Claude-François Ménestrier
Encyclopedia
Claude-François Ménestrier (Lyon, 1631–1705) was a French heraldist, a member of the Society of Jesus [Jesuit], and attendant of the royal court.
He put together numerous books on heraldry, and was one of the greatest heraldic authorities of his age. Ménestrier was the professor of the colleges in Chambéry
, Vienne
, Grenoble
, and Lyon
. During 1669-70 he traveled to Germany and Italy, but reached Paris and lived there to his death. He was the most widely known heraldist of his time, and was from 1622 in close correspondence with Philipp Jakob Spener
, the founder of the German scientific heraldry
who refused the merely symbolic interpretation of arms. Ménestrier maintained that we can know the essence of heraldry
only from the sources
from the age of living heraldry, but he was also influenced by the heraldic view of his age. Thus, his researches were abortive.
He put together numerous books on heraldry, and was one of the greatest heraldic authorities of his age. Ménestrier was the professor of the colleges in Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
, Vienne
Vienne
Vienne is the northernmost département of the Poitou-Charentes region of France, named after the river Vienne.- Viennese history :Vienne is one of the original 83 departments, established on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Poitou,...
, Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, and Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
. During 1669-70 he traveled to Germany and Italy, but reached Paris and lived there to his death. He was the most widely known heraldist of his time, and was from 1622 in close correspondence with Philipp Jakob Spener
Philipp Jakob Spener
Philipp Jakob Spener was a German Christian theologian known as the "Father of Pietism."...
, the founder of the German scientific heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
who refused the merely symbolic interpretation of arms. Ménestrier maintained that we can know the essence of heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
only from the sources
Source text
A source text is a text from which information or ideas are derived. In translation, a source text is the original text that is to be translated into another language.-Description:...
from the age of living heraldry, but he was also influenced by the heraldic view of his age. Thus, his researches were abortive.
Works
- Histoire civile ou consulaire de la ville de Lyon, justifiée par chartres, titres, chroniques, manuscrits, autheurs anciens & modernes, & autres preuves, avec la carte de la ville, comme elle étoit il y a environ deux siécles. Lyon, Jean-Baptiste & Nicolas de Ville, 1696