Georges D'Armagnac
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Georges d'Armagnac (c. 1501 – July 1585) was a French
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
,
patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
of arts, cardinal and
diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
deeply embroiled in the
Italian Wars 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 House of Valois, Valois kings o ...
and in the
French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...
.


Biography

He was born at
Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
, the son of Pierre d'Armagnac, sire de Caussade and Yolande of Beaumont, and thus he was a grandson of Catherine de Foix, and so a highly connected member of the powerful house of Foix d'Armagnac. In his youth he was the protégé of his kinsman Cardinal Georges d'Amboise. His uncle Charles, duc d'Alençon introduced him to Francis I. Though there is no record of his ecclesiastical training or his sacred orders, he was approved by the king's sister, Marguerite (future
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
of
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
), and swiftly provided with sinecures: dean of the cathedral chapter of
Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...
, honorary abbot (''in commendatario'') of Saint-Ambroise de
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 ...
, and nearer to home, a canon of the cathedral chapter of
Rodez Rodez (, , ; , ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the communau ...
. In 1529 he was appointed bishop of Rodez, and he was soon joined by his secretary and life companion, the humanist Guillaume Philandrier, who provided, under Armagnac's patronage, the design for the new cathedral façade at Rodez and catalogued the Bishop's increasing library. In Rodez, his doctor and dentist for 10 years was
Urbain Hémard Urbain Hémard (c. 1548 in Entraygues, Rouergue – 14 October 1592 in Estaing, Rouergue) was a French physician and dentist. He wrote the first French work entirely devoted to dentistry. Biography He studied at the University of Montpellier ...
who dedicated to him his famous book ''Recherche de la vraye anathomie des dents, nature et propriété d’icelles''. He was ambassador to
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
from 1536 to 1539; here he took the opportunity to sit to
Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...
for a highly personal and evocative double portrait with the attentive Philandrier, whose commentary on Vituvius, the first in French, was completed in 1544. Armgnac's brief was to secure Venetian neutrality in the north Italian military conflicts between Francis I and
Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * 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 Others * Charles V, Duke ...
, an episode of the
Italian Wars 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 House of Valois, Valois kings o ...
. The emperor's failure to take Avignon led him to retreat from the south of France (1538). With the temporary truce of 1539 the king sent him as ambassador to the Holy See, where he was made a
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
in December 1544, remaining as ever the agent of French policy. He participated in the conclave (November 1549 to February 1550) that elected his friend, the worldly humanist and patron
Pope Julius III Pope Julius III (; ; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1550 to his death, in March 1555. After a career as a disting ...
. Armagnac's library was constantly growing. In 1543 he commissioned an illuminated book of meditations in the best Italian humanistic hand from Franc. Wydon and was pleased enough with it to commission a pontifical from Wydon in 1557.Now in B.N.

/ref> Wherever he was, the Cardinal sought out the company of men of learning and experience, and often befriended them. When his former tutor and countryman from
Albi Albi (; ) is a commune in France, commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department, on the river Tarn (river), Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ...
, the adventurous philologist and investigator of the antiquities of Constantinople Pierre Gilles, died penniless in Rome in 1555, Cardinal d'Aramagnac arranged from Toulouse to pay the funeral expenses and erect a wall tom

Gilles' posthumous ''Antiquities of Constantinople'' were dedicated to the Cardinal. In 1552 he was appointed lieutenant-general of the king at
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, together with the
bishop of Cahors The Diocese of Cahors (Latin: ''Dioecesis Cadurcensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Cahors'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the whole of the department of Lot. In the beginning it was a suffragan o ...
. On 6 January 1554, in the chapel of the château of Pau, he baptized Henry of Navarre, future
king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...
. In 1560 he was raised to the Archbishopric of Toulouse, the cultural capital of the
Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...
, the occasion for another visit to Rome. In 1565,
Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...
appointed him vice-legate at
Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
, together with the Cardinal de Bourbon. The papal city of Avignon remained faithful in the bloody Wars of Religion that had broken out in earnest in 1562, but in the surrounding Venaissin the Huguenots were solidly implanted in Orange and the neighboring
Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...
, and fierce fighting ensued. Charles IX appointed his cousin Charles of Burgundy legate, but the man on the site was Armagnac, solidly of the Catholic party. In this position the Cardinal d'Armagnac vigorously defended Catholic interests against the Huguenots; when his cousin
Jeanne d'Albret Jeanne d'Albret (, Basque language, Basque: ''Joana Albretekoa''; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Joana de Labrit''; 16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572), also known as Jeanne III, was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. Jeanne was the daughter of He ...
, queen of Navarre and mother of the future Henry IV, declared for the reformed church, he sent her a stiff letter of reproof, which, with her skillful and courageous reply conjoined, was printed and circulated throughout the south. The pope showed his approval of d'Armagnac's administration by promoting him to the Archbishopric of Avignon (1576). Georges d'Armagnac's position among the first nobility of Languedoc, his intelligence and judgment of men and events, and the protection which he granted to the arts and sciences placed him in the first rank of the faithful servants of the 16th-century Church. He was a friend and correspondent of the leading literary figures of his time in France and Italy.


References


Sources

*


External links


''Catholic Encyclopedia'' 1908
"Georges d'Armagnac"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armagnac, Georges D' 1500s births 1585 deaths Clergy from Avignon 16th-century French cardinals 16th-century French diplomats French Renaissance humanists Bishops of Lescar Bishops of Rodez Archbishops of Toulouse Archbishops of Tours French people of the French Wars of Religion French male non-fiction writers Archbishops of Avignon