David Durand
Encyclopedia
David Durand was an Huguenot
French
and English
minister and historian
. He was born in Languedoc
and fled France
to the Netherlands before heading to Spain
with a group of refugees, being captured at the Battle of Almanza in 1707 and being sent to France and then escaping to the Netherlands again. He was a minister in Rotterdam
and became a friend of Pierre Bayle
's there.
He moved to England in 1711 and served as a pastor to the Church of England
French-speaking
churches in London. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1728. During his time in England, he wrote many works in French, most of them history. His continuation of Paul de Rapin
's History of England (1734) was the most successful of his works. Although it was written for a French audience, it was the most authoritative history of England for some years. He also wrote histories of the 16th century, of Classical painting, and a literary work where he attempted a French-language imitation of John Milton
's Paradise Lost
. He never married, and died in 1763.
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
and English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
minister and historian
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 race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. He was born in Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
and fled France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to the Netherlands before heading to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
with a group of refugees, being captured at the Battle of Almanza in 1707 and being sent to France and then escaping to the Netherlands again. He was a minister in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
and became a friend of Pierre Bayle
Pierre Bayle
Pierre Bayle was a French philosopher and writer best known for his seminal work the Historical and Critical Dictionary, published beginning in 1695....
's there.
He moved to England in 1711 and served as a pastor to the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
French-speaking
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
churches in London. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1728. During his time in England, he wrote many works in French, most of them history. His continuation of Paul de Rapin
Paul de Rapin
Paul de Rapin , sieur of Thoyras , was a French historian writing under English patronage....
's History of England (1734) was the most successful of his works. Although it was written for a French audience, it was the most authoritative history of England for some years. He also wrote histories of the 16th century, of Classical painting, and a literary work where he attempted a French-language imitation of John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
's Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
. He never married, and died in 1763.