The Arnauld or Arnaud family Lord de la Mothe, de Bessac, de la Besse, de Villeneuve, de Ronzière et d'Artonne, then d'Andilly, de Corbeville and Marquess de Pomponne is a noble French family prominent in the 17th century, and closely associated with

Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by t ...

, associating frequently with the Jansenist religious communities in Port-Royal de Paris and

Port-Royal des Champs Port-Royal-des-Champs was an abbey of Cistercian nuns in Magny-les-Hameaux, in the Vallée de Chevreuse southwest of Paris that launched a number of culturally important institutions. History The abbey was established in 1204, but became fam ...

. While their base of operations was in Paris, the family's roots is in 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 ...

region of France.

History

Ennobled in 1464, the Arnauld family held many prestigious functions: Isaac Arnauld (-1561) was general of the Carabineers in the Royal Army, Simon Arnauld de Pomponne (1618–1699) was a royal ambassador and Antoine Arnauld was the royal State Counselor to King Henry IV and General Prosecutor for Queen Catherine of Medicis in 1582 The family is divided into several branches. The oldest, Arnauld de Pomponne and Arnauld d'Andilly are now extinct. Another branch of the family, divided into two sub-branches; the Arnauld de la Ronzière and Arnauld d'Artonne are still represented today. One of the most memorable figure is

Antoine Arnauld Antoine Arnauld (6 February 16128 August 1694) was a French Catholic theologian, philosopher and mathematician. He was one of the leading intellectuals of the Jansenist group of Port-Royal and had a very thorough knowledge of patristics. Contem ...

(b. 1560, d. 1619 CE). Legendarily, the "original sin" that led to the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

(among others) becoming bitter foes to the Arnaulds was a speech given in 1594 by Antoine (an eloquent lawyer)

apologizing An apology is an expression of regret or remorse for actions, while apologizing is the act of expressing regret or remorse. In informal situations, it may be called saying sorry. The goal of apologizing is generally forgiveness, reconciliation an ...

for the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

against the Jesuits. Of Antoine's and

Catherine Marion de Druy Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Chris ...

's 20 children, only ten would survive childhood- but 9 of them would become involved in the Port-Royal projects, going on variously to become poets, authors, translators, monks etc. Indeed, Marie Angélique de Sainte Madeleine, (b. 1591, d. 1661) would become an abbess of the Port-Royal

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

house, where she is remembered for her reforms (prompted by

St. Francis de Sales Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...

). One of the aforementioned authors was

(b. 1612, d. 1694), who spent his efforts on attacking the Jesuits from his position in 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, ...

, while his elder brother (and sister of Madeleine) Robert Arnauld d'Andilly, (b. 1588, d. 1674) spent his life at the Port-Royal translating texts and writing noted religious poetry.

Family tree

Heraldry

References

External links

Article
at

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

*
Article
at the

Columbia Encyclopedia The ''Columbia Encyclopedia'' is a one-volume encyclopedia produced by Columbia University Press and, in the last edition, sold by the Gale Group. First published in 1935, and continuing its relationship with Columbia University, the encyclopedi ...

* Political families of France Jansenists 17th-century French people {{France-noble-stub