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Commynes, Philippe de ( |
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c. 1447-1511)
A French diplomat and historian. Commynes wrote the best-known political and diplomatic memoirs of the late fifteenth century and is chiefly remembered today by students of diplomacy for his hostility to summitry: ‘Two great princes who wish to establish good personal relations’, remarked Commynes, ‘should never meet each other face to face but ought to communicate through good and wise ambassadors’. Though he had other good reasons for arriving at this conclusion, his attitude may also have been influenced by the fact that when Louis XI and Edward IV met on a bridge over the Somme at Picquigny to discuss the peaceful retreat of the English invasion force of 1475, the king instructed Commynes to wear identical clothes to his own as a precaution against assassination. The Mémoires of Commynes, though written only to provide material for a life of Louis XI that was to be undertaken by the archbishop of Vienne, are themselves highly regarded. The first part covers the period 1464-83 and was published in 1524; the second narrated the Italian expeditions of Charles VIII and appeared in 1528. A realist, though a firm believer in the power of the divine in human affairs, there are certain clear parallels between Commynes\'s thought and that of Machiavelli. |
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