Jean de Morvillier

Jean de Morvillier, bishop of Orléans (–23 October 1577) was a French noble, prelate, diplomat and de facto chancellor during the latter Italian Wars and early French Wars of Religion. Born into a prominent robe noble family, Morvillier began his royal service during the reign of François I, serving first as maître des requêtes for the king, and then ambassador to Venezia from 1546 to 1550. Early in the reign of François' successor he was granted the bishopric of Orléans as a reward for his service. While he would largely be an absentee bishop, he appointed vicars to govern his See in his stead. Throughout the next years he conducted himself as a diplomat, negotiating the Treaty of Angers with England in 1551, and later the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559 that brought the Italian Wars to a close. After the death of Henri II he maintained an important position in the council of his successor, becoming garde des sceaux from March to May 1560, giving him the powers of the chancellor even if he didn't hold the office formerly, during the transition from the chancellorship of François Olivier to Michel de L'Hôpital. He was among the grandees invited to the Assembly of Notables that August that met to discuss the financial and religious problems of the kingdom, a result of which was the calling of an Estates General. Morvillier was involved in a diplomatic mission to Piedmont to oversee the transfer of French controlled towns to the duke in 1562. In 1564 he participated in the final meetings of the Council of Trent, though he left before its conclusion. Shortly after this he was again negotiating with England, establishing the Treaty of Troyes in which England recognised French control of Calais. In the civil wars that followed until his death in 1577, Morvillier was a consistent advocate for peace, as a method of ensuring the king's control of the kingdom, and as such negotiated many of the peaces, including Longjumeau. In 1568 with the disgrace of L'Hôpital, Morvillier again became garde des sceaux, though this time for a period of three years, with L'Hôpital nominally remaining chancellor until his death in 1573, at which time René de Birague became Chancellor. Morvillier was again negotiating with England in 1572 when he helped secure the Treaty of Blois, before assisting the queen in her pet project marriage between Navarre and Marguerite de Valois.