ABSTRACT
Armand-Jean du Plessis Richelieu shaped the French monarchy into an administrative model that set the stage for Louis XTV's absolute monarchy in the late seventeenth century. Richelieu controlled much of the domestic and foreign policy of France, though he always carefully consulted with the king. He worked to tame the often fractious and scheming members of the nobility. Reacting to aristocratic revolts, Richelieu did much to destroy the vestiges of the nobility's sense of sovereignty, a remnant of the medieval feudal order. He used the concept of lese-majeste, insult to the sovereign, as a pretext to arrest nobles. “One king, one law, one faith” was the motto by which Richelieu justified limiting the nobility's power. Richelieu set the stage for Louis XIV's future military triumphs and the transformation of Europe's balance of power. By embroiling France in the Thirty Years' War, Richelieu weakened the power of the Habsburg monarchy, especially the branch ruling Spain.
