- L’Hospital also spelled:
- L’hôpital
- Born:
- 1507, Aigueperse, Fr.
- Died:
- March 13, 1573, Bellebat (aged 66)
- Title / Office:
- chancellor (1560-1568), France
- Founder:
- Politiques
- Subjects Of Study:
- religious toleration
Michel de L’Hospital
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Who was Michel de L’Hospital?
Michel de L’Hospital (1507–1573) was a French statesman, lawyer, and humanist who served as chancellor of France from 1560 to 1568. He is known for advocating religious toleration for the Huguenots. L’Hospital's early career involved legal studies in Toulouse, Padua, and Bologna, eventually leading to a position as a councillor in the Parlement of Paris in 1537.
As chancellor, he promoted policies of religious toleration, articulating these views in speeches and writings such as Traicté de la réformation de la justice and Mémoire sur la nécessité de mettre un terme à la guerre civile. L’Hospital's advocacy for moderation during the Wars of Religion led to his consideration as a founder of the Politiques, a moderate Roman Catholic group.
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What roles did Michel de L’Hospital have in the French government?
Michel de L’Hospital was a key figure in the French government during the 16th century. He served as chancellor of France from 1560 to 1568, during which he advocated for religious toleration towards the Huguenots.
L’Hospital also held positions such as councillor in the Parlement of Paris (supreme court) in 1537, envoy to the Council of Trent in 1547, master of requests in 1553, and first president of the Chambre des Comptes in 1555.
His efforts to promote toleration and reform led him to be considered a founder of the Politiques, a group that sought peace during the Wars of Religion. L’Hospital also worked towards judicial reform, promoting the Ordonnance de Moulins in 1566.
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Why is Michel de L’Hospital known as an important lawyer?
Michel de L’Hospital was a lawyer and statesman, who served as France's chancellor from 1560 to 1568. He is known for his role in advocating for religious tolerance toward the Huguenots. His legal studies at Toulouse, Padua, and Bologna prepared him for a career in French government.
L’Hospital significantly shaped government policy, advocating for religious tolerance and expressing his views in speeches and writings. His works, such as Traicté de la réformation de la justice and Mémoire sur la nécessité de mettre un terme à la guerre civile, thoroughly argued for tolerance. L’Hospital's philosophies of moderation led him to be considered a founder of the Politiques. During his term, he promoted the Ordonnance de Moulins in 1566, which helped to solve many problems in judicial administration.
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How did Michel de L’Hospital try to bring peace during the French Wars of Religion?
Michel de L’Hospital, as chancellor of France from 1560 to 1568, tried to bring peace during the French Wars of Religion through a policy of religious toleration toward the Huguenots. L’Hospital believed the ruler should protect all subjects, regardless of religion, and that using force would only worsen the situation. These philosophies led him to be considered a founder of the Politiques, a group that sought peace in France during the Wars of Religion.
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What laws or reforms did Michel de L’Hospital help create?
Michel de L’Hospital, as chancellor of France from 1560 to 1568, played a key role in advocating for religious toleration toward the Huguenots. He presented the government’s policies in speeches and argued that the ruler should safeguard the welfare of all subjects without favoring one religion. L’Hospital's philosophies of toleration and moderation led him to be considered a founder of the Politiques, who aimed to bring peace during the Wars of Religion.
During his term, L’Hospital worked for judicial reform and promoted the Ordonnance de Moulins in 1566, which addressed issues in judicial administration and set policies for administering royal lands.
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How did Michel de L’Hospital’s actions influence France after his lifetime?
Michel de L’Hospital, as chancellor of France from 1560 to 1568, advocated for religious toleration towards the Huguenots. His philosophies influenced the Politiques, a moderate Roman Catholic group that sought peace during the Wars of Religion. L’Hospital's policies aimed to balance the welfare of all subjects, regardless of religious affiliation, and he believed that unity could not be achieved through force.
Although the Edict of Nantes (1598) granted religious freedom to Protestants, it was later revoked by Louis XIV in 1685, leading to the emigration of Huguenots and depriving France of a significant commercial class. Despite the setbacks, L’Hospital's efforts to promote toleration left a lasting impact on discussions of religious and political moderation in France.
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Michel de L’Hospital (born 1507, Aigueperse, Fr.—died March 13, 1573, Bellebat) was a statesman, lawyer, and humanist who, as chancellor of France from 1560 to 1568, was instrumental in the adoption by the French government of a policy of toleration toward the Huguenots.
L’Hospital studied law at Toulouse but was forced into exile because of his father’s association with the traitor Charles de Bourbon; he subsequently continued his legal studies at Padua and Bologna. He was able to return to France about 1534, and in 1537 he became a councillor in the Parlement of Paris (supreme court). Henry II made him his envoy to the Council of Trent in 1547, and in 1553, on the recommendation of Charles, cardinal de Lorraine, he was made a master of requests, responsible for petitions to the king. In 1555 he became first president of the Chambre des Comptes. In 1560, during the brief reign of Francis II, he was made chancellor of France and was retained in that position by the regent, Catherine de Médicis.
L’Hospital played an important role in both the shaping and the implementation of government policy. As the Huguenots and Catholics prepared to fight each other, L’Hospital advocated a policy of religious toleration favoured by the regent, Catherine, and presented the government’s policies in numerous speeches to the various provincial estates and other local assemblies. But he was not merely expressing Catherine’s policies: a perusal of his works shows that much government policy was indeed his own policy. His Traicté de la réformation de la justice (“Treatise on the Reform of Justice”) and his Mémoire sur la nécessité de mettre un terme à la guerre civile (c. 1570; “Memoir on the Necessity of Putting an End to the Civil War”) are the most complete presentations of the case for toleration of his time. He argued that the ruler should not favour one religion over another but should safeguard the welfare of his subjects as a whole. While he favoured unity of religion, he believed that if force were used the opposite effect would be achieved.
His philosophies of toleration and moderation and his policies in office caused him to be considered a founder of the Politiques, the moderate Roman Catholic group that tried to bring peace to France during the later years of the Wars of Religion. L’Hospital disapproved of rebellion as a means of bringing about change, and he loathed tyrannicide; he regarded the monarchy as divinely instituted and the king as the supreme lawgiver, but he believed that the king should remain in close touch with his subjects by summoning the States General frequently.
During his term of office he worked hard for judicial reform and in 1566 promoted the Ordonnance de Moulins, which went far to rectify many problems in judicial administration and also stipulated policies for the administration and centralization of the royal domain (crown lands). In September 1567 civil war broke out again, and Catherine lost confidence in L’Hospital’s policy of toleration. Seeing that he had lost favour, he asked to be dismissed and then retired (1568) to his estate, where he spent his remaining years writing. His Oeuvres complètes were published in 1824–26.