Cardinal Mazarin's notebooks

When he came to power after Cardinal Richelieu's death, Cardinal Mazarin (1642-1650) became accustomed to writing notes in small notebooks on a fairly regular basis. His notebooks are similar to a reminder, a diary, the recording of principles of political action and an interview report. Recovered after the death of the Cardinal in 1661 by his former Intendant Jean-Baptiste Colbert, and taken by his librarian, Étienne Baluze, the fifteen notebooks were purchased from the Royal Library in 1719 (BnF, Manuscripts, Baluze 174). They are an exceptional testimony to the power games and pragmatic conception of the practice of government during the first part of the Mazarin ruling until the early years of the Fronde, from 1642 to 1651.