Embrun Cathedral Honoré du Laurens (7 March 1554 – 24 January 1612) was

archbishop of Embrun The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Embrun was located in southeastern France, in the mountains of the Maritime Alps, on a route that led from Gap by way of Briançon to Turin. It had as suffragans the Diocese of Digne, Diocese of Antibes and Gra ...

in south-eastern France.

Biography

Honoré du Laurens was born in

Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Taras ...

, the eldest of the eleven children (ten of whom reached adulthood) of Louis du Laurens (born in Puget near

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chamb ...

), and his wife Louise de Castellan (born in

Riez Riez (; Provençal: ''Riés'') is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Geography The densely built village sits where two small rivers join—the Auvestre and the Colostre—in a glacially wid ...

). His father was a

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

, first in

and then in

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, who was greatly devoted to the education of his children. One of Honoré's brothers,

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

, was physician to

King Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

. Another of his brothers, , was

Archbishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from t ...

. Honoré's uncle and godfather, Honoré de Castellan, who was doctor to Charles IX, paid for his nephew's education and left him money in his will. He studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

, according to family tradition, but reluctantly. Eventually he became a student of law, at which he excelled. Honoré married in

Aix Aix or AIX may refer to: Computing * AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems *An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set * Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point Places Belgi ...

. His wife, née d'Ulme, gave him a daughter but died in 1600. He was

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

to the parliament of Provence, where he succeeded his father-in-law, M. d'Ulme. He joined the Catholic League. His brother André, thanks to his high standing at court, was able to obtain for him the appointment to the Archbishopric of Embrun,Nicolas Joseph François Éloy, « Du Laurens (André) », dans Dictionnaire historique de la médecine ancienne et moderne, vol. 2, Mons, Hoyois, 1778, p. 107 which had fallen vacant on the death of Guillaume d'Avançon. Honoré refused the appointment and with the secret hope of finding a way of avoiding the episcopate, made his way to Rome, where he hid in a Capuchin friary, until the Pope threatened him with

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

to compel him to leave this retreat and accept the archbishopric. In 1611 in Paris he gave the funeral oration of Margaret of Austria, wife of King

Philip III of Spain Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621. A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...

, and died, also in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

, in the following year.

Selected works

*''Panégyrique de l'Henoticon ou édict de Henry III, roy de France et de Poloigne sur la réunion de ses subjets à l'Eglise catholique'', 1588 *''Discours et rapport véritable de la conférence tenue entre les Deputez de la part de Monsieur le duc de Mayenne, lieutenant général de l'Estat et Coronne de France, Princes, prélats et Estats généraux assemblez à Paris, avec les députez de Messieurs les Princes, Prélats, seigneurs et autres catholiques estans du party du Roy de Navarre'', Paris, J. Parant, 1593 * in the same year, another edition, by J. Oudot, and an edition in Latin

Bibliography

* Jeanne du Laurens ister of Honoré ''Une famille au XVIe siècle disponible sur Gallica'', with introduction and notes by Charles de Ribbe:3rd edition, Paris, J. Albanel, 1868

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurens, Honore Du 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France Bishops of Embrun People from Tarascon 1554 births 1612 deaths