'Pierre Jeannin' (
1540 -
1622) was a
French statesman.
He was born at
Autun. A pupil of the great jurist
Jacques Cujas at
Bourges, he was an advocate at
Dijon by
1569 and became councillor and then president of the
parlement of
Burgundy. He unsuccessfully opposed the
massacre of St Bartholomew in his province. As councillor to
Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, he sought to reconcile him with King
Henry IV of France.
After the victory of Fontaine-Française (
1595), Henry took Jeannin into his council and in
1602 named him
intendant of finances. He took part in the principal events of the reign, negotiated the
Treaty of Lyon with
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and the defensive alliance between France and the
United Netherlands in
1608. As
Superintendent of Finances under King
Louis XIII, be tried to establish harmony between the king and the
Queen Mother,
Marie de' Medici.
References
★
Berger de Xivrey, ''Lettres missives de Henri IV.'' (in the ''Collection inédité pour l'histoire de France''), t. v. (1850)
★
Pierre Saumaise, ''Eloge sur la vie de Pierre Janin'' (Dijon, 1623)
★
Sainte-Beuve, ''Causeries du lundi'', t. x. (May 1854)
★