1641 (MDCXLI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 1641st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 641st year of the 2nd millennium, the 41st year of the 17th century, and the 2nd year of the 1640s decade. As of the start of 1641, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
Louis XIII was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to in French as le Régent. He was the son of Monsieur Philippe I, Duke of Orleans, and Madame Elisabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orléans. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth by the title of Duke of Chartres.
Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu, known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsize influence in civil and religious affairs. He became known as l'Éminence Rouge, a term derived from the title "Eminence" applied to cardinals and their customary red robes.
Philip IV, also called the Planet King, was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the arts, including such artists as Diego Velázquez, and his rule over Spain during the Thirty Years' War.
Lucius Aelius Sejanus, commonly known as Sejanus, was a Roman soldier, friend, and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian Guard, the imperial bodyguard, of which he was commander from AD 14 until his execution for treason in AD 31.
The phrase "power behind the throne" refers to a person or group that is understood to de facto wield the power of a high-ranking official, or whose support must be maintained to continue in office. In politics, it most commonly refers to a nominal subordinate or advisor to an officeholder who serves as de facto leader, setting policy through influence, manipulation, or both.
Margaret de Clare, Countess of Gloucester, Countess of Cornwall was an English noblewoman, heiress, and the second eldest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and his wife Joan of Acre, making her a granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Her two husbands were Piers Gaveston and Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester.
Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma, 5th Marquess of Denia, 1st Count of Ampudia, was a favourite of Philip III of Spain, the first of the validos through whom the later Habsburg monarchs ruled. His administration was marked by costly wars, including the Twelve Years' Truce with the Dutch Republic, financial mismanagement, and the controversial expulsion of the Moriscos. Eventually, he was deposed in 1618 under a palace intrigue orchestrated by his son and political rival, Cristóbal de Sandoval. Lerma retired as a cardinal and was succeeded by the Count-Duke of Olivares but faced financial penalties and died in 1625 at Valladolid.
Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska, also known as Marie Leczinska, was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of Stanislaus I Leszczyński, the deposed King of Poland, and Catherine Opalińska, her 42-years and 9 months service was the longest of any queen in French history. A devout Catholic throughout her life, Marie was popular among the French people for her numerous charitable works and introduced many Polish customs to the royal court at Versailles. She was the grandmother of the French kings Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X.
The Accursed Kings is a series of seven historical novels by French author Maurice Druon about the French monarchy in the 14th century. Published between 1955 and 1977, the series has been adapted as a miniseries twice for television in France.
Marie Aimée de Rohan was a French courtier and political activist, famed for being the center of many of the intrigues of the first half of the 17th century in France. In various sources, she is often known simply as Madame de Chevreuse.
The House of Plantagenet was a royal house which originated from the French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angevins, who were also counts of Anjou; the main line of the Plantagenets following the loss of Anjou; and the Houses of Lancaster and York, two of the Plantagenets cadet branches. The family held the English throne from 1154, with the accession of Henry II, until 1485, when Richard III died.
Elisabeth of France or Isabella of Bourbon was Queen of Spain from 1621 to her death and Queen of Portugal from 1621 to 1640, as the first spouse of King Philip IV & III. She served as regent of Spain during the Catalan Revolt in 1640–42 and 1643–44.
Luis Méndez de Haro, 6th Marquis of Carpio and 2nd Duke of Olivares or Luis Méndez de Haro y Guzmán,, , was a Spanish political figure, general and art collector. He was the royal favourite of Philip IV. De Haro was also notable as being one of the very few Spanish royal favourites of the period to die whilst still in favour.
The Battle of La Marfée, also known as the Battle of Sedan, took place on 6 July 1641, during the 1635 to 1659 Franco-Spanish War, a related conflict of the Thirty Years War.
Roberto de Zúñiga y Velasco was a Spanish royal favourite of Philip III, his son Philip IV and a key minister in two Spanish governments. In control of foreign policy from 1618 to 1622, he was responsible for Spain's initially successful entry into the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) and for the appointment of his nephew, the Count-Duke of Olivares to the position of prime minister for much of the reign of Philip IV. De Zúñiga was also notable as being one of the very few Spanish royal favourites of the period to die whilst still in favour.
Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, 1st Duke of Sanlúcar, 3rd Count of Olivares,, known as the Count-Duke of Olivares, was a Spanish royal favourite of Philip IV and minister. Appointed as Grandee on 10 April 1621, a day after the ending of the Twelve Years' Truce to January 1643, he over-exerted Spain in foreign affairs and unsuccessfully attempted domestic reform. His policy of committing Spain to recapture Holland led to a renewal of the Eighty Years' War while Spain was also embroiled in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). In addition, his attempts to centralise power and increase wartime taxation led to revolts in Catalonia and in Portugal, which brought about his downfall.
Habsburg Spain was at the height of its power and cultural influence at the beginning of the 17th century, but military, political, and economic difficulties were already being discussed within Spain. In the coming decades these difficulties grew and saw France gradually taking Spain's place as Europe's leading power through the later half of the century. Many different factors, including the decentralized political nature of Spain, inefficient taxation, a succession of weak kings, power struggles in the Spanish court and a tendency to focus on the American colonies instead of Spain's domestic economy, all contributed to the decline of the Habsburg rule of Spain.
Manuel de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria Ríos, 1st Prince of the Peace, 1st Duke of Alcudia, 1st Duke of Sueca, 1st Baron of Mascalbó, was the First Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and then from 1801 to 1808, and as such, one of the central Spanish political figures during the rise of Napoleon and his invasion of Spain. Godoy came to power at a young age as the favourite of King Charles IV and Queen Maria Luisa. He has been partly blamed for the Anglo-Spanish War of 1796–1808 that brought an end to the Spanish Empire. Godoy's unmatched power ended in 1808 with the Tumult of Aranjuez, which forced him into a long exile. He died in Paris in 1851.
