Michel Baudier (c. 15891645),
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
, was born in
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately .
History
...
,
during the reign of
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
, and was historiographer to the Court of France.
Life
In the 1620s Baudier, a soldier turned historian wrote a treatise on Islam, which was one of the first works in French on Islam.
His writings initially focused on administrative and military history. similarly, his historical writing about Asia was the first in France. “French admiration for the Ottomans and their military superiority, as Ina claims, manifested in Baudier 's historical writings.
He contributed to French history by writing ''Histoire de la guerre de Flandre 1559–1609'' (''History of the war in Flanders 1559–1609'', Paris, 1615); ''Histoire de l'administration du cardinal d'Amboise, grand ministre d'état en France'' (''History of the administration of Cardinal D'Amboise, great minister of state in France'', Paris, 1634), a defence of
Georges d'Amboise
Georges d'Amboise (1460 – May 25, 1510) was a French Roman Catholic cardinal and minister of state. He belonged to the house of Amboise, a noble family possessed of considerable influence: of his nine brothers, four were bishops. His fath ...
; and ''Histoire de l'administration de l'abbé Suger'' (''History of the administration of
Abbot Suger
Suger (; ; ; 1081 – 13 January 1151) was a French abbot and statesman. He was a key advisor to King Louis VI and his son Louis VII, acting as the latter's regent during the Second Crusade. His writings remain seminal texts for early twelf ...
'', Paris, 1645). Taking an especial interest in the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...
he wrote ''Inventaire général de l'histoire des Turcs'' (''General inventory of the history of the Turks'', Paris, 1619); ''Histoire générale de la religion des Turcs avec la vie de leur prophète Mahomet'' (''General history of the religion of the Turks with the life of their
Prophet Muhammad
In Islam, Muhammad () is venerated as the Seal of the Prophets who transmitted the Quran, eternal word of God () from the Angels in Islam, angel Gabriel () to humans and jinn. Muslims believe that the Quran, the central religious text of Isl ...
'', Paris, 1626); and ''Histoire générale du sérail et de la cour du grand Turc'' (''General history of the harem and of the court of the Grand Turk'', Paris, 1626; English translation by
E. Grimeston, London, 1635).
Having heard the narrative of a
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
who had returned from
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, Baudier wrote ''Histoire de la cour du roi de Chine'' (''History of the royal court of China'', Paris, 1626; English translation in vol. viii of the ''Collection of Voyages and Travels'' of
Awnsham and John Churchill, London, 1707–1747). He also wrote ''Vie du cardinal Ximénès'' (''Life of
Cardinal Ximénès'', Paris, 1635), which was again published with a notice of the author by E. Baudier (Paris, 1851), and a romance entitled ''Histoire de l'incomparable administration de Romieu, grand ministre d'état de Raymond Bérenger, comte de Provence'' (''History of the incomparable administration Romieu, great minister of the condition of
Raymond Bérenger, Count of Provence'', Paris, 1635).
According to Jean-Claude, Baudier knew several languages, and he “wrote not only about France, but also about Spain, England, Italy, China, Persia, and Turkey.”
References
Bibliography
* This cites:
**
J. Lelong, ''Bibliothèque historique de la France'' (Paris, 1768-1778)
**
L. Moréri, ''Le Grand Dictionnaire historique'' (Amsterdam, 1740)
1580s births
1645 deaths
17th-century French historians
French historiographers
French male non-fiction writers
17th-century French male writers
People from Languedoc
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