the East negotiated a treaty between the sultan of Egypt and the knights of Rhodes; and in 1447, at his instance, Jean de Village, his nephew by marriage, was charged with a mission to Egypt. The results were most important; concessions were obtained which greatly improved the position of the French consuls in the Levant, and that influence in the East was thereby founded which, though often interrupted, was for several centuries a chief commercial glory for France. In the same year, Cœur assisted in an embassy to Amadeus VIII, former Duke of Savoy, who had been chosen Pope as Felix V by the council of Basel and in 1448 he represented the French king at the court of Pope Nicholas V where he was able to arrange an agreement between Nicholas and Amadeus, and so end the papal schism. Nicholas treated him with the utmost distinction, lodged him in the papal palace, and gave him special licence to traffic with the infidels. From about this time he made advances to Charles to carry on his wars and in 1449, after fighting at the King's side throughout the campaign, he entered Rouen in Charles' triumphal procession. At this point, Cœur's glory was at its height. He had represented France in three embassies, and had supplied funding for the king's successful reconquest of Normandy. He was invested with various offices of state, and possessed a fortune that was viewed as colossal and unprecedented by his contemporaries. He had 300 managers in his employ, and business houses in many of the chief cities of France. He had built houses and chapels, and had founded colleges in Paris, at Montpellier and at Bourges. The Palais Jacques-Cœur in Bourges was exceptionally magnificent and remains today one of the finest monuments of the Middle Ages in France. He also built a sacristy and a family burial chapel in the Bourges Cathedral. His brother Nicolas Cœur was made Bishop of Luçon, his sister married Jean Bochetel, the King's secretary, his daughter married the son of the Viscount of Bourges, and his son Jean Cœur became Archbishop of Bourges. Cœur also actively acquired titles and properties during his heyday: e.g. the lordship of Ainay-le-Vieil in 1435, the Château de Boisy by Pouilly-les-Nonains in 1447, the Château de Menetou-Salon and the lordship of Barlieu in 1448, the lordship of Puisaye in 1450, the in 1451. Downfall Cœur's huge