Pierre de L'Estoile (1546 – 8 October 1611) was a French diarist and collector.

Life

Born in Paris into a middle-class background, Pierre de l'Estoile was tutored by Mathieu Béroalde. He knew

Agrippa d'Aubigné Théodore-Agrippa d'Aubigné (, 8 February 155229 April 1630) was a French poet, soldier, propagandist and chronicler. His Epic poetry, epic poem ''Les Tragiques'' (1616) is widely regarded as his masterpiece. In a book about his Catholic contemp ...

. He became a law student at

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 ...

(1565). He became a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

, and royal secretary. He spent time in prison in 1589, being taken for one of the supporters of the '' politiques''. He died in Paris in 1611.

Works

The manuscript diaries of Pierre de L'Estoile (1546–1611) were deposited in the library of the Abbey of Saint-Acheul by his descendant Pierre Poussemthe de L'Estoile when he died in 1718. Pierre Poussemthe de L'Estoile was the abbot of Saint Acheul. The bookseller Pierre Mongie took possession of L'Estoile's manuscripts after the abbey was dissolved, and they were later acquired by the Royal library. The diaries were used as sources for various historical works on the period of Henry III and

Henry IV of France 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 ...

. The ''Registres Journaux (1574-1611)'' are personal accounts of the reigns of Henry III and

. They contain other matter (sonnets, pamphlets). The Journals were not intended for publication. Material from them was edited as ''Journal de Henri III'' (1621 by Louis Servin, 1744 by Nicolas Lenglet Du Fresnoy); and the ''Journal de Henri IV'' (The Hague, 1741).

Bibliography

* ''Registre-Journal du règne de Henri III'', éd. M. Lazard et G. Schrenck, Genève, Droz, 1992 * M. Chopard, "En marge de la grande érudition, un amateur éclairé, Pierre de L'Estoile", ''Histoire et Littérature. Les écrivains et la politique'', Paris, P.U.F., 1977 *G. Schrenck, "L'image du prince dans le Journal du règne de Henri III de P. de L'Estoile, ou l'enjeu d'une écriture", ''L'image du souverain dans les Lettres françaises'', 1985, p. 15-25. * F. Marin, "La fortune éditoriale des ''Registres journaux des règnes de Henri III et Henri IV'' de Pierre de L'Estoile", ''Nouvelle Revue du XVIe siècle'', 20/2 - 2002, p. 87-108.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:L'Estoile, Pierre de 1546 births 1611 deaths Writers from Paris French diarists 16th-century French writers 16th-century French male writers 17th-century French writers 17th-century French male writers 16th-century French lawyers 17th-century French lawyers 16th-century diarists 17th-century diarists People from the Province of Île-de-France