Pierre Pithou (1 November 1539 – 1 November 1596) was a French

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and scholar. He is also known as Petrus Pithoeus.

Life

He was born at

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

. From childhood he loved literature, and his father Pierre encouraged this interest. Young Pithou was called to the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

bar in 1560. On the outbreak of the second war of religion in 1567, Pithou, who was a

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

, withdrew to Sedan, France and afterwards to

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, returning to France on the publication of the edict of pacification. Soon afterwards he accompanied the duc de Montmorency on his embassy to England, returning shortly before the massacre of St Bartholomew, in which he narrowly escaped with his life. Next year he followed the example of the future

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 ...

by abjuring the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

faith. Henry, shortly after his accession to the throne, recognized Pithou's talents and services by giving him various legal appointments. He co-operated in publishing the '' Satire Ménippée'' (1593), which did much to damage the cause of the Catholic League; the harangue of the ''Sieur d'Aubray'' is usually attributed to Pithou. Pithou wrote many legal and historical books, besides preparing editions of several ancient writers. His earliest publication was ''Adversariorum subsectorum lib. II.'' (1565). In 1569, he became the first to publish Landolfus Sagax' ''Historia Romana'', and under the name by which it became better known: ''Historia Miscella''. Perhaps his edition of the ''Leges Visigothorum'' (1579) was his most valuable contribution to historical science; in the same line he edited the ''Capitula'' of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

, and

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

in 1588; he assisted his brother François in preparing the ''Corpus juris canonici'' (1687). Pierre's ''Libertés de l'église gallicane'' (1594) is reprinted in his ''Opera sacra juridica his orica miscellanea collecta'' (1609). In classical literature he was the first who made the world acquainted with the ''Fables of Phaedrus'' (1596). Pithou contributed to the study of

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, in

collating Collation is the assembly of written information into a standard order. Many systems of collation are based on numerical order or alphabetical order, or extensions and combinations thereof. Collation is a fundamental element of most office fil ...

a manuscript against the edition of Sigonius, and adding notes. It was not published, but has been cited as "Excerpta-", "Exc-" and "notulae Pithoei", and remains in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

, Oxford.Auct. 2 R 1.5
/ref> He died at Nogent-sur-Seine. His valuable library, specially rich in manuscripts, was for the most part transferred to what is now the

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

in Paris.

Family

Three of Pierre Pithou's brothers acquired distinction as jurists: Nicolas, with his twin, Jean co-authored the treatise, ''Institution du mariage chrétien''. François Pithou, the youngest, wrote ''Glossarium ad libros capitularium'' (1588) and ''Traité de l'excommunication et de l'interdit, etc.'' (1587).

Works

* ''Charlemagne empereur d'Occident''. *''Généalogie des comtes héréditaires de Troyes et de Meaulx, ou de Champaigne et Brie, qui furent aussi Roys de Navarre''. *''Bref recueil des évêques de Troyes. (Signé : P. Pithoeus... 572)''. * *''Satire Ménippée'', 1593. ** ''Satyre Ménippée : de la vertu du Catholicon d'Espagne et de la tenue des estats de Paris'', Éd. Charles Labitte, Œuvres & Valsery, Ressouvenances, 1841; 1997 . ** ''Satyre Menippee de la Vertu du Catholicon d'Espagne et de la tenue des Estats de Paris'', éd. critique de Martial Martin, Paris, H. Champion, 2007, « Textes de la Renaissance », n° 117, .

References

;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pithou, Pierre 1539 births 1596 deaths Writers from Troyes 16th-century French lawyers 16th-century French historians 16th-century French male writers French legal writers French male non-fiction writers Converts to Roman Catholicism People from Champagne (province)