Pierre of Essars

Pierre of Essars is one of these Bourgeois rich person of XIVe, made essential to king de France because of his important pecuniary resources and who of this fact becomes a close financial adviser of Philippe V, Charles IV and Philippe VI. Bound to very unpopular removals of the currency , he is imprisoned in 1346 after the defeat of Crécy for which it is necessary to find scapegoats. He is pardoned in 1347 and dies of the plague in 1349.

Context

Starting from the end of the 13th century, balance between the three orders breaks. The urban development required the creation of a centralized State returning justice, unifying the currency and having to protect the country against the possible attacks from other powerful States able to raise consequent armies. Such a structure must be financed and the State all the more requires for financial resources that the feudal system is maintained by the redistribution of richnesses towards its vassal. Large the patriciat tradesman has very abundant financial resources which it lends to the princes and to the ecclesiastics: He becomes an inevitable actor.

Not having an administration sufficient and wanting to limit the power of large feudal, the Capétiens delegate political, tax and legal powers more and more to him creating true free zones with the large commercial crossroads. For example the taking away of taxes is done often indirectly: the king is done directly taking the amount wanted on rich person patricians fortunes who refund himself by taking the tax, empochant then of comfortable benefit. Same manner, the king calls upon these rich person changers for monetary changes, another instrument to reinflate the cases of the state. This handling which decreases the content of noble metals of the cash involves Dévaluation S which are very badly perceived by the population of the cities and the nobility (a devaluation reduces the value of the royalties seigneuriales to fixed amount). Lastly, the multiplication of the businesses to be regulated made impossible their only treatment by the kings and the large nobility who then delegated part of their judicial powers to Parliament S and other courts of justice which are a means for the patriciat of returning in the noblesse de robe.

The father of Pierre of Essart is mayor of Rouen and comes to Paris from time from Philippe Beautiful the.

Biography

Pierre is bound by marriage to the one of the more big family of changers Parisian and introduced by his father into the entourage of Philippe V, it climbs in the social hierarchy: he is receiver of the queen, banker of the king and finally Master of the accounts. He perpetuates the family strategy of matrimonial alliances in the patriciat Urbain what makes it possible to control more and more likely resources financial of beings borrowed by the king and to become increasingly essential to the state. Thus, it Marie her daughters with other Parisian middle-class rich person who see a means there of approaching themselves the capacity and a possible ennoblement. Thus his/her Marguerite daughter of Essars, Marie with Etienne Marcel this last benefitting from the relation of Pierre of Essars to enter in policy and to create new bonds with the commercial rich person of the Flemish communes.

Managing finances of the two last Capétiens and first Valois it is in the foreground at the time of the monetary changes which are a good means to get for the State financial resources when the tax becomes increasingly difficult to make accept.

In 1346, following the Bataille of Crécy one needs scapegoats and it is made responsible for the bad government and are thrown in prison with other bankers manipulators of the currency close to the capacity like Jean Poilevillain. His/her beautiful son Etienne Marcel would have interceded near the Count of Flanders Louis de Male to make release Pierre of Essarts. That Ci leaves prison in 1347 without being condemned nor discharged but dies of the plague in 1349. With his death, Etienne Marcel is thus one of his heirs, but being wary of the fines which could fall on fortune from late once the finished lawsuit it is concerned dowry of his wife. He refuses the succession then.

Robert de Lorris another powerful middle-class man, is him also one of the sons-in-law of Pierre of Essars. It knew to return in the royal entourage since 1347, so much so that it is one of the close relations advisers of Jean the Good, of which it obtains on February 7th, 1352 the rehabilitation of Pierre of Essars. Informed well, it did not give up the succession and is the only one with empocher: 50000 pounds

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