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(c) 2023 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully
(c) 2023 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
(c) 2023 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully

Rosny, 1559 - 1641, Villebon
BiographyMaximilien de Béthune, 1st Duke of Sully, Marquis of Rosny and Nogent, Count of Muret and Villebon, Viscount of Meaux (13 December 1560 – 22 December 1641) was a nobleman, soldier, statesman, and counselor of King Henry IV of France. Historians emphasize Sully's role in building a strong centralized administrative system in France using coercion and highly effective new administrative techniques. While not all of his policies were original, he used them well to revitalize France after the European Religious Wars. Most, however, were repealed by later monarchs who preferred absolute power. Historians have also studied his Neostoicism and his ideas about virtue, prudence, and discipline.[1]
Person TypeIndividual
Last Updated8/7/24
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