Henri IV de Sully


Henri IV de Sully, Grand Butler of France, Treasurer of France, Lord of Sully was a 13th-14th century French noble.

Biography

Henri IV de Sully was the eldest son of Henri III de Sully and Marguerite de Bommiers.
Sully was an adviser to King Philip IV of France at the end of his reign, and tutored Phillip's younger son Count Philip de Poitiers. In 1316, Sully supported the latter at his accession to the regency and the throne of France as King Philip V of France, and was rewarded by receiving the prestigious office of Grand Butler of France in 1317. In April 1317, he was captured by the Scots at the Battle of Old Byland.
Sully played a key role in the administration of the kingdom by becoming Treasurer of France. He also played a key diplomatic role, participating in the reconciliation between Philip V and his cousin Robert, Count of Burgundy. In 1318, Sully was sent as an embassy to Pope John XXII. The same year, Sully was involved in a major dispute with Beraud de Mercœur, a royal adviser, whom Sully accused of treason. The king had to intervene to settle the quarrel between the two men.
Philip V died on 3 January 1322. His brother Charles succeeded him as King Charles IV and replaced Sully as head of the Treasury with Pierre de Rémi. Sully was sent in 1323 as an ambassador to Westminster by Charles IV, to arrange the marriage of his daughter with the eldest son of the King Edward II of England. Sully appears to have found favour with Edward II and was appointed Seneschal of Gascony in 1325-26. In 1329, Sully was appointed by Philip III of Navarre as governor of the Kingdom of Navarre. During this appointment, Sully undertook diplomatic negotiations aiming to launch a crusade against the Kingdom of Granada, but the crusade did not eventuate. In 1335, Navarre declared war against the Kingdom of Aragon, with Sully taking charge of the defence of the small Pyrenean kingdom. He died in 1336 and was succeeded by his son Jean.

Marriage and issue

Henri IV married Jeanne, daughter of Jean V de Vendôme and Éléonore de Montfort, and had the following known issue: