Antoine de Castelnau, (died 1539), Bishop of Tarbes, was a French diplomat, who served as an ambassador to England and Spain during the reign of

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

Biography

Antoine de Castelnau was the son of Louis de Castelnau,

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

of Castelnau, Miremont,

Buanes Buanes (; Gascon: ''Buanas'') is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department o ...

and Bats (1460 – before 1529), and Susanne de Gramont (died after 1525). Castelnau was appointed Bishop of Tarbes in 1534, a position he held until 1539. His brother, Louis de Castelnau, Abbot of Divielle (died 1549), succeeded him as Bishop of Tarbes in 1540. He succeeded Charles de Solier, comte de Morette, as Francis I's ambassador to the court of

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

from 26 June 1535 until 1537. It was there he discovered the secret intrigues of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

, who had proposed a marriage between Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, and Dom Luis, his brother-in-law, with the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

as the prize. He was succeeded as ambassador by

Louis de Perreau, Sieur de Castillon Louis de Perreau, Sieur de Castillon was the French ambassador to England during the reign of Henry VIII. He served at the English court from November 1537 to December 1538 and was replaced by Charles de Marillac. His predecessor was Antoine de Cast ...

. Castelnau was in London during the dramatic fall of

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

, the second wife of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, and it was under the ambassador's roof that his secretary,

Lancelot de Carle Lancelot de Carle (also Carles) (c. 1508 – July 1568), Bishop of Riez, was a French scholar, poet and diplomat. He was in London in 1536, in the service of the French Ambassador, Antoine de Castelnau. Carle was an eyewitness to the trial and ...

, an eye-witness to the queen's trial and execution, wrote a controversial

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

detailing her life and all that he had seen and heard. Castelnau was later appointed ambassador to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He died in

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. Toledo was declare ...

, in 1539.

Footnotes

References

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External links

Antoine de Castelnau
Family tree

Bishops of Tarbes
L'Abbaye de Divielle des Origines aux Ruines
Divielle Abbey Year of birth missing 1539 deaths Bishops of Tarbes 16th-century French Roman Catholic bishops Ambassadors of France to England Ambassadors of France to Spain {{Bishop-stub