Nicolas Coeffeteau
Encyclopedia
Nicolas Coeffeteau was a French
theologian, poet
and historian
born at Saint-Calais
.
He entered the Dominican order
and lectured on philosophy
at Paris
, being also ordinary preacher to Henry IV
, and afterwards ambassador at Rome
.
In 1606 he was vicar-general of the congregation of France, and received from Marie de' Medici
the revenues of the sees of Lombez
and Saintes
. He also administered the diocese of Metz
, and was nominated to the diocese of Marseille in 1621, but ill health obliged him here to take a coadjutor
.
Coeffeteau won considerable distinction in the controversy against the Protestant reformers and also wrote a History of Rome from Augustus to Constantine. Many of his theological writings were collected in one volume (Paris, 1622), and at the time of his death he was engaged on a translation of the New Testament
which is still in manuscript.
He was acclaimed for his command of the French language. Claude Favre de Vaugelas
cited him as one of the two masters of the language at the time -"Nicolas Coeffeteau, dominicain, évêque de Marseille, un des fondateurs de la prose française, 1574-1623".
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
theologian, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
born at Saint-Calais
Saint-Calais
Saint-Calais is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.Prior to the French Revolution it was known for its Benedictine abbey named after the Anisola stream . Saint-Calais is a later name coming from one of the local saints of the Perche area....
.
He entered the Dominican order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
and lectured on philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, being also ordinary preacher to Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, and afterwards ambassador at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
In 1606 he was vicar-general of the congregation of France, and received from Marie de' Medici
Marie de' Medici
Marie de Médicis , Italian Maria de' Medici, was queen consort of France, as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon. She herself was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici...
the revenues of the sees of Lombez
Lombez
Lombez is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
and Saintes
Saintes
Saintes is a French commune located in Poitou-Charentes, in the southwestern Charente-Maritime department of which it is a sub-prefecture. Its inhabitants are called Saintaises and Saintais....
. He also administered the diocese of Metz
Diocese of Metz
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz is a Diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in France. In the Middle Ages it was in effect an independent state, part of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the bishop who had the ex officio title of count. It was annexed to France by King Henry II in...
, and was nominated to the diocese of Marseille in 1621, but ill health obliged him here to take a coadjutor
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
.
Coeffeteau won considerable distinction in the controversy against the Protestant reformers and also wrote a History of Rome from Augustus to Constantine. Many of his theological writings were collected in one volume (Paris, 1622), and at the time of his death he was engaged on a translation of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
which is still in manuscript.
He was acclaimed for his command of the French language. Claude Favre de Vaugelas
Claude Favre de Vaugelas
Claude Favre de Vaugelas was a French grammarian and man of letters. Although a life-long courtier, Claude Favre was widely known by the name of one of the landed estates he owned as seigneur of Vaugelas and baron of Peroges.Born at Meximieux, in the Ain département of France, he became...
cited him as one of the two masters of the language at the time -"Nicolas Coeffeteau, dominicain, évêque de Marseille, un des fondateurs de la prose française, 1574-1623".
Works
- Premier Essay des questions théologiques traitées en nostre langue selon le stile de S. ThomasThomas AquinasThomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
et des autres scolastiques (1607) - Harangue funebre prononcee à Paris en l'eglise de sainct Benoist, au service faict pour le repos de l'ame de Henry IIIIHenry IV of FranceHenry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
(1610). Texte en ligne : http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k899577 - Response au livre intitulé Le Mystère d'iniquité, du sieur Du PlessisPhilippe de MornayPhilippe de Mornay , seigneur du Plessis Marly, usually known as Du-Plessis-Mornay or Mornay Du Plessis, was a French Protestant writer and member of the Monarchomaques .- Biography :...
(1614) - Response au manifeste publié par les Perturbateurs du repos de l'Estat (1617). Online text : http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k100196v
- Tableau des passions humaines, de leurs causes et de leurs effets (1620). Online text : http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k73127f
- Examen du livre du sieur Du Plessis contre la messe, composé il y a environ dix-huit ans par messire Jacques Davy, maintenant cardinal Du PerronJacques-Davy DuperronJacques Davy Duperron was a French cardinal.-Biography:He was born in Saint-Lô, in Normandy. His father was a physician, who on embracing the doctrines of the Reformation became a Protestant minister, and to escape persecution settled at Bern, in Switzerland...
et publié par messire Nicolas Coeffeteau (1620) - Œuvres du R. P. en Dieu F. Nic. Coëffeteau, contenant un nouveau Traicté des noms de l'Eucharistie, auquel est refuté tout ce que les Srs Du Plessis, CasaubonIsaac CasaubonIsaac Casaubon was a classical scholar and philologist, first in France and then later in England, regarded by many of his time as the most learned in Europe.-Early life:...
et M. Pierre DumoulinPierre Du MoulinPierre Du Moulin was a Huguenot minister in France who also resided in England for some years.-Life:Born in Buhy in 1568, he was the son of Joachim Du Moulin, a Protestant minister in the Orleans area...
, ministre de Charenton, ont escrit sur ce sujet contre la doctrine de l'Église, avec divers autres traictez ci-devant publiez par le mesme autheur (1622) - Histoire romaine, contenant tout ce qui s'est passé de plus mémorable depuis le commencement de l'empire d'AugusteAugusteAuguste may refer to:* HMS Auguste , A 54-gun French ship captured by the British in 1705* Auguste , which struck Cape Breton Island, Canada in 1761* French ship Auguste, ship of the French Navy, launched in 1778...
, jusqu'à celui de Constantin le GrandConstantine IConstantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
. Avec l'Épitome de Florus (1623). Online text: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k87968d. Mode texte : http://www.mediterranee-antique.info/Rome/Coeffeteau/Hist_Rom_000.htm - Les Merveilles de la Sainte Eucharistie discourues et défendues contre les infidelles (1631)
Translations
- Histoire romaine de Lucius Annaeus FlorusFlorusFlorus, Roman historian, lived in the time of Trajan and Hadrian.He compiled, chiefly from Livy, a brief sketch of the history of Rome from the foundation of the city to the closing of the temple of Janus by Augustus . The work, which is called Epitome de T...
mise en nostre langue par F. Nicolas Coeffeteau (1615) - La Montaigne Saincte de la tribulation, qui est un traicté des afflictions et de leurs remèdes, composé premièrement en italien par le Révérend Père Jacques Affinati, et puis mis en françois par F.-N. Coeffeteau (translated from Giacomo Affinati d'Acuto, 1620)
- Histoire de Poliarque et d'Argénis, par F. N. Coeffeteau évêque de Marseille (abridged translation from John Barclay's book the ArgenisArgenisArgenis is a book by John Barclay. It is a work of historical allegory which tells the story of the religious conflict in France under Henry III of France and Henry IV of France, and also touches on more contemporary English events, such as the Overbury scandal...
, 1624) - Tableau de la pénitence de la Magdeleine, par F. Nicolas Coëffeteau. Nouvelle édition enrichie de plusieurs discours (translated from De Maria Magdalena by OrigenOrigenOrigen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
, 1625)