Jean Balue


Jean Balue
Cardinal-Priest
ChurchSanta Susanna
DioceseEvreux (1465-1467)
Angers (1467-1483)
Albano (1483-1491)
Autun (1484-1491)
Palestrina (1491)
Orders
Consecration4 August 1465
by Guillaume Chartier
Bishop of Paris
Created cardinal18 September 1467
by Pope Paul II
RankCardinal Priest, then
Cardinal Bishop
Personal details
Bornc. 1421
Basse d'Angles-sur-Langlin FR
Died5 October 1491 (aged 69–70)
Ripatransone,
(Ascoli Piceno) IT
NationalityFrench
ResidenceFrance, Rome
Occupationcourtier, politician, diplomat
Professionbishop
EducationUniversity of Angers,
Licenciate in Law

Jean Balue[1] (c. 1421 – 5 October 1491) was a French cardinal and minister of Louis XI. Born without resources, he managed to climb the political ladder by exploiting connections, to whom he often did not remain loyal, and by making himself an indispensable agent of the king's purposes in a time of political disorder in France. His services were as much military as ecclesiastical, bringing him the critical task of defending the city of Paris against the King's enemies. His work as a diplomat in dealing with Duke Francis of Brittany and with Charles de France brought him the office of first minister to the King. Balue overreached himself in negotiating a treaty between the King and Charles the Bold, who had become Duke of Burgundy and was trying to recover all his family inheritance. Secret correspondence revealed that he might have been playing both sides in the negotiation, and he was arrested, and held on charges of treason from 1469 to 1481, while King and Pope argued over jurisdiction. After the death of King Louis and Pope Sixtus, the new French king, Charles VIII, appointed Balue his ambassador in Rome.

  1. ^ He was not Jean de la Balue, or Ballue. His signature, and documents addressed to or referring to him always use the form 'Jean Balue'. Forgeot, pp. 1-2.