Samuel Guichenon (18 August 1607,

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as ...

- 8 September 1664) was a French lawyer, historian and genealogist.

Life

He was one of three sons born to Grégoire Guichenon and Claudine Chaussat, a Calvinist family originating in Châtillon-les-Dombes. His father was a surgeon at

Bourg-en-Bresse Bourg-en-Bresse (; frp, Bôrg) is the prefecture of the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ancient province of Bresse ( frp, Brêsse, links=no). In 2018, th ...

and his mother was the daughter of a rich merchant from Bourg-en-Bresse, but they settled in

to be closer to the Protestant community at

Pont-de-Veyle Pont-de-Veyle (, literally ''Bridge of Veyle'') is a commune in the Ain department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Departm ...

. He had an active adolescence "with prodigious humour and a tender heart" and studied law in

Annonay Annonay (; oc, Anonai) is a commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the capital ...

before completing his doctorate in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

. Under the influence of an old clergyman from Bourg-en-Bresse, following a trip to Italy and a dream about

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christiani ...

, Samuel renounced Calvinism and converted to Catholicism in 1630.''Bulletin du bibliophile et du bibliothécaire'' de J. Techener, 1863, p.566. He began studying judicial law and became a lawyer in

. He married three times - one of these was to a rich widow, whose wealth allowed him to devote himself completely to his historical research. In 1650 he published his ''Histoire de la

Bresse Bresse () is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term ''Bresse'' has two meanings: ''Bresse bourguignonne'' (or ''louhannaise''), whi ...

et du

Bugey The Bugey (, ; Arpitan: ''Bugê'') is a historical region in the department of Ain, eastern France, located between Lyon and Geneva. It is located in a loop of the Rhône River in the southeast of the department. It includes the foothills of th ...

'' but he refused to edit the "Histoire de la

Dombes The Dombes (; Arpitan: Domba) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the province of Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of Ain, and bounded on the west by the Saône River, on the ...

" in the way

Vaugelas Claude Favre de Vaugelas (6 January 1585 – 26 February 1650) was a Savoyard grammarian and man of letters. Although a lifelong courtier, Claude Favre was widely known by the name of one of the landed estates he owned as ''seigneur'' of Va ...

wished, since this would involve justifying France's annexation of this project and bias the work. Also in 1650 he was made dynastic historian to the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

(then under the regency of

Christine of France Christine of France (10 February 1606 – 27 December 1663) was the sister of Louis XIII and Duchess of Savoy by marriage. Upon the death of her husband Victor Amadeus I in 1637, she acted as regent of Savoy between 1637 and 1648. Daughter of F ...

until her son

Charles Emmanuel II Charles Emmanuel II ( it, Carlo Emanuele II di Savoia); 20 June 1634 – 12 June 1675) was Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675 and under regency of his mother Christine of France until 1648. He was also Marquis of Saluzzo, Count of Aosta, Geneva, ...

came of age) and to write a History of the Estates of Savoy he moved to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

. In 1651 he was made a count palatine by

Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III (Ferdinand Ernest; 13 July 1608, in Graz – 2 April 1657, in Vienna) was from 1621 Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary from 1625, King of Croatia and Bohemia from 1627 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1637 until his death in 1657. ...

- he was also a knight of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. He displeased the House of Savoy by disputing traditional chroniclers and disproving its hereditary rights to several lost territories such as

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

. He clarified certain obscure points in its history and revealed some well-kept secrets, which led to many polemical disputes with other historians. Finally, under pressure, he recognized the House's traditional claim to Saxon origins and a dynastic link with the Holy Roman Emperor and endorsed the Duke of Savoy's policy of regional expansion towards Italy and of renouncing its claims to lands in western Europe which were too difficult to capture or hold onto due to French pressure. In 1658

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of V ...

ennobled Guichenon and made him official historian of France. His ''Histoire généalogique de la Royale Maison de Savoie'' was published in

in 1660 and presented to Christine of France - it marked the start of a new age in history-writing in which research was founded on the authenticity of sources and rational study. He was awarded the Cross of Saint Maurice. Never published, his last work was ''Le Soleil en son apogée'', a

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...

of Christine, edited during the last months of his life. He is buried in the église des Jacobins at Bourg-en-Bresse. He was highly thought of until the end of the 18th century.

Works

* ''Histoire de la Bresse et du Bugey'' (1650). * ''Le Soleil en son Apogée ou Histoire de Chrestienne de France, Duchesse de Savoie, Princesse de Piémont, Reyne de Chypre'' (1664)
''Histoire généalogique de la Royale Maison de Savoie ou Histoire généalogique de la Royale Maison de Savoie justifiée par titres, fondations de monastères, manuscrits, anciens monumens, histoires, et autres preuves authentiques''
published by Jean-Michel Briolo (1660) * ''Bibliotheca Sébusiana'', published by Jean-Michel Briolo (1660) * ''Episcopum Bellicensium chronologica series'' (1642) * ''Histoire de la souveraineté de la Dombes''Not published in Guichenon's lifetime, it was begun at the request of

Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in th ...

. However, he was accused of reporting certain events in it later than they actually happened.
Volume 1

Volume 2

References

Sources

Ferdinand Hoefer Jean Chrétien Ferdinand Hoefer (German: ''Ferdinand Höfer'', 21 April 1811, Döschnitz – 4 May 1878) was a German-French physician and lexicographer. He is now known for his many works on the history of science. Selected works *''Élémen ...

''Nouvelle biographie générale depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu’à nos jours, avec les renseignements bibliographiques et l’indication des sources à consulter''
Paris, Firmin-Didot frères, 1853-70. 46 volumes, p. 537 * E. Haag, ''La France Protestante, ou Vies des protestants français qui se sont fait un nom dans l’histoire'', Paris, Joùel Cherbuliez, 1846-1858

External links

The Literature of the pays de l’Ain and its surroundings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guichenon, Samuel 1607 births 1664 deaths 17th-century French historians 17th-century French lawyers French genealogists French Roman Catholics People from Mâcon Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism History of Savoy