Rosalba Carriera - Cardinal Melchior de Polignac - WGA4488

Melchior Cardinal de Polignac (11 October 1661 – 20 November 1742) was a French diplomat, Cardinal and neo-Latin poet. Second son of Armand XVI, marquis de Polignac and Marquis Chalancon, Governor of Puy; and Jacqueline de Beauvoir -Grimoard-de Roure (his third wife), Melchior de Polignac was born at Chateau de la Ronte, near Puy en Vélay, Lavoûte-sur-Loire,

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, ...

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

Education and early career

A precocious child, he was taken by his uncle to Paris, and installed in the Jesuit Collège de Clermont (later named the Collège de Louis le Grand). At the appropriate time, he passed to the Collège de Harcourt, where thanks to the misdirected efforts of a teacher who was an enthusiast for Aristotle, Polignac adopted the opposite view and became a Cartesian. His thesis in Theology at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

(1683) discussed the Kings of Judah who had destroyed the "high places". He was either prescient, or aware of discussion around Louis XIV which led in two years to the revocation of the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

(1685) and the removal of the

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

"high places". He had somehow attracted the patronage of the Cardinal Emmanuel de la Tour d'Auvergne de Bouillon, who took Polignac with him when he went to Rome for the Conclave following the death of Pope

Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI ( la, Innocentius XI; it, Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689. Poli ...

on 12 August 1689. Bouillon chose Polignac as one of his Conclavists. When the new Pope, Alexander VIII (Ottoboni) was elected, he assisted Cardinal de Bouillon and the French Ambassador, the Duc de Chaulnes, in attempting to improve relations between Louis XIV and the Holy See. Polignac was sent back to France to report to Louis, who immediately sent him back to Rome with further instructions. He was still in Rome when Alexander VIII died after less than sixteen months on the throne, and was again Conclavist of Cardinal de Bouillon in the Conclave of 1691 that elected Innocent XII (Pignatelli). At an early age he achieved recognition as a diplomat. In 1693 he was sent as ambassador to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, where he worked with Cardinal Augustyn Michal Stefan Radziejowski, the

Primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.François-Louis de Bourbon, prince de Conti as successor to

John Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobi ...

(1697). The other candidate,

Augustus the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as K ...

of Saxony, however, was supported by Austria and Russia, and was elected over the French candidate. The subsequent failure of this intrigue led to Polignac's temporary disgrace, and retirement to his Abbey of Bon-Port, but in 1702 he was restored to favour. In 1709 he was sent along with Nicholas du Blé, Maréchal d'Huxelles, as plenipotentiaries to conduct negotiations toward peace at the Dutch town of

Geertruidenberg Geertruidenberg () is a city and municipality in the province North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The city, named after Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, received city rights in 1213 from the count of Holland. The fortified city prospered un ...

, but thanks to the obstinacy of Louis XIV, they were unsuccessful. Polignac left Getruidenberg on 25 July 1710 and had an interview with Louis XIV at Versailles on 31 July. In 1712 he was sent, again along with the Maréchal d'Huxelles, as a

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

, to the Congress of Utrecht, and this time a peace was concluded.

Character portrait

The Duc de Saint-Simon provides a character portrait of the Abbé de Polignac around the end of 1705, as he was trying to restart his career and climb back into the notice of the French government, in particular the Duc de Bourbon—a portrait full of Saint-Simon's usual snobbery and malevolence: "The Abbe de Polignac, after his adventures in Poland and the exile which followed them, came back to the surface. He was a tall man, very well made, with a handsome face, much cleverness, and above all, grace and polished manners; all kinds of knowledge, a most agreeable way of expressing himself, a touching voice, a gentle eloquence, insinuating, manly, exact in terms, charming in style, a gift of speech that was wholly his own; all about him was original and persuasive; amusing in narratives; possessed of a smattering of all the arts, all the manufactures, all the professions. In whatever belonged to his own, that is, learning and the ecclesiastical calling, he was rather less versed. … In other respects he was wholly occupied with his own ambition, without friendship, without gratitude, without any feeling except for himself; false, lax, indifferent to the means of success; without restraint from God or man, but always with a cloak of delicacy which gave him dupes; above all, a libertine, more from facility, coquetry, ambition, than from natural debauchery; so that while the heart was false and the soul not upright, his judgment was nil, his actions erroneous, his mind inaccurate, which, in spite of the most gracious and deceptive exterior, caused the failure in his hands of every enterprise intrusted to him. "With a face and talents so fitted to impress others, he was aided by his birth, to which, however, his property did not respond; but that fact dispelled all envy and conciliated favour and good will. The most amiable ladies of the Court, those even of advanced age, the men most distinguished for place or reputation, the persons of both sexes who chiefly set the tone,—he won them all. Even the King succumbed to him through M. du Maine, to whose wife he was devoted. He was on all the Marly trips, end every one was eager to enjoy his charms; he had them for all sorts of conditions, persons, and minds...."

Literary prestige

On 26 May 1704 Abbé de Polignac was elected to the Académie Française, to the seat once held by Bossuet. His inauguration speech survives. In 1715 he became a member of the

Académie royale des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...

, and was its President several times. In 1717, he became a member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...

. He left unfinished a refutation of

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( , ; – ) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem ''De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, and which usually is translated into En ...

, written in Latin verse, mostly during his first exile, and published after his death by the abbé de Rothelin (''Anti-Lucretius'', 1745). Lucretius' poem, '' De rerum natura'', had also been left unpublished at that poet's death, and was published through the efforts of Cicero, according to

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

. Polignac's poem was very popular in the eighteenth century and translated several times: for example, Jean-Pierre de Bougainville translated it into French prose in 1749, and François-Joseph Bérardier de Bataut translated it in French verse in 1786. It was translated into English by George Canning in 1766 in a self-published tome. It is now forgotten.

Ecclesiastical career

Pope Clement XI (Altieri) had been watching Polignac's career. On 17 May 1706 he showed his favor by naming Polignac an Auditor of the Rota (one of the Church's highest courts), a post made vacant by the promotion of Msgr. Joseph-Emmanuel de la Trémoille to the cardinalate. He spent the next three years in Rome. In 1712, he was created a

Cardinal Deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Co ...

by Pope Clement XI (Altieri) on 18 May 1712 but the nomination was made ''in pectore'', that is, his appointment was not made public at the time; it was only announced on 30 January 1713. At the time Polignac was a negotiator residing in a Protestant country, and it was deemed inadvisable to disrupt the course of events or cause offense by making his elevation public. While in Holland, he met and conversed with the famous Protestant philosophe,

Pierre Bayle Pierre Bayle (; 18 November 1647 – 28 December 1706) was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. A Huguenot, Bayle fled to the Dutch Republic in 1681 because of religious persecution in France. He is best known for his '' Histori ...

, who had begun publishing the Dictionnaire in 1697. Once the Peace was concluded, he was presented with the red biretta at Versailles by Louis XIV on 6 June 1713. He did not go to Rome for the induction ceremonies, and thus had no deaconry assigned to him for many years. He did not attend the Conclave of April–May 1721, which elected

Innocent XIII Pope Innocent XIII ( la, Innocentius XIII; it, Innocenzo XIII; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He is ...

(de' Conti), having been forbidden to travel to Rome by the French Regent, Philippe d' Orleans. But he was present at the Conclave of 1724, though he made a very late appearance on 23 April, after the Conclave had been in progress for seven weeks. He was eligible to participate, since he had finally been ordained deacon and priest, on 8 and 19 September 1722, by Msgr. Pierre Sabatier, the Bishop of Amiens. After the Conclave, on 27 September, the new Pope named him Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Porticu. Polignac immediately wrote an account of the Conclave and sent it off to the new First Minister of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

, Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon. The Duke was so highly impressed by the report, both in content and style, that he had the King name Polignac French Chargé d'affaires to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, a post he held until 1732. He was thus absent from France for eight years. On 20 November Benedict XIII (Orsini) promoted him to being

Cardinal Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of S. Maria in Via. On 19 December 1725 he transferred to the title of S. Maria degli Angeli. These promotions were conditioned, to be sure, by his appointment as Chargé d'affaires. Also in 1724, Polignac was elected a member of the Roman Arcadian Academy, founded in 1692 in memory of Queen

Christina of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December ( New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death ...

; his academy name was Teodosso Cesisio. In 1730 he was in Rome and participated in the four-month-long Conclave which elected

Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...

(Corsini). He did not, at the age of 78, travel to Rome for the Conclave of 1740.

His position in French society

During the last years of Louis XIV, Abbé de Polignac enjoyed the position of Master of the King's Chapel (1713–1716). But during the Regency Polignac became involved in the Cellamare Conspiracy, which attempted to dislodge Philippe d'Orleans from the Regency, and replace him with

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

, uncle of the young King Louis XV. Polignac was relegated to

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and confined to his Abbey d'Anchin for three years. As soon as Louis XV attained his majority, however, he had Polignac rehabilitated and restored to his positions. In 1726, he received the

Archbishopric of Auch The Archdiocese of Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Auxitana-Condomiensis-Lectoriensis-Lomberiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez''), more commonly known as the Archdiocese of Auch, is a Latin Church ...

. He was consecrated in Rome by Pope Benedict XIII. In 1728 he was granted the Collar of the

Order of the Holy Spirit , status = Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Henry III of France , head_title = Grand Master , head = Disputed: Louis Alphonse, Duke of AnjouJean, Count of Pari ...

Death

He died at his home in what is now 80–88

rue Bonaparte Rue Bonaparte is a street in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It spans the Quai Voltaire/Quai Malaquais to the Jardin du Luxembourg, crossing the Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the place Saint-Sulpice and has housed many of France's most famo ...

in the 6th Arondissement in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

(also known as the ''Hôtel Polignac''), on 20 November 1742, at the age of 80, of "hydropsie". He was buried in the Church of S. Sulpice in Paris. At the time of his death, he was also Abbot of Begars, Mouron, and Corbie; and Prior of Montdidier, Voute-sur-Loire, and Nagent le Rotron. After his death

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

bought his acclaimed collection of marble statues, which he had collected through his archaeological work in Rome.A. Dostert, "Die Antikensammlung des Kardinals Melchior de Polignac," ''Antikensammlungen des europäischen Adels im 18. Jahrhundert als Ausdruck einer europäischen Identität'' (edited by D. Boschung and H. von Hesberg) (Mainz 2000), pp. 191–198 onumenta Artis romanae 27

References

Bibliography

* Melchior de Polignac, ''Copie d'une lettre de Monsieur l'Abbé de Polignac, à Monsieur de Chasteau-Neuf'' (Villeneuve 1695). * Melchior de Polignac, ''Lettre de Monsieur Labbee de Polignac, a Monsieur le Grand Pensionaire Heinsius, avec la resolution ... les Seigneurs Etats Generaux des Provinces-Unies des Pays-Bas, du 23 et du 27 Juillet 1710'' (Geertruydenbergh ce 20. de Juillet 1710). * Deslandes de Lancelot, ''Troisieme memoire signifié pour M. le Cardinal de Polignac, Archevêque d'Auch. Contre le sieur Marchal Econome Sequestre'' (Paris: De l'Imprimerie de Christophe David, 1738). * Anonymous, "Eloge de M. le Cardinal de Polignac," ''Histoire de l' Academie royale des sciences, Annee M.DCCXLI.'' (Paris: Imprimerie royale 1744), 180–200. *

Mario Guarnacci Mario Guarnacci (October 25, 1701 in Volterra, Province of Pisa – August 21, 1785 in Volterra), was an Italian prelate, archeologist and historian. He was one of the first scholars to carry out systematic excavations of Etruscan tombs. Biogr ...

, ''Vitae et res gestae Pontificum Romanorum et S.R.E. Cardinalium'' Tomus secundus (Romae 1751), 247–250. * Lorenzo Cardella, ''Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Ecclesia'' Tomo Ottavo (Roma: Pagliarini 1794), pp. 149–152. * Chrysostome Faucher, O.Min., ''Histoire du Cardinal de Polignac'' 2 vols. (Paris 1780). * Hippolyte de la Porte, "Polignac (Melchior de)," ''Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne'' (Paris: chez L. G. Michaud 1823), 184–188. * Le Baron de ****, ''Maison de Polignac: précis historique orné du portrait de M. le prince Jules de Polignac, président du Conseil des ministers'' (Paris: L. F. Hivert et chez les Libraires de nouveautés, 1830), pp. 75–153. * Léon, comte de Bastard d'Estang (1864)
''Négociations de l' abbé de Polignac en Pologne concernant l' élection du prince de Conti comme roi de Pologne (1696–1697)''
Auxerre: G. Perriquet. * P. Paul, ''Le Cardinal Melchior de Polignac'' (Paris, 1922). * Ulysse Rouchon, ''La Mission Du Cardinal Melchior de Polignac À Rome, 1724–1732'' (Paris 1927). *

External links

at the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Polignac, Melchior de 1661 births 1742 deaths People from Haute-Loire Members of the Académie Française Occitan nobility

Melchior Melchior is the name traditionally given to one of the biblical Magi appearing in the Gospel of Matthew. There are many notable people with this name, or close variations. As a first name * Melchior Anderegg (1828–1914), Swiss mountain guide * ...

Archbishops of Auch Members of the French Academy of Sciences Ambassadors of France to Poland 17th-century French diplomats 18th-century French diplomats 18th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France