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Mathieu de Morgues was the devot party’s defender and Michel de Marillac was its head. Their political thought had similarities to Cardinal Richelieu’s, which has been often overlooked. De Morgues and de Marillac supported the king’s absolute authority and clashed with Richelieu because they opposed any delegation of that authority to a principal minister. De Morgues held that royal authority was indivisible because it was based on the king’s will and, as such, could not be delegated. He made a distinction between the king’s power and the king’s will. Governing by power was tyrannical; governing by will was not. For de Morgues, the king’s will was limited by divine law and divine will. As long as it functioned within those limits, the king’s will was not tyrannical. De Marillac considered the relationship between the Parlements’ right of remonstrance and royal authority. The Parlements were courts and the right of remonstrance was their “ability to advise the king of faults of form and substance in legal texts submitted to them for registration.” De Marillac recognized this ability but refuted the idea that Parlements could reject laws on the basis of indivisible sovereignty.

The life and career of Michel de Marillac is described, including his vast experience in government, his intellectual contributions, his spiritual life and practice, and his activities on behalf of Catholicism in France. He was particularly instrumental in establishing the Teresian Carmelites in his country, along with the Ursulines and the Oratorians. His political and religious service was the continuation of a long family tradition. Although we cannot know much about the specifics of his relationship with his ward, Louise de Marillac, this article gives greater understanding about their family.

A major text of the life of Michel de Marillac, Lezeau’s Histoire de la vie de messier Michel de Marillac has a hagiographic perspective. However, it is more informative about Marillac’s religiosity than one might think. It details his spiritual experiences and religious practices and how they impacted all aspects of his life. Marillac scrupulously applied religious principles to his duties overseeing finance and justice. He believed that civil order should be enforced by divine and royal authority. Lezeau’s assertions are placed within the context of the conventions of Marillac’s time (by which he was considered a model Christian statesman) and are balanced against other sources.

This detailed article gives extensive information on the French school of spirituality, especially its major influences and characteristics. Pierre de Berulle was one of its founders, and great attention is paid to his background, his spiritual doctrine, the principles of his spirituality and the way his successors developed them further, and the language used within the school. The school was known for being “theocentric and Trinitarian, Christocentric, Marian, pastoral, and ecclesial.” Important figures of the French school profiled in this article are Jean-Jacques Olier, Jean Eudes, Francis de Sales, and Vincent de Paul. Finally, Louise de Marillac is placed within the school. The people who were essential to her spiritual life are described. The article demonstrates how the school’s principles and language are evident in her writings. The nuances that Louise brought to this spirituality are also explained.