Simon Renard
Encyclopedia
Simon Renard, sir de Bermont (1513, August, 8 1573) was an advisor of the Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

 and his son Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....

, overlords of the County of Burgundy
County of Burgundy
The Free County of Burgundy , was a medieval county , within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comté, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count: Freigraf...

 and Counts of Burgundy.
He was ambassador of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. As ambassador to England he acquired extraordinary influence over Mary I, and until her marriage to Phillip of Spain, which he promoted, was said by some to be virtually directing English affairs.

Life

Simon Renard is generally known as Renard (Fox in English). In May 1549, he was in Paris, reporting on the Anglo-French initiatives and negotiations that would end the war of the Rough Wooing, a French plan to take and fortify Alderney
Alderney
Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...

, and the progress of other wars. He recorded the joy of Henri II of France in July 1549 when he received five English banners captured at Inchkeith
Inchkeith
Inchkeith is an island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland. It is part of the council area of Fife.Inchkeith has had a colourful history as a result of its proximity to Edinburgh and strategic location for use as home for a lighthouse and for military purposes defending the Firth of Forth for attack...

. In England, he organized the marriage of the queen Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

 Tudor with the future king of Spain Phillip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....

. In September 1553, he wrote to the Emperor from London, begging for leave to return to Brussels to see his wife and children, and reminding the Emperor that he had no secretary or pay. Mary threw a banquet when Renard's colleagues, Jean Scheyfve, Jean de Montmorency, Sieur de Courriéres, and Jacques de Marnix, Sieur de Thoulouse, left England in October 1553. Renard noted that Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

 and Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox was the daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland...

, Mary's preferred heir, were seated together in a window. Renard's diplomatic career was eventually compromised by his secretary Etienne Quiclet, who sold his ciphers and papers to the French. Philip, who unlike his father had never liked or trusted Renard, dismissed him.

Influence on English history

Renard's influence on Mary is agreed to have been very strong. She trusted few of her English councillors: as she later said " she could scarcely see anyone who had not done her an injury or would fail to do so again if the opportunity presented itself". On the other hand, trusting the Emperor absolutely, she would in any case have been disposed to listen to his envoy, and Renard's charm and intelligence did the rest. He described Mary as "so good, so easily influenced, inexpert in worldly affairs and a novice all round". His great achievement was the Spanish marriage, but he advised her on many other issues, even religion on which he frankly admitted he was no expert. Mary however did not always take his advice: she showed far more clemency to the supporters of Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...

 than he thought wise, and despite his repeated urgings never took decisive action against her sister Elizabeth, whom Renard regarded as "a great danger". For the most notorious episode of the reign, the Marian Persecutions
Marian Persecutions
The Marian Persecutions were carried out against religious reformers, Protestants, and other dissenters for their heretical beliefs during the reign of Mary I of England. The excesses of this period were mythologized in the historical record of Foxe's Book of Martyrs...

, Renard had no responsibility: he was not a fanatic, and his letters make clear that he was opposed to the burning of heretics, which he feared might lead to revolution.

Reputation

Renard has been praised by historians for his intelligence , patience, subtlety and diplomatic skill . However English historians, notably Mary's biographer H.F.M. Prescott have judged him rather harshly, arguing that, given his great influence over Mary in the early years of the reign, he must bear much of the responsibility for the disasters which followed.

See also

  • Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle
    Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle
    Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle , Comte de La Baume Saint Amour, was a Burgundian statesman, made a cardinal, who followed his father as a leading minister of the Spanish Habsburgs, and was one of the most influential European politicians during the time which immediately followed the appearance of...

  • County of Burgundy
    County of Burgundy
    The Free County of Burgundy , was a medieval county , within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comté, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count: Freigraf...

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