Clouet_Jean_-_Portrait_de_Claude_d%27Urf%C3%A9

Claude d'Urfé (1501,

château de la Bastie d'Urfé A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...

-1558) was a French royal official of the 16th century. He acted as governor and bailiff of

Forez Forez (; ) is a Provinces of France, former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire (department), Loire ''département in France, département'' and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme ''dépa ...

after that county became a royal domain. He was a friend and confidant of Francis I and fought alongside him in the

Wars of Italy The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the Valois kings of France, on on ...

as well as under his son

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

. He was also governor of the dauphin (the future Francis II) and the king's other children (the future Charles IX, Henry III,

Francis, Duke of Anjou ''Monsieur'' François, Duke of Anjou and Alençon (; 18 March 1555 – 10 June 1584) was the youngest son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. Early years He was scarred by smallpox at age eight, and his pitted face and s ...

and

Margaret of Valois Margaret of Valois (, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615), popularly known as , was List of Navarrese royal consorts, Queen of Navarre from 1572 to 1599 and Queen of France from 1589 to 1599 as the consort of Henry IV of France and III of Navarre. Ma ...

). He was also a major patron for building works in the Italian Renaissance style in Forez, such as his Italian-style extension to his château of Bastie d'Urfé. His grandson was the author

Honoré d'Urfé Honoré d'Urfé, marquis de Valromey, comte de Châteauneuf (11 February 15681 June 1625) was a French novelist and miscellaneous writer. Life He was born at Marseille, the grandson of Claude d'Urfé, and was educated at the Collège de T ...

Life

Early life

The heir to a lordly family from Saint-Étienne-le-Molard, Claude was the son of Pierre II d'Urfé and Antoinette de Beauvau. According to legend, his parents had had no child after five years of marriage and monks from the monastery Pierre had founded at

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

had prayed that he might have a son, who arrived a few months later, leading to his nickname as "the miracle child". Orphaned at a young age (his father died when he was seven), he was raised at the French court and became a confidant of Francis I, with whom he went to war in Italy aged twenty. The king made him a squire in ordinary in 1522. In 1535 Francis made him governor general and bailiff of the county of Forez, which had been forfeited for treason by Charles III of Bourbon. He was given this title at Montbrison, its capital, in 1536 when Francis came to symbolically take possession of the county.

Royal posts

He first became France's ambassador to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

before in 1546 being sent as France's representative to the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), 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 at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

. He remained in post after Francis I's death in 1547 and Francis' successor Henry II made him ambassador to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

. Claude intervened early in the

papal conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

after

pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

's death in 1549 after

Reginald Pole Reginald Pole (12 March 1500 – 17 November 1558) was an English cardinal and the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury, holding the office from 1556 to 1558 during the Marian Restoration of Catholicism. Early life Pole was born at Stourt ...

came within two votes of election during the first vote. Claude rushed to the conclave door, demanding that it wait for the French cardinals, who he claimed were in

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

, and threatening that the election of a pope in their absence would be likely to cause a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

. This helped push the conclave into a deadlock which lasted until February the following year. Claude was then recalled to France by the king to become governor to the dauphin and his other children, succeeding Jean d'Humières in this post in 1550; he shared the responsibility with the governess of the royal children,

Françoise d'Humières Françoise d'Humières, Dame de Contay, née ''de Contay'' (circa 1489–1557), was a French court official; she served as Governess of the Children of France from 1546 to 1557. Career Françoise d'Humières was the daughter of Charles de Contay ...

, under the orders of

Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and courtier who wielded much power and influence as King Henry II of France, Henry II's Maîtresse-en-titre, royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position inc ...

.Frieda, Leonie, "Catherine de Medici", Orion Books, London, 2005 As well as the king, he advised duke

Anne de Montmorency Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency ( – 12 November 1567) was a French noble, governor, royal favourite and Constable of France during the mid to late Italian Wars and early French Wars of Religion. He served under five French kings (Loui ...

, who was godfather to Claude's grandson Anne. In 1553 Claude joined the regency council of

Catherine de Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II. She was the mother of French kings Fran ...

after Henry II's death. By his death in 1558 he was also a

marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

Renaissance patron

Influenced by his friendship with Francis I (a major French Renaissance patron) and his time in Italy, Claude spread Renaissance art and design to Forez, most notably in his château and its chapel. His stepmother was a poet as well as a friend and confidant of Francis' sister

Marguerite de Navarre Marguerite de Navarre (, ''Marguerite d'Alençon''; 11 April 149221 December 1549), also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was a princess of France, Duchess of Alençon and Berry, and Queen of Navarre by her second mar ...

, herself a poet, writer and patron of French humanists. He also interacted with court poets of the

La Pléiade La Pléiade () was a group of 16th-century French Renaissance poets whose principal members were Pierre de Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay and Jean-Antoine de Baïf. The name was a reference to another literary group, the original Alexandrian Pleia ...

group such as

Joachim du Bellay Joachim du Bellay (; – 1 January 1560) was a French poet, critic, and a founder of '' La Pléiade''. He notably wrote the manifesto of the group: '' Défense et illustration de la langue française'', which aimed at promoting French as a ...

, who was one of the tutors Claude engaged whilst governor of the royal children. He also collected a large library which had reached 200 manuscripts and 4600 other volumes by the time of his death. His grandson,

became a celebrated author in the 17th century, most known for his novel ''

L'Astrée ''L'Astrée'' is a pastoral novel by Honoré d'Urfé, published between 1607 and 1627. Possibly the single most influential work of 17th-century French literature, ''L'Astrée'' has been called the "novel of novels", partly for its immense le ...

.''

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090416230854/http://www.ladiana.com/monuments/La_Bastie/Pacour%20hist.htm *http://labastie.chez-alice.fr/claude.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20090916203303/http://hubert-houdoy.ifrance.com/hubert-houdoy/clauurfe.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:DUrfe People from Loire (department) 16th-century French people 16th-century French military personnel Military leaders of the Italian Wars Ambassadors of France to the Holy See Marshals of France Ambassadors to the Holy Roman Empire 1501 births 1558 deaths French courtiers Forez Court of Francis I of France Court of Henry II of France