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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 July 2009
A major problem in assessing the ecclesiastical policies of the government of Louis XIII is the equivocal reputation of its chief ministers as a churchman. Cardinal Richelieu enjoys an uncertain reputation as churchman in large measure because of the inherent ambiguities of his position as both prince of the church and chief minister of the king of France. Further compounding this ambiguous position was Gallicanism, the peculiar stance of the French church on matters of church-state and Franco-papal relations. A classic example of how Gallicanism could introduce complex and independently derived factors into Richelieu's policies was the decennial meeting of the Assembly of the Clergy of 1625. At that meeting, early in Richelieu's tenure as chief minister, the French clergy demonstrated with great vigor that Gallicanism was not a doctrine of the past and that it had wellsprings quite independent of the crown and Richelieu. Even in 1625 most people, including the papal curia, found it difficult to believe that the behavior of the Assembly of the Clergy was not dictated by Richelieu. We shall see, however, that the Assembly adopted measures well calculated to irritate the Holy See at a time when Cardinal Richelieu had every desire to placate Urban VIII. In 1625 Richelieu was negotiating feverishly to extricate Louis XIII from war in the Valtellina without losing the fruits of his aggressive action there. Richelieu's plan called for a papal garrison to be placed in the valley to keep it neutral and closed to Spain. Necessarily, the pope's cooperation was vital, which meant that it was not the moment to offend Urban VIII by attacking papal authority at home.
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25. Ibid., pp. 175–176, Declaration of the Assembly of the Clergy agains Louytre, 16 June 1625.
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27. Ibid., p. 309.
28. Ibid., p. 312.
29. Ibid., p. 318
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42. Ibid.
43. Ibid.
44. Ibid.
45. Ibid.
46. Fouqueray, p. 131.
47. Ibid., p. 132.
48. ASV, 64, fols. 447–451, dispatch, Spada to Rome, 14 October 1625.
49. Bibliothèque Nationale, mss. français, 3677, fols. 170v-175v, dispatch, Béthune to Herbault, 8 December 1625.
50. Blet, 1:325.
51. ASV, 65, fols. 89v-97v, dispatch, Rome to Spada, 24 February 1626.
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53. Ibid., doc. 81, letter, Richelieu to Molé, 24 April 1626.
54. Ibid., doc. 71.
55. See Aimé-Georges Martimort, Le Gallicanisme de Bossuet (Paris, 1953).Google Scholar
