The Arnauld or Arnaud family Lord de la Mothe, de Bessac, de la Besse, de Villeneuve, de Ronzière et d'Artonne, then d'Andilly, de Corbeville and Marquess de Pomponne is a noble French family prominent in the 17th century, and closely associated with Jansenism, associating frequently with the Jansenist religious communities in Port-Royal de Paris and Port-Royal des Champs. While their base of operations was in Paris, the family's roots is in the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

region of France.

History

Ennobled in 1464, the Arnauld family held many prestigious functions: Isaac Arnauld (-1561) was general of the Carabineers in the Royal Army, Simon Arnauld de Pomponne (1618–1699) was a royal ambassador and Antoine Arnauld was the royal State Counselor to King Henry IV and General Prosecutor for Queen Catherine of Medicis in 1582 The family is divided into several branches. The oldest, Arnauld de Pomponne and Arnauld d'Andilly are now extinct. Another branch of the family, divided into two sub-branches; the Arnauld de la Ronzière and Arnauld d'Artonne are still represented today. One of the most memorable figure is

Antoine Arnauld Antoine Arnauld (6 February 16128 August 1694) was a French Catholic theologian, philosopher and mathematician. He was one of the leading intellectuals of the Jansenist group of Port-Royal and had a very thorough knowledge of patristics. C ...

(b. 1560, d. 1619 CE). Legendarily, the "original sin" that led to the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

(among others) becoming bitter foes to the Arnaulds was a speech given in 1594 by Antoine (an eloquent lawyer) apologizing for the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

against the Jesuits. Of Antoine's and Catherine Marion de Druy's 20 children, only ten would survive childhood- but 9 of them would become involved in the Port-Royal projects, going on variously to become poets, authors, translators, monks etc. Indeed, Marie Angélique de Sainte Madeleine, (b. 1591, d. 1661) would become an abbess of the Port-Royal

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

house, where she is remembered for her reforms (prompted by St. Francis de Sales). One of the aforementioned authors was

(b. 1612, d. 1694), who spent his efforts on attacking the Jesuits from his position in the Sorbonne, while his elder brother (and sister of Madeleine)

Robert Arnauld d'Andilly Robert Arnauld d’Andilly (28 May 1589 – 27 September 1674, abbaye de Port-Royal-des-Champs)Jean Lesaulnier et Anthony McKenna dir., ''Dictionnaire de Port-Royal'', Paris, Honoré Champion, 2004, notice "Robert Arnauld d’Andilly", p. 108. wa ...

, (b. 1588, d. 1674) spent his life at the Port-Royal translating texts and writing noted religious poetry.

Family tree

Heraldry

References

External links

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Columbia Encyclopedia The ''Columbia Encyclopedia'' is a one-volume encyclopedia produced by Columbia University Press and, in the last edition, sold by the Gale Group. First published in 1935, and continuing its relationship with Columbia University Columbi ...

* Political families of France Jansenists 17th-century French people {{France-noble-stub