Bertrand d'Argentré (or Argentraeus) (19 May 1519 in

Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine Vitré (; Gallo: ''Vitræ'', ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. Vitré, a sub-prefecture until 1926, is the seat of a canton. It has 18,603 inhabitants (2020). It lies on the edge of Britta ...

– 13 February 1590) was a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

jurist and historian. Argentraeus was born the son of

Pierre d'Argentré Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

, and the nephew of historian

Pierre Le Baud Pierre Le Baud or Lebaud ( – 29 September 1505) was a French clergyman and historian known for his writings on the history of Brittany. Life Lebaud was born around 1450, probably in Saint-Ouën-des-Toits, Maine, on the borders of Brittany. His ...

. After studies of law in

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

, he was named seneschal of Vitré in 1541 and seneschal of Rennes in 1547. Dismissed from that post, he was named head of the

présidial The presidial courts (; singular ) were judicial courts of the Kingdom of France set up in January 1551 by Henry II of France with jurisdiction between the ''parlements'' and the bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a ba ...

court of Rennes in 1582 instead, but refused to leave

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

even when offered coveted court positions in Paris. In his judicial capacity, he frequently clashed with other jurisdictions such as that of the

Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

, which he considered ignorant of Breton customs. His principal legal work is the influential ''Nouvelle coutume de Bretagne'' (1580), a compilation of customary Breton law. In that work, D'Argentré fought against the influence of

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

, which he considered overly procedural and inquisitive, unmerciful to the weak, and detrimental to individual liberty. His work as a historian also emphasised the historical independence of Brittany.

The Estates The Estates, also known as the States (, , , Hungarian: Rendek), was the assembly of the representatives of the estates of the realm, the divisions of society in feudal times, called together for purposes of deliberation, legislation or taxatio ...

of Brittany commissioned him in 1580 to write a ''Histoire de Bretagne'', which was promptly seized on the order of Henry III for "indignities against King and realm". The book was only allowed to appear in 1588, with extensive censorship of sensitive passages relating to the history of French-Breton relations. However, clandestine reprints of the unedited work remained widely available. He was also well known for his considerable collection of books that formed one of the largest private libraries of Renaissance France.Malcolm Walsby, 'The library of the Breton jurist and historian Bertrand d’Argentré in 1582' in M. Walsby and N. Constantinidou (eds) Documenting the Early Modern Book World: Inventories and Catalogues in Manuscript and Print (Leiden: Brill, 2013) 117-140. In 1589, he supported the insurrection of the

Duke of Mercœur The Seigneurs and Dukes of Mercœur were a line of powerful lords deriving their name from the estate of Mercœur in Auvergne (province), Auvergne, France. The line became extinct in the 14th century, and passed by inheritance to the Dauphin of Auv ...

, was persecuted by the French authorities and died one year later.

Works

* ''L'histoire de Bretaigne, des roys, ducs, comtes et princes d'icelle: l'établissement du Royaume, mutation de ce tiltre en Duché, continué jusques au temps de Madame Anne dernière Duchesse, & depuis Royne de France, par le mariage de laquelle passa le Duché en la maison de France''. Jacques du Puys, 1588. * ''Coustumes générales des pays et duché de Bretagne'', Paris, Nicolas Buon, 1608 (rédigé en 1568) *''Advis sur le partage des nobles'' (1570) *''Commentaires'' (sur l'Ancienne Coutume de Bretagne), on various topics (1576, 1584) *''Aitiologia'' (1584), summary of the debates about the reformation of the Breton customary law. * ''L'Histoire de Bretaigne, des rois, ducs, comtes, et princes d'icelle, depuis l'an 383 jusques au temps de madame Anne Reyne de France dernière Duchesse. Troisième édition revue et augmentée par messire Charles d'Argentré.'' Paris, by Nicolas Buon (1618).

External links

* Read the digitized book
Coustumes generales du pays et duché de Bretagne
on

Cujas Library Cujas Library (), named after the French jurist and scholar Jacques Cujas (1520–1590), is an academic research library, and the largest law library in Europe.Oswald, Godfrey (2008). '' Library world records'' (2nd ed.) McFarland & Company, p ...

website.

References

* * Malcolm Walsby,'The library of the Breton jurist and historian Bertrand d’Argentré in 1582' in M. Walsby and N. Constantinidou (eds) ''Documenting the Early Modern Book World: Inventories and Catalogues in Manuscript and Print'' (Leiden: Brill, 2013) 117-140. {{DEFAULTSORT:Argentre, Bertrand d 1519 births 1590 deaths People from Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine 16th-century French lawyers Writers from Brittany French male writers