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Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord ONLH OSE (Paris, 2 de fevereiro de 1754 – Paris, 17 de maio de 1838) foi um político e diplomata francês. Ele ocupou em quatro ocasiões diferentes o cargo de Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros e também foi o primeiro Primeiro-Ministro da França entre julho e setembro de 1815 sob Luís ...
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11 de jul. de 2021 · Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, uma das figuras mais fascinantes (e controversas) da história francesa e europeia. Príncipe de Benevento e do Império, príncipe de Talleyrand e Périgord,...
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (/ ˌ t æ l ɪ r æ n d ˈ p ɛr ɪ ɡ ɔːr /, French: [ʃaʁl mɔʁis də tal(ɛ)ʁɑ̃ peʁiɡɔʁ, – moʁ-]; 2 February 1754 – 17 May 1838), 1st Prince of Benevento, then Prince of Talleyrand, was a French secularised clergyman, statesman and leading diplomat.
- Overview
- Education and clerical career
- During the Revolution
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, prince de Bénévent (born Feb. 2, 1754, Paris, France—died May 17, 1838, Paris) French statesman and diplomat noted for his capacity for political survival, who held high office during the French Revolution, under Napoleon, at the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, and under King Louis-Philippe.
Talleyrand was the son of Charles-Daniel, comte de Talleyrand-Périgord, and Alexandrine de Damas d’Antigny. His parents came from old, aristocratic families but were not rich. Charles-Maurice was sent to be nursed in a Paris suburb, where, when he was four years old, he is said to have fallen off a chest of drawers, dislocating his foot. It is possible, however, that his clubfoot was congenital. At any rate, Talleyrand’s clubfoot was of cardinal importance in his choice of career.
As Talleyrand could not follow the family tradition by going into the army, his parents intended him for the church. From the age of eight he was a pupil at the Collège d’Harcourt in Paris, and at 15 he became an assistant to his uncle Alexandre, then coadjutor to the archbishop of Reims, in the hope that the luxurious life led by the princes of the church would awaken in him a taste for an ecclesiastical career. He liked what he saw, and in 1770 entered the seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. There he certainly learned theology, but he also read, in the seminary’s large library, the works of the Philosophes, the contemporary progressive thinkers. Thus he began his political education and acquired a skepticism regarding men and affairs that was never to leave him. In addition, while still a seminarian, he took his first mistress.
Expelled for his conduct (1775), he nevertheless received minor orders in April of that year and was, six months later, nominated by the King as abbot of Saint-Denis, at Reims. In March 1778 Talleyrand received his degree in theology from the Sorbonne, and in December 1779 he was ordained. The following day his uncle Alexandre, archbishop of Reims, appointed him his vicar general.
At that time Talleyrand appeared to be a typical court cleric, spending more time with the most fashionable wits and beauties of the day than with churchmen. Yet he did not devote all his time to pleasure; he believed in his future and desired above all to become a bishop. The surest way to his goal was appointment to the well-paid post of agent general of the clergy, who represented the French church in its dealings with the French government in the interval between meetings of the Assembly of the Clergy, which were held regularly every five years. Talleyrand was appointed agent general in 1780. There were, in fact, two agents general, but his colleague’s reputation had been undermined, and Talleyrand was in practice the sole representative of the French church between 1780 and 1785. He seems to have taken his role very seriously; in any case, he showed great energy in defending the controversial privileges of the church. He fought vigorously for the right of the church to retain all its property. He also tenaciously defended ecclesiastical jurisdiction against the encroachments of royal justice, argued for the continued exemption of the clergy from ordinary taxes, and played a part in raising the standard of living of the lower clergy. His activities brought him into regular contact with various ministers of the crown. His participation in the meetings of the Assembly of the Clergy gave him an exceptional opportunity to acquire parliamentary experience. Finally, his activities won him the coveted bishopric: in November 1788 he was appointed bishop of Autun. When he took possession of his see on March 15, 1789, the Revolution was on the verge of breaking out.
Talleyrand’s first task was to prepare the elections to the States General, the National Assembly in which the Estates were separately represented. The assembly had not met in France since 1614 and was now summoned for May 5, 1789. Talleyrand, elected by his clergy as their deputy, like all delegates had prepared a list of grievances. His list contained demands for reforms in the status of the clergy as well as for a constitution that would provide a representative government guaranteeing equality for all citizens, especially fiscal equality, thus abolishing those financial privileges that he had defended four years earlier. This was the first of a series of reversals that were to be characteristic.
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At the solemn opening of the States General at Versailles, Talleyrand attracted immediate attention and soon acquired great influence. During the earlier deliberations, the clergy and the nobility wanted to sit in separate chambers, as they had previously; Talleyrand, however, favoured uniting the three orders into one National Assembly, and his proposal was accepted. To the astonishment of his fellow bishops who remembered the zeal with which he had once defended church rights, Talleyrand urged the repeal of the tithe and the nationalization of French church property. The land thus appropriated was to be used to pay off the state’s debts. When nationalization was voted on Nov. 2, 1789, Talleyrand emerged as one of the most revolutionary deputies, and when he celebrated mass at the Festival of the Federation on July 14, 1790, in commemoration of the taking of the Bastille the year before, he seemed the veritable “bishop of the Revolution.” The same month, Talleyrand succeeded in having the Civil Constitution of the Clergy adopted, which, without papal approval, completely reorganized the French church on a democratic basis. The first bishop to take the oath of loyalty to this constitution, he also consecrated the first bishops elected according to the new procedure. The resulting excommunication by the Pope did not distress Talleyrand, who was already planning to leave the church. It no longer offered sufficient scope for his ambition, and, since, under the law expropriating the church he had been deprived of his property, a bishopric could no longer satisfy his monetary needs. Elected administrator of the département of Paris in January 1791, he resigned as bishop of Autun.
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, communément appelé Talleyrand [N 1], né le 2 février 1754 à Paris où il est mort le 17 mai 1838, est un homme d'Église, un homme d'État et un diplomate français, actif du règne de Louis XVI à celui de Louis-Philippe, particulièrement pendant les périodes de la Révolution, de l ...
A biography of the French diplomat and statesman who served as Grand Chambellan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Interior under Napoleon and Louis XVIII. Learn about his political career, his role in the peace treaties, his relations with the Bourbons and his legacy.
16 de mai. de 2021 · Especial para BBC News Mundo. 16 mayo 2021. Getty Images. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, una de las figuras más fascinantes (y discutidas) de la historia francesa y europea. Príncipe de ...
