Memoirs of Nicolas de Neufville seigneur de Villeroy (Hardwick MS 46)

This scribal manuscript is a copy of de Neufville's memoir, in two parts, covering the years 1574-89 and 1589-94 respectively. Part 1 begins "Le plus grand contentement que puisse avoir un homme", and is dated 1589. Part 2 begins "Monsieur, je vous envoye le memoire", and ends "partant je m'en tairay et mattray fin a mon discourse, vous suppliant le prendre en bonne part criore quil est veritable et je demeureray eternellement, monsieur, votre serviteur de Neufville." Each part is signed "de Neufville".

Another copy of this volume is held at the Bodleian Libraries Oxford: MS. Bodl. 235.

Nicolas IV de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy (1543 12 November 1617) was a secretary of state under four kings of France: Charles IX, Henry III, Henry IV, and Louis XIII. The most distinguished of all sixteenth-century French secretaries, Villeroy rose to prominence during the French Wars of Religion, a period of almost insoluble difficulties for the French monarchy and government. Despite faithfully serving Henry III, Villeroy found himself sacked by him without explanation in 1588, along with all the king's ministers. He was reinstated by Henry IV in 1594 and became more important than ever before. He remained in office until his death in 1617 during the reign of Louis XIII.