Guillaume Fouquet de la Varenne
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La Flèche
La Flèche is a municipality located in the French department of Sarthe and the region of Pays de la Loire in the Loire Valley. This is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton. This is the second most populous city of the department. The city is part...
, 1560 – 7 December 1616) was a French chef who rose from the kitchen to become an important statesman in the service of Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
.
Heraldry
: description donnée par René II Fouquet de la Varenne en 1680 (A.D. Sarthe, chartrier de la Varenne, 13 f 2444).Biography
Guillaume Fouquet is from a bourgeois family in La FlècheLa Flèche
La Flèche is a municipality located in the French department of Sarthe and the region of Pays de la Loire in the Loire Valley. This is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton. This is the second most populous city of the department. The city is part...
, son of Martin Fouquet, the kitchen squire (butler) of Françoise d'Alençon
Françoise d'Alençon
Françoise d'Alençon was the eldest daughter of René of Alençon and Margaret of Lorraine, and the younger sister and despoiled heiress of Charles IV, Duke of Alençon....
, Duchess of Vendome. Upon the death of the latter, Martin Fouquet performs the same functions for the son of Françoise d'Alençon, Antoine de Bourbon (1518–1562), husband of Jeanne III of Navarre (Jeanne d'Albret), then with their young son Henry of Navarre, the future Henri IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
.
At the age of 18, in 1578, Guillaume Fouquet, thanks to his father, became a cook in the service of 'Madame Catherine', Catherine de Bourbon
Catherine de Bourbon
Jeanne de Bourbon was a daughter of Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme and Isabelle de Beauvau. Through her daughter Madeleine, she was the maternal grandmother of French queen consort Catherine de' Medici.-Family and lineage:...
(1559–1604), sister of the future king. In 1580, noting for his personality and his skill, Catherine recommended him to her brother Guillaume, becoming his portmanteau of Henri de Navarre.
For thirty years, until the assassination of King in 1610, Fouquet lived in the shadow of Henry IV, taking an active part in important events of the reign. Confirming his reputation for skill and bravery and running near-certain personal risk, he devoted himself 'body and soul' to the causes of the king.
Aged twenty, he took part in the assault against the stronghold
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
of Angoulême
Angoulême
-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...
held by League
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...
, and captured the lieutenant of the city ; the chronicles his exploits at Coutras
Battle of Coutras
The Battle of Coutras, fought on 20 October 1587, was a major engagement in the eighth and final war of the French Religious Wars between an army under Henry of Navarre and a royal army led by Anne, Duke of Joyeuse...
(1587), he fought against the Leaguers of Duke of Mayenne at Arques
Battle of Arques
This article is about the 1589 battle. For the Battle of 1303 see Battle of Arques .The Battle of Arques occurred on 15–18 September 1589 between the French royal forces of King Henry IV of France and troops of the Catholic League commanded by Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne during the eighth...
(1589) and at Ivry
Battle of Ivry
The Battle of Ivry was fought on 14 March 1590, during the French Wars of Religion. The battle was a decisive victory for Henry of Navarre, the future Henry IV of France, leading Huguenot forces against the Catholic League forces led by the Duc de Mayenne...
(1590), victories that opened access to Paris for the future monarch of France. Henri abjured his Protestant faith in 1593 and is crowned in Chartres in 1594; Fouquet is appointed by the king of public diplomatic missions ... or for private confidential matters.
In early June 1595, he saved the life of Henri de Navarre at the Battle of Fontaine-Française
Battle of Fontaine-Française
The Battle of Fontaine-Française occurred on 5 June 1595 between the French royal forces of King Henry IV of France and troops of Spain and the Catholic League commanded by Juan Fernández de Velasco and Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne during the eighth and final war of the French Wars of...
. After Henri IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
came to power, Fouquet was appointed commissary of war, then Comptroller General of Posts, replacing Hugues Du Mas, a relative of the House of Guise
House of Guise
The House of Guise was a French ducal family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion.The Guises were Catholic, and Henry Guise wanted to end growing Calvinist influence...
. He reorganised the postal network and contributed to the creation of the post public in France in 1598 by opening up the royal postal service to the public, in commemoration of which a stamp with his likeness was issued by the Postal Service in 1946 to mark the day of the stamp.
Catherine de Bourbon
Catherine de Bourbon
Jeanne de Bourbon was a daughter of Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme and Isabelle de Beauvau. Through her daughter Madeleine, she was the maternal grandmother of French queen consort Catherine de' Medici.-Family and lineage:...
King's sister, the Duchess of Bar, wife of Henry II, Duke of Lorraine
Henry II, Duke of Lorraine
Henry II was Duke of Lorraine from 1608 until his death. His two daughters were Duchesses of Lorraine by marriage. He was also the brother-in-law of King Henry IV of France.-History and Family:...
once said to Fouquet, whom she had known as a cook: "Il paraît, la Varenne, que tu as plus gagné à porter les poulets de mon frère [ses messages], qu'à piquer les miens.
A close friendship was binding on the king and his favourite, since the first battles against the Leaguers on the battlefields of Ivry) and Fontaine-Française
Fontaine-Française
Fontaine-Française is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-References:*...
. Mon cœur, La Varenne m'a trouvé encore au lit, wrote Henry IV Marie de Medici in 1606. On the other hand, relations with Sully were not as trusting. Sully disliked him and denounced his vain ambition. Yet Fouquet's influence increased up until the final years of his reign.
During his career, Fouquet also served as an advisor to the parliament of Paris, master of requests of the King (State Councillor), governor of the town and castle of La Flèche
La Flèche
La Flèche is a municipality located in the French department of Sarthe and the region of Pays de la Loire in the Loire Valley. This is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton. This is the second most populous city of the department. The city is part...
(1592), governor of the town and castle of Los Angeles (28 August 1604), then Lieutenant General of the province of Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
(1613). Fouquet was equipped also benefit ecclesiastical abbeys Ainay (near Lyon), Saint-Benoit-sur-Loire, Saint-Nicolas d'Angers, Saint-Loup de Troyes, the Esvière priory near Angers.
His marriage to Catherine Foust brought him the lands of La Varenne. Guillaume Fouquet had several sons. He was knighted in 1598 and carries the titles of Baron of Sainte-Suzanne
Sainte-Suzanne
Sainte-Suzanne may refer to a number of people* Susanna * Susanna * Saint Suzanne, a number of saints.* Saints Tiburtius and Susanna, a saint whose feast day is August 11....
. Then in 1616, he was made Marquis de Sainte-Suzanne and La Flèche
La Flèche
La Flèche is a municipality located in the French department of Sarthe and the region of Pays de la Loire in the Loire Valley. This is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton. This is the second most populous city of the department. The city is part...
.
The land of Saint-Romans
Saint-Romans-lès-Melle
Saint-Romans-lès-Melle is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France.-References:*...
in Poitou had previously been erected into a barony for Fouquet and his second wife, Jeanne de Poix, citing "services rendered by them in acts wars, or in several other ways.