Tanneguy le Veneur

Tanneguy Le Veneur, seigneur de Carrouges (-) was a Norman noble and governor during the French Wars of Religion. Coming from a family pushed into prominence in the sixteenth century by François I, Carrouges was initially beholden to the House of Guise for political favour, supporting them in their plans concerning Scotland and arrests related to the Conspiracy of Amboise. By 1563 however he had begun to secure notable office in Normandie, becoming lieutenant-general with authority over Rouen and Evreux in 1563, then bailli of Rouen in 1565. He tried to maintain peace in the important city, but struggled from 1567-1572 to contain the violent radicalism in the city. After the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew left the Protestant population of the city significantly reduced, he found his responsibilities more peaceful for a while. In 1575 he was elevated to one of the governors of Normandie, after the province was split in three on the death of the Duke of Bouillon. In the wake of the Peace of Monsieur the first ligue movement spread in Rouen, Carrouges dutifully followed the king when he took over the movement and promulgated an official version, abiding by the royal lines. He found little enthusiasm for this formulation among the elite bodies of the city, and struggled to get the Parlement or Cathedral chapter to come on board with the ligue. With the Treaty of Bergerac in 1577 the ligue went dormant, its demands largely met. By 1583 Henri III had new favourites he wished to please, and as such he sought to reconsolidate the governorship of Normandie, necessitating the compensation of Carrouges, Matigon and Meilleraye. Carrouges was bought out of his governorship for 60,000 livres, a return to lieutenant general and a promise his son would inherit his lieutenant-generalcy. The death of Alençon in 1584 left the heir to the throne as a Protestant, causing a second much stronger wave of ligue activity in France. Carrouges wrote with great concern of the widespread support for the ligue in his districts, and the various efforts he was undertaking to contain them. By 1588 royal authority was in tatters and the king was exiled from Paris after the Day of the Barricades. Desperate to secure the loyalty of Rouen due to its strategic location, he and the ligue in Paris competed for the cities loyalty in frantic negotiations.