Clouet_Jean_-_Portrait_de_Claude_d%27Urf%C3%A9

Claude d'Urfé (1501,

château de la Bastie d'Urfé The Château de la Bastie d'Urfé (also known as Bastie d'Urfé or Bâtie d’Urfé) is a French château in the town of Saint-Étienne-le-Molard, historically within the province of Forez. In the 16th century it was rebuilt in the Renaissance sty ...

-1558) was a French royal official of the 16th century. He acted as governor and bailiff of

Forez Forez is a former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire ''département'' and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme ''départements''. The final "z" in Forez () is not pronounced in the Loire ...

after that county became a royal domain. He was a friend and confidant of

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

and fought alongside him in the Wars of Italy as well as under his son Henry II. He was also governor of the dauphin (the future Francis II) and the king's other children (the future Charles IX, Henry III,

Francis, Duke of Anjou '' Monsieur'' Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alençon (french: Hercule François; 18 March 1555 – 10 June 1584) was the youngest son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. Early years He was scarred by smallpox at age eight, a ...

and

Margaret of Valois Margaret of Valois (french: Marguerite, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615), popularly known as La Reine Margot, was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became Queen of Navarre by marriage to Henry III of Navarre and then also Queen of France a ...

). He was also a major patron for building works in the Italian Renaissance style in Forez, such as his Italian-style extension to his château of Bastie d'Urfé. His grandson was the author

Honoré d'Urfé Honoré d'Urfé, marquis de Valromey, comte de Châteauneuf (11 February 15681 June 1625) was a French novelist and miscellaneous writer. Life He was born at Marseille, the grandson of Claude d'Urfé, and was educated at the Collège de T ...

Life

Early life

The heir to a lordly family from Saint-Étienne-le-Molard, Claude was the son of Pierre II d'Urfé and Antoinette de Beauvau. According to legend, his parents had had no child after five years of marriage and monks from the monastery Pierre had founded at

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 ...

had prayed that he might have a son, who arrived a few months later, leading to his nickname as "the miracle child". Orphaned at a young age (his father died when he was seven), he was raised at the French court and became a confidant of Francis I, with whom he went to war in Italy aged twenty. The king made him a squire in ordinary in 1522. In 1535 Francis made him governor general and bailiff of the county of Forez, which had been forfeited for treason by Charles III of Bourbon. He was given this title at Montbrison, its capital, in 1536 when Francis came to symbolically take possession of the county.

Royal posts

He first became France's ambassador to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

before in 1546 being sent as France's representative to the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

. He remained in post after Francis I's death in 1547 and Francis' successor Henry II made him ambassador to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. Claude intervened early in the

papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...

after

pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

's death in 1549 after

Reginald Pole Reginald Pole (12 March 1500 – 17 November 1558) was an English cardinal of the Catholic Church and the last Catholic archbishop of Canterbury, holding the office from 1556 to 1558, during the Counter-Reformation. Early life Pole was born a ...

came within two votes of election during the first vote. Claude rushed to the conclave door, demanding that it wait for the French cardinals, who he claimed were in

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, and threatening that the election of a pope in their absence would be likely to cause a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

. This helped push the conclave into a deadlock which lasted until February the following year. Claude was then recalled to France by the king to become governor to the dauphin and his other children, succeeding Jean d'Humières in this post in 1550; he shared the responsibility with the governess of the royal children,

Françoise d'Humières Françoise d'Humières, Dame de Contay, née ''de Contay'' (circa 1489-1557), was a French court official; she served as Governess of the Children of France from 1546 to 1557. Françoise d'Humières was the daughter of Charles de Contay, sénécha ...

, under the orders of

Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and prominent courtier. She wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position increased her wealth and famil ...

.Frieda, Leonie, "Catherine de Medici", Orion Books, London, 2005 As well as the king, he advised duke

Anne de Montmorency Anne, Duke of Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter (15 March 1493, Chantilly, Oise12 November 1567, Paris) was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France and served five kings. Early lif ...

, who was godfather to Claude's grandson Anne. In 1553 Claude joined the regency council of

Catherine de Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King H ...

after Henry II's death. By his death in 1558 he was also a

marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

Renaissance patron

Influenced by his friendship with Francis I (a major French Renaissance patron) and his time in Italy, Claude spread Renaissance art and design to Forez, most notably in his château and its chapel. His stepmother was a poet as well as a friend and confidant of Francis' sister

Marguerite de Navarre Marguerite de Navarre (french: Marguerite d'Angoulême, ''Marguerite d'Alençon''; 11 April 149221 December 1549), also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was a princess of France, Duchess of Alençon and Berry, and Queen ...

, herself a poet, writer and patron of French humanists. He also interacted with court poets of the

La Pléiade La Pléiade () was a group of 16th-century French Renaissance poets whose principal members were Pierre de Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay and Jean-Antoine de Baïf. The name was a reference to another literary group, the original Alexandrian Pleiad ...

group such as

Joachim du Bellay Joachim du Bellay (; – 1 January 1560) was a French poet, critic, and a founder of the Pléiade. He notably wrote the manifesto of the group: '' Défense et illustration de la langue française'', which aimed at promoting French as an a ...

, who was one of the tutors Claude engaged whilst governor of the royal children. He also collected a large library which had reached 200 manuscripts and 4400 other volumes by the time of his death.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090416230854/http://www.ladiana.com/monuments/La_Bastie/Pacour%20hist.htm *http://labastie.chez-alice.fr/claude.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20090916203303/http://hubert-houdoy.ifrance.com/hubert-houdoy/clauurfe.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:DUrfe People from Loire (department) Renaissance people 16th-century French people French military personnel 16th-century French military personnel Military leaders of the Italian Wars Ambassadors of France to the Holy See Marshals of France Ambassadors to the Holy Roman Empire 1501 births 1558 deaths French courtiers Forez Court of Francis I of France Court of Henry II of France