thumb Nicolas Bergier (), (1 March 1567 – 18 August 1623) was a lawyer at the Presidential Seat of Rheims, lived in 17th-century

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

and became interested in Roman roads there. Mentioning by chance his interest in the funding of Roman roads to Conde du Lis, advisor to

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

, he found himself suddenly commanded by the king to undertake a study of all Roman roads. Five years later he published his ''Histoire des Grands Chemins de l'Empire Romain'', a two-volume work of over 1000 pages. There were many subsequent editions. This first scholarly study of Roman roads included engravings of the

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is ...

consulted Bergier's work while researching his ''

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to th ...

''.

Biography

Bergier was born on 1 March 1567 in

. He was a lawyer and historian. Bergier taught at the Collège des Bons-Enfants and at the Faculty of Law of the University of Rheims. Friend with Jacques Dupuy and

Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1 December 1580 – 24 June 1637), often known simply as Peiresc, or by the Latin form of his name, Peirescius, was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant, who maintained a wide correspondence with scienti ...

, he was appointed, thanks to another friend the president De Bellièvre,

historiographer Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...

of France, with a pension of two hundred ecus. Bergier worked with Charles du Lys, lawyer, and

Nicolas Brulart de Sillery Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

, Chancellor of France. Bergier died at the Château de Grignon in

Thiverval-Grignon Thiverval-Grignon is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Points of interest * Arboretum de Grignon * Jardin botanique de l'Institut National See also *Communes of the Yvelines department ...

on 18 August 1623, at the age of 56.

References

Portrait

External links

* Article on Nicolas Bergier i
''A Universal Biography''
by John Platts (1826). 17th-century French historians 17th-century French lawyers French scholars of Roman history Writers from Reims 1567 births 1623 deaths {{Europe-road-stub