Enguerrand de Marigny, Baron Le Portier (126030 April 1315) was a French chamberlain and minister of

Philip IV Philip IV may refer to: * Philip IV of Macedon (died 297 BC) * Philip IV of France (1268–1314), Avignon Papacy * Philip IV of Burgundy or Philip I of Castile (1478–1506) * Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1542–1602) * Philip IV of Spain ...

Early life

He was born at Lyons-la-Forêt in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, of an old Norman family of the smaller baronage called Le Portier, which took the name of Marigny about 1200. Enguerrand entered the service of

Hugues II de Bouville Hugues III de Bouville (1275–1331) was the chamberlain of Philip IV of France. Biography The son of Hugues II de Bouville (d. 1304) and Marie de Chambly, he is the brother of John IV de Bouville. His father Hugues II was also chamberlain and sec ...

, chamberlain and secretary of Philip IV, as a squire, and then was attached to the household of Queen Jeanne, who made him one of the executors of her will. He married her god-daughter, Jeanne de St Martin. In 1298 he received the custody of the castle of

Issoudun Issoudun () is a commune in the Indre department, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is also referred to as ''Issoundun'', which is the ancient name. Geography Location Issoudun is a sub-prefecture, located in the east o ...

Ministry

After the death of

Pierre Flotte Pierre Flotte or Pierre Flote (Languedoc, second half of the 13th century – Kortrijk, 11 July 1302) was a French legalist, Chancellor of France and Keeper of the Seals of Philip IV the Fair. He was taught Roman law at the University of Mont ...

Courtrai Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larges ...

in 1302 and de Bouville at the Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle in 1304, he became Philip's Grand Chamberlain and chief minister. In 1306 he was sent to preside over the exchequer of Normandy. He received numerous gifts of land and money from Philip as well as a pension from

Edward II of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...

. Possessed of an ingratiating manner, politic, learned and astute, he acted as an able instrument in carrying out Philip's plans, and received corresponding confidence. He shared the popular odium which Philip incurred by debasing the coinage. He acted as the agent of Philip in his contest with Louis, Count of Nevers, the son of Robert III of Flanders, imprisoning Louis and forcing Robert to surrender

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Do ...

and

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

. He obtained for his half-brother Philip de Marigny in 1301 the bishopric of Cambrai, and in 1309 the archbishopric of Sens, and for his brother Jean in 1312 the

bishopric of Beauvais The Diocese of Beauvais, Noyon, and Senlis ( la, Dioecesis Bellovacensis, Noviomensis et Silvanectensis; french: Diocèse de Beauvais, Noyon et Senlis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The di ...

. Still another relative, Nicolas de Frauville, became the king's confessor and a cardinal. He addressed the States-General in 1314 and succeeded in getting further taxes for the Flemish war, incurring at the same time much ill will. This soon came to a head when the princes of the blood, eager to fight the Flemings, were disappointed by his negotiating a peace in September. He was accused of receiving bribes, and

Charles of Valois Charles of Valois (12 March 1270 – 16 December 1325), the fourth son of King Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon, was a member of the House of Capet and founder of the House of Valois, whose rule over France would start in ...

denounced him to the king himself; but Philip stood by him and the attack was of no avail. The death of Philip IV on 29 November 1314 was a signal for a reaction against his policy. The feudal party, whose power the king had tried to limit, turned on his ministers and chiefly on his chamberlain.

Downfall

Enguerrand was arrested by Louis X at the instigation of

, and twenty-eight articles of accusation including charges of receiving bribes were brought against him. He was refused a hearing; but his accounts were correct, and Louis was inclined to spare him anything more than banishment to the island of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

. Charles then brought forward a charge of sorcery which was more effectual. He was condemned at once and hanged on the public Gibbet of Montfaucon, protesting that in all his acts he had only been carrying out Philip's commands (30 April 1315). Marigny founded the collegiate church of Nôtre Dame d'Ecouis near

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

in 1313. He was twice married, first to Jeanne de St Martin, by whom he had three children, Louis, Marie and Isabelle (who married Robert, son of Robert de Tancarville); and the second time to Alips de Mons.

In fiction

Marigny is a major character in '' Les Rois maudits'' (''The Accursed Kings''), a series of historical novels by

Maurice Druon Maurice Druon (23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Française, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999. Life and career Born in Paris, France, Druon was the s ...

, which were adapted into a television

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and again in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

. He was portrayed by André Falcon in 1972 and by Jean-Claude Drouot in 2005. Marigny is also referenced in the final chapter of

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story of ...

as the first victim of Montfaucon, and a just man.

References

* Contemporary chroniclers in vols. xx. to xxiii. of D Bouquet, ''Historiens de la France'' * Pierre Clément, ''Trois drames historiques'' (Paris, 1857) * Charles Dufayard, ''La Réaction féodale sous les fils de Philippe le Bel'', in the ''Revue historique'' (1894, liv. 241272). {{DEFAULTSORT:Marigny, Enguerran de 1260 births 1315 deaths 13th-century French people 14th-century French people Executed people from Normandy Executed French people People executed by France by hanging People executed by the Ancien Régime in France People from Eure Philip IV of France 14th-century executions by France People executed for witchcraft Witch trials in France