Paul Barillon

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Paul Barillon d'Amoncourt, the marquis de Branges (1630–1691), was the

war soon commenced between the two kingdoms. His successor after the war was Camille de Tallard, and his immediate predecessor was Henri de Massue, 1st Marquis de Rouvigny
.

Family and early career

He was the son of Jean-Jacques de Barillon, Master of Requests of the Parlement of Paris. He acquired the Branges and Amoncourt titles by inheritance from his uncle Antoine, who had married the Amoncourt heiress. In 1663 he married Marie Madeleine Mangot: they had three children, Antoine, Philiberte and Bonne.

He was successively

plenipotentiaries
to the Congress of Cologne. In 1681 he became a Councillor of State.

Ambassador to England

Both Charles II and James II invariably treated Barillon with great courtesy: one historian refers to his "rather pampered existence at Whitehall".[1] Both monarchs appeared to confide in him, although it is not always clear that they were entirely frank.[2] Charles II, at the outbreak of the Popish Plot, did tell Barillon openly that Titus Oates, the inventor of the Plot, was a villain, and that the Plot itself was an invention, but that it would be unwise to say so publicly. [3]

Barillon was often a conduit for pleas for clemency to Charles, (sometimes acting on the family's behalf, in which case he would accept money in return, but sometimes conveying King Louis's own view). However these were not always well received; the King simply brushed aside his plea for the life of

Roman Catholicism
had weakened his position is important evidence that Charles postponed his own conversion until he was dying.

The marriage of the future

Exclusion Bill
, Barillon records the King telling him in strict confidence that he had been tempted to let it pass. Even Barillon, an astute diplomat, admitted to finding Charles unfathomable: "his conduct so secret and impenetrable that even the most skilful observers are misled".

Only once does he seem to have been guilty of a serious diplomatic blunder: late in 1679 an indiscreet letter of his, reporting a conversation where Charles II claimed to have personally blocked a Franco-Dutch treaty, was leaked in the

Monmouth's Rebellion, Sunderland told Barillon pointedly that he hoped this was a misunderstanding, or else the English would wonder if Louis had 'other plans they could not discern'.[9] Later Sunderland mocked Louis' vaunted desire for European peace, saying brutally to Barillon that the peace would last until it was in someone's interest to break it.[10]

Barillon's privileged position was confirmed in the last days of Charles II's reign, when, alone among the diplomatic corps, he was allowed to send a secret message to

Louise de Kéroualle, who urged James to act at once. Together they visited the dying King, and Barillon witnessed Charles' statement that he wished to be received "with all his heart".[12]

Immediately after the

diplomatic protocol
as England and France were not yet formally at war). He had him escorted to the coast under a guard of Huguenots. He died soon after in France.

Personal traits

James II's biographer describes him as an astute diplomat, with an ability to convey information through subtle hints, but he was personally a rather unattractive individual, being heavy, gross and boorish.[13]

Famous French fabulist Jean de La Fontaine dedicated a poem to him entitled "Le pouvoir des fables."

References

  1. ^ Kenyon, J.P. Robert Spencer, Earl of Sunderland 1641-1702 Longmans, Green and Co 1958 p.35
  2. ^ Miller, John James II Methuen London 1989 p.144
  3. ^ Kenyon,J.P. "The Popish Plot" Phoenix Press reissue 2000 p.84
  4. ^ Kenyon "Popish Plot" p.234
  5. ^ Gregg, Edward Queen Anne Yale University Press 2001 p.32
  6. ^ Kenyon, p.40
  7. ^ Kenyon, p.41
  8. ^ Kenyon, p.35
  9. ^ Kenyon p.118
  10. ^ Kenyon p.119
  11. ^ Fraser, Antonia Charles II 1993 Edition Mandarin Paperbacks p.445
  12. ^ Fraser p.453
  13. ^ Miller, p.150
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