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Article: Richelieu, Armand-Jean Du Plessis, Cardinal (1585–1642)
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
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RICHELIEU, ARMAND-JEAN DU PLESSIS, CARDINAL (1585
–
1642)
RICHELIEU, ARMAND-JEAN DU PLESSIS, CARDINAL
(1585
–
1642), French ecclesiastical and political figure. Richelieu was the youngest son of a middle-ranking noble family from Poitou, whose father enjoyed short-lived prominence as grand provost of France under Henry III (ruled 1574
–
1589), but whose early death and bankruptcy (1590) spelled possible disaster for his widow and young children. The support of patrons, new and old, and the goodwill of King Henry IV (ruled 1589
–
1610) enabled Armand-Jean, after foreshortened theology studies in Paris, to become a very young bishop of Lu
ç
on by 1606. Although a ...