François de La Rochefoucauld

Michael Moriarty (University of Cambridge)

Ed. by Tim Unwin, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.03: French Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century: Classical and Baroque, 1600-1700.
Vol. editors: Heather Kirk (University of Western Ontario), Kathrina LaPorta (New York University), Polly Mangerson (DePaul University), Julia Prest (University of St Andrews), Allison Stedman (University of North Carolina, Charlotte), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

Born 15 Sep 1613
Died 17 Mar 1680
Activity 1649-1680

Places

Born in France
Active in France

Activities

Primary

Aphorist
Man/ Woman of Letters
Moralist

Resources

La Rochefoucauld's Works

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La Rochefoucauld was proud of his ancient aristocratic ancestry (until his father’s death in 1650, he bore the title of prince de Marcillac). Married in 1628, he saw service in several military campaigns, from 1629 on, and became embroiled in various Court intrigues, as a partisan of the Queen, Anne of Austria. When, on Louis XIII’s death in 1642, she became Regent, he continued to support her, though hostile to her minister Mazarin. Deeming himself slighted by Mazarin, he joined the rebellious aristocratic faction in the civil war known as the Fronde (1648-53); he was already the lover of Mme de Longueville, sister of the Prince de Condé, the leader of the faction. He was severely wounded in the fighting more than once. Condé and other

frondeurs

eventually made their peace with the…

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2305 words

Citation: Moriarty, Michael. "François de La Rochefoucauld". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 November 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12672, accessed 21 November 2024.]