Embrun Cathedral Honoré du Laurens (7 March 1554 – 24 January 1612) was

archbishop of Embrun The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Embrun was a Catholic jurisdiction located in southeastern France, in the mountains of the Maritime Alps, on a route that led from Gap by way of Briançon to Turin. It had as suffragans the Diocese of Digne, Di ...

in south-eastern France.

Biography

Honoré du Laurens was born in

Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tara ...

, the eldest of the eleven children (ten of whom reached adulthood) of Louis du Laurens (born in Puget near

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...

), and his wife Louise de Castellan (born in

Riez Riez (; Provençal Occitan: ''Riés''; sometimes Riez-la-Romaine) is a hilly commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is located northwest of the Lac de Sainte-Cro ...

). His father was a

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

, first in

and then in

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

, who was greatly devoted to the education of his children. One of Honoré's brothers,

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal ...

, was physician to

King Henri IV Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

. Another of his brothers, , was

Archbishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal seat in the city of Arles, in southern France. At the apex of the delta (Camargue) of the Rhone River, some 40 miles from the sea, Arles grew under Liburnian, Celtic, and Punic in ...

, and a third, Jean (Jérôme in religion), Provincial Superior of the

Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, an order of Roman Catholic friars *Capuchin Poor Clares, an order of Roman Catholic contemplative religious sisters *Capuchin monkey, primates of the genus ''Cebus'' and ''Sapajus'', named af ...

. Honoré's uncle and godfather, Honoré de Castellan, who was doctor to Charles IX, paid for his nephew's education and left him money in his will. He studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

, according to family tradition, but reluctantly. Eventually he became a student of law, at which he excelled. Honoré married in

Aix Aix or AIX may refer to: Computing * AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems *Alternate index, for an IBM Virtual Storage Access Method key-sequenced data set * Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point Places Belg ...

. His wife, née d'Ulme, gave him a daughter but died in 1600. He was

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

to the parliament of Provence, where he succeeded his father-in-law, M. d'Ulme. He joined the Catholic League. His brother André, thanks to his high standing at court, was able to obtain for him the appointment to the Archbishopric of Embrun,Nicolas Joseph François Éloy, « Du Laurens (André) », dans Dictionnaire historique de la médecine ancienne et moderne, vol. 2, Mons, Hoyois, 1778, p. 107 which had fallen vacant on the death of Guillaume d'Avançon. Honoré refused the appointment and with the secret hope of finding a way of avoiding the episcopate, made his way to Rome, where he hid in a Capuchin

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

, until the Pope threatened him with

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

to compel him to leave this retreat and accept the archbishopric. In 1611 in Paris he gave the funeral oration of Margaret of Austria, wife of King

Philip III of Spain Philip III (; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and King of Portugal, Portugal (where he is known as Philip II of Portugal) during the Iberian Union. His reign lasted from 1598 until his death in 1621. He held dominion over the S ...

, and died, also in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, in the following year.

Selected works

*''Panégyrique de l'Henoticon ou édict de Henry III, roy de France et de Poloigne sur la réunion de ses subjets à l'Eglise catholique'', 1588 *''Discours et rapport véritable de la conférence tenue entre les Deputez de la part de Monsieur le duc de Mayenne, lieutenant général de l'Estat et Coronne de France, Princes, prélats et Estats généraux assemblez à Paris, avec les députez de Messieurs les Princes, Prélats, seigneurs et autres catholiques estans du party du Roy de Navarre'', Paris, J. Parant, 1593 * in the same year, another edition, by J. Oudot, and an edition in Latin

Bibliography

* Jeanne du Laurens ister of Honoré ''Une famille au XVIe siècle disponible sur Gallica'', with introduction and notes by Charles de Ribbe:3rd edition, Paris, J. Albanel, 1868

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurens, Honore Du 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France Bishops of Embrun People from Tarascon 1554 births 1612 deaths