Pierre Forget de Fresnes

Pierre Forget de Fresnes ( – 1610), Baron of Véretz and Fau, Lord of Fresnes (acquired in 1594) and of La Ferté-Hubert, was a French nobleman and close associate of Henry IV. A diplomat, Forget is best known today as one of the principal drafters of the Edict of Nantes.

Early life Pierre was born in into the nobility of Touraine. He was the second son of the Chevalier Pierre Forget, Lord of Bouchet and La Branchoire, and Françoise de Fortia.

Career

Forget was Lord of Fresnes-sur-Marne, Baron of Véretz and of Fau (in Reignac-sur-Indre). He served, successively, as the First Secretary of the Chamber and Receiver of the King's Stables (secrétaire de la chambre et receveur des écuries du roi), Royal Treasurer responsible for receiving payment for venal offices (trésorier des parties casuelles) which he resigned from on 21 April 1610, shortly before his death.

Edict of Nantes He was appointed, as the King's Catholic advisor, with Daniel Chamier, a Huguenot minister who represented the other side, to negotiate and draft the Edict of Nantes on 28 February 1593.

Personal life

On 28 February 1593, Forget was married to Anne de Beauvilliers de Saint-Aignan (1566–1636), Lady of La Ferté-Hubert (at Chantenay-Saint-Imbert), a daughter of Claude II de Beauvilliers, the Count of Saint-Aignan and of Marie Babou de la Bourdaisière (daughter of Jean Babou, sister of Françoise Babou de La Bourdaisière, and aunt of Cardinal François de Sourdis). Her father was Governor and Lieutenant-General of Berry, Anjou and the City of Bourges. Among her siblings were Honorat de Beauvilliers (father of François de Beauvilliers, 1st Duke of Saint-Aignan) and the abbesses Claude de Beauvilliers and Marie de Beauvilliers, who became one of the many mistresses of King Henry IV, when he lodged at the Montmartre Abbey while laying siege to Paris in 1590. Together, they were the parents of:

Pierre Forget (1600–1681), a licentiate in law, he was Seneschal of Nouâtre and Comptroller Ordinary (contrôleur ordinaire) of the stables of His Highness the Prince of Condé; he married Françoise de Villeret, a daughter of Guillaume de Villeret, Sieur de Bessay.

He was an intimate friend of Guy Du Faur, Seigneur de Pibrac, who dedicated Vita to him.

Following his death in 1610, he was buried at Montmartre Abbey, where his sister-in-law was Abbess.