L'HOSPITAL, MICHEL de. — Statesman, born at the château of La Roche near Aigueperse in 1503, died at the château of Bellévat near Etamps on 13 March 1573. He studied law at Padua; on returning to France (1533), he joined the Paris bar. In 1547 he was sent by Chancellor Olivier to the Council of Trent as envoy of King Henri II.
In addition to various other offices, he was appointed by the King superintendent of finances and, on 6 February 1554, first president of the Court of Accounts. Having become chancellor of King Charles IX in 1560, he became, among other things, an advocate of freedom of conscience, promoted the publication in 1562 of the decree of toleration in favor of the Huguenots, and prevented the promulgation of the decrees of the Council of Trent.
It is difficult to define the personal line of government and the guiding ideas of M. de l'H. Among French historians he is commonly regarded as a legendary figure, the embodiment of common sense, political wisdom, and mutual tolerance; but it may be more accurate to say that he was a skilful and prudent interpreter of Catherine de' Medici’s politique de bascule, placing, like her, the interests of the State in the foreground of his actions. He served the Queen in her plans, intended to neutralize, for the benefit of monarchical power, the two parties engaged in conflict: the Huguenots and the Catholics. This was evident in the convocation of the Estates General at Orléans (December 1560), which led to the proclamation of Catherine’s regency; in the ordinance known as that of Orléans (1561), a sound programme of reforms, though one-sided in ecclesiastical matters; and in the futile conference of Poissy (August 1561) between Catholic and Protestant theologians. He refused to have Pope Paul IV’s sentence of excommunication against the Queen of Navarre inserted in the bullary. Little by little he lost the confidence of Catherine de' Medici.
From 1568, after the third civil war, the administration of his office was taken from him, and on 6 February 1573 he was dismissed from II. Despite what has been said about his conduct, which was at times hostile to Rome, he always remained a Catholic, although his family converted to Protestantism.