were the Established by François Guizot Société de de France. Valois’ publishers l’Histoire in 1833, and recognised by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte in 1851 ‘comme établissement the Society had declared in the second article of its that its Règlement d’utilité publique’, purpose was to publish à de France, pour les temps ‘documents originaux relatifs l’histoire antérieurs aux Etats généraux de work was fit for purpose: the three 1789’. Valois’ manuscripts he had studied, penned in the seventeenth century, offered significant fresh insights on the Ligue years, ‘cette époque si discutée’. Valois was connected with the Society by family. His father, Noël Valois (1855-1915), was one of only three men to have served as secretary to the Society since its inception. Figure 1 : The Secretaries of the up to World War 1 Société de de France l’Histoire Secrétaire Secrétaire-adjoint Jules Desnoyers (1833-85) Arthur de Boislisle (1873-85) Arthur de Boislisle (1885-1908) Noël Valois (1885-1908) Noël Valois (1908-15) At the on 16 May 1916, the president, Paul Society’s Annual General Meeting Guilhiermoz, drew his to the importance of the listeners’ attention secretary’s role: ‘Seul parmi les membres de votre bureau, le secrétaire est élu pour est quatre ans. C’est dire qu’il la pierre angulaire de la Noël Valois had a en droit l’organe permanent, Société...’ Thus crucial role in the Society at the time that his son was working on the Histoire. Noël Valois knew the first secretary of the Society, and worked closely with the second for over two decades. In an address to the Society in 1897 this second secretary, Arthur de
Valois’ publishers were the Société de l’Histoire de France. Established by François Guizot in 1833, and recognised by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte in 1851 ‘comme établissement d’utilité publique’, the Society had declared in the second article of its Règlement that its purpose was to publish ‘documents originaux relatifs à l’histoire de France, pour les temps antérieurs aux Etats généraux de 1789’. Valois’ work was fit for purpose: the three manuscripts he had studied, penned in the seventeenth century, offered significant fresh insights on the Ligue years, ‘cette époque si discutée’. Valois was connected with the Society by family. His father, Noël Valois (1855-1915), was one of only three men to have served as secretary to the Society since its inception. Figure 1 : The Secretaries of the Société de l’Histoire de France up to World War 1 Secrétaire Secrétaire-adjoint Jules Desnoyers (1833-85) Arthur de Boislisle (1873-85) Arthur de Boislisle (1885-1908) Noël Valois (1885-1908) Noël Valois (1908-15) At the Society’s Annual General Meeting on 16 May 1916, the president, Paul Guilhiermoz, drew his listeners’ attention to the importance of the secretary’s role: ‘Seul parmi les membres de votre bureau, le secrétaire est élu pour quatre ans. C’est dire qu’il est en droit l’organe permanent, la pierre angulaire de la Société...’ Thus Noël Valois had a crucial role in the Society at the time that his son was working on the Histoire. Noël Valois knew the first secretary of the Society, and worked closely with the second for over two decades. In an address to the Society in 1897 this second secretary, Arthur de