Anne du Bourg (1521,

Riom Riom (; Auvergnat ''Riam'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the se ...

– 23 December 1559,

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 ...

) was a French magistrate, nephew of the chancellor Antoine du Bourg, and a Protestant martyr.

Early life

Educated at the

university of Orléans The University of Orléans (french: Université d'Orléans) is a French university, in the Academy of Orléans and Tours. As of July 2015 it is a member of the regional university association Leonardo da Vinci consolidated University. History ...

, he became a professor and had

Étienne de la Boétie Étienne or Estienne de La Boétie (; oc, Esteve de La Boetiá; 1 November 1530 – 18 August 1563) was a French magistrate, classicist, writer, poet and political theorist, best remembered for his intense and intimate friendship with essayist ...

as a student. He became counsellor of the

Parliament of Paris The Parliament of Paris (french: Parlement de Paris) was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. It was fixed in Paris by Philip IV of France in 1302. The Parliament of Paris would hold sessions inside the ...

in 1557 by which time he had converted to Protestantism.

Trial and execution

In 1559, after receiving a tip off, King Henry II attended a session of Parlement, during which he interjected to express his dissatisfaction at the progress against heresy. One of those who rose to object was du Bourg, who obliquely critiqued Henri's infidelity in comparison to the purity of the Protestant community, arousing Henri's fury. Several days later a special commission was established to try Anne and 5 colleagues in the Parlement. The commission was keen to avoid executing their Parlement colleagues, but while the other accused Protestants were willing to recant and were let off with suspensions from Parlement, Anne refused to follow this route out. He maintained his Protestant conviction, refusing to affirm the

Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way. There are a number of Christian denomina ...

. Eventually on December 13 he signed an ambiguous confession of faith, avoiding execution, before renouncing it several days later, sealing his fate. He would be executed at the

Place de Greve Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Ofte ...

on December 23, by strangulation and then burning.

References

1521 births 1559 deaths People from Riom Huguenots 16th-century French lawyers French politicians People executed for heresy People executed by France by hanging Executed French people 16th-century executions by France 16th-century Protestant martyrs Executed people from Auvergne Prisoners of the Bastille {{Calvinism-stub