Pierre Grégoire (jurist)
Encyclopedia
Pierre Grégoire (c.1540–1597) was a French jurist and philosopher
around 1540. After studies at Toulouse, he became an advocate. From 1570 he was professeur of law at Cahors
; in 1580 he returned to Toulouse in a similar post. In 1582 he was called by Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
to found a law faculty at Pont-à-Mousson
, the École doctrinale de droit public. He died at Pont-à-Mousson.
and demonology
were included with Astrology
and mathematics. Grégoire is considered to be in the tradition of Raymond Lull. The work was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books.
In his De Republica he expresses political views in favour of monarchy
, and uses the analogy of family and state. Although his faculty was dominated by Jesuits, Grégoire turned away from the policies of the Catholic League
. A critic of Machiavelli and not a Gallican, he drew on both Jean Bodin
and François Hotman
, for an eclectic moderate Catholic position supporting the papal deposing power
restricted to the Holy Roman Emperor
, and the publication in France of the Tridentine decrees.
Career
He was born at ToulouseToulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
around 1540. After studies at Toulouse, he became an advocate. From 1570 he was professeur of law at Cahors
Cahors
Cahors is the capital of the Lot department in south-western France.Its site is dramatic being contained on three sides within an udder shaped twist in the river Lot known as a 'presqu'île' or peninsula...
; in 1580 he returned to Toulouse in a similar post. In 1582 he was called by Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
Charles III , known as the Great, was Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death.-History:He was the eldest surviving son of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, and Christina of Denmark...
to found a law faculty at Pont-à-Mousson
Pont-à-Mousson
Pont-à-Mousson is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.Population : 14,592 . It is an industrial town , situated on the Moselle River...
, the École doctrinale de droit public. He died at Pont-à-Mousson.
Works
His Syntaxes artis mirabilis (1578) was an encyclopedic work on the sciences where magicMagic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
and demonology
Demonology
Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. It is the branch of theology relating to superhuman beings who are not gods. It deals both with benevolent beings that have no circle of worshippers or so limited a circle as to be below the rank of gods, and with malevolent...
were included with Astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
and mathematics. Grégoire is considered to be in the tradition of Raymond Lull. The work was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books.
In his De Republica he expresses political views in favour of monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
, and uses the analogy of family and state. Although his faculty was dominated by Jesuits, Grégoire turned away from the policies of the Catholic League
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...
. A critic of Machiavelli and not a Gallican, he drew on both Jean Bodin
Jean Bodin
Jean Bodin was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is best known for his theory of sovereignty; he was also an influential writer on demonology....
and François Hotman
François Hotman
François Hotman was a French Protestant lawyer and writer, associated with the legal humanists and with the monarchomaques, who struggled against absolute monarchy. His first name is often written 'Francis' in English. His surname is Latinized by himself as Hotomanus, by others as Hotomannus and...
, for an eclectic moderate Catholic position supporting the papal deposing power
Papal deposing power
The papal deposing power was the most powerful tool of the political authority claimed by and on behalf of the Roman Pontiff, in medieval and early modern thought, amounting to the assertion of the Pope's power to declare a Christian monarch heretical and powerless to rule.Pope Gregory VII's...
restricted to the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
, and the publication in France of the Tridentine decrees.
- Réponse au conseil donné par Charles du Moulin sur la dissuasion de la juridiction du concile de Trente en France, Lyon, 1584.
- Syntaxes artis mirabilis, in libros septem digestae. Per quas de omni re proposita,... disputari aut tractari, omniumque summaria cognitio haberi potest, Lyon, Antoine Gryphe, 1575-1576, in three parts, the first two in a single volume : I) Syntaxes artis mirabilis 8 ff. + 190 p. II) Commentaria in prolegomena syntaxeon mirabilis artis 1 f, 304 p., III) Syntaxeon artis mirabilis, 8 ff., 1055, 125 p. Later edition: Commentaria in syntaxes artis mirabilis per quas de omnibus disputatur habeturque cognitio autore Petro Gregorio Tholosano impressum Lugduni per Antonium Grifium 1585. Later edition at Cologne, Lazarus Zetner 1610. http://books.google.com/books?id=Rik8AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA157&hl=fr&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false
- Syntagma juris universi (1582). t. I http://documents.univ-toulouse.fr/150BIN/T1/PPN075823314.pdf t. II http://documents.univ-toulouse.fr/150BIN/T2/PPN075823314.pdf
- De republica libri sex et viginti, Lyon et Pont-à-Mousson, 1596. New edition 1597.
- Institutiones breves et novae rei beneficiariae ecclesisticae (1602)
Further reading
- Charles Hyver, Le doyen Pierre Grégoire de Toulouse et lʹorganisation de la faculté de droit à lʹUniversité de Pont-à-Mousson (1582-1597), 1874, 88 p.
- T. et J. Carreras y Artau, Historia de la filosofía española. Filosofía cristiana de los siglos XIII al XV, Madrid, 1939-1943, vol. II, p. 234 sq.
- C. Collot, L'école doctrinale de droit public de Pont-à-Mousson (Pierre Grégoire de Toulouse et Guillaume Barclay) à la fin du XVI° siècle, Librairie générale de droit et de jurisprudence, 1965, 357 p.
- H. Gilles, La carrière méridionale de Pierre Grégoire de Toulouse, Presses Universitaires de Toulouse, Mélanges offerts à Paul Couzinet, 1974, p. 263-327.
- Paolo Rossi, Clavis universalis. Arts de la mémoire, logique combinatoire et langue universelle de Lulle à Leibniz (1983), translated from Italian, Jérôme Millon, Grenoble, 1993, p. 63-64.