Nicolas PsaumePsaulme, Preaume, Psalmaeus. (1518, in Chaumont-sur-Aire – 10 August 1575, in

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

) was a count-bishop of Verdun and prince of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. The Bishopric of Verdun was then a French-speaking State of the

. Nicolas Psaume was originally from the

Duchy of Bar The County of Bar, later Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the '' pays de Barrois'' and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. It was held by the House of Montbéliard from the 11th century. Part of the county, t ...

Life

Having studied classics at the Norbertine Abbey of St. Paul at Verdun, of which his uncle François Psaume was commendatory abbot, he completed a higher course of studies at the Universities of Paris, Orléans, and Poitiers; and then entered the Abbey of St. Paul. Ordained priest in 1540, he was sent to the University of Paris, where, after a defence of numerous theses, he won his doctorate of theology. But for the intrigues of François, Cardinal of Pisa, Psaume, who had already been made Abbot of St. Paul, Verdun, would have been elected Abbot General of Prémontré, for his nomination had already been confirmed by Francis I, King of France. In 1546 he was chosen to represent the Norbertine Order at the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

, but John, Cardinal of Lorraine retained him and, with the pope's consent, resigned the Bishopric of Verdun in favour of Psaume, who was consecrated bishop 26 August 1548. In the following year he attended the Provincial Council of Trier, and in the same year he published its canons and decrees in his own diocese. He was also present at the General Council of Trent from May, 1551, until its prorogation on 28 April 1552, distinguishing himself by his eloquence and learning and by his zeal in defence of the doctrine and the prerogatives of the Church. He was active in condemning certain abuses, especially those of the ''

commenda The commenda was a medieval contract which developed in Italy around the 10th century, and was an early form of limited partnership. The commenda was an agreement between an investing partner and a traveling partner to conduct a commercial enterpris ...

''. On 2 January 1552, he was charged by the papal legate with the editing of the canons of the council. In 1562 he returned to Trent, where the sessions of the council had been resumed. To provide a sound education for youth he gave financial assistance to the Jesuits in founding a college at Verdun. He is buried near the altar of the Blessed Sacrament in the Cathedral of Verdun.

Diary

On both occasions at the Council of Trent, Psaume kept a diary of all that passed at the various sessions; it was printed at Paris (1564–80), at Reims and at Verdun in the same year. Hugo, the annalist of the order, also edited it in two parts, but much was left out in the second part. Hugo's "Collectio" was edited by Le Plat in the fifth volume of his "Monumenta Conc. Tridentin." The parts omitted are supplied by

Ignaz von Döllinger Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger (; 28 February 179914 January 1890), also Doellinger in English, was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility. Among his writings which proved con ...

, "Ungedruckte Berichte u. Tagebücher z. Geschichte d. Konzils v. Trient", II (Nördlingen, 1876), p. 172.

Other works

Psaume was also requested by the Archbishops of Reims and Trier to co-ordinate French ecclesiastical legislation and make it agree with the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent. He wrote much in defence of the Catholic doctrine against the

Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia ...

, Calvinists and

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

Notes

References

*Hugo, Annales, I, preface, §xvi; II, 523 *Calmet, Biblioth. lorraine, II *Spilbeeck, in Précis Historique (Brussels, 1888–89) *Goovaert, Dic. Bio-bibliog., II, 66 sqq. (Brussels, 1902).

External links