ABSTRACT
The crown was apparently emerging victorious from ‘the War of the Princesses’ but there remained unresolved issues, notably the future of the princes, which dulled the prospect of a lasting peace. Mazarin’s tactics had changed at every turn; but he remained set upon certain goals. Indeed he could not imagine working for the crown in any other way. Nor could Molé do much for him, torn as he was between legal scruple, sympathy for Condé and concern for the king. Nor was Orléans the ally he would have liked. Mazarin still looked for military victories over the Condéan-Spanish party: Orléans and Le Tellier favoured diplomacy and Orléans could be forceful. In the critical summer debates in Parlement, deaf to the clamour of a bribed mob, he argued strongly against the early release of the princess. Parlement had rejected pleas for support from Bordeaux – instead Orléans was mandated to try to persuade the regent to work out a compromise with the Guienne rebels, that being what Talon called ‘public business’ which only she could handle. A delegation of Parlement was to accompany the duke, to consider their grievances. So Parlement maintained its rights while deferring to royal authority.
