The dual themes of this volume are the characteristics of patronage relationships and their political uses in early modern France. The first essays provide an overview of the scholarly literature and suggest that the obligatory reciprocity of the patron-client exchange was a defining characteristic. The third and fourth essays compare patronage relationships with kinship and friendship, while the following two focus on the patronage role of noblewomen. Professor Kettering then looks at the role of brokerage in state formation in early modern France, comparing this with other early modern societies. In the final section she explores the role of patronage in the religious wars of the late 16th century and in the civil war of the Fronde a half century later, and the ways in which it was affected by the changing lifestyles of the great nobles during the late 17th century.

A bold new study of politics and power in 17th-century France, this book argues that the French Crown extended its control over the provinces and laid the foundations for a centralized state by removing patronage power from the provincial governors and putting it instead in the hands of newly-created provincial power brokers--regional notables who cooperated with the Paris ministers in exchange for their patronage.

"Explores the evolution of the idea that the rise of print culture was a threat to the royal government of eighteenth-century France. Argues that French printers did much to foster this view as they negotiated a place in the expanding bureaucratic apparatus of the state"--Provided by publisher.

The Lavals were one of the most important families in late medieval France, rising to a position of unsurpassed eminence by the mid sixteenth century. Yet, at the very point where they reached this position of unrivalled importance, all was put at risk by the dual challenges of dynastic failure and the Reformation. The vagaries of dynastic failure threatened their hard won success and these problems were compounded by the decision of crucial members of the family to support Protestantism in the middle of the century. By the end of the sixteenth century the fortunes of the family were in ruins and the brief eminence of Lavals in western France was over. This monograph offers a fresh look at several of the critical questions facing historians of late medieval and early modern France. It re-examines the clientage of a rising and enterprising family and explores the cultural patronage of a noble court. The book also provides a new insight into the nature of noble Protestantism, notably analysing the connections between nobles, patterns of family loyalty and religious conviction. Finally, it considers the events of wars of religion in western France from the perspective of a noble leadership that simultaneously played a vital role in sustaining the cause and did much to undermine it. This latter issue is examined in particular through the analysis of the relationship between the houses of Laval and Rohan, two Protestant families with shared loyalties but with rival dynastic ambitions. This study is based on a complete re-examination of the archive base in both Paris and the west of France and in English archives. For many centuries the destruction of the archives of the family of Laval during the French Revolution has prevented historians from undertaking a serious study of the family. Indeed, this book is the first monograph to be published on the Comtes de Laval since the manuscript volume written by Le Blanc de La Vignole in the seventeenth century. At the same time it engages with the historiography of both French and Anglo-Saxon historiographical traditions.

Ranum analyzes the canons of writing history and describes the lives and achievements of the royal French historiographers. He examines the manner in which these writers described and, in some sense, created the glory that surrounded the lives of the nobility, hoping by so doing to enhance their own glory. Through studying the careers of these men, the author demonstrates how rhetorical, ideological, and social beliefs determined the way history was written. Originally published in 1980. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

The fourteen essays in this collection explore the dominance of patronage in Renaissance politics, religion, theatre, and artistic life. Originally published in 1982. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.