Michel d'Esne de Betencourt (1540–1614) was a

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

in the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last House of Valois-Burgundy, Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary of Burgu ...

Life

D'Esne was born in early January 1540, either in

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

or in

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

, the son of Adam d'Esne, lord of Betencourt, and Bonne de Lalaing.F.F.J. Lecouvet, "Michel d'Esne", ''

Messager des sciences historiques ''Messager des sciences historiques'', published in Ghent from 1839 to 1896, was the most important Belgian history journal of the 19th century. Most of the contents related to the history of the medieval Low Countries. The initial editorial team w ...

'' (1861), pp. 281-288. He was educated at Houdain college in

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

and at the age of fifteen became a page at the court of

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 ...

. He went on to serve as a soldier for six years in Flanders and Spain. D'Esne then studied theology and poetry, and on 5 January 1589 was ordained to the priesthood. Living in Douai, he spent his time translating devotional and edifying works. Auguste Vander Meersch, "Esne (Michel d')", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' ( French; "National Biography of Belgium") is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ' ...

''
vol. 6
(Brussels, 1878), 696-598. In 1597 Philip II nominated him as

bishop of Tournai The Diocese of Tournai is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. The diocese was formed in 1146, upon the dissolution of the Diocese of Noyon & Tournai, which had existed since the 7th Century. It is ...

; papal confirmation followed on 29 November 1597. During his reign as bishop, d'Esne founded or oversaw the establishment of numerous educational and charitable foundations. In 1600, he held a reforming

diocesan synod In the Anglican Communion, the model of government is the 'Bishop in Synod', meaning that a diocese is governed by a bishop acting with the advice and consent of representatives of the clergy and laity of the diocese. In much of the Communion the b ...

in Tournai, the statutes of which were published. He died on 1 October 1614 and was buried in the choir of

Tournai Cathedral The Tournai Cathedral, or Cathedral of Our Lady (french: Notre-Dame de Tournai, nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Doornik), is a Roman Catholic church, see of the Diocese of Tournai in Tournai, Belgium. It has been classified both as a Wallonia's major ...

Translations

* (Antwerp,

Plantin Press The Plantin Press at Antwerp was one of the focal centers of the fine printed book in the 16th century. History Christophe Plantin (c. 1520–1589) of Touraine was trained as a bookbinder. He fled from Paris where at least one printer had rece ...

, 1588) * (Douai, Widow of Jacques Boscard, 1593) * Giovanni Pietro Maffei, (Douai,

Jan Bogard Jean Bogard (died around 1634) was a printer in Leuven and Douai in the 16th and 17th centuries. Life Bogard was born in Leuven around the mid-16th century and from 1564 was working as a printer in the city. E.-H.-J. Reusens, "Bogard (Jean)", ''Bi ...

, 1594) * (Douai, Jan Bogard, 1595)Lettre du Japon
on Google Books *

Pedro de Ribadeneira Pedro de Ribadeneira S.J. ( Toledo, 1 November 1527 – Madrid, 10 September or 22 September 1611) was a Spanish hagiographer, Jesuit priest, companion of Ignatius of Loyola, and a Spanish Golden Age ascetic writer. Life Pedro was born at T ...

, (Douai, Balthazar Bellerus, 1596) *

John Brugman John Brugman, O.F.M., was a 15th-century Franciscan friar, who became a renowned preacher in the Netherlands Biography Brugman was born at Kempen in the Electorate of Cologne, towards the end of the preceding century; died at Nijmegen, Netherland ...

, (Douai, Balthazar Bellerus, 1608)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esne, Michel 1540 births 1614 deaths Bishops of Tournai People of the Eighty Years' War Latin–French translators Italian–French translators