Guillaume Desautels (1529-1599) was a French poet of the sixteenth century associated with
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 ...
.
He was born in 1529 in
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
. The exact place of birth is not formally known. Some sources gives
Montcenis
Montcenis () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
Geography
The Bourbince river has its source in the commune.
See also
*Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department
The ...
,
[Des_Autels]
on www.larousse.fr read the 31 december 2012. Charolles
Charolles (; Burgundian: ''Tsarolles'') is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Charolles part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country.
Geography
Charolles is located ...
, Vernoble in a
château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowaday ...
(now disappeared) of his father near
Genouilly[ and Le Puley in "Les Hôtels" House, the second château of his family.][JSL Montceau-les-mines 29/11/2011]
sur www.lejsl.com read the 31/12/2012.[ Margaret L. M.Young, ''Guillaume Des Autelz: a study of his life and works'', Genève, E. Droz, 1961.][ Ma Bibliothèque poétique, Jean Paul Barbier, Librairie Droz, 1973.] He was the son of Syacre Desautels and Anne de la Vesure (de la Visine). He died about 1599 in Lyon. Various sources give the years 1570, 1576, 1579 and 1581 as well as "after 1584". One source says he lived to be 70 years of age; his last published work was in 1597.
Family
He was married in 1548 to Jeanne de Bruyere. Other researchers give the name of Jane de Salle. It is not known if there were any children from this marriage or if, in fact, there were two distinct marriages.
His maternal grandmother, also named Anne, was the sister of Etienne de Tyard, father of Pontus de Tyard
Pontus de Tyard (also Thyard, Thiard) (c. 1521 – 23 September 1605) was a French poet and priest, a member of " La Pléiade".
Life
He was born at Bissy-sur-Fley in Burgundy, of which he was ''seigneur'', but the exact year of his birth is ...
, one of the seven members of the group of French poets called the Pléiade. Guillaume's mother, Anne de la Vesure would thus have been the first cousin of Etienne.
The family was apparently prominent in Burgundy; they married into the Tyard family, who were not commoners. Also, another Anne de la Vesure (about three generations later) is recorded as the Abbess (Mother Superior) of an Ursuline convent in the then capital city of Burgundy, Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
.
Pontus (1521–1605) Seigneur de Bissy (Biffy) became the Bishop of Chalon-sur-Saone in 1578 from where he was driven in 1590 and his chateau there plundered as a result of his support for Henry III of France
Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of ...
against the Guise brothers who headed the Catholic League.
Early years
As a youth, Guillaume studied under his governor, Jean Tullerius and at the college of Burgundy where he studied the humanities and philosophy until 1542. At the age of 15 he went to Lyon from 1544 to 1546 where he studied with Fontaine and Ancais at the school of Marat. He studied law at the university of Valence
The University of Valence was founded 26 July 1452, by letters patent from the Dauphin Louis, afterwards Louis XI of France, in a move to develop the city of Valence, then part of his domain of Dauphiné. It existed until the French Revolution.
...
in Dauphiné
The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.
In the 12th centu ...
from 1546 until 1549 under Coras. He never practiced the legal profession although he would have had need for it as Judge Magistrate at Cluny
Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon.
The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 9 ...
in later years. While in Valence he made the acquaintance of Cardinal Berthelemy Des Places, Melin de St. Gelais and his own cousin, the aforementioned Pontus de Tyard (although he probably already had met him in Burgundy) among others. It was during this period he was married to Jeanne de Bruyere whom he left at Montcenis
Montcenis () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
Geography
The Bourbince river has its source in the commune.
See also
*Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department
The ...
to stay with his father. Guillaume did not leave her as it would seem a new bride in a strange house. The town of Bruyere is about 5 miles west of Vichy
Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais.
It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...
and only about 50 miles from Montcenis. It is more than likely that she had many friends and family in the area while Guillaume was away studying.
Apparently lonely in Valence and only 20 years of age, he met a woman named Denise L'hoste and her husband Jean Chabert of the nearby town of Romans, also in Dauphine. He took up residence with them in October 1549 and lived there for seven months during which time he and Denise developed a platonic love affair. She referred to him as "Sainte". It would have been during this period that he probably met Michel de Nostredame
Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection o ...
, forever known to the world as Nostradamus. In 1547 Nostradamus lived at Salon-de-Provence
Salon-de-Provence (, ; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, Selon de Provença/Seloun de Provènço, ), commonly known as Salon, is a commune located about northwest of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d' ...
which is less than a hundred miles from Guillaumes' school at Valence. Nostradamus was quite familiar with Guillaumes' friend and fellow poet, Ronsard and was extremely well known and celebrated in Lyon for his successful efforts to combat the plague in that same year.
Guillaume then returned to Montcenis (which he referred to sarcastically as an "arid desert") in 1550 where he joined his wife and stayed until 1553. It was during this time that his father died and apparently left him little but his good name. The chateau and lands he inherited at Montcenis were "rather noble than rich". It cannot be left unsaid that it was surely in fief to the Barony of Montcenis since, in 1510 a man named Loys d'Orleans (whose titles included Prince, Viscount, Marquis and Baron) also carried the title of "Seigneur de la Baronnaie de Montcenis". The poverty of the estate was probably due to the loss of these lands by the now defunct Dukedom of Burgundy to the King of France
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...
in 1477, only about 75 years before Syacre's death. While maintaining the name now considered a family name of DesAutels it would seem that the loss of political and military value and connection to Burgundian Charolles and Montcenis had deprived the estate of its source of wealth and prestige.
He moved to 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 ...
in 1553 hoping to secure an appointment with the King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
. While there he befriended Cardinal de Guise who was probably the source (directly or indirectly) of his well-being during these six years in Paris which he left in April, 1559. He went to Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
in the hope of gaining the favor of the Burgundian-Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
rulers there. For whatever reason he immediately sailed for Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
which was also ruled by the same Burgundian-Habsburg house.
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...
and ruler of much of Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
until his abdication in 1555 was the grandson of Mary of Burgundy
Mary (french: Marie; nl, Maria; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled a collection of states that included the duchies of Limburg, Brabant, Luxembourg, the counties of ...
who was sole heir to that house when her father was killed in battle in 1477 and France absorbed the province of Burgundy into the French realm. She married a Habsburg (probably to save her remaining power if not her life), thus uniting forever the houses of Burgundy and Habsburg. When Charles V abdicated his son Philip II of Spain
Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
became King and it was to him at Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
that Guillaume set his gaze. He was there a mere two months when he left Brussels for Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, (Anvers, fr.) but was there only a few weeks. He was named Cartographer
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
to the King for this short time and was probably so short a time because Philip II, unhappy at Brussels left permanently for residence in Spain. Guillaume was aided at Brussels by two "beau-freres" brothers-in-law named Diamantius. Since that is not his wife's maiden name, it would appear that he had siblings — at least sisters — unless these two men possibly were husbands to sisters of Guillaume's wife. It is most interesting to ponder why he would have these two close relatives in a locale more than two hundred miles from his native land in Charolles
Charolles (; Burgundian: ''Tsarolles'') is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Charolles part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country.
Geography
Charolles is located ...
.
Return to Paris
Guillaume returned to Paris shortly after July 1559 where he stayed until 1564. Sometime after that he was at Cluny Abbey
Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter.
The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...
where he was appointed Judge Magistrate and is credited with saving the city and the Abbey for the Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
when it was under siege by the Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
armies. Guillaume proposed that each side send out three knights to do battle. The Catholic knights won the field and thus saved Cluny, which had been (until St. Peter's in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
just recently built) the greatest church in Western Christendom
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic C ...
from the hands of the Protestants
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 ...
— only to be destroyed 200 years later by the republican mobs of the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
The appointment of Guillaume to his post at Cluny was undoubtedly with the backing of the Guise brothers to whom his cousin Pontus de Tyard also surely owed his appointment as bishop to Chalon-sur-Saône
Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the largest city in the department; h ...
. With Guillaume, the Catholic forces prevailed at Cluny. With Pontus at Chalon, not only did the Huguenot forces fail but he ended up losing his chateau and bishopric. For Guillaume, it did not hurt that the Desautels name was not unknown in the royal palace at Paris. A Pierre Desautels who had been a military commander in Burgundy had been made Valet de chambre
''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on t ...
(squire or gentlemans' gentleman) to King Francis I (ruled 1515–1547) in 1531. Francis' son Henry II (ruled 1547–1559) would have known him as well (Henry was born in 1519).
Writer
Guillaume wrote on occasion under the pseudonyms of Glaumalis du Vezelet, G. Tesbault and Terhault. He also used a Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
form of his name ("Altario") and a geographical form: "Terhault" translates to "high ground" or perhaps even tableland. He published works mostly in Lyon but also in Paris, Antwerp and Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
.
While not a member of the Pléiade, he was known as a major influence on the literary life of his time, if not as a major poet. Guillaume would have known most if not all of those poets, and supported for them in their use of the French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
in their poetry. While he too wrote in vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
French (rather than Latin), he is known for championing the use of Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
in prose and poetry and was against replacing it with a more "manufactured" orthography. He was renowned for his mastery of Latin and Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
. He wrote in the manner of François Rabelais
François Rabelais ( , , ; born between 1483 and 1494; died 1553) was a French Renaissance writer, physician, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He is primarily known as a writer of satire, of the grotesque, and of bawdy jokes and ...
and Pierre de Ronsard
Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a "prince of poets".
Early life
Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of C ...
— other members of what we call today "La Pléiade". Ronsard (as well as another poet, Charles Fontaine), was undoubtedly his friend and wrote fondly of Guillaume. It is from his work that a reference to Guillaume says that he is "from Vernoble" a reference since confirmed.
Works
The following list contains works not published by him, and/or not containing only his works.
* ''Traite Touchant L'Ancienne Ecriture de la Langue Francaise et de la Poesie, Contre L'Ortographie des Meygretistes''. Lyon, 1548, 1550 Glaumalis de Vezelet
* ''Le Mois de Mai, par Guillaume Des Autels, Charrolais''. Lyon, 1550
* ''Repos de Grand Travail''. Lyon, 1550
* ''Replique de Guillaume Des Autelz, aux Furieuses Defenses de Louis Meigret. Avec le Suite de Repos''. Lyon, 1551
* ''Amoureux Repos de Guillaume des Autelz, Gentilhomme Charrolais''. Lyon, 1553 (contains some poetry under the penname G. Tesbault)
* ''Recreation des Tristes''. Lyon
* ''Histoire D'Herodiade''. 1554
* ''La Paix Venue du Ciel'' (dedicated to the Bishop of Arras
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras (–Boulogne–Saint-Omer) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Atrebatensis (–Bononiena–Audomarensis)''; French: ''Diocèse d'Arras (–Boulogne–Saint-Omer)'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church ...
) with le Tombeau de L'Empereur Charles V Cesar, etc. Antwerp, 1559
* ''Encomium Galliae Belgicae''. Guillaume Altario Carolate Antwerp, 1559
* ''Remonstrance au People Francoys' - etc. Paris, 1559
* ''Repos de Plus Grand Travail'' of 1550 was reprinted in 1560 at Lyon
* ''Deliciae Poetarum Gallorum Hujus Superiorieque Avi Illustrum'', 1560 (not entirely his works)
* Harengue au Peuple Francois - etc. Paris, 1560
* ''Le Premiere Livre de Vers de Marc-Claude de Busset''. 1561
* ''Mitistoire Barragouyne de Fanfreluche et Gaudichon'' - etc. Lyon, 1574 (or 1576) (reputed to have been written while Guillaume was at Valence)
* ''Gelodacyre Amoureuse, Contenant Plusiers Aubades, Chansons Gaillardes, Pavanes''. 1576
* ''La Recreation et Passetemps des Tristes'' - etc. Rouen, (1595 (and 1597)
Bibliography
* Becq de Fouquières, Louis (1879). ''Œuvres choisies des poètes français du XVIe siècle, contemporains de Ronsard''. Paris, G. Charpentier. p. 38. (in French)
* Brooks, Richard A. (1947). ''A Critical Bibliography of French Literature: The Seventeenth Century Revised''. Syracuse University Press.
* Chalmers, Alexander
Alexander Chalmers (29 March 1759 – 29 December 1834) was a Scottish writer.
He was born in Aberdeen.
Trained as a doctor, he gave up medicine for journalism, and was for some time editor of the ''Morning Herald''. Besides editions of the wo ...
(Revised by) (1812). ''The General Biographical Dictionary''. Vol. III, pp. 197–198.
* Grimal, Pierre (1958). ''Dictionnaire des Biographies''. Paris, Presses Universitaire de France. p. 427.
* Hartmann, Hans. (1907) ''Guillaume des Autels (1529-1581?): Ein französischer Dichter und Humanist''. Buchdruckerei Gebr. Leemann & Co., Verlag der "Academia". (in German).
* Koerner, Valentini (1996). ''Index Aureliensis: catalogus librorum sedecimo saeculo impressorum. Cu-Des''. Volume XI. Baden-Baden. pp. 459–461.
* La Croix du Maine; Antoine du Verdier (1773). ''Les bibliotheques françoises''. Paris, Saillant & Nyon.
* Niceron, Jean-Pierre (1734). ''Memoir pour servir a l'histoire des hommes illustre dans la Republique des lettres''. Vol. V, pp. 14–21. (in French).
* Prévost, Michel; Roman d'Amat, J. Balteau (1939) ''Dictionnaire de biographie française'', Vol. V, pp. 1194–1196 and Vol. X. Paris, Letouzey et Ané. (in French).
* Michaud, Joseph François; Louis Gabriel Michaud (1811). ''Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne''. Paris, Michaud frères. Vol. III, pp. 92–93. (in French).
* Payen, Jean-François (1853)
"Autelz (Guillaume des)"
in '' Nouvelle biographie universelle'', edited by Ferdinand Hoefer
Jean Chrétien Ferdinand Hoefer (German: ''Ferdinand Höfer'', 21 April 1811, Döschnitz – 4 May 1878) was a German-French physician and lexicographer. He is now known for his many works on the history of science.
Selected works
*''Élément ...
, Didot frères. Paris, Didot frères. Vol. 3, column 785.
* Young, Margaret L. M. (1961). ''Guillaume Des Autelz: A Study of His Life and Works''. Geneva: E. Droz.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desautels, Guillaume
1529 births
1580s deaths
16th-century French writers
16th-century male writers
French poets
People from Saône-et-Loire
French male poets