AGNES SOREL 



hunter, made his devotion to her react upon 

 himself, for the good of his country and to his 

 own honour. She not only counselled him 

 wisely herself, but persuaded him to surround 

 himself with wise counsellors. 



Of these counsellors, and the able and devoted 

 men who served the king in divers ways, some 

 few stand out more prominently than the rest, 

 because of their position of intimacy in the royal 

 circle, and their special and enduring friend- 

 ship with Agnes Sorel. Such were Etienne 

 Chevalier, Treasurer of France ; Pierre de Breze, 

 of a noble Angevin family, and Senechal of 

 Normandy after the expulsion of the English ; 

 and Jacques Cceur, the king's superintendent of 

 Finance, whose house at Bourges, with its angel- 

 ceiled chapel, still delights the traveller. 



Etienne Chevalier was for some time secretary 

 to the king, and after filling one or two smaller 

 posts connected with finance, was made Treasurer 

 of France, and member of the Grand Council. 

 In addition to administrative capacity, he pos- 

 sessed a brilliant intellect and a great love of 

 art. It is to his initiative that we owe the 

 only suggestions in portraiture of Agnes Sorel. 

 It was to him also that the king confided the 

 supervision of the erection of the monuments to 

 her memory at Jumieges and Loches Jumieges 

 where she^ died in 1449, and where her heart 

 was buried, and Loches her favourite place of 

 sojourn, and to whose church and chapter she 

 had made large gifts. To Loches her body was 



