« Ne sçachant que c'est de trahison ny infidelité » : fidélités multiples et conflits de loyauté au sein de la diplomatie française dans le Saint-Empire (années 1590 - années 1620)
As “honorable spies”, diplomats must be capable of moral transgression to serve their sovereign (corruption, espionage, disinformation), while at the same time demonstrating absolute fidelity to him. This balance, even more precarious given the autonomy by remoteness, seems to be mastered by diploma...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | fra |
| Published: |
Centre de Recherches Historiques
2024-07-01
|
| Series: | L'Atelier du CRH |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/acrh/30748 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | As “honorable spies”, diplomats must be capable of moral transgression to serve their sovereign (corruption, espionage, disinformation), while at the same time demonstrating absolute fidelity to him. This balance, even more precarious given the autonomy by remoteness, seems to be mastered by diplomats, even in such troubled contexts as the end of the Religion Wars or the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War. Yet some diplomats, such as Jean Péricard, ambassador to the Archdukes of Flanders (1616-1624), were accused of treason because of their, real or supposed, fidelity to a patron who was himself accused of treason. Conversely, Étienne de Sainte-Catherine, resident to the Palatine Elector (1612-1620), while seeking to serve the Duke of Württemberg, was not accused of treason. Based on the specific cases of French diplomats in the Holy Roman Empire, this paper will examine the various configurations and articulations of fidelity within the diplomatic service, by assessing their attributed misconducts, from infidelity to treason |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1760-7914 |