Antoine de Montchrestien

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Antoine de Montchrestien
Traicté de l'oeconomie politique (1615) written by Antoyne de Montchrétien
Born1574
Falaise
DiedOctober 1621 (1621-11) (aged 47)
Les Tourailles
Occupation(s)Soldier, Dramatist, Adventurer and economist


Antoine de Montchrestien (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃twan də mɔ̃kʁetjɛ̃], or Montchrétien) (c. 1575 – 7 or 8 October 1621) was a French soldier, dramatist, adventurer and economist.

Montchrestien was born in

Henri II de Bourbon, prince de Condé
.

Montchrestien initially sought a literary career (inspired by

Aman, and the pastoral La Bergerie. In 1604, he added his tragedy Hector
(which may not have been performed).

Montchrestien was involved in several

James I, to whom he dedicated his tragedy, L'Ecossaise, he was allowed to return to France, and he established himself at Auxonne-sur-Loire, where he set up a steel foundry.[2]

In 1615 he published Traicté de l'économie politique, based chiefly on the works of

Mercantilist thought, such as the value of productive labor use and wealth acquisition in promoting political stability.[4] From around this time, Montchrestien was favored with several official positions (including governor of Châtillon-sur-Loire
in 1617) which were financially advantageous, and he took the title "baron" and married.

In 1620 Montchrestien joined the rebellion of the

Huguenots (there is no evidence that he shared the religious opinions of the party for which he fought; he had earlier belonged to the moderate party which had rallied round Henry IV[2]) and was forced to fight against his former protector the prince de Condé. Unable to hold the city of Sancerre, Montchrestien returned to Normandy to attempt a raise troops, but on the night of October 7, 1621, he was discovered in an inn at Les Tourailles, near Falaise, and was killed. Tried posthumously, Montchrestien's body was put on the wheel and burned for lèse-majesté.[5]

Montchrestien's theater

Together with Robert Garnier and Alexandre Hardy, Montchrestien is one of the founders of 17th century French drama.

Montchrestien's tragedies are "regular"; they are in five acts, in verse and use a chorus; battles and shocking events occur off stage and are reported by messengers. His style shows an attention to detail (he reworked his verses extensively), and avoids both pedantry and convoluted syntax (unlike Alexandre Hardy). He was fond of laments, the use of

gnomic
or sententious lines (often indicated in his published plays by the use of marginal quotation marks).

Montchrestien's plays have been frequently criticized for being too close to

Elizabeth first pardons Mary, Queen of Scots, and no explanation is given of the change that leads to her execution. In Hector, the first two acts have Andromache, Priam and Hecuba trying to convince Hector to avoid fighting; act three has Hector rushing to the battle without a word to aid his faltering troops; act four has the residents of Troy
believe that Hector has won the battle; the final act relates Hector's death and the play ends in lamentation.

Despite this lack of action, there is a great debate of ideas in this play (Is it better to seek glory or remain prudent? If prudence is mocked, does it affect one's reputation? Is one's duty to one's parents and king superior to one's duty to personal honor? Is virtue seen only through action?) that prefigures the dramatic debates and cult of heroism of Pierre Corneille (Horace, Le Cid) and Montchrestien's emotional women (touched by dreams and bad omens) also mirror Corneille's tragic female characters.

Montchrétien's Aman has been compared not too unfavourably with Jean Racine's Esther, and the hatred of Haman for Mordecai is expressed with more vigour than in Racine's play.[2]

Poet, economist, iron-master, and soldier, Montchrétien represents the many-sided activity of a time before literature had become a profession, and before its province had been restricted in France to polite topics.[2]

Works

  • Montchrestien, Antoine de, 1615. Traicté de l'oeconomie politique. F. Billacois, ed., 1999, critical-edition preview.

Notes

  1. ^ "Antoine de Montchrestien, inventeur de l'économie politique". Alternatives Economiques. April 1, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Montchrétien, Antoine de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 762.
  3. ^ Antoine de Montchrestien, 1615. Traicté de l'oeconomie politique. F. Billacois, ed., 1999, critical-edition preview.
  4. The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, p. 546 [pp.546-47].
       • Alain Béraud and Philippe Steiner, 2008. "France, economics in (before 1870)," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • Peter Groenwegen, 1987 [2008], "'political economy' and 'economics'," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, p. 905 [pp. 904–07 (brief link
    )].
  5. ^ Guery, Alain (April 11, 2011). Montchrestien et Cantillon : Le commerce et l'émergence d'une pensée économique. ENS Éditions. pp. 7–55 – via OpenEdition Books.

References

External links
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