Josias de Soûlas, known as "Floridor", Sieur de Prinefosse (c.1608-14 August 1671) was a French actor.
[J. Fransen, Les Comédiens français en Hollande au XVII* et au XVIII «siècle. Paris, librairie Honoré Champion, 4925. JSTOR "Mais ce que l'on sait, c'est que Josias de Soûlas, dit Floridor, se produisit aux Pays-Bas, et qu'il avait à ce point l'estime du grand tragique que Corneille le chargea de remettre à Constantin Huygens, à qui il dédia le Menteur, un exemplaire de sa Médée."]
Biography
He was born in
Brie
Brie ( ; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie (itself from Gaulish ''briga'', "hill, height"), the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in colour with a slight gre ...
early in the 17th century, the son of a gentleman of German family who had moved to France, married there, and become a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
. The son entered the
French army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
, but after being promoted ensign, quit the army for the theatre, where he took the name of "Floridor." His first
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 ...
appearance was in 1640. Three years later he was called to the company at the
Hôtel de Bourgogne, where he played all the leading parts in tragedy and comedy and became the head of his profession. He was a man of superb physique and excellent carriage, with a flexible and sonorous voice, and manners of rare distinction and elegance, He was much liked at court, and
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
held him in particular esteem.
The actor and playwright
Noël Lebreton de Hauteroche
Noël Lebreton, sieur de Hauteroche (Paris, 1617 – Paris, 14 July 1707), was a French actor and playwright who died blind.
The son of a bailiff in Parlement, Hauteroche fled to Spain in order to escape a marriage that was to be imposed on him ...
succeeded him as head of the troupe at the
Hôtel de Bourgogne.
Family
His daughter was Marie-Marguerite de Soûlas, who married fellow actor and comedy writer
Antoine Jacob in 1665.
References
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Floridor, Jose de Soulas
17th-century French male actors
1671 deaths
French Roman Catholics
Year of birth unknown