Charles Coffin (pron. sharl co-fenh; 4 October 1676 Buzancy, now in the department of Ardennes - 20 June 1749

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 teacher, writer and

Jansenist 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 th ...

who was Rector of 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 ...

. Among his writings are a number of hymns which have been translated into English.

Life

Charles Coffin was born 4 October 1676 at

Buzancy, Ardennes Buzancy () is a commune in the Ardennes department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardennes department The following is a list of the 449 communes of the Ardennes department of France. ...

in the Duchy of Rheim and educated at College du Plessis. In 1701, he was appointed chief assistant to

Charles Rollin Charles Rollin (January 30, 1661 in Paris - December 14, 1741 in Paris) was a French historian and educator, whose popularity in his time combined with becoming forgotten by later generations makes him an epithet, applied to historians such as J ...

, principal of the

Collège de Beauvais The College of Beauvais (also known the College of Dormans-Beauvais) was in Paris in what is now the Rue Jean de Beauvais. At the end of the 17th century and at the beginning of the 18th century, it was one of the leading schools of France, educ ...

. He succeeded Rollin as principal in 1712. That same year he was entrusted with the funeral oration for

Louis, Duke of Burgundy Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Burgundy (16 August 1682 – 18 February 1712), was the eldest son of Louis, Grand Dauphin, and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria and grandson of the reigning French king, Louis XIV. He was known as the "Petit D ...

, the father of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

. In 1718. he became rector of the

, a post which he held until his death.

Hymns

Coffin published in 1727 some of his Latin poems, for which he was already noted, and in 1736 the bulk of his hymns appeared in the Paris Breviary of that year, an edition of which was published in 1838 at Oxford by

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

. 1736 also saw the publication of Coffin's ''Hymni Sacri Auctore Carolo Coffin'', and in 1755 a complete edition of his Works was issued in 2 vols.Julian, John. ''Dictionary of Hymnology'' (1907)
/ref> The ''Hymni Sacri'' included a poem adapted from the original chant, ''Jordanis oras prævia'', which Rev. John Chandler later translated to the hymn ''On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry'' set to the tune ''Winchester New'' for use at Matins during Advent. Chandler also translated Coffin's ''The Advent of Our King''. Among his other works is an ode in praise of the wines of Champagne. This work is a version of a similar poem in which Bénigne Grenan, professor at Harcourt College, praised the pre-eminence of Burgundy wine, and that one of Charles Coffin's Jansenist friends, Marc-Antoine Hersan, had had fun reciting one evening at a dinner.

Jansenism

While the papal bull ''

Unigenitus ''Unigenitus'' (named for its Latin opening words ''Unigenitus dei filius'', or "Only-begotten son of God") is an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713. It opened the final phase of the Jansenis ...

'' condemned Jansenism, many in France interpreted it as an attack on the prerogatives of the French church. The University of Paris and the provincial ''

Parlement A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern Fre ...

s'' were hotbeds of opposition. The University was known to harbor Jansenist sympathizers; the ''Parlement'' of Paris went so far as to threatened to confiscate the

temporalities Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a ''Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...

of the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

. As rector of the University and clerk to the ''Parlement'' of Paris, even Coffin's hymns were viewed by some with suspicion.

Death

Coffin died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

20 June 1749. Due to his persistence in appealing against the apostolic constitution ''Unigenitus'', under instructions from the Archbishop, who wished to make an example, the parish rector of

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is a church in Paris, France, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the 5th arrondissement, near the Panthéon. It contains the shrine of St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. The church also contains the tombs of Bl ...

, refused to administer last rites to him, or give him a Christian burial Robert Darnton observed that, "To deny the final absolution of sins to Christians on their deathbed was, in the eyes of many, to send them straight to Purgatory, an unforgivable abuse of royal and ecclesiastical authority.” Four thousand Parisians joined the funeral procession. Because the crown had supported the suppression of the Jansenists, Danton notes that the religious rite took on political overtones. The ''Parlement'' of Paris subsequently issued an official and strong “remonstrance” to the king. Richard J. Janet sees the resulting popular demonstrations as contributing to the growing disenchantment with the monarchy that would later play into the coming

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

. Coffin left a legacy to the college of Beauvais, and founded awards at the University of Paris.

Postscript

In December 1750 Coffin's nephew, became seriously ill, and he asked for the last sacraments from the parish priest, but he too, was refused. However, on this occasion ''Parlement'' had more time to intervene. The Parliament summoned the parish priest and ordered him to exercise his ministry, but the latter invoked the instructions of the archbishop. His insolence is such that the Attorney General incarcerates him two days at the Conciergerie and sentenced him to three pounds of alms for the bread of the prisoners. ''Parlement'' negotiated directly with the Archbishop of Paris. A compromise was found, "worthy of such a great friend of the Jesuits." Another pastor was sent to the patient to take his confession, but without asking him anything about the "present disputes" and, in view of his confession, the parish priest of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont administered the last rites. Coffin's nephew died 10 January.

Hymns

* "On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry" (Latin: ''Jordanis oras praevia'')

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coffin, Charles French poets 1676 births Jansenists 1749 deaths French male poets Deaths from pneumonia in France