Étienne Marcel

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Statue of Étienne Marcel by Antonin Idrac next to the Hôtel de Ville of Paris
Statue of Étienne Marcel by Antonin Idrac next to the Hôtel de Ville of Paris

Étienne Marcel (died July 31, 1358) was provost of the merchants of Paris under King John II.

Étienne Marcel belonged by birth to the wealthy Parisian bourgeoisie, being the son of a clothier named Simon Marcel and of Isabelle Barbou. He is mentioned as provost of the Grande-Confrérie of Notre Dame in 1350, and in 1354 he succeeded Jean de Pacy as provost of the Parisian merchants representing the mercantile leaders of the Third Estate.[1]

His political career began in 1356, when John was made prisoner after the battle of Poitiers. In conjunction with Robert le Coq, bishop of Laon, he played a leading part in the states general called together by the dauphin Charles on October 17. A committee of eighty members, constituted on their initiative, pressed their demands with such insistence that the dauphin prorogued the states-general; but financial straits obliged him to summon them once more on February 3, 1357, and the promulgation of a great edict of reform was the consequence. John the Good forbade its being put into effect, whereupon a conflict began between Marcel and the dauphin, Marcel endeavouring to set up Charles the Bad, king of Navarre, in opposition to him. The states general assembled again on January 13, 1358, and on February 22 the populace of Paris, led by Marcel, invaded the palace and murdered the marshals of Champagne and Normandy before the prince's eyes. However, the murder of the nobles undermined Marcel's further support by the aristocracy.[1]

Thenceforward Marcel was now in open hostility to the throne. After vainly hoping that the insurrection of the Jacquerie might turn to his advantage, he next supported the king of Navarre, whose armed bands infested the neighborhood of Paris. On the night of July 31 Marcel was about to open the gates of the capital to them, but Jean Maillart prevented the execution of this design. He was killed by the guards at the Porte Saint-Antoine.[1] During the following days his adherents were likewise put to death, and the dauphin was enabled to re-enter Paris.

Étienne Marcel married first Jeanne de Dammartin, and secondly Marguerite des Essars, who survived him.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Barbara Tuchman. A Distant Mirror. Alfred A. Knopf, NY (1978), 155ff.