Jean Errard

Jean Errard (C. 1554 - 1610) was a Mathématicien and Lorraine military architect, who, converted with the Protestantisme, engaged with the service of the king de France Henri IV. Introducer in France of the Italian fortification, it is thus a precursor of Vauban.

Biography

Jean Errard was born with Bar-le-Duc towards 1554 in a family from notable. It is certain that it adhered to the Protestantisme at the latest in 1572, because he attends the reformed French Church of Heidelberg, (what did not prevent it from being used thereafter the catholic Charles III as Lorraine). He is registered at the University of the city in 1573. Undoubtedly it found refuge with the Palatinat for religious reasons, the Protestantisme being proscribed in the duchies of Bar and Lorraine.

After good studies of mathematics and geometry, it entered in 1580 to the service of Charles III of Lorraine. With the beginning of the year 1580, it lives in Lorraine and married Barbe of Rains (or Rheims), girl of an adviser to the room of the accounts of Barrois. It dedication its First book of the mathematical instruments (Nancy, 1584) to the duke of Lorraine Charles III which financed the publication of it. Thus the Prime Minister delivers mechanical mathematical instruments appears… Nevertheless, preferring to be faithful to its faith at the time of the wars of the League, it enters to the service of the princes of Sedan for which it defends the small fortified town of Jametz during a long seat (1588 - 1589). Besieged by the Lorraine troops of Charles III at the end of 1587, Sedanais, after a council of war to which the engineer assisted, sign the capitulation the July 24th 1589, and take refuge with Sedan where he is professor with the Académie of Sedan.

By its long defense of Jametz, the reputation of Errard arrived to Henri IV, lately crowned, which called it with its service. It serves then Henri IV, participant in various seats for this one (Amiens, 1597), drawing up the plans of fortifications in particular in Picardy. It then accompanies its sovereign in the various campaigns carried out to reconquer its kingdom, deals with the operations of seat, built bastions and builds new fortifications. It writes also several works presenting its geometrical reflections and applying the geometry to the fortifications. It was largely pressed on the Italian military engineers then very advances some on those of the other European countries. In 1599, Henri IV, to thank it, appoints it ordinary engineer of fortifications of the provinces of Picardy and Île-de-France, and thus, it continues its work with its death (19 or on July 20th, 1610) which follows little that of the king.

Theories of Poliorcétique

The art of the modern fortifications knew, after the work of Albert Dürer, of the eminent imitateurs like Battisto Della Valle, whose work had ten editions of 1524 with 1558, or Erard of Bar-le-Duc at the end of the century.

In 1594, Erard of Bar-le-Duc published the Fortification reduced in art and shown . It defines the means of the run in it, could use the characteristics of the ground, instituted tilted plans intended to avoid the surprise of the views from above and succeeds in masking the sides of the Bastion S with the enemy thanks to the provision of the curtains. He still invented the rider and standardized the thickness of the Rempart S

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