Born into a prominent Champenois family of the noblesse seconde, Dinteville became close with Anjou (the future Henri III), brother to Charles IX.

On Anjou's return to take the crown of France, Dinteville departed from his household, assuming responsibilities in Champagne, where he led the Second Estate of Troyes in opposing the attempt of Guise to affiliate the city with the national Catholic ligue.

As Henri's brother Alençon moved closer to his plans of assuming the kingship of the rebellious Spanish Netherlands, Dinteville assisted the king in attempting to draw him, and thus France away from a potential confrontation with Spain.

In December of that year, Henri appointed Dinteville to replace the aged sieur de Barbizieulx as lieutenant-general of Champagne, making him second only to the governor Guise.

Having received reports of ligueur activity in Champagne, Dinteville quickly set to work in combatting potential rebelliousness, overseeing a grand council of the nobility of the region, in which they affirmed their loyalty to the king.

[1] Dinteville secured himself a strong position in Paris for his residence in 1586, on the rue de Béthisy, the same street as many other grandees had occupied such as Admiral Coligny and Chancellor Bellièvre.

[3] In the wake of the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, the Protestant dominated city of La Rochelle, flooded with refugees, entered rebellion against the crown.

[4][5] Anjou would not stay as king in the Commonwealth for long, and when news of Charles' death reached him he and his entourage, among them Dinteville, fled the country to assume the kingship of France.

[9] In the wake of the Peace of Monsieur, a Catholic ligue movement began to bloom nationally in opposition to the generous terms, originating in Péronne and spreading out from Picardie.

Dinteville led the nobility for the city, and argued that the oath that was requested of them was at best superfluous, and at worst a subversion of the loyalty that truly belonged to Henri.

To this end Dinteville was dispatched with 50 men to track down Alençon in the Netherlands and inform him that the king and his mother were making progress on negotiating a marriage between him and Elizabeth, queen of England.

Dinteville was further instructed to tell the errant prince that he was loved and respected, and that in the wake of Protestant rebellions in France, it was best that he remain close for the stability of the realm.

[12] With civil war again at risk in 1579, Dinteville was involved in negotiations between Catherine de Medici for the crown, and Navarre, cousin to the king and political leader of the Protestants.

[18] In 1580 Dinteville intercepted a copy of the articles for a ligue that had formed in Champagne and, aware that such organisations had been outlawed by the Treaty of Bergerac, sent it onwards to the royal court.

He received a sarcastic reply from the royal secretary Brûlart who noted that this ligue was destined to fail, as it made no mention of the king among its grievances.

Their relationship would be fundamentally shifted by the death of the king's brother Alençon in mid 1584, and the resulting threat to Guise of a Protestant succession to the crown.

He met with Dinteville, who had entered the town via a different gate on the same day, to justify his actions, hoping to avoid a formal break with his provincial colleague.

[34] In a desperate hope to maintain some grip on the Seine, Dinteville inaugurated guards composed of 50-60 men apiece at Nogent, Méry and Montereau.

[40] Dinteville was dispatched by the king to liaise with the insurgents, in a vain attempt to convince them that Henri's intentions with the introduction of troops to the capital were honourable, and that there was no cause to take arms.

In February Dinteville and the council devised a plan to trick the bishop into leaving the city so they could lock him outside the walls, succeeding much to the man's consternation.

[52] On that same day, the council of Châlons wrote to Dinteville requesting he provide royal artillery that could be mounted on the walls of the city to defend them from any ligueur aggression.

Dinteville sent an agent from Châlons to sound out the mood of the city, the council reported to him that they were faithful subjects of Henri, as he had sworn to uphold the Edict of Union.

The royalists and undecided council members were horrified, fearful of how the ligueurs in the city would react to such a polarising presence, and wrote back to try and dissaude him.

Dinteville was proving his worth to Henri in Champagne, sending a militia force out from Châlons that reduced Épernay after a brief bombardment on 30 March.

[52] During July the council of Châlons became increasingly jumpy as word arrived that Mayenne had entered Reims, and they urgently requested Dinteville's presence.

Dinteville responded that he had been tasked by Henri with escorting some Swiss mercenaries, and that after rendezvousing with the king he would expend every effort to support Châlons.

On 4 August he issued a declaration in which he announced that he was a father to all his people, that he would protect the Catholic faith, and that he would receive instruction in its rites within six months.

[62] Châlons hastily wrote back that they would loyally serve the new king, even saying that they had reached this decision before receiving Henri's assurances to protect the Catholic religion.

[66] While Châlons' council was committed to the royalist cause, elements of the population desired to deliver the city to the ligue, among them Jacques de Berlize and Jehan Legros.

Keen to shore up their base, Guise travelled to Troyes in February and renewed the oath to the ligue, his brother Joinville symbolically burned a pile of correspondence sent to the city from royalist held Châlons.