1552
1598
Surintendants des finances :
- Artus de Cossé, baron de Gonnord, conjointement avec Louis d'Ongnyes, comte de Chaulnes (1561-1567)
- René de Birague (1568-1570)
- Pomponne de Bellièvre (1574-1588)
- François d'O (1588-1594)
Contrôleurs généraux des finances : deux en 1547 (dont Jean Duthier) et jusqu'en 1556, un seul en 1556-1559, un seul en 1568-1573, un seul (Charles de Saldaigne, seigneur d'Incarville) en 1596-1598.
Contrôle général assuré collectivement par les intendants des finances en 1559-1568 et en 1573-1596.
Commissaires puis intendants des finances : trois en 1553 (Marc de La Rue, seigneur de La Couste, Jean Le Conte, seigneur de Voisinlieu, André Guillart, seigneur du Mortier), trois en 1561 (Jean Le Conte, seigneur de Voisinlieu, Charles Le Prevost, seigneur de Grandville, Jean Ferey, seigneur de Durescu), quatre en 1573, en 1588, huit de 1594 à 1596, un seul (Michel Sublet, seigneur d'Heudicourt) en 1596-1598.
La réforme de la haute administration financière par François Ier avait détruit la puissance de ce quasi-conseil des finances qu’était le collège des trésoriers de France et des généraux des finances, sans lui substituer une formation spécialisée du Conseil ou un organisme de type ministériel. Ainsi, de 1523 à 1552, « le roi, ordonnateur suprême, était assisté dans sa tâche par le Conseil » (B. Barbiche). Dans les faits, le chancelier de France et les conseillers les plus influents du souverain (le cardinal de Tournon, l’amiral d’Annebaut, le connétable de Montmorency, etc.) prirent en main la direction des finances, comme en témoigne l’importance tenue par les affaires financières dans la correspondance encore conservée de ces grands personnages.
Cette situation n’était guère tenable sur le long terme : il fallait un corps de techniciens pour traduire en actes la politique financière de la monarchie. En pratique, on finit par distinguer au sein de la direction générale des finances une fonction spécialisée, à savoir le contrôle des entrées et des sorties d’argent, qui existait déjà depuis la fin du XVe siècle pour le budget de la guerre et était assurée par le secrétaire puis contrôleur général des guerres. En 1547, Henri II institue deux contrôleurs généraux, chargés de la vérification des recettes et des dépenses assignées sur l’Épargne, caisse centrale de la monarchie. Cinq ans plus tard, lors de la prise de possession des évêchés de Toul, Metz et Verdun, le roi nomme des commissaires chargés du financement de l’expédition ; ces commissaires prennent le titre d’intendants des finances en 1556.
Contrôleurs généraux et intendants de finances forment alors un nouveau collège spécialisé, qui constitue le noyau d’une haute administration, désormais permanente, malgré d’importantes fluctuations dans sa composition. Le nombre d’intendants a ainsi beaucoup varié. Par ailleurs, l’une des deux charges de contrôleur général est supprimée en 1556, puis la seconde en 1562 – ses attributions sont alors confiées à un intendant. La fonction est rétablie en 1568 et confiée à un seul titulaire. En 1573, les charges de contrôleur et d’intendant sont réunies, et l’on sait qu’en 1588, il y avait alors quatre intendants exerçant collectivement le contrôle général. Un édit de janvier 1594 les érige en titre d’office, et fixe à huit le nombre de ces « intendants et contrôleurs généraux ». Deux ans plus tard, ces offices sont supprimés et remplacés par deux commissaires, assurant l’un les fonctions d’intendant, l’autre celles de contrôleur général.
Parallèlement, une session hebdomadaire du Conseil est instituée en 1563 pour traiter les affaires financières. Ce premier Conseil des finances est supprimé en 1574, puis reconstitué en 1580.
C’est également au cours de la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle qu’apparaît le surintendant, d’abord simple titre attribué officieusement à certains intendants. De 1561 à 1567, Artus de Cossé, baron de Gonnord et Louis d’Ongnyes, comte de Chaulnes, exercent conjointement, et de manière cette fois tout à fait officielle les fonctions de surintendants. Ils sont alors assistés de trois intendants. Leur succède le seul René de Birague (1567-1570). Après une éclipse de quelques années, Pomponne de Bellièvre est nommé surintendant des finances en 1574, jusqu’à sa disgrâce en 1588. Il a alors autorité pour assembler les intendants et le trésorier de l’Épargne, délibérer sur les affaires financières et en faire seul le rapport au roi. Lui succède François d’O jusqu’à sa mort en 1594. Le règlement du 25 novembre 1594 supprime la charge de surintendant et lui substitue un conseil de huit membres, auxquels devaient se joindre quatre des huit intendants et contrôleurs généraux, servant à tour de rôle. En 1598, Sully en prend la tête avec le titre de surintendant ; il reste en fonction jusqu’en 1611, sans jamais en avoir été investi par un acte royal. C’est alors que se cristallise véritablement le département des finances, dirigé par un seul homme – bien que la charge de surintendant fût à nouveau supprimée entre 1611 et 1614.
Tous les modes d’organisations possibles ont donc été expérimentés durant la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle : direction collégiale relativement informelle (1552-1563), conjointement avec un conseil spécialisé en matière financière (1563-1567) ; conseil spécialisé, composé de techniciens et de conseillers polyvalents (1570-1574, 1594-1598) ; direction centralisée entre les mains d’une seule personne (1574-1580), conjointement avec un conseil spécialisé (1567-1570, 1580-1594).
Was this content helpful? Let Archives Portal Europe and the archival institution know what you think.
Feedback is sent directly to the institution holding this material and should preferably be submitted in English or in the language of the institution, if possible. The institution will aim at getting back to you as soon as possible to help you with your request, though you might need to allow between two and four weeks for this depending on the current workload at the institution.
Please select amongst the relevant tips we can help with. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
Starting your search here will include all content available in Archives Portal Europe. Simply enter your keyword(s) and hit the search button. Wrap fixed expressions in quotation marks, e.g. “French Revolution”. Check the box to “Search each term separately” in case you are looking for documents containing at least one word, but not necessarily all keywords; this will also allow you to search for the same term in multiple languages at the same time (e.g. “French Revolution” “Révolution Française”). You can also use wildcards - find more about Research Tools here. If you would like to use more specific settings, try our Advanced search
The additional advanced search options give you the possibility to focus your search in:
When searching with multiple terms at the same time, wrap fixed expressions in quotation marks (e.g. "French Revolution"), or check the box "Search each term separately" in case you are looking for either one term of the other. This will also allow you to search for the same term in multiple languages (e.g. "French Revolution" "Révolution française"). You can also choose one of the suggestions matching your search term once you start typing.
This will only show results that include documents that have been digitised and are available online
Use this option to search only one or more keywords, rather than all of them
Select where your search terms should appear specifically inside the archival description:
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the description of the archive:
Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions:
Enter a start and/or end date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01-01-1900 for 1 January 1900. This will allow you to focus your search on a specific period of time. You can use the calendar function or type directly in the text field. The checkbox "Exact date search" concentrates the search on one specific date.
Check "View in context" to view the results in the hierarchical structure of archives.
For more details see Research Tools
Please sign in to save your searches.
A holdings guide is an overview of the collections and fonds of one archival institution.
A finding aid is a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level.
You can filter results by selecting one or more countries of interest. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by one or more holding archival institutions. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can select to view results from a specific Finding Aid, i.e., a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter by type of descriptive document:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting "Fonds description" for a general overview or "Other descriptions" for item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter
selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results
matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting only those containing digital objects, i.e. the link to the digitised version of the archival material you are looking for. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by type of digital object you are interested in:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers)
Please note that not all documents contain a machine-readable date. More information here
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the earliest dates mentioned in the materials.
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the latest dates mentioned in the materials.
You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting one or more topics of interest. Please note that this filter will only include materials where the topic has been assigned and is therefore in a machine-readable format. Read how to assign a topic to documents on the Topics page. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by type of entities:
You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results based on the type of holding institution. Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions.
Write your message in your own language and use this drop-down menu to have your message translated into English or in the language of the institution for a swifter response. By checking this box and selecting a language you will send your original message along with the translated version
What kind of suggestion would you like to make?
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for Attribution Creative Commons Licence
This object is not or no longer protected by copyright and has been labelled with the Public Domain Mark. It can be used by anyone without any restrictions.
This object is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication. All possible existing rights in the content are waived, and the object can be used by anyone without any restrictions.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution (BY) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object, even
commercially, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described
in the licence.
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for Attribution Creative Commons Share Alike Licence
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for NoDerivs
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for NonCommercial
This object is in the public domain, but has been digitised as the outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the object for non-commercial use only.
This object has been
identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in
line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive
2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.
The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the
copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy, or moral rights.
This object is currently in copyright and the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only. You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, No Derivates (BY-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object, even
commercially, as long as no alteration is made to the object and you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.
If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial (BY-NC) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only and as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only, as long as you attribute the rights
holder as described in
the licence, and as long as you license your adaptations of the object under the same
terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivates (BY-NC-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object for non-commercial use only, as long as no alteration is made to the object and as long as you attribute the rights
holder as described in
the licence.
If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.
This object is in the public domain, but has been digitised as the outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the object for non-commercial use only.
This object has been
identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in
line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive
2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.
The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the
copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy, or moral rights.
This object is currently in copyright and the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only. You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.