FLEURY, Amme IIEncuLE DE (1653 1743). A French cardinal-bishop and chief Miu• inter during the early part of the reign of Louis XX'. Ile was born June 26, 1653, at Lodt•ve, in Languedoc, and after an excellent education at Paris entered the Church, and became a canon at Montpellier. III 1679 he was called to be almoner to wife of Louis XIV., and after her death lie became royal almoner (1683), and received many preferments, including the Abbey of Itivour and the bishopric of In 1715, in accordance with the dying wish of Louis XIV., Fleury became tutor to the young Louis XV., then only five years old, over whom lie succeeded in establishing a complete ascendency. When the King reached his majority Fleury was made a member of the Council of State, and in 17;26, when the Due de Bourbon wits dismissed, he be came virtually Prime Minister, though he did not assume that title, and contented himself with the dignity of cardinal, which lie received in the same year. By strict economy and a wise
internal policy, Fleury raised France from a state of commercial depression ; hut he was un fortunate on the whole in his external policy, which embraced the play of politics attendant upon the Polish and Austrian wars of succession. The last of these wars lie did not live to see ter minated, for he died while still in office, in 1743, at the age of ninety. One of the most praise worthy acts of his administration was the comple tion of the Bib]iotheque Nationale at Paris. lie was a scholarly man himself, and a member of the various French academies. Consult: La cretelle, llistoire du dix-huitieme siecic (Paris, 1830) ; Verlaque, Ilistoire du cardinal Henry (Paris, 1879) ; Perkins, France Under the Re gency (Boston, 1892).