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{{Short description|Position in the royal household of the King of France}}
The '''Grand Master of France''' or '''Grand Maître de France''' was, during the [[Ancien Régime]] and [[Bourbon Restoration]] in [[France]], one of the [[Great Officers of the Crown of France]] and head of the "[[Maison du Roi]]", the king's royal household.
[[File:Orn ext Grand Maitre de France.svg|thumb|Ornaments of the Grand Master]]
 
The post was called '''SouverainGrand MaîtreMaster d'hôtelof du RoiFrance''' until 1380 and '''({{lang-fr|Grand Maître d'hôtelde duFrance}}) Roi'''was, untilduring 1463.the The{{lang|fr|[[Ancien symbolRégime]]}} ofand the[[Bourbon "GrandRestoration maître"in wasFrance|Bourbon hisRestoration]] goldenin [[Baton (symbol)|batonFrance]], givenone toof himthe by[[Great Officers of the king,Crown of France]] and hishead of the "{{lang|fr|[[coatMaison ofdu armsRoi]]}}", featuredthe twoking's crossedroyal batons behind the shieldhousehold. The position wasis roughly equivalentsimilar to the positionsthat of [[Lord Steward]] and [[Master of the Household]] in the United KingdomEngland.
 
==History==
The original name of the office was Sovereign Master of the Hotel of the King (French: ''Souverain Maître d'hôtel du Roi'''), until 1380, then becoming Grand Master of the Hotel of the King (French: ''Grand Maître d'hôtel du Roi''), until 1463, before finally becoming Grand Master of France. The symbol of the Grand Master was a blue [[Baton (symbol)|baton]] charged with golden fleur-de-lis, similar to the royal coat of arms of France, capped with a golden representation of the French royal crown. The Grand Master was entitled to bear this symbol of his office in his [[coat of arms]], two being crossed in [[saltire]] behind the shield.
 
== Duties ==
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In the [[Early Modern France|Early Modern period]], most of the real work of the Grand maître was accomplished by his secretaries, and not by himself personally. His role was thus generally symbolic, although he often took personal charge of his ceremonial duties. Furthermore, with the creation of the [[Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi]] in the 16th century, the Grand maître was forced to share some of his duties: in general the Secretary's oversight was purely formal, as the officers of the "Maison du Roi" were under the direct authority of the Grand Maître of France; yet, the "Secrétaire d'État à la Maison du Roi" was in charge of recruiting officers for the "Maison du Roi", and would receive prospective applications for posts and submit them to the king for his approval.
 
== Officeholders ==
 
The position was frequently given to the highest of the [[French nobility|nobility]] or to the king's close friends. [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] conferred it upon his former teacher [[Artus Gouffier, Lord of Boissy|Artus Gouffier]], then to his uncle [[René de Savoie]], the "grand bâtard de Savoie", then to his friend [[Anne de Montmorency|Anne, duc de Montmorency]].
 
In [[1559]], with the dismissal of Montmorency, the office fell into the hands of the [[Dukes of Guise]], who used the position to increase their influence at court to such a point that [[Henry III of France|Henry III]] forced [[Henry I, Duke of Guise]] to reduce his scope of authority. In [[1594]], the position passed into the control of the [[House of Bourbon]] and the [[Princes of Condé]], who maintained control until the [[French Revolution]] (except for the period 1654–1656, when it was held by [[Thomas Francis, Prince of CarignanCarignano|Thomas of Savoy-Carignano]], who had replaced the Guises as foremost of the ''[[Foreign Prince|princes étrangerétrangers]]'').<ref>{{cite book|last= Spanheim|first= Ézéchiel|author-link=Ezekiel, Freiherr von Spanheim|editor= ed.Emile Bourgeois|editor-link= Emile Bourgeois|title= Relation de la Cour de France|url= https://archive.org/details/relationdelacou00spangoog|series= le Temps retrouvé|year = 1973|publisher=Mercure de France|location= [[Paris]]|language= French|page= [https://archive.org/details/relationdelacou00spangoog/page/n154 134]}}</ref>.
 
== Grand Masters of France ==
[[File:Grand Maître de France.jpg|thumb|Coat of arms of [[Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé]], the last Grand Maître de France]]
* ca. 1300: Arnould de Wesemal
* 1310: Mathieu II de Trie
* 1321: Jean de Beaumont (died c. 1344)
* 1343: [[Gui de Ceriz]] (died 1369)
* 1347: Robert III de Dreux (1288-13511288–1351)
* ca. 1350: {{ill|John of Châtillon (1283–1363) |fr|Jean II de Châtillon|de|Johann I. (Châtillon)|lt=Jean I de Châtillon}} (died 1363)
* ca. 1350: Jean II de Melun (died 1381)
* ca. 1350: Pierre I de Villiers (died c. 1390)
* ca. 1350: Gui IV Damas (1288-13511288–1351)
* ca. 1380: Jean le Mercier
* 1388-1408: [[Jean de Montagu]] (died 1409)
* 1408-1409: [[Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria]] (ca. 1368-14471368–1447)
* 1409-1413: Guichard II (died 1415)
* 1413-1422: [[Louis, Count of Vendôme]] (1376-14461376–1446)
* 1422-1440: [[Tanguy du Chastel]] (died 1449)
* 1440-1451: Charles de Culant (died c. 1451)
* 1451-1453: [[Jacques de Chabannes]] (died 1453)
* 1456-1461: [[Raoul de Gaucourt]] (died 1461)
* 1463: [[Antoine I de Croÿ]] (1385-14751385–1475)
* 1465-1467: Charles Ier de Melun (diedexecuted on 22 August 1468)
* 1467: [[Antoine de Chabannes]] (1411-14881408–1488)
* ca. 1483: [[Guy XV de Laval|François Guy XV, comte de Laval et Monfort]] (1435-15001435–1500)
* 1485-ca. 1496 : [[Philip II, Duke of Savoy]] (1438-14971438–1497)
* 1502-1511: [[Charles II d'Amboise]] (1473-15111473–1511)
* 1511-1515: [[Jacques de la Palice|Jacques II de Chabannes-La Palice]] (ca.1470-1525)
* 1515-1519: [[Artus Gouffier, Lord of Boissy|Artus Gouffier, duc de Roannais]] (died 1519)
* 1519-1525: [[René of Savoy]], comte de Villars (died 1525)
* 1526-1558: [[Anne de Montmorency]] (1492-15671492–1567)
* 1558-1559: [[François de Montmorency]] (died 1579)
* 1559-1563: [[Francis, Duke of Guise|François of Lorraine, duc de Guise]] (1520-15631520–1563)
* 1563-1588: [[Henry I, Duke of Guise]] (1550-15881550–1588)
* 1588-1594: [[Charles, Duke of Guise]] (1571-16401571–1640)
* 1594-1612: [[Charles de Bourbon, comte de Soissons]] (1566-16121566–1612)
* 1612-1641: [[Louis de Bourbon, comte de Soissons]] (1604-16411604–1641)
* 1643-1646: [[Henry II de Bourbon, prince de Condé]] (1588-16461588–1646)
* 1647-1654(?): [[Louis II de Bourbon, prince de Condé]], ''le Grand Condé'' (1621-16861621–1686)
* 1654-1656: [[Thomas Francis, Prince of CarignanCarignano|Thomas of Savoy, prince deof CarignanCarignano]] (1596-16561596–1656)
* 1656-1660: [[Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti]] (1629-16661629–1666)
* 1660-1685: [[Henri Jules de Bourbon-Condé|Henri Jules de Bourbon]], prince de Condé (1643-17091643–1709)
* 1685-1710: [[Louis III, prince de Condé]] (1668-17101668–1710)
* 1710-1740: [[Louis Henri, duc de Bourbon]], prince de Condé (1692-17401692–1740)
* 1740-1790 and 1814-1818: [[Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé]] (1736-18181736–1818)
 
==References==
* Bernard Barbiche, ''Les Institutions de la monarchie française à l’époque moderne, XVIIe–XVIIIe siècles'', Presses universitaires de France, coll. « Premier cycle », 2001 (2nd edition). {{ISBN|2-13-051940-7}}
*''This article is based on the [[:fr:Grand maître de France|equivalent article]] from the [[French Wikipedia]], translated here on August 15, 2006.''
* BernardJean-François BarbicheSolnon, ''LesLa InstitutionsCour de la monarchie française à l’époque moderne, XVIIe–XVIIIe sièclesFrance'', Presses universitairesLivre de FrancePoche, coll. « Premier cycleRéférences », 20011996 (2nd1st edition 1987). {{ISBN |2-13253-05194090439-72}}
* Jean-François Solnon, ''La Cour de France'', Livre de Poche, coll. « Références », 1996 (1st edition 1987). ISBN 2-253-90439-2
 
==Notes==
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* [http://www.heraldique-europeenne.org/Regions/France/Grand_Maitre.htm List (in French) of the Grands maîtres]
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Master Of France}}
[[Category:Court titles in the Ancien Régime]]
[[Category:French nobilitynoble titles]]
[[Category:Grand Masters of France| ]]
 
[[de:Großmeister von Frankreich]]
[[fr:Grand maître de France]]
[[it:Gran Maestro di Francia]]
[[nl:Grootmeester van Frankrijk]]
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