Richelieu the Knife

Cardinal Richelieu was a political powerhouse in 17th Century France. Known as the l'Éminence Rouge because of his robes, he played an outsized role in matters both temporal and spiritual. Domestically, he argued the Church shouldn’t pay taxes and bishops should have political power in government. In foreign affairs, his Eminence fiercely opposed the Habsburg dynasty, which ruled vast swaths of Europe. Richelieu also got in a huge fight with Marie de Medici, the king's mother and formerly his close ally, which was no bueno. But his signature move was to centralize power in France which made him indispensable to His Majesty. When he died, his face was mummified and then stolen. In 1796, it ended up in the possession of Nicholas Armez of Brittany who occasionally exhibited the well-preserved facies. His nephew, Louis-Philippe Armez, inherited the thing and exhibited it as well. In 1866, Napoleon III persuaded Armez to return it to the government for re-interment with the rest of Richelieu. None of that’s why he’s interesting - he’s interesting for the following reason.