Military instructions to Jean de la Foret by Chancelier Antoine Duprat copy 11 February 1535

Antoine Duprat (17 January 1463 – 1535) was a French Cardinal and politician, who was chancellor of France.

Life

Duprat was born in

Issoire Issoire (; Auvergnat: ''Issoire'', ''Ussoire'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Geography Issoire is located on the river Couze, near its confluence with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the ...

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

. Educated for the law, he won a high position in his profession and in 1507 became first president of the

Parlement 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 ...

(the highest court of France). In 1515

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

made him chancellor of France and prime minister. In 1517, after his wife's death, he took holy orders and gradually rose in the Catholic Church hierarchy: first as bishop of several dioceses held by him in plurality; then as Archbishop of Sens, 1525; cardinal, 1527, and ''

legate a latere 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

'', 1530. Duprat's influence extended much beyond the departments of justice and finance placed under his direct control. French historian Gabriel Hanotaux, in the introduction to his ''Recueil des instructions'', calls Duprat This influence was constantly exerted to strengthen royal absolute power; it was felt in the measures he took against the grands Seigneurs and in his elaborate fiscal system. Duprat left no writings, but took a leading part in the compilation of the "Coutumes d'Auvergne"; he also did much to encourage the renaissance of letters.

Churchman

Duprat's influence was also manifested, together with his orthodoxy, in those measures which affected the relations of France with the Church, namely, the signing of the

Concordat of Bologna The Concordat of Bologna (1516) was an agreement between King Francis I of France and Pope Leo X that Francis negotiated in the wake of his victory at Marignano in September 1515. The groundwork was laid in a series of personal meetings of king an ...

, and the checking of nascent

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. The Concordat, which Duprat himself negotiated with

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, did away with the principles of the "

Pragmatic Sanction A pragmatic sanction is a sovereign's solemn decree on a matter of primary importance and has the force of fundamental law. In the late history of the Holy Roman Empire, it referred more specifically to an edict issued by the Emperor. When used ...

"; on the other hand, by causing the appointment of the French hierarchy to rest on royal nomination instead of the old canonical elections, it vested in the civil power an authority over Church affairs. Duprat's uncompromising attitude towards Protestantism was dictated both by his political sense, as well as his Catholic orthodoxy. The Protestant sympathies of Marguerite d'Angouleme, the Duchesse d'Etampes, and the Minister du Bellay failed to move him. The

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and the Parlement were instructed to exclude the writings of the innovators; in 1534 the posting of subversive pamphlets at the door of the royal apartments cost the perpetrators their lives. Despite being archbishop of Sens for several years, the first time he entered the cathedral there was for his own funeral. This shows how he abstained from some of his responsibilities, thus leading us to acknowledge clerical ignorance and absenteeism of the time.

References

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duprat, Antoine 1463 births 1535 deaths People from Issoire 16th-century French cardinals Bishops of Albi Bishops of Meaux Archbishops of Sens Bishops of Valence