Georges D'Aubusson de La Feuillade

Georges d'Aubusson de La Feuillade (1609 to 1697) was a French Catholic clergyman under Louis XIV, who served as Archbishop of Embrun (1649-1668), then Bishop of Metz (1669-1697). He also held a number of diplomatic posts and actively supported measures against French Huguenots; he died in May 1697 and was buried in Metz Cathedral. Early life Georges d'Aubusson de la Feuillade was born in 1609 near Aubusson, Creuse, second of five sons of François, Comte d'Aubusson (ca 1590 to 1632) and Isabeau Brachet de Pérusse. Both his father and elder brother Leon (? to 1648) were senior aides to Gaston, Duke of Orléans (1608-1660), heir to the French throne until the birth of Louis XIV in 1638. He had three younger brothers, Gabriel-Bratchet (? to 1638), Paul (1622-1646) and François d'Aubusson de La Feuillade (1631 - 1691). Of his five sisters, Elizabeth (1624-1704) became Abbess of the convent of Sainte-Marie de la Règle in 1679 but little is known of the others, who all appear to have become nuns. Career The first half of the 17th century in France was a period of intense civil strife; the 1590 Edict of Nantes ended the French Wars of Religion but continued state persecution caused a series of Huguenot rebellions in the 1620s. This was followed by the 1635-1659 Franco-Spanish War, accompanied by an internal power struggle during the minority of Louis XIV that led to the 1648-1653 civil wars or Fronde. Their impact is reflected in the history of Georges's immediate family; his father was killed in 1632 at Castelnaudary, while three of his four brothers also died in battle, Leon at Lens in 1648, Gabriel-Brachet at Saint-Omer in 1638 and Paul at Mardyck in 1646.