by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021
Cardinal Mazarin was a favorite of King Louis XIV of France, and perhaps the most influential person in the French court at the time. Having served prominently in the court for several years during the reign of King Louis XIII, he was formally appointed Chief Minister by Queen Anne when she assumed the Regency for her young son, King Louis XIV, and remained in that position until his own death in 1661.
source: Wikipedia
Cardinal Jules Mazarin was born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino on July 14, 1602 in Pescina, Italy, the second of seven children of Pietro Mazzarino and Ortensia Bufalini. His father served as Chamberlain for Filippo I Colonna, the Grand Constable of Naples, and his mother came from a prominent noble family in Rome. His siblings were:
- Geronima (1601) – died in infancy
- Michele Alessandro (1605) – later Cardinal Michel Mazzarino, unmarried
- Anna-Maria (1607) – unmarried
- Laura Margherita (1608) – married Geronimo Martinozzi, had issue. They were the grandparents of Mary of Modena, consort of King James II of England
- Cléria (1609) – married Pietro Muti, no issue
- Girolama – 1614 – married Baron Michele Lorenzo Mancini, had issue
After attending the Jesuit College in Rome, he traveled to Spain and studied law at the Complutense University in Madrid. After completing his degree in Rome, and serving in a Papal army regiment, he came to the attention of Pope Urban VIII who appointed him to serve as a secretary to a papal diplomat. Quickly developing a keen sense for diplomacy, he traveled extensively between Italy, Spain and France, hoping to establish peace between the Spanish and French before an impending war. It was during these travels that he also came to the attention of Cardinal Richelieu, under whom he would later serve in the French court.
His diplomatic skills brought about his first success, resulting in the Treaty of Cherasco in 1631, and the following year, had his first meeting with King Louis XIII and Queen Anne of France. Having proven himself a valuable asset to the Pope, he was given the title of prelate, and papal vice-legate, and by 1634 was appointed nuncio extraordinary to Paris. Over the next few years, he became close to the King and Queen of France, and began to gain the trust of Cardinal Richelieu. And in 1641, he was formally created a Cardinal, despite never having become a priest.
Following Richelieu’s death in 1642, Mazarin was one of three primary advisors to King Louis XIII. Upon the King’s death in 1643, he had instructed in his will that Queen Anne not serve as regent for their young son, the new King Louis XIV. However, the Queen had the will annulled, was declared Regent, and named Mazarin as Chief Minister of France.
His tenure as Chief Minister saw the end of the Thirty Years War, thanks primarily to his diplomatic skills in establishing the Peace of Westphalia (1646-1648), and the expansion of France with the addition of the Alsace region. After skillfully negotiating a peaceful agreement following several years of rebellion within France – known as The Fronde – Mazarin continued with numerous diplomatic victories. These included establishing a military alliance with England, and the creation of the League of the Rhine in 1658. He carefully negotiated the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, which resulted in the addition of several new provinces in France, and led to the successful arrangement of a marriage for King Louis XIV to Maria Theresa of Spain.
In addition to his diplomatic skill, Mazarin was a prominent patron of the arts in France. He established the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648, and is credited with introducing Italian opera to France. He amassed a large collection of art and jewels, most of which he later bequeathed to the King and the nation.
Cardinal Mazarin died on March 9, 1661 at the Château de Vincennes, just outside of Paris. Several days before his death, in an attempt to silence false rumors that he was taking money from the King, Mazarin published a will in which he left his entire fortune to The King. Louis XIV quickly declined this, and a second will was drafted, in which he left the majority of his fortune to his niece, Hortense Mancini.
The Sancy (center), displayed in the Louvre. photo: By Pavel Rudanovsky – Louvre, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63677557
An avid jewel collector, Mazarin amassed a large collection of priceless gems during his lifetime. Upon his death, he left several to the King – including the famed Sancy and a collection of diamonds known as the ‘Mazarins’.
The Bibliothèque Mazarine. photo: By Marie-Lan Nguyen – Own work, CC BY 2.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10312236
Mazarin also bequeathed a large amount of money for the establishment of the Collège des Quatre-Nations. The college – now the Institut de France – was built just across the Seine River from the Louvre Palace, and his wish was to be entombed in the chapel of the college once it was completed. In addition, he left his extensive library to the new college. Containing nearly 40,000 books, the collection formed the basis for the Bibliothèque Mazarine which still exists today, and was the first public library in France.
Cenotaph of Cardinal Mazarin. photo: Par NonOmnisMoriar — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22344978
Following his death, Mazarin’s were temporarily placed in a vault in the chapel at the Château de Vincennes. In 1684, his remains were moved to the vault beneath the college chapel, and finally to a large marble tomb in the chapel in 1693. The tomb was destroyed during the French Revolution and his remains were thrown into the street. The monument was rebuilt years later, and after being displayed at several museums, returned to the college chapel in 1964.
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