Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc
Encyclopedia
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...
astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
, antiquary
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
and savant who maintained a wide correspondence with scientists and was a successful organizer of scientific inquiry. His research included a determination of the difference in longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
of various locations in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, around the Mediterranean, and in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
Early life
His father was a higher magistrate and city surgeon in ProvenceProvence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
from a wealthy noble family, who with his wife fled their home town of Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
to avoid the plague raging there, settling in Belgentier
Belgentier
Belgentier is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France....
in Var
Var (département)
The Var is a French department in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in Provence, in southeast France. It takes its name from the river Var, which used to flow along its eastern boundary, but the boundary was moved in 1860...
. Peiresc was born in Belgentier
Belgentier
Belgentier is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France....
and educated in Aix-en-Provence, Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
, and at the Jesuit college at Tournon
Tournon
Tournon is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Tournon, in the Savoie département* Tournon-d'Agenais, in the Lot-et-Garonne département* Tournon-Saint-Martin, in the Indre département...
. At Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, he first became interested in astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
. Studying law and becoming interested in archaeology, he travelled to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and France in 1599, and finally finished his legal studies in 1604 at the University of Montpellier
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...
. Also in 1604 he assumed the name Peiresc after a domain in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is a French department in the south of France, it was formerly part of the province of Provence.- History :Nord-de-Provence was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
(now spelled Peyresq
Peyresq
Peyresq is a French village in the commune of Thorame-Haute in France, perched on a rocky outcrop of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence at 1,528 metres above sea level.-History:...
) which he had inherited from his father, although he never went there.
After receiving his degree, he travelled to Paris (in 1605-1606, with his patron Guillaume du Vair
Guillaume du Vair
Guillaume du Vair was a French author and lawyer.He was born in Paris. After taking holy orders, he exercised only legal functions for most of his career. However, from 1617 till his death he was Bishop of Lisieux. His reputation is that of a lawyer, a statesman and a man of letters...
, president of the Parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
of Provence), London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
before returning to Aix in 1607 to take over his uncle's position as conseiller in the Parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
of Provence under du Vair until 1615.
Intelligencer and collector
From 1615–1622, Peiresc again made a trip to Paris with du Vair. Later, he returned to Provence to serve as senator of sovereign court. He became a patron of science and art, studied fossilFossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, and hosted the astronomer Gassendi
Gassendi
* Pierre Gassendi was a French philosopher, scientist and mathematician* Gassendi is a large crater on the Moon named after him...
from 1634–1637.
Peiresc's position as a great intellectual at the move from the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
to modern science has led to his being called a "Prince of the republic of Letters". He was also a noted politician in his home region, and a tireless letter-writer (10,000 letters by him survive, and he was in constant correspondence with Malherbe, Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius , also known as Huig de Groot, Hugo Grocio or Hugo de Groot, was a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law...
, the brothers Dupuy, Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu
Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu
Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu was a French Carthusian, bishop and Cardinal. He was brother to Armand Cardinal Richelieu, the celebrated minister of Louis XIII....
, and with his great friend Rubens
Rubens
Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens , the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens (composer) Rubens is...
. His correspondence to François de Malherbe
François de Malherbe
François de Malherbe was a French poet, critic, and translator.-Life:Born in Le-Locheur , his family was of some position, though it seems not to have been able to establish to the satisfaction of heralds the claims which it made to nobility older than the 16th century.He was the eldest son of...
throws light on the personality of Malherbe's troubled son Marc-Antoine Malherbe.
Peiresc's house in Aix-en-Provence was a true museum, and held a mix of antique sculptures, modern paintings, medals, books and gardens with exotic plants. As a collector, Peiresc acquired the Byzantine Barberini ivory
Barberini ivory
The Barberini ivory is a Byzantine ivory leaf from an imperial diptych dating from Late Antiquity, now in the Louvre in Paris. It is carved in the style known as late Theodosian, representing the emperor as triumphant victor...
(it is not known how or from whom) and offered it to Francesco Barberini
Francesco Barberini (seniore)
Francesco Barberini was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. The nephew of Pope Urban VIII , he benefited immensely from the nepotism practiced by his uncle...
- the work has been in the Louvre since 1899. He had the Codex Luxemburgensis, the surviving Carolingian copy of the Chronography of 354
Chronography of 354
The Chronography of 354, also known as the Calendar of 354, was a 4th century illuminated manuscript, which was produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus. It is the earliest dated codex to have full page illustrations. None of the original has survived...
in his possession for many years; after his death it disappeared. He owned over 18,000 coins and medals, and was also an archaeologist, amateur artist, historian (he demonstrated that Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain set out not from Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
but from St Omer
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
), Egyptologist, botanist, zoologist (studying chameleons, crocodiles, the elephant and the alzaron, a sort of Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
n gazelle with a bull-like head, now disappeared), physiologist, geographer (put on the project of linking Aix to Marseilles), and ecologist.
Astronomer
As well as all this, Peiresc was also an astronomer. In 1610 du Vair purchased a telescopeTelescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
, which Peiresc and Joseph Gaultier used for observing the skies, including Jupiter's moons; his courtly suggestion that individual names from the Medici
Medici
The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...
family be applied to these "Medicean stars" was not taken up. Peiresc discovered the Orion Nebula
Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orion's Belt. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light...
in 1610; Gaultier became the second person to see it in the telescope. To determine longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
with greater precision, he coordinated the observation of the lunar eclipses of 28 August 1635 right across the Mediterranean; this allowed him to work out that the Mediterranean sea was in fact 1,000 km shorter than had previously been thought. Peiresc also wrote letters to Galileo, Pierre Gassendi
Pierre Gassendi
Pierre Gassendi was a French philosopher, priest, scientist, astronomer, and mathematician. With a church position in south-east France, he also spent much time in Paris, where he was a leader of a group of free-thinking intellectuals. He was also an active observational scientist, publishing the...
and Tommaso Campanella
Tommaso Campanella
Tommaso Campanella OP , baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet.-Biography:...
, whom he defended when they were arrested by the Inquisition.
Works
He wrote an "abridged history of Provence", though he died before editing it and is was posthumously published by Jacques Ferrier and Michel Feuillas in 1985 with Aubanel. With Gassendi's support, notably financially, he and the engraver Claude MellanClaude Mellan
Claude Mellan was a French engraver and painter.Mellan was born in Abbeville. Among the leading engravers of his time, he is best known for his numerous portraits as well as for his engraving technique of using parallel lines of varying thickness, rather than the more traditional technique of...
began to produce a map of the Moon's surface, but Peiresc died on 24 June 1637 in Aix-en-Provence before completing it. His works include:
- Histoire abrégée de Provence
- Lettres à Malherbe (1606–1628)
- Traitez des droits et des libertés de l'Eglise gallicane (1639)
- Vita Peireskii (1641)
- Mémoires
- Bulletin Rubens
- Notes inédites de Peiresc sur quelques points d'histoire naturelle
Legacy
A bronze bust of him has been set up on the square of the university in Aix-en-Provence, facing the cathedral of Saint Sauveur. His home near the palais de Justice was demolished to build the present Palais and has completely disappeared, although the village museum in Peyresq near Digne is wholly given over to his work. Peiresc was honored by the naming of the lunar craterImpact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
Peirescius
Peirescius (crater)
Peirescius is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southeastern part of the Moon. It is close enough to the limb that it appears significantly foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, even though it is nearly circular in shape. To the west-northwest of Peirescius is the crater Vega, and...
(46.5S, 67.6E, 61 km diameter) in 1935;
and the asteroid 19226 Peiresc
19226 Peiresc
19226 Peiresc is an outer main-belt asteroid discovered on September 15, 1993 by E. W. Elst at the European Southern Observatory. It is named after French scientist Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc .- External links :*...
.
External links
- de Peiresc biography and references Galileo Project at Rice University
- Life of the great Provençal humanist
- Project Peiresc by Prof R. A. Hatch