Father Jean-Paul de Rome d'Ardène (25 January 1690 – 5 December 1769) in ''domaine d'Ardène'' in Saint-Michel (modern
Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire,
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence or sometimes abbreviated as AHP (; oc, Aups d'Auta Provença; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the west ...
) was an 18th-century French botanist.
Origins
Jean-Paul de Rome d'Ardène was the son of Honoré de Rome sieur d’Ardène, ''commissaire des galères et inspecteur des bois et forêts de Provence'' who had the Château d’Ardène built in 1686 and Antoinette Leroy, daughter of Jean Leroy, ''conseiller du Roi et contrôleur général de la marine du
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
et des galères de France''. His elder brother,
Esprit-Jean de Rome d'Ardène (1684-1748) was a well known writer and fabulist.
Life
An adolescent, Jean-Paul de Rome d'Ardène studied rhetoric and philosophy at the Marseille College, then was admitted to the
Oratory of
Aix en Provence
Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix (Old Occitan, medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a List of communes in France with ov ...
in 1708. 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 ...
he studied theology before teaching humanities in Marseille. Frail, he was quickly relieved of his duties and in 1714, was allowed to retire and return to live on the lands of his family, in Ardène. Always a member of the Oratory of Aix while remaining in Ardène, he was ordained priest in 1718. He then devoted himself to botany and would write many books on growing flowers (''Traité des renoncules'' (1746), ''Traité des jacinthes'' (1759), ...) which would experience great success with his contemporaries. In addition, making his entourage benefit of his knowledge of
medicinal plants
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ag ...
and passionate about their study, he published the ''Lettres sur l’exercice de la médecine'' in 1759.
Works
*
*1759: ''Lettres sur l’exercice de la médecine''
*1759: ''Traité des jacinthes''
*
*1762: ''Traité des œillets''
*1767: ''Abrégés de jardinage''
*1767: ''Œuvres posthumes de Monsieur d'Ardene, associé a l'académie des Belles-Lettres de Marseille'':
œuvres posthumes d'
Esprit-Jean de Rome d'Ardène, collected, compiled and published by his brother.
*1769: ''l’Année Champêtre''.
References
Bibliography
* Jacques Billoud, ''Un agronome provençal du XVIIIe siècle : le Père Rome d'Ardène'', (p. 331-340), in ''Provence historique'', fascicule 54, tome 13, 196
read online* Charles Bourgeois, ''Le Père J.-P. de Rome d'Ardène, botaniste et agronome provençal (1690-1769). I, La vie'', (p. 463-472), in '' Revue d'histoire de la pharmacie'', 1969, Volume 57, n°20
read online* Charles Bourgeois, ''Le Père J.-P. de Rome d'Ardène, botaniste et agronome provençal (1690-1769) (suite). II. L'œuvre'', (p. 21-38), dans '' Revue d'histoire de la pharmacie'', 1970, Volume 58, n°20
read online
External links
Jean-Paul de Rome d'Ardèneon
Data.bnf.fr
* Gonzague de Rey
''Recherches sur l'hospitalité de Notre-Dame d'Ardène et ses juspatrons'', 1869sur ''sorbonne.fr'' (cf. III. ''La Famille de Rome'', p. 50).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardene, Jean-Paul de Rome d
18th-century French botanists
18th-century French writers
18th-century French male writers
People from Provence
1690 births
1769 deaths