Olivier le Daim
Encyclopedia
Olivier le Daim [or le Dain] (died May 24, 1484), favourite of Louis XI of France
, was born of humble parentage at Tielt
in Flanders
.
Seeking his fortune at Paris
, he became court barber and valet to Louis XI, and so ingratiated himself with the king that in 1474 he was ennobled under the title Le Daim and in 1477 made comte de Meulant. In the latter year he was sent to Burgundy
to influence the young heiress of Charles the Bold, but he was ridiculed and compelled to leave Ghent
. He thereupon seized and held Tournai for the French.
Le Daim had considerable talent for intrigue, and, according to his enemies, could always be depended upon to execute the baser designs of the king. He amassed a large fortune, largely by oppression and violence, and was named gentleman-in-waiting, captain of Loches, and governor of Saint-Quentin. He remained in favour until the death of Louis XI, when the rebellious lords were able to avenge the slights and insults they had suffered in the hands of the royal barber. He was arrested on charges, the nature of which is uncertain, tried before the parlement of Paris, and on May 21, 1484 hanged at the Gallows of Montfaucon without the knowledge of Charles VIII
, who might have heeded his father's request and spared the favourite. Le Daim's property was given to the duke of Orléans
.
See the memoirs of the time, especially those of:
The memoirs of the time are uniformly hostile to Le Daim.
Le Daim also makes an appearance in Victor Hugo
's Notre-Dame de Paris
, under the name of Olivier le Mauvais (the Evil).
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
, was born of humble parentage at Tielt
Tielt
Tielt is a Belgian municipality in the province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Tielt proper and the towns of Aarsele, Kanegem, and Schuiferskapelle.-History:Some traces of Gallo-Roman occupation have been found in this area...
in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
.
Seeking his fortune at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he became court barber and valet to Louis XI, and so ingratiated himself with the king that in 1474 he was ennobled under the title Le Daim and in 1477 made comte de Meulant. In the latter year he was sent to Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
to influence the young heiress of Charles the Bold, but he was ridiculed and compelled to leave Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. He thereupon seized and held Tournai for the French.
Le Daim had considerable talent for intrigue, and, according to his enemies, could always be depended upon to execute the baser designs of the king. He amassed a large fortune, largely by oppression and violence, and was named gentleman-in-waiting, captain of Loches, and governor of Saint-Quentin. He remained in favour until the death of Louis XI, when the rebellious lords were able to avenge the slights and insults they had suffered in the hands of the royal barber. He was arrested on charges, the nature of which is uncertain, tried before the parlement of Paris, and on May 21, 1484 hanged at the Gallows of Montfaucon without the knowledge of Charles VIII
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
, who might have heeded his father's request and spared the favourite. Le Daim's property was given to the duke of Orléans
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
.
See the memoirs of the time, especially those of:
- Philippe de ComminesPhilippe de ComminesPhilippe de Commines was a writer and diplomat in the courts of Burgundy and France. He has been called "the first truly modern writer" and "the first critical and philosophical historian since classical times"...
(ed. Mandrot, 1901–1903, Eng. trans. in Bohn Library) - Robert GaguinRobert GaguinRobert Gaguin was a French Renaissance humanist and philosopher.He was an influential humanist, who was a friend of Publio Fausto Andrelini from Forlì, an associate of Erasmus and a student of Gregory Tifernas.-See also:*French Renaissance...
, Compendium de origine et gestis Francorum (Paris, 1586) it was Gaguin who made the celebrated epigram concerning Le Daim: "Eras judex, lector, et exitium" - De Reiffenberg, Olivier le Dain (Brussels, 1829)
- Delanone, Le Barbier de Louis XI. (Paris, 1832)
- G. Picot, "Procés d'Olivier le Dain", in the Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences morales et politiques, viii. (1877), 485-537
The memoirs of the time are uniformly hostile to Le Daim.
Le Daim also makes an appearance in Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
's Notre-Dame de Paris
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a novel by Victor Hugo published in 1831. The French title refers to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, on which the story is centered.-Background:...
, under the name of Olivier le Mauvais (the Evil).