In the turbulent second half of the 14th century one finds many talented adventurers who were pursued by the rising nation-states and encouraged by the chaotic financial state of institutions and individuals. It was in the small principality of the Barrois, a vassal for France that the shady character, Humbelet de Gondrecourt, rose to power. He became a noble and occupied the highest positions: as general receiver, head of the mint and exchange service and counsellor to the Duke of the Bar. Although he was a counterfeiter, a notorious adulterer and had no legitimate heirs, he managed to assure both a generous fortune and respectability for his illegitimate offspring and collaterals. However, he achieved his status at the cost of embezzlement, extensive intermarriage, nepotism and multiple investments (without local equivalents), composed largely of easily transmissible holdings. As a cover for his illegal activities he used the respectability he gained from the foundation of the most important chantry in the Barrois, which squandered a large part of the accumulated real estate. His estate was seized in 1380, verified, and for the most part restored to his testamentary heirs; but thirty years later, the verification was still not finished. But the state had no illusions: the small States' lack of personnel made it impossible for the princes to wipe our efficient servants.
