Christophe de Savigny

Christophe de Savigny is a humanistic scientist of the French Rebirth in XVIe century. Author of a work entitled accomplished Tables of all the liberal arts , it can be regarded as the first encyclopedist of French language, remote predecessor of the Diderot and D' Alembert.

The family of Savigny

Known as of the medium of XIIe century, the family of Savigny played a big role in Rethelois. Its members were lords of the village éponyme, title which they divided with the counts then dukes of Rethel. Unquestionable filiation is established starting from XVe century, with Gaucher Ier and his son Gaucher II, coiner of the count de Rethel in 1520.

Valentine, wire of the precedent, had been born about 1485. Superintendent of the Champagne garrisons in 1549, it was thanked the following year by the king for France Henri II for his action at the time of a campaign against the imperial troops of Charles Quint. Lord of Savigny and Primacy, it contributed for this reason to the rebuilding of the church of Savigny: its armorial bearings are represented on the central pillar of the Gothic gate blazing, and were also reproduced on a stained glass now disappeared. Valentine was married 4 times and had a many descent. Deceased in 1564, it is buried in the church of its village: a beautiful black marble tombstone points out it, with its armorial bearings and those of his 4 wives.

Life of Christophe de Savigny

Christophe was born about 1530/1535, probably with Savigny, wire of Valentine and of its 4th wife, Nicole de Vaux. The studies precisely are not known that it made. He will speak later about his “ tutors, very learned, very virtuous and very erudite characters ”. Let us recall that it is in 1548/1549 that the cardinal Charles of Lorraine, archbishop of Rheims, created a university in this city, in full golden age with the Rebirth and Humanism. In 1557, Christophe marries Marie d' Escannevelle, it also of a family of nobility rethéloise. He appears to have had several children, but its descent is not known precisely.

Like its aïeux, and in particular its Left-handed grandfather II, it occupies of the important loads at the court of Rethel. In 1584, it is mentioned as large-Master of the wardrobe of the duke: this load was always occupied by a trustworthy person and of high distinction, and row gave him among the first gentlemen of the court. Since 1581, the county of Rethel had been set up in duchy for the benefit of Louis de Gonzague (1539-1595), prince de Mantoue, who had married in 1565 Henriette de Clèves (1542-1601), duchess of Nevers and countess of Rethel. Christophe appears to have been a close friend of the duke of Rethel; in 1585, it accompanies it at the time of an Italian voyage in Mantoue.

Christophe was Protestant, unlike his Valentine father buried in the church of Savigny: in 1571 and 1583, one sees it taking part in the capacity as old at assemblies of the religion reformed for the churches of Vouziers and Falaise, hearths local of Protestantism. Its date of death is not known precisely. It is inevitably after 1585 and perhaps former to 1587 because the foreword of the printers of its work, by speaking “ about absence and defect of the author”, can by euphemism let accept its death on this date. Christophe would have been then approximately 50 years old.

Work of Christophe de Savigny

The claim to fame of Christophe de Savigny, unfortunately too ignored today, is the work written in 1584 and published in 1587: accomplished Tables . This masterly work is a kind of Encyclopédie before the hour, census methodical and ordered knowledge of the time: sciences, arts and letters. Each discipline has there its place, marked within a hierarchy from which nothing escapes. The various fields of knowledge are connected according to a logical order, of the general to the private individual. The circle of sciences (which the chart in oval of the boards illustrating points out the work) is in the beginning even name encyclopedia, formed of the 2 Greek words εγκύκλιος (enkuklios: cycle, circle) and παιδεία (paiedia: education).

If the work of Savigny were translated at the time only into Portuguese, it is on the other hand certain that it had an important influence on Francis Bacon (1561-1626). This English philosopher, who had remained in France at the court of Henri III, was large chancellor of England. He advancement took again the principle in an encyclopedic tree published in 1605 in his book One the off learning , that is to say 18 years after the publication of the accomplished Tableaux . Bacon usurped to some extent the glory which returned in Savigny!

This encyclopedic system continued to develop with XVIIe and XVIIIe centuries, with the philosophers of the Lights, and leads to the drafting of the Encyclopédie or reasoned Dictionary of sciences, arts and the trades , as from 1751, with Diderot and D' Alembert.

Christophe de Savigny also wrote another work, Onomasticon of the words and dictions of each one thing put by commonplaces , which was not published and was lost (onomasticon is a Greek word indicating a collection of common nouns or words).

Accomplished Tables

The complete title of the work is accomplished Tableaux of all the liberal arts, contenans briefly and clerement by singular method of doctrines, general and summary partition of the dicts arts, pile up and reduicts in order for the relief and profit of youth . There are two editions.

First is gone back to 1587 and is due to the brothers Jean and François de Gourmont living Paris, street Midsummer's Day of Lateran. Gourmont are of a family of Norman printers, but also wood engravers, in activity as of the whole beginning of the 16th century. The second edition is gone back to 1619 and is appeared at Jean Libert, also printer in Paris, even street. They are both rather similar and present only some alternatives which one will detail thereafter.

These two editions are very rare today… especially the first of which it seems to hardly exist more than one ten specimens, preserved either in some large libraries throughout the world (for example at the National library from France in Paris, in British Library in London, but also in the United States: Chicago, Washington and Harvard), are by some rich person collectors (a specimen sold at Drouot in 2004 was it with 27.000 €…).

The work opens on frontispiece giving its title and the name and quality of the author: Christofle de Savigny, lord of the known as place and of Precede in Retelois . Engraving on wood represents the escutcheon of the Gourmont brothers: of money to the sand crescent, with the chief of mouths charged with 3 gold pinks, and their currency: “ Tost or late, near or loing, has the fort of weak the besoing ”. A warning of the printers follows to the reader who - as mentioned above - leaves think that the author was deceased at the time of the publication of his work and who describes the role of council and support which played Mr. Bergeron, lawyer at the Parliament of Paris, “ good council and more familiar amy ” of Savigny which seems to have supervised the composition of the book, substitute in that his author “ the sior for Savigny, gentleman of great knowledge and virtue ”.

The following page is undoubtedly most famous and most remarkable: this engraving on wood, true chief of work of the French Xylography, reproduced in the majority of the works on the art of the book, represents the portraits of Christophe de Savigny and Louis de Gonzague, to which is dedicated the work. Within a framework in prospect which seems to be the cabinet of the prince, decorated by a tapestry with the weapons full with Gonzague, summoned Mount-Olympe and word FIDES, is represented the author, and is discovered, giving volume to the prince, sitting upright on a cushion in a square, and capped armchair. Behind Savigny, on an open door, its surmounted escutcheon of its currency is drawn: PIETATE AND SUFFICIENTIA (with piety and modesty). With the outside, a middle-class man or merchant, accoudé with his window, contemplates the scene which is framed arabesques and the rinceaux one symbolizing the fruits of arts and sciences.

Comes then the dedication from the author to “ very high, very powerful, very magnanime, and very famous prince monseigneur Ludovic de Gonzague, duke of Nivernois and Rethelois, prince de Mantoue, and par of France ”. It consists of a comment of the publication in itself and an argument on the need for its reading for the instruction of the gentlemen of the province. Savigny expresses there its admiration and its friendship for the duke, through a supported and sincere praise. Impregnated Rebirth, it quotes several old authors: the Latin poets Ovide, Terence, Virgile and Horace, the philosophers Latin Sénèque and Greek Aristote, and the Latin speaker Cicéron. It finishes by saying the humble, obeying, faithful vassal and servant of Louis de Gonzague: vassal because the modest lord of Savigny owed faith and homage to the powerful duke of Rethelois.

In the second edition, this dedication, thus besides that the warning of the printers to the reader, are replaced by another dedication of Jean Libert, new printer, with François de Gonzague, grandson of Louis, who is only 13 years old in this year 1619. François is the son of the duke of Rethel in title, Charles de Gonzague, the founder of Charleville in his principality of Arches (1607). The printer says that the book was so required in its first edition which it made extremely rare . It specifies that the work of reprinting was made difficult by the necessary restoration of the boards (and in particular of engravings) original.

Begin the encyclopedia then strictly speaking: an engraving presents the Encyclopédie or the continuation & connection of all arts & sciences and a text describes the general partition of all the liberal arts . Finally the 16 sections, each of 2 layers come, devoted to the liberal arts. For each one of it, a diagram represents the knowledge with their vast tree structure, with the manner of a family tree, inside a very decorated oval framework, and a text entitled “partitions of…” described with much precision divisions and subdivisions with the manner of Pierre of Ramée, humanistic philosopher French (1515-1572) contemporary of Savigny. Here the list of these 16 arts or sciences:

Dialectical Grammar
Rhetoric
Arithmetic
Optical Geometry
Music
Cosmography
Physical Astrology
Geography
Ethical Medicine
Jurisprudence
theological History
Table

The diagram of the geography represents in particular a planisphere in oval projection, according to that of Italian Bordone of 1528. The theological table was written by the Bergeron lawyer, who signs it.

The second edition brings 2 additional liberal arts, undoubtedly presented according to notes left by Savigny:

Poetry
Chronology

The work ends in a postface, with some Latin worms addressed either to the duke of Rethel, or with the author to congratulate it on the publication of its book. Lastly, the text of the imprimatur is retranscribed, giving the royal privilege on the work to the first printers, the Gourmont brothers (this privilege is gone back to 1584, whereas the impression undoubtedly does not intervene that in 1587… is 3 years, necessary for the engraving of the many tables?).

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