Jacques-Auguste de Thou

Life

Born with Paris, wire of Christophe de Thou (1508 - 1582), first president of the Parliament of Paris, nephew of Nicolas de Thou, bishop of Chartres of 1573 with 1598, it made his studies of right in several French universities, mainly with Valence.

Its weak constitution and its position of junior indicate it for an ecclesiastical career: it becomes Chanoine Cloître Notre-Dame in 1573, then to advise clerk at the Parliament in 1578.

At the time of its voyage in Italy (1572 -76), where it accompanied the ambassador Paul de Foix, then when it settled in Guyenne, it was always to meet the most eminent spirits of its time, such as Marc-Antoine Muret, Paul Manuce or Montaigne. It is also in Guyenne that it met Henri de Navarre, the future Henri IV.

In 1584, at the request of its family, it gives up the ecclesiastical career to become Maître of the requests at the Parliament of Paris in 1585 and to advise State in 1588, it was opposed to the Ligue.

Faithful to Henri III, it follows it to Chartres after the day of the barricades in 1588, then share on mission in the provinces to announce the meeting of the General states.

After the assassination of the Duke of Own way, it worked with the reconcilation of Henri III and Henri de Navarre in April 1589, and went in Germany with Gaspard de Schomberg to seek the support of the Protestant princes against the League.

To died of Henri III, it entered to the service of Henri de Navarre, with whom it lived five years in shift. In 1593, Henri IV appoints it large Master of the Bookstore of the King. He took a big part with the conferences of Suresnes, which prepared the entry of Henri IV in Paris the May 22nd 1594, like to the drafting of the Édit of Nantes (1598). President with mortar in 1595, it makes record the edict of Nantes in 1598.

After the death of Henri IV, the load of first president, who had been promised to him, is offered to another magistrate. De Thou, very depity, must be satisfied with a place to the Council of Finances (which replaced the load of Surintendant of finances of 1611 to 1614).

During the regency of Marie de Médicis, it took Holy-Menehould share with the negotiations of the treaty of (1614) and of Loudun (1616) between the Court and Condé. It made use of its influence in the royal councils to support the Gallicanisme, and it succeeds in avoiding the application of the treaties tridentins in France what attracts to him the hostility of the Papauté.

eminent Latinist, it published several works of Latin poems, but its celebrity comes to him from her Historiae sui temporis , history of her bearing time over the years 1543 to 1607, which will be translated from Latin into French in 1734. In this considerable work, whose first volume appears in 1604, the magistrate is in favor of the religious Tolérance, tackles excesses of the catholic Clergé and observes with respect to the Protestant an understanding attitude, which makes put its work at the index in 1609. They were published:

in 1604, for the first part covering the years 1546 -60,
in 1606, for the second part covering the years 1560 -72,
in 1607, for the third part covering the years 1572 -74,
in 1608, for the fourth part covering the years 1574 -84.

He desired to conclude it until the reign of Henri IV (1610), but he died without to have exceeded the year 1607. The last unfinished part was published in 1620 by his/her friends Pierre Dupuy and Nicolas Rigault.

The influence of the Cardinal Arnaud of OS and Cardinal Of the Perron made condemn its work to Rome, and the Parliament of Paris retorted by condemning the book of the Cardinal Robert Bellarmin on the capacity of the Pape. Finally, this setting with the index was raised in 1609.

De Thou made errors of facts and appreciation. Thus, in its description of Marie Stuart, it was in particular influenced by Buchanan, enemy determined of the queen. That did not prevent its work from having a great radiation: Bossuet referred many in its to him Histoire of the variations and spoke about him by saying that it was a “ great author, a historian worthy of faith ”.

In 1620, its Mémoires was published in Latin. They cover the period 1553 - 1601 and are an important source for the religious and literary history of the period. Some claimed that his/her friend Nicolas Rigault was the author.

The oldest son of Jacques-Auguste de Thou, François-Auguste de Thou (1607 -42), was decapitated by Richelieu to have maintained the secrecy in the conspiracy of Five-March with the Spaniards. Widower of Marie Barbançon in 1601, it had remarié l" following year with Gasparde of Chastre.

Library

Heir to the famous collection of his father, " it was shown with its height under the report/ratio bibliophilic and enriches its collection d" a great number of curious and rare books ". The library piled up by Jacques-Auguste was famous, and was opened to the students and the abroads. It remained in the family until in 1680, year when it was almost entirely repurchased by the President de Ménars. It passed to the family of Rohan-Soubise. She contained 12.729 volumes. It had piled up a Bibliothèque erudite and encyclopedic, remained without rival with Paris until the middle of the XVIIe century, where thousand printed manuscripts and eight thousand volumes were. Its library was sold in block by his/her son to the marquis de Ménars. She was definitively dispersed in 1789 in the sale of prince de Rohan-Soubise. It had the fields of Angervilliers and Villebon-sur-Yvette, close to Paris.

Publications

Hieracosophiou, sive Of Re Accipitraria Libri Very . Paris, Mamert Squash melon, 1584. This poem on the art To drive out with the Faucon writes in Hexamètre S Latin S.A. composed at the time of the year 1581 - 1582 (when the author was 29 years old) while travelling with his/her friend Pierre Pithou through Languedoc and Provence where without any doubt at this period the Fauconnerie was practiced commonly.
Historiae sui temporis. Ab anno Domini 1543 usque AD annum 1607. Geneva, apud Jacobum Choret, 1630. Principal work of the historian Jacques Auguste de Thou. Written in Latin for a public well-read man, his history is that one period of great tearing and was started in 1593. Henri IV expressed the displeasure that this volume caused him and stated to have of it order “ to stop the selling rate ”. Work was put at the Index the November 14th 1609. The last 12 books were written between 1612 and 1614. Its historia sui temporis is a vast panorama of the European history of 1543 with 1607. De Thou speaks there with a severe freedom about the clergy and shows there with regard to the Protestants an indulgence which made put the book at the index as of 1609. After the death of Henri IV, he lives himself to refuse by Marie de Médicis the place of first President who had been promised to him. Its history was translated into French in 1734. He moreover had written the memories of his life of 1553 with 1601, translated dice 1711.
universal History from 1543 in 1607. Translated Latin edition of London. In London 1734. The most complete edition and also most beautiful. The scholarship of Thou is immense; it read about all the historians French and Italian and it collected many first hand information. It however sometimes happens to him to make errors in fact. Its impartiality is famous. One can even say that by want to hold the balance equalizes between the two parties, sometimes of Thou made it lean in favor of the Huguenots or at least of the political . It expresses the ideas of the parliamentary royalists. This is why its history, in 1609, was put at the Index.

Internal bonds

Dominique Baudius

External bonds

Jacques-Auguste de Thou is represented in sculpture on the frontage of the Town hall of Paris

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