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Louis-René-Édouard de Rohan | |
|---|---|
 Louis de Rohan | |
| Grand Almoner of France | |
| In office 1777–1786 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Antoine de La Roche-Aymon |
| Succeeded by | Louis-Joseph de Montmorency-Laval |
| Ambassador of France to Austria | |
| In office 1771–1774 | |
| Preceded by | Jacques-Abraham Durand d'Aubigny |
| Succeeded by | Jean-François Géorgel |
| Cardinal,Prince-Bishop of Strasbourg | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Strasbourg |
| Installed | 11 March 1779 |
| Term ended | 29 November 1801 |
| Predecessor | Louis Constantin de Rohan |
| Successor | Johann Peter Saurine |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1756 |
| Consecration | 18 May 1760 by Christophe de Beaumont |
| Created cardinal | 1 June 1778 byPope Pius VI |
| Rank | Cardinal of the Catholic Church |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1734-09-25)25 September 1734 |
| Died | 16 February 1803(1803-02-16) (aged 68) Ettenheim,Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg |
| Nationality | French |
| Denomination | RomanCatholic Church |
| Coat of arms |  |
Louis-René-Édouard de Rohan, known asCardinal de Rohan (25 September 1734 – 16 February 1803),Prince de Rohan-Guéméné, was a Frenchbishop of Strasbourg, politician,cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and cadet of an ancient and powerfulHouse of Rohan (which traced its origin to theKings of Brittany). His parents wereHercule Mériadec, Prince of Guéméné, andPrincess Louise Gabrielle Julie de Rohan-Rohan.[1] He was born inParis.
Members of the Rohan family had filled the office of bishop of Strasbourg since 1704, which made them princes of theHoly Roman Empire and the compeers rather of the Germanprince-bishops than of the French ecclesiastics. Louis de Rohan was destined for this high office from birth. Soon after taking orders, in 1760, he was nominated coadjutor to his uncle,Louis Constantin de Rohan-Rochefort, who then held the bishopric, and he was also appointedtitular bishop ofCanopus, Egypt. But he preferred[citation needed] the elegant life and the gaiety of Paris to his clerical duties, and had also an ambition to make a figure in politics. In 1761 he was elected to seat 36 of theAcadémie Française.
Louis de Rohan was a member of the palace cabal opposed to the Austrian alliance. This party was headed by the Duc d'Aiguillon who, in 1771, sent Rohan on a specialembassy to find out what was being done inVienna with regard to thepartition of Poland. Rohan arrived at Vienna in January 1772, and made a great spectacle of himself with his lavish entertainments. EmpressMaria Theresa was hostile to his intrigues; not only did he attempt to thwart her alliance with France, but as a vicar of the Church, he made little secret of his venal lifestyle.[2]
On the death ofLouis XV in 1774, Rohan was recalled from Vienna, and coldly received in Paris; but his family's influence was too great for him to be neglected; in 1777 he was madeGrand Almoner of France, and in 1778, abbot ofSt. Vaast. In 1778, he was made a cardinal on the nomination ofStanislaus Poniatowski (the king ofPoland). In 1779, Louis de Rohan succeeded his uncle,Constantine de Rohan-Rochefort, as bishop of Strasbourg, though he spent much of his career working in Paris, as he preferred[citation needed] a fashionable life to his clerical duties; also in 1779, he became abbot ofNoirmoutiers andChaise-Dieu. Despite his enhanced status, the Cardinal was poorly received at court, having made himself an enemy ofQueen Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, whose disapproval he had earned in Vienna.
Wishing to redeem himself in the eyes of the Queen, he got involved in the "affair of the diamond necklace" with theComtesse de la Motte and others, including the notoriousCagliostro. Rohan was led to believe that his attentions to the Queen were welcomed, and that she approved his arrangements for her to purchase the infamous necklace. When the swindle was discovered, the Cardinal was arrested and implicated in the theft, though he was later found to have been an innocent dupe. At the trial in 1786 before theparlement of Paris his acquittal was received with popular enthusiasm, and regarded as a victory over the royal court at Versailles and, in particular, the Queen. He was deprived of his office as grand almoner and exiled to his abbey of Chaise-Dieu, where he was accompanied by his secretary,Louis Ramond de Carbonnières. The following year, he traveled to the thermal spas of thePyrenees, spending the summer and the autumn inBarèges, where Ramond began his geological investigations.
Rohan was soon allowed to return to Strasbourg, and his popularity was shown by his election in 1789 to theEstates-General by the clergy of thebailliages ofHaguenau andWissembourg. He, at first, declined to sit, but when the Estates-General became theNational Assembly, it insisted on validating his election. However, in January 1791, as a prince of the church, he refused to take the oath to theCivil Constitution of the Clergy, and went toEttenheim, in the German part of hisdiocese. In exile, he spent what wealth remained to him in providing for the poor clergy of his diocese who had been obliged to leave France. On 29 November 1801, he resigned his nominal office as Bishop of Strasbourg and went back to Ettenheim, where he died on 17 February 1803.
His role in the affair of the diamond necklace scandal is depicted in a 2001 Americanhistorical drama film,The Affair of the Necklace, directed byCharles Shyer, in which he was played byJonathan Pryce, and in theanimeRose of Versailles.
Rohan is portrayed byBarnett Parker in the 1938 filmMarie Antoinette. The character plays a key role, particularly in scenes following the entr'acte (intermission).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Strasburg".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rohan, Louis René Édouard, Cardinal de".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 460–461.| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Bishop of Strasbourg 1779-1801 | Succeeded by Johann Peter Saurine |
