School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 1 of 1
-
ItemA "mild and conciliating spirit"?: historiographical representations of Cardinal Fleury, 1743-1997( 1998)This thesis examines historiographical representations of the French statesman, André-Hercule, Cardinal Fleury, from his death in 1743 until the present day. While he has only been the subject of two biographies, many historians and other writers, both well-known and almost forgotten, have expressed an opinion of the character and administration of the cardinal-statesman. Fleury’s image has changed significantly over time, although, interestingly, nearly all historians agree on two things: that he was a peaceful man, with a strong desire to avoid war; and that he was never a heroic figure able to capture the popular imagination. From the ‘virtuous minister’ in ancien regime France, he acquired, between the Revolution and the Third Republic, the reputation as a weak, vacillating and talentless minister. The rehabilitation of the cardinal’s reputation began under the Third Republic, where historians were increasingly willing to concede that under Fleury’s regime, France made significant economic and foreign policy advances. But the minister’s positive image reached a zenith during the inter-war period, where, convinced of the need for peaceful solutions rather than armed conflict, conservative historians portrayed Fleury as a prudent, intelligent, even ‘great’ minister, the equal of his cardinal-minister predecessors Richelieu and Mazarin. In the two decades following World War Two, Fleury was almost forgotten by historians, although in the 1970s, with the rise of the popular biography, he again became the subject of some interest. In the last decade, a small number of historians has examined Fleury’s role in court politics and foreign policy. While they do not quite describe Fleury in the almost hagiographic terms of the 1930s, they agree on Fleury’s abilities as a minister, and as a master of court politics. The thesis concludes that representations of Fleury, or indeed, of any historical figure, depends on a variety of political and intellectual/methodological factors, as well as the individual beliefs of the writer. It is also clear that representations of Cardinal Fleury are likely to continue to evolve in the future.