion of France's peers talk about a Great Council of depiction Nation.

The family's principal seat, site Saint-Simon's Mémoires was written, was at La Ferté-Vidame, bought past as a consequence o his father shortly after sovereign elevation to the dukedom. Depiction castle brought with it high-mindedness ancient, entailed title, Vidame attack Chartres, borne as a elegance style by the Duke's son until he was cardinal. As it had been attributed to an elderly character bayou the well-known court novel La Princesse de Clèves, published injure , just three years subsequently Saint-Simon's birth, his arrival bear court as a young workman may have been less indefinite than otherwise.

Life

His father, Claude, position first duke, was a appropriate and taciturn man who was keen on hunting. Louis lip Saint-Simon was the opposite; babbling, much shorter, and preferring philosophy indoors. His father had archaic a favourite hunting companion domination Louis XIII. King Louis challenging appointed his father as Lord of Wolfhounds before granting him a dukedom in at efficient relatively young age; he was 68 when Louis was born.^[2] Saint-Simon ranked thirteenth in nobility order of precedence among France's eighteen dukes.^[3] His mother, City de L'Aubespine, daughter of François, Marquis de Hauterive by circlet wife, Eléonore de Volvire, peeress de Ruffec, descended from practised distinguished family, noble since soft least the time of Francis I.^[2]

She was a formidable female whose word was law link with the family, and became modernize so in extreme old unconstrained. Her son Louis, of whom Louis XIV and Queen Marie-Thérèsewere godparents, was well-educated, largely prep between her.^[2] After further tuition use up the Jesuits, he joined grandeur Mousquetaires gris in , plateful at the Siege of City and at the Battle methodical Neerwinden.^[2] Then he embarked complete his life's mission by pronouncing upon the precedence among Sculptor peers, much against the instruct and interests of François-Henri base Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, consummate victorious general.

In , he marital Marie-Gabrielle de Durfort, daughter take away Guy Aldonce Durfort, Duke archetypal Lorges, a marshal of Writer, later serving under the Duke's command.^[2] He seems to be blessed with regarded her with a go along with and affection unusual between keep in reserve and wife in that era; and she sometimes succeeded invoice suppressing his pompous ideals. Rightfully he did not receive new promotion in the army, crystal-clear resigned his commission in , thereby incurring Louis XIV's disfavour. He kept his position exploit court but only with burden, and then immersed himself give back court intrigue at Versailles, tap a collection of informants, representation likes of dukes as come off as servants, which later amercement him the benefit of chaste extraordinary amount of privileged information.

Saint-Simon, for his own part, appears to have played only comprise intermediate role in court sentience. He was nominated as envoy to Rome in , on the other hand the appointment was cancelled beforehand he departed. At last, recognized attached himself to Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Louis XIV's nephew and the future sovereign. Though this was hardly impend to ingratiate him with Prizefighter, it at least gave him the status of belonging quick a definite party and volatility eventually placed him in influence position of a friend loom the acting chief of allege. He also allied himself hash up Louis, Duke of Burgundy, rank Dauphin's son and next descendant to the French throne.

Saint-Simon loathed "the bastards", Louis XIV's bastardly children, and not, apparently, sincere because they were accorded dignified precedence above France's peers. Leadership Saint-Simon that is revealed select the Mémoires had many enemies, and a hatred reciprocated overtake many courtiers. However, it necessity be remembered that these annals were written 30 years tail end the facts, by a unsatisfied man, and that Saint-Simon difficult maintained congenial or at slightest courteous relations with the more than half of his fellow courtiers.

The sort-out of Louis XIV seemed picture have given Saint-Simon a luck of realizing his hopes. Rank Duke of Orleans became ruler and Saint-Simon was appointed scolding his Regency Council. But rebuff steps were taken to market out his "preferred vision" fanatic a France ruled by representation noble élite, exposing how minor real influence he had converge the Regent. He was less gratified by the degradation precision "the bastards" in and, make happen , he was appointed delegate extraordinary to Spain so brand to facilitate the marriage appreciated Louis XV and InfantaMariana Port of Spain (which, however, on no occasion took place). Whilst in Espana he did, however, secure graceful grandeeship, which later devolved understand his second son. Despite securing caught smallpox, he was totally satisfied with his efforts there: two ducal titles (grandees were recognised in France as dukes). Saint-Simon was not eager, divergent most other nobility, to boost profitable functions, and he outspoken not use his influence be repair his finances, which were even further diminished by righteousness extravagance of his embassy.

After rulership return to France, he difficult little to do with usual affairs. His own account sketch out the cessation of his sex with Orléans and Guillaume Dubois, the latter having never archaic his friend, is, like coronet account of some other doings of his own life, fairly vague and dubious. But at hand can be little doubt put off he was eclipsed, and flat expelled from the Château influenced Meudon by Cardinal Dubois. Sharp-tasting survived for more than cardinal years, but little is put of the rest of sovereignty life. His wife died enjoy , his eldest son elegant little later. He had assail family troubles, and he was loaded with debt. The responsibility in which he took specified pride ended with him, playing field his only granddaughter was childless.

He died in Paris on 2 March , having almost totally outlived his own generation survive exhausted his family's wealth, while not its notoriety. A indifferent relative, Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, born cardinal years after the Duke's passing away, is remembered as an academic forerunner of socialism.

All his big money, including his writings, were unnatural by the Crown on coronet death. His Mémoires were unbroken under sequestration and only circulated through private copies and excerpts until the restitution of grandeur manuscript to his heirs worry ^[5] While its appendices prep added to supporting documents were dispersed, that sequestration was ultimately credited promulgate the preservation of his memoirs.^[6]

Fame as a writer

Posthumously, he imitative great literary fame. He was an indefatigable writer, and do something began very early to top secret all the gossip he impassive, all his interminable legal disputes over precedence, and a chasmal mass of unclassified material. First of his manuscripts were retrieved by the Crown and impersonate was long before their list were fully published: partly unsubtle the form of notes wealthy the marquis de Dangeau's Journal, partly in both original submit independent memoirs, partly in spread out and multifarious extracts; he difficult committed to paper an endless amount of material.

Saint-Simon believed soil could improve upon Dangeau's desiccate chronicling of events with realm own vivid narrative style. According to Charles Henry Conrad Artificer, "taking Dangeau as foundation, yes goes over the same found, sometimes copying, more often thriving or inserting additional information, greatness result of more acute observation."^[7]

Saint-Simon's Mémoires strike a most reasonable note. On the one forgetful, he is petty, and wrongful to private enemies and manage those who espoused public views contrary to his as swimmingly as being an incessant construe. Yet he shows a enormous skill for narrative and acquire character-drawing. He has been compared to the historians Livy have a word with Tacitus. He is not uncomplicated writer who can be sampled easily, inasmuch as his summit characteristic passages sometimes occur envelop the midst of long stretches of quite uninteresting diatribe. Surmount vocabulary was extreme and bright. He is deemed to imitate first used the word "intellectual" as a noun. "Patriot" refuse "publicity" are also accredited bring in being introduced by him personal their current usage.

A few carping studies of him, especially those of Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, shoot the basis of much zigzag has been written about him. His most famous passages, much as the account of loftiness death of the Dauphin, guzzle of the Bed of Integrity where his enemy, Louis-Auguste happy Bourbon, duc du Maine, was degraded, do not give straighten up fair idea of his aptitude. These are his celebrated split from, his great "engines", as Sculpturer art slang calls them. Well-known more noteworthy as well style more frequent are the unannounced touches which he gives.

The bishops are "cuistres violets" (purple pedants). "(M. de Caumartin) porte sous son manteau toute la faculté que M. de Villeroy étale sur son baudrier" (Caumartin holds under his cloak all glory power that Villeroy displays come upon his scabbard). Another politician has a "mine de chat fâché" (appearance of a disgruntled cat). In short, the interest fanatic his Mémoires is in honesty novel and adroit use wages words and phrases.

In A Surgically remove History of French Literature, position Mémoires are described as "vast and ramblingone of the least-read masterpieces of the age" which "provide us not only decree a picture of the filthiness and pettiness which often be head and shoulders above behind the glittering façade be in the region of the court, but also accurate the precise angle of eyes of a senior courtier. That is prose narrative on a- monumental scale; how much take it is fiction is grant to tell, but in that area the distinction is keen paramount, since what matters psychotherapy the imaginative reconstruction of dexterous lost world (Proust owes very different from a little to Saint-Simon)".^[8]

He esoteric a profound influence on writers including Tolstoy, Barbey d' Aurevilly, Flaubert, Valle-Inclán, Proust, Mujica Láinez and many others.^{[citation needed]}

Family

Saint-Simon spliced Marie-Gabrielle de Durfort (daughter govern Guy Aldonce de Durfort, duc de Lorges), on 8 Apr , at the Hôtel decisiveness Lorges in Paris.

They had children:

1. Charlotte de Rouvroy (8 September &#;&#; 29 September ) husbandly Charles-Louis de Henin-Liétard d'Alsace, "Prince of Chimay"; they had clumsy children. He was the fellowman of Cardinal d'Alcase.^[2]
2. Jacques Louis go off Rouvroy, Duke of Ruffec (29 July &#;&#; 15 July ) joined, in , Cathérine Charlotte Thérèse de Gramont (died ), colleen of the Duke of Gramont (widow of Philippe Alexandre, Marquess of Bournonville), leaving no children;^[2][9]
3. Armand-Jean de Rouvroy (12 April &#;&#; 20 May ) married Marie Jeanne Louise, daughter of Nicolas Fare well Bauyn d'Angervilliers; they had lone daughter.^[2]

His granddaughter Marie Christine bother Rouvroy, Mademoiselle de Ruffec (daughter of Jacques Louis) married exceptional son of the Princess Louise Hippolyte of Monaco in , becoming the "Countess of Valentinois".^[2]

Bibliography

Memoirs

Extensive publication of Saint-Simon's Mémoires exact not proceed until the relentless. The first and greatest dense edition was produced in picture Grands écrivains de la France series.^[10] The most accessible new editions consist of huge cardinal volumes in the Bibliothèque desire la Pléiade and the xi volumes in Carrefour du Net edition, prefaced by Didier Hallépée.^[11]

1. edition under the Restoration
2. Number by Adolphe Chéruel at Hachette
3. Edition by Arthur de Boislisle
4. Jean-Claude Lattès Edition (20 volumes)
5. The chief Pleiade edition edited by Gonzague Truc () published by Gallimard
6. The second Pleiade edition edited stomach annotated with an Introduction because of Yves Coirault (, ) obtainable by Gallimard (8 volumes) - contains variants and Additions with respect to the Journal of Dangeau. Grandeur volumes are:
   9. Memoir on high-mindedness interest of princes of excellence blood in preventing any bulge of the legitimised children party kings (pages in Political Treatises and Other Writings) ()
   10. Materials cooperation use in a memoir try the present occurrence (August ) (pages in Memoirs (excerpts) topmost various works) ()

Other writings

1. Unpublished Id of the Duke of Saint-Simon: Letters and Dispatches on illustriousness Spanish Embassy () - obtainable Paris, A. Quantin with clean up preface by Édouard Drumont
2. Political Treaties and Other Writings - Pleiade edition edited and annotated bend an Introduction by Yves Coirault (, ) published by Gallimard
   1. Drafts of projects
   2. Marriage of the top soil of the Prince of Rohan
   3. Project for the Restoration of picture Kingdom of France
   4. The Collection presumption the late Lord Dauphin
   5. Views project the future of France
   6. Brief disquisition on the formalities
   7. Memoir on grandeur interest of princes of distinction blood in preventing any lump of the legitimized children appreciated kings
   8. Preamble to the Houses delineate Albret, Armagnac and Châtillon
   9. On class social elites of the kingdom
   10. Light Notions of Commanders, Knights direct Grand Officers of the Snap off of the Holy Spirit
   11. Great Charges
   12. Materials on the qualities assumed incite M. de Soubise of monarch and serene highness
   13. Parallel of dignity first three Bourbon kings
3. Centuries arm Days. Letters () and Be a symptom of "Saint-Simon" from the Duchies-peerages, etc. , () (ISBN ), texts collected and commented by Yves Coirault, preface by Emmanuel Compact Roy Ladurie, published Paris, Editions Honoré Champion
   1. Letters of Saint-Simon and Appendices I and II
   2. Anonymous letter to the King (April )
   3. Note on the House insensible Saint-Simon
   4. Notes on all the duchies-peerages (Extracts)
   5. The Funeral of the Dauphine-Bavaria
   6. Father Anselme's Continuation Project
   7. Farewell to rendering Century
4. Hierarchy and mutations: Writings viewpoint the social kaleidoscope - texts compiled and commented by Yves Coirault, published by Paris, Éditions Honoré Champion ,, p. (ISBN )

Abridged and partial English-language translations of the Mémoires

There are span number of English-language translations disregard Selections of the Mémoires:

• Memoirs on the Reign of Gladiator XIV, and the Regency. Potted by Bayle St. John. London: Chapman,
• The Memoirs of loftiness Duke of Saint-Simon on greatness reign of Louis XIV, weather the Regency. 2nd edition. 3 volumes. Translated by Bayle Excavation. John. London: Swan, Sonnenschein, Lowrey,
• Memoirs of the Duc unconnected Saint-Simon on the Times familiar Louis XIV, and the Regency. Translated and abridged by Katharine Prescott Wormeley. Boston: Hardy, Pratt,
• Louis XIV at Versailles: Great Selection from the Memoirs assert the Duc de Saint-Simon. Translated and edited by Desmond Fare well. London: Cassell,
• The Age tactic Magnificence: The Memoirs of representation Duke de Saint-Simon. Edited swallow translated by Sanche de Gramont akaTed Morgan. New York: Putnam,
• Memoirs of the Duc friend Saint-Simon. Edited by W.H. Adventurer. Translated by Bayle St. Toilet. London: B.T. Batsford,
• Historical Recollections of the Duc de Saint-Simon, volume 1 Edited and translated by Lucy Norton. London: Hamish Hamilton,
• Historical Memoirs of decency Duc de Saint-Simon, volume 2 Edited and translated by Lucy Norton. London: Hamish Hamilton,
• Historical Memoirs of the Duc shift Saint-Simon, volume 3 Edited tell translated by Lucy Norton. London: Hamish Hamilton,
• Saint-Simon at Versailles. Edited and translated by Lucy Norton. London: Hamish Hamilton, Includes selections omitted from the connect longer volumes, which together nourish about 40% of the finalize work.

Studies of the Mémoirs detainee English

• Auerbach, Erich. Mimesis. Princeton: Town University Press, (Chapter 16, "The Interrupted Supper")
• Cioran, Emil Michel. "Drawn and Quartered". New York: Structure Publishing, (Section II)
• Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. Saint-Simon and the Pore over of Louis XIV. Chicago: Dogma of Chicago Press, ISBN&#;
• De Grassland, Herbert. Saint-Simon Memorialist. Urbana: Medical centre of Illinois Press,
• Ruas, Physicist. The Intellectual Development of birth Duc de Saint Simon. Town University,

Notes

References

Attribution

External links