André Duchesne (; sometimes spelled ''Du Chesne'',

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ized ''Andreas Chesneus'', ''Andreas Quercetanus'', or ''Andreas Querneus''; May 158430 May 1640) was a French geographer and historian, generally styled the father of French history. Duchesne was born in

L'Île-Bouchard L'Île-Bouchard () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. From 8 to 14 December 1947, L'Île-Bouchard was the site of Marian apparitions. Four girls aged 7 to 12 reported having seen the Virgin Mary and the archangel G ...

. He was educated at

Loudun Loudun (; ; Poitevin: ''Loudin'') is a commune in the Vienne department and the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, western France. It is located south of the town of Chinon and 25 km to the east of the town Thouars. The area south of Loudun ...

and afterwards at Paris. From his earliest years he devoted himself to historical and geographical research, and his first work, ''Egregiarum seu selectarum lectionum et antiquitatum liber'', published in his eighteenth year, displayed great erudition. He enjoyed the patronage of

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

, a native of the same district with himself, through whose influence he was appointed historiographer and geographer to the king. He died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1640, in consequence of having been run over by a carriage when on his way from the city to his country house at Verrières.

Works

Histoire généalogique de la maison de Montmorency et de Laval par André Du Chesne

Duchesne's works were very numerous and varied, and in addition to what he published, he left behind him more than 100 folio volumes of manuscript extracts now preserved in the

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

( L. Delisle, ''Le Cabinet des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque impériale'', t. L, 333–334). Several of his larger works were continued by his only son François Duchesne (1616–1693), who succeeded him in the office of historiographer to the king. The principal works of André Duchesne are ''Les Antiquités et recherches de la grandeur et majesté des rois de France'' (Paris, 1609), ''Les Antiquités et recherches des villes, châteaux, &c., de toute la France'' (Paris, 1609), ''Histoire d'Angleterre, d'Ecosse, et d'Irelande'' (Paris, 1614), ''Histoire des Papes jusqu'à Paul V'' (Paris, 1619), ''Histoire des rois, ducs, et comtes de Bourgogne'' (1619–1628, 2 vols. fol.), ''Historiae Normanorum scriptores antiqui'' (1619, fol., now the only source for some of the texts), and his ''Historiae Francorum scriptores'' (5 vols. fol., 1636–1649). This last was intended to comprise 24 volumes, and to contain the narrative sources for French history in the Middle Ages; only two volumes were published by the author, his son François published three more, and the work remained unfinished. Besides these Duchesne published a great number of genealogical histories of illustrious families, of which the best is that of the house of Montmorency. His ''Histoire des cardinaux francais'' (2 vols. 101. 1660–1666) and ''Histoire des chanceliers et gardes des sceaux de France'' (1630) were published by his son François. André also published a translation of the

Satires of Juvenal The ''Satires'' () are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of th ...

, and editions of the works of

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...

Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...

, Alain Chartier and

Étienne Pasquier Étienne Pasquier (7 June 15291 September 1615) was a French lawyer and man of letters. By his own account he was born in Paris on 7 June 1529, but according to others he was born in 1528. He was called to the Paris bar in 1549. In 1558 he bec ...

. * ''Les Antiquités et recherches de la grandeur et majesté des rois de France'' (Paris, 1609) * ''Les Antiquités et recherches des villes, châteaux, &c., de toute la France'' (Paris, 1609) * ''Histoire d'Angleterre, d'Écosse, et d'Irlande'' (Paris, 1614) * ''Bibliothèque des auteurs qui ont écrit l'histoire et la topographie de la France'', 1618 * ''Histoire des Papes jusqu'à Paul V'' (Paris, 1619) * ''Histoire des rois, ducs, et comtes de Bourgogne'' (1619–1628, 2 volumes fol.) * ''Grande Histoire de la Maison de Vergy'', (Paris, 1625) *''Annales Francorum Mettenses'' (Paris, 1626) also known as

Annals of Metz The ''Annals of Metz'' ( la, Annales Mettenses) are a set of Latin Carolingian annals covering the period of Frankish history from the victory of Pepin II in the Battle of Tertry (687) to the time of writing (c. 806). Although the annals do cover ...

. * ''Historiae Normanorum scriptores antiqui'' (1619) * ''Histoire de la Maison de Chastillon sur Marne'', Paris, 1621 * ''Historiae Francorum scriptores'' (5 volumes fol., 1636–1649)

References

External links

*''Historiae Normannorum scriptores antiqui'' at Google Book

*''Historiae Francorum scriptores...'' at Google Books
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Duchesne, Andre 1584 births 1640 deaths French male non-fiction writers 17th-century French historians 17th-century French male writers