Sébastien de L'Aubespine, abbot of Basse-Fontaine then bishop of Limoges (1518–1582) was a French noble, diplomat and political adviser during the latter Italian Wars and the early French Wars of Religion. Until 1558 he was known as the abbot of Basse-Fontaine, in that year he was elevated to the bishopric of Limoges. He began his career as a diplomat during the reign of François I, undertaking negotiations with the Protestant Schmalkaldic League in the hopes of prolonging their war with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. The prospect of an alliance between the Protestant Imperial princes and the French crown was taken up again seriously in 1551 while Basse-Fontaine was serving as French ambassador to the Emperor in Brussels. A crisis between the governor of the Netherlands and the French admiral Annebault would lead to his recall as France and the Empire moved towards war. Having undertaken negotiations in the Swiss cantons, Basse-Fontaine would play an important role in the peace negotiations between France and the Empire in 1556 that produced the truce of Vaucelles. While the truce was in force he served as ambassador in Brussels again. With the attack of admiral Coligny into the Spanish-held Netherlands in 1557, Basse-Fontaine would be put under arrest, forcing him to be traded for the captive Spanish ambassador in France. Limoges would have a key role to play in the 1558–1559 negotiations that culminated in the peace of Cateau-Cambrésis which ended the Italian Wars. Involved in the discussions concerning the location and delegates for the peace, he also participated in the discussions, and was to transmit the king's order to withdraw from the peace before the monarch changed his mind. With the coming of peace he was established in Brussels for a third time.
Soon after the establishment of peace, Henri II died and was succeeded by his young son François II. Limoges (as he was now called) allied himself with the young king's maternal uncles during their administration. He relocated from Brussels to Madrid as the centre of Spanish politics shifted south and quickly built connections with the Spanish king Philip's new wife the French princess Élisabeth. He was tasked by the cardinal de Lorraine with broaching the possibility of a general church council with the Spanish, as an alternative to continued persecution. This greatly alarmed Philip and his government. Limoges was involved in negotiations with Philip for the French expedition into Scotland to fight the Lords of the Congregation. With the prospect of the king of Navarre and the prince de Condé's rebellion looming, Limoges secured Spanish assurances of military support, though it would not be required.
With the death of François II, and establishment of a new government led by the young Charles' mother Catherine, Limoges became a client of hers. He was tasked with explaining her religious policy of conciliation to Philip. He was further to frustrate the plans of the Lorraine-Guise family for a marriage between their niece and a Spanish prince which threatened Catherine. He was frequently tasked during 1561 with securing some form of compensation for the king of Navarre for his lost kingdom which was under Spanish occupation, but had only limited success. As 1561 wore on Philip and his councillors became increasingly belligerent to French religious policy, going so far as to threaten military intervention in favour of French Catholics. Limoges worked to reduce the tensions and get Philip to understand the French position. His efforts to secure a meeting between Catherine and Philip would be a failure. With the outbreak of the first French War of Religion in April 1562, Limoges was tasked with seeking Spanish military assistance for the royalists. In June 1562, he was recalled to France, and served Catherine as a close adviser, assisting her in the edict of Amboise which brought the first civil war to a close, then the treaty of Troyes that brought peace with England. He was again in the Swiss cantons seeking a reaffirmation and expansion of the Franco-Swiss alliance in 1564, before on his return to France working towards the peace of Longjumeau in 1568 which ended the second war of religion. Throughout this time he occupied the moderate wing of the royal council and was suspected of not being Catholic by the Spanish ambassador. In 1572, he aided in the negotiation of a defensive alliance with England through the treaty of Blois. In 1574, Charles died and was succeeded by his brother Henri III. Though initially a member of Henri's exclusive eight member conseil d'État, after his role in negotiating the generous Edict of Beaulieu in 1576 which brought the fifth war of religion to a close with many concessions to the rebels he was disgraced by the king, and spent the remainder of his life in retirement before dying in 1582.
Early life and family Sébastien de L'Aubespine was born in 1518, the youngest son of Claude I de L'Aubespine the seigneur de La Corbillière and Marguerite Berruyer. His father Claude was a bailli (baillif), in addition to being an échevin (alderman) of Orléans and possible a sécretaire du roi (secretary of the king). Sébastien was the younger brother of the sécretaire d'État (secretary of state) the baron de Châteauneuf who would enjoy a high profile career in royal service. According to Haan, Sébastien's brother was the only royal sécretaire who enjoyed a prominent political role in the administration.
L'Aubespine
The L'Aubespine family descended from merchants and lawyers of the Loire valley and Beauce. The family was one of the chief networks that dominated the royal secretariat from the reign of François I onwards.
Sébastien, alongside the bishop of Orléans would be one of the principal educators of the famous sécretaire d'État (secretary of state) Villeroy.
He would serve as a surintendant des finances (superintendent of the finances) for the French crown.
Reign of François I Starting in the 1540s, L'Aubespine was employed in diplomatic missions in the Holy Roman Empire and the Old Swiss Confederacy. He received the benefice of Basse-Fontaine of which he would be made abbot and by which he would be known until 1558 when he became the bishop of Limoges.
Diplomat among the Schmalkaldic League After the signing of the (treaty of Crépy-en-Laonnois), king François was at peace with the Emperor. After the death of his son the duc d'Orléans in September 1545 however, François lost the means by which Crépy was to grant him Milan. France undertook negotiations with the Imperial (meaning Holy Roman) alliance of Protestant princes known as the Schmalkaldic League. Basse-Fontaine was instructed in his engagements with the bund to 'proceed carefully' and not make any commitments for the French outside of those that might prolong the war between the bund and the Emperor.
In the negotiations he undertook alongside Jean de Fraisse among the princes, the king's son the dauphin was tabled as an alternative to the Emperor. The French king was elevated in the words of the envoys as a respecter of 'German liberties', in contrast to the domination imposed by the Emperor. However, it would only be in 1550 that talks between the French and the Protestant princes became serious.
Reign of Henri II In 1550, Basse-Fontaine was established as the resident French ambassador in the Imperial controlled Netherlands.
Resumption of the Italian Wars
Plans for the resumption of the Italian Wars through an alliance between the French king and several German princes were devised in 1551. As a reward for French support of the princes, Henri would be permitted to occupy the Trois-Évêchés (three bishoprics) of Metz, Toul and Verdun. The governor of the Netherlands became aware of the French preparations. At the same time as plans were underway as regarded the Trois-Évêchés, the situation between Imperial Netherlands and Normandy was deteriorating on the sea. Sensing king Henri's desire for a resumption of war admiral d'Annebault made preparations in the province over which he was lieutenant-general. In the Netherlands, the regent oversaw the blocking of French merchants from the territory and raised troops. Henri asked for an explanation of the measures she was undertaking and she replied that Annebault was doing such things in Normandy. Henri turned his ire on Annebault, either due to the admiral having operated too brazenly or too quickly. Annebault protested his innocence, arguing that he had always treated Imperial subjects in France as he would a Frenchman. Henri bought this defence. Bassefontaine attempted to sooth the regent, and she wrote to her ambassador in France that the French ambassador had made it clear to her that Henri had not ordered such an action to take place. In July 1551 Basse-Fontaine was recalled from his diplomatic residence in Brussels while the Imperial ambassador Simon Renard returned from Paris. War was declared on the Emperor in February 1552 and Metz was occupied by the French.
After the Imperial siege of Metz, Henri sought to secure more support from the Empire and his Swiss allies. He wished for more mercenaries from the territories for the next campaign. To this end Basse-Fontaine and the bishop of Bayonne were sent to Solothurn and Chur respectively. By this means it was hoped Henri's army would be swelled by Swiss mercenaries and German soldiers.
Truce of Vaucelles
By the mid 1550s, the Emperor had grown weary of war. The French king by contrast oscillated in disposition. On the one hand in December 1555 he yielded to the requests of the Lorraine-Guise faction at court and entered into alliance with the Pope for a planned assault against Imperial held Napoli. No sooner had this come to pass than he dispatched admiral de Coligny to negotiate either a peace or a truce with the Imperial party. Coligny, alongside Basse-Fontaine travelled to Vaucelles where they met with the representatives of the Emperor (the count of Lalaing and the former ambassador to France Simon Renard). The two sides discussed the handover of the various important prisoners in their possessions such as the duc de Bouillon who was held by the Imperials and the duke of Aarschot who was held by the French. Lalaing proposed the French trade their possession of Boulogne and Mariembourg for the release of the comte de Dammartin (son of the Constable of France) and the duc de Bouillon. Henri remarked acidly to the proposal that the constable de Montmorency was not the king of France. Coligny and Basse-Fontaine refused to assent to territorial concessions requested by the Imperial negotiators. Negotiations proceeded rapidly, in part because the Emperor was keen for a pause so that he could effect his staggered abdications. Thus they succeeded in February in establishing a truce with the Emperor. The truce would allow both sides the time to raise the funds to redeem their various captives from the other side. When word of the truce reached the war party in France it was greeted with horror and disgust. Of the two contradictory agreements the French king had established in these months, the truce of Vaucelles was the better received by the people of France.
With the signing of the truce, Basse-Fontaine was re-established as the French ambassador in the (now) Spanish Netherlands at Brussels and Renard was re-established as the Spanish ambassador in France.
Cardenal Granvelle argued that the prisoners the Imperials held were hostages for the observance of the truce. However, further discussions with Renard established ransoms for many of the prisoners. While the French court was staying in Châtillon, Basse-Fontaine informed the king that he had succeeded in securing from the Spanish king Philip the establishment of a ransom for d'Andelot, nephew of the Constable. D'Andelot was thus able to return to France in July 1558.
Collapse of Vaucelles