Louis François Le Tellier, marquis de Barbezieux

Louis François Marie Le Tellier, marquis de Barbezieux (born June 23, 1668 - January 5, 1701 ) was French Minister of War.

family

He was the third son of François-Michel Le Tellier, marquis de Louvois . In contrast to his grandfather Michel Le Tellier and his father, he is usually called Barbezieux in literature .

He himself was married twice. His first marriage was to Louise de Crussol, who died in 1694. With this he had a daughter. In 1696 he married Marie-Thérèse d'Alègre, who died in 1706. With her he had two daughters.

Life

Like his grandfather, Ludwig XIV's father had also received a promise that his eldest son would take over the post of Minister of War after him. When the eldest son dropped out for the position for health reasons, Barbezieux had been preparing for the successor since 1685. Immediately after his father's death, Louis XIV appointed him successor as Minister of War. Like his father, he received significant support from Jules-Louis Bolé de Chamlay in strategic and administrative matters .

He was also Chancellor and keeper of the seals of the Order of the Holy Spirit . His duties as minister also included responsibility for various provinces. These were mostly located on the French border. A number of other positions held by Louvois have been given to others. But they were all close to the Le Tellier family. Perhaps Louis XIV intended to transfer these positions to Barbezieux after a few years in which he could gain experience. Due to his youth and inexperience, Ludwig never appointed him minister in the Conseil d'En Haut.

After Louvois's death, Louis XIV took on military matters more personally and worked closely with Barbezieux so that he could expand the knowledge he had previously received from his father. Even later, both seem to have worked closely together.

There are different views on quality as a minister. It plays a role here that his term of office fell in difficult times for France. He took over the office in the middle of the Palatinate War of Succession . He was less innovative than his predecessors and the French army became less effective under him.

After his death, the family sold the office to his successor for 300,000 livres.

literature

• John A. Lynn : Giant of the Grand Siècle. The French Army, 1610-1715. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1997, ISBN 0-521-57273-8 .
• Guy Rowlands: The dynastic state and the army under Louis XIV. Royal service and private interest, 1661–1701. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 2002, ISBN 0-521-64124-1 .

predecessor	Office	successor
François-Michel Le Tellier, marquis de Louvois	War Minister of France 1691 -1701	Michel Chamillart