Gérard Machet (1378/9 – 17 July 1448) was a French theologian and priest. He served as the confessor of

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...

from 1421, as a royal counsellor () from 1425 and as the

bishop of Castres The Catholic Diocese of Castres, in Southern France, was created in 1317 from the diocese of Albi. It was suppressed at the time of the French Revolution, under the Concordat of 1801.pseudocardinal A pseudocardinal (also quasi-cardinal or anticardinal) is a cardinal created by an antipope, that is, one whose appointed is not recognized as canonical by the Catholic Church. Status Their state, like the state of the antipopes and the anti-b ...

s appointed by

Antipope Felix V Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was a claimant to the papacy from 1439 to 1449 as Felix VWhen numbering of the popes began ...

in 1440, but he never acted as such. A professor at the

College of Navarre The College of Navarre (, ) was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris. It rivaled the Sorbonne and was renowned for its library. History The college was founded by Queen Joan I of Navarre in 1305, who provided for three depar ...

and a staunch

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac (region), Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni ...

, he was forced to flee Paris in 1418. After a brief stay in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, he was attached to the court of Charles VII for the rest of his life. He was one of the first to examine

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

, whom he accepted as genuine, and he was one of the early Gallicans. He was a popular preacher but not a writer, although single large collection of his letters from the 1440s survives in a single manuscript.

Life

Early life

Machet was born in 1378 or 1379. Although older sources place his birth in

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...

, he was probably a native of the region around

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. He entered the

in 1391. He appears to have obtained his bachelor's degree in theology in 1404. He received his master's in December 1410. He took up a teaching position as

regent master Regent master (''Magister regens'') was a title conferred in the medieval universities upon a student who had acquired a master's degree. The degree meant simply the right to teach, the ''Licentia docendi'', a right which could be granted, in the ...

, which he held until 1418. In 1410, Machet received a

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

attached to the cathedral of Paris and moved into a house with

Jean Gerson Jean Charlier de Gerson (13 December 1363 – 12 July 1429) was a French scholar, educator, reformer, and poet, Chancellor of the University of Paris, a guiding light of the conciliar movement and one of the most prominent theologians at the Cou ...

. He was probably by this time a priest. He participated in the "Council of Faith" that debated and condemned

tyrannicide Tyrannicide is the killing or assassination of a tyrant or unjust ruler, purportedly for the common good, and usually by one of the tyrant's subjects. Tyrannicide was legally permitted and encouraged in Classical Athens. Often, the term "tyrant ...

at Paris in 1413–1414. Machet sided unreservedly with the Armagnacs against the

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

. In 1415–1416, he was the acting subchancellor of the university while Gerson attended the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...

. In this capacity, on 6 March 1416, he addressed a speech to Sigismund, King of the Romans, when the latter paid a visit to the university. In April–May 1418, Machet was one of six clerics on the royal negotiating team at La Tombe, where a peace between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians was forged. The work of the negotiators was nullified, however, by the a coup détat at Paris. Compelled to flee Paris, Machet received a

canonry Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an canon law, ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the p ...

in the church of Saint-Paul de Lyon in October 1418. He did not receive a prebend because that was not the practice in Lyon at the time.

Charles VII's confessor

Sometime between September 1420 and January 1421, Machet left Lyon to become the confessor of the dauphin, the future King Charles VII. He swore his oath to the prince at

Mehun-sur-Yèvre Mehun-sur-Yèvre (, literally ''Mehun on Yèvre'') is a commune in the Cher department in central France. Population Economy The French porcelain manufacturer Pillivuyt is based locally. See also *Communes of the Cher department The fo ...

. He remained Charles's confessor after his accession as king in 1422, which meant that for the last 28 years of his life he was largely itinerant—following Charles VII's court around the country. He resigned the canonry in Lyon in 1423 and received a prebend in Bourges with the

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

ry of Nazarène. Charles VII also conferred on him a canonry and prebend of the

cathedral of Chartres Chartres Cathedral (, lit. Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) is a Catholic cathedral in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary ('Our Lady'), it was mostly co ...

, although that city was under the control of the English at the time. From 1425, he was also a royal counsellor. He remained Charles VII's confessor until his own death in 1448. In early March 1429, Machet was part of the first group of churchman to examine

Chinon Chinon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. The traditional province around Chinon, Touraine, became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginn ...

. Gobert Thibault, who was Machet's valet at the time, stated in a deposition during Joan's later rehabilitation trial that Machet considered her a fulfillment of prophecy, having seen "a writing that there should come a maiden who would aid the Kingdom of France". It has sometimes been claimed that Machet, being a native of

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

and a friend of the bishop of Troyes, , played a role in the decision of

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 ...

to adhere to Charles VII in 1429, when it was facing a potential siege. This is unlikely. Machet resigned his benefices in Bourges in 1429. On 23 January 1432,

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Republic of Venice, Venetian, and a nephew ...

appointed him

bishop of Castres The Catholic Diocese of Castres, in Southern France, was created in 1317 from the diocese of Albi. It was suppressed at the time of the French Revolution, under the Concordat of 1801.Antoigné, a lordship belonging to the chapter of Saint Martin's of Tours, which benefice he resigned upon becoming bishop. On 8 December 1433, he received a

papal dispensation In the jurisprudence of the canon law of the Catholic Church, a dispensation is the exemption from the immediate obligation of the law in certain cases.The Law of Christ Vol. I, pg. 284 Its object is to modify the hardship often caused by rigor ...

from the obligations of residence and visitation so that he could remain the king's confessor. He remained bishop of Castres until his death. He made a first visit to his diocese before 1436. He renovated the choir of the cathedral of Castres, funding the operation through the sale of

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

s beginning in 1439. Machet was a "champion" of

Gallicanism Gallicanism is the belief that popular secular authority—often represented by the monarch's or the state's authority—over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the pope. Gallicanism is a rejection of ultramontanism; it has something ...

. For the last ten years of his life, he was the main defender of the

Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, issued by King Charles VII of France, on 7 July 1438, required a General Church Council, with authority superior to that of the papacy, to be held every ten years, required election rather than appointment to ec ...

of 1438. In 1440, he attended the Council of Bourges on behalf of the king, who was busy dealing with the

Praguerie The Praguerie () was a revolt of the French nobility against King Charles VII from February to July 1440. It was so named because a similar rising had recently taken place in Prague, Bohemia, at that time closely associated with France through ...

. He authored the royal declaration read in the council on 2 September, accepting Pope Eugene IV for the time being and calling for a new general council, rejecting the

Council of Basel The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1445. It was convened in territories under the Holy Roman Empire. Italy became a venue of a Catholic ecumenical council aft ...

. On 12 November 1440, the

made him a cardinal, but he was prohibited from acting as such by order of the king. After the recapture of Paris in 1436, Machet was named administrator of the College of Navarre. In 1441, during Charles VII's stay in Paris, Machet resumed lecturing at the university for a short period. As the oldest member of the faculty, he was recognized as dean. For the last twelve years of his life, he was heavily involved in university affairs. Machet spent his last months in the

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...

. He died at Tours on 17 July 1448. The last line of his last surviving letter describes the court's peregrinations at that time: "We pass through the country, changing residence; we carry ourselves to solitary places, propitious for rest, far from the tumult.": .

Works

Machet was "hailed as the greatest preacher of his day", but few of his writings survive. There is a manuscript in the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

, Latin 8577, containing 392 letters written by Machet, mostly dating to the 1440s. Machet also engaged in correspondence with the humanist Nicolas de Clamanges between 1410 and 1417, but only the letters of Clamanges are preserved, mostly dealing with the Council of Constance.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{refend 1370s births 1448 deaths College of Navarre alumni Academic staff of the University of Paris