Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul
Encyclopedia
Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul (1552 – 26 January 1636) was a French
diplomat
. Although he came from a Calvinist family, who had been exiled during the Wars of Religion, Jean, through cultivating connections with Henry IV
eventually was restored to a portion of his patrimony.
and author
François Hotman
. He was born in Lausanne
because his family was in exile during the Wars of Religion
in France
. His father, although heir to an estate, did not take the title of Marquis
because his adherence to Protestantism
distanced him from his extended family
.
Due in part to the religious conflicts, the family moved often. From 1555 to 1563, they were in Strasbourg
, from 1563 to 1566 in Valence
, from 1566 to 1572, in Bourges
, from 1572 to 1578 in Geneva
. In 1578, they moved for the last time to Basel
where Jean's father Francis would die in 1590.
Jean studied law at Valence, graduating before 1568. He later went to Paris
in 1578, and through his father's influence, was named a tutor in the household of the English Ambassador to Paris, Sir Amias Paulet
(ambassador 1576-1579). He tutored Amias' two sons, Anthony
and George. When Amias was recalled to England in November 1579, Jean followed him there to continue tutoring his sons. Sir Francis Bacon also traveled with Sir Amias during this time 1577-78, and it is possible they knew each other.
where he became acquainted with many current or soon-to-be famous persons. Jean graduated from the University of Oxford
in 1581, with a doctorate in law. Anthony Paulet would later receive an M.A.
and eventually succeeded his father as Governor of Jersey(see DNB
, XV, pg 527). His three-years-younger brother George took another route with a good marriage (see DNB, XV, pg 528).
While at Oxford, Jean fell in with a group of fellows including Richard Hakluyt
, Henry Cuffe
(1563–1601) and Sir Philip Sidney
. Through Philip Sidney and Amias Paulet, Hotman caught the attention of Philip's uncle Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
, the Chancellor of the University, who around May/Oct 1582, engaged him as one of his secretaries. This brought Hotman to the court of Queen Elizabeth.
Despite this, he moved back and forth to the continent. He was at Caen
in 1584, where he was nominated "prieur du college des droits", but he left when they would not pay him. About 1584 or 1585, he was married, probably in France, to Renee de St Martin, the former lady-in-waiting
to Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich. And on 14 January 1585, he was appointed counsellor and master of requests
by Henry of Navarre
, the future Henry IV.
He returned to England, where he followed Leicester to the Low Countries
in May 1585, and when Leicester returned to England, he left Hotman behind as his agent, with the special commission to pacify the troubles in Utrecht. He performed this task well and wrote to Leicester but had the affrontery to write directly to Queen Elizabeth for which Leicester upbraided him. This did not lead to a permanent breach for "When Leicester after his second stay in the Netherlands, returned to England (Dec 1587), Hotman was one of his retinue." (Posthumus, pg 40)
In 1588, he was appointed Prebendary of Ilfracombe with an income of 28 pounds, although mostly eaten up by taxes and expenses. In March 1588, he was entered at Gray's Inn, but apparently did not embark on a legal career.
In his treatise that was translated into English in 1603, John Hotman warned diplomats against hiring servants from the country to which they were assigned for fear these hirelings would act as spies. He even recommended that ambassadors take their wives with them to supervise their households in order to prevent its members from revealing sensitive information to outsiders.
At one point, he apparently received the title of Count d'Hotman. Sometime before 1619, he was Ambassador
to Düsseldorf
.
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...
diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
. Although he came from a Calvinist family, who had been exiled during the Wars of Religion, Jean, through cultivating connections with Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
eventually was restored to a portion of his patrimony.
Early life
Hotman was the eldest son of the famous juristJurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
François Hotman
François Hotman
François Hotman was a French Protestant lawyer and writer, associated with the legal humanists and with the monarchomaques, who struggled against absolute monarchy. His first name is often written 'Francis' in English. His surname is Latinized by himself as Hotomanus, by others as Hotomannus and...
. He was born in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
because his family was in exile during the Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
in 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...
. His father, although heir to an estate, did not take the title of Marquis
Marquis
Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...
because his adherence to Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
distanced him from his extended family
Extended family
The term extended family has several distinct meanings. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not. However, it may also refer...
.
Due in part to the religious conflicts, the family moved often. From 1555 to 1563, they were in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, from 1563 to 1566 in Valence
Valence, Drôme
Valence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...
, from 1566 to 1572, in Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
, from 1572 to 1578 in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. In 1578, they moved for the last time to Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
where Jean's father Francis would die in 1590.
Jean studied law at Valence, graduating before 1568. He later went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1578, and through his father's influence, was named a tutor in the household of the English Ambassador to Paris, Sir Amias Paulet
Amias Paulet
Sir Amias Paulet was an English diplomat, Governor of Jersey, and the gaoler for a period of Mary, Queen of Scots.-Life:...
(ambassador 1576-1579). He tutored Amias' two sons, Anthony
Anthony Paulet
Anthony Paulet was Governor of the Isle of Jersey from 1588 until his death in 1600.Born at Hinton St George, Somerset to Sir Amyas Paulet and his wife Margaret Hervey, Anthony accompanied his father to Paris where Amyas was Ambassador.In 1579, Amyas took into his household a tutor, Jean Hotman ,...
and George. When Amias was recalled to England in November 1579, Jean followed him there to continue tutoring his sons. Sir Francis Bacon also traveled with Sir Amias during this time 1577-78, and it is possible they knew each other.
Middle Life
In March 1580, Jean, Anthony and George settled at OxfordOxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
where he became acquainted with many current or soon-to-be famous persons. Jean graduated from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1581, with a doctorate in law. Anthony Paulet would later receive an M.A.
Master of Arts (Oxbridge)
In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...
and eventually succeeded his father as Governor of Jersey(see DNB
DNB
DNB is short for:* De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank* Den norske Bank, a Norwegian bank * Departure from nucleate boiling in boiling heat transfer* Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, the German national library...
, XV, pg 527). His three-years-younger brother George took another route with a good marriage (see DNB, XV, pg 528).
While at Oxford, Jean fell in with a group of fellows including Richard Hakluyt
Richard Hakluyt
Richard Hakluyt was an English writer. He is principally remembered for his efforts in promoting and supporting the settlement of North America by the English through his works, notably Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America and The Principal Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and...
, Henry Cuffe
Henry Cuffe
Sir Henry Cuffe was an English author and politician, executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, for treason.-Family connections:...
(1563–1601) and Sir Philip Sidney
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
. Through Philip Sidney and Amias Paulet, Hotman caught the attention of Philip's uncle Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
, the Chancellor of the University, who around May/Oct 1582, engaged him as one of his secretaries. This brought Hotman to the court of Queen Elizabeth.
Despite this, he moved back and forth to the continent. He was at Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
in 1584, where he was nominated "prieur du college des droits", but he left when they would not pay him. About 1584 or 1585, he was married, probably in France, to Renee de St Martin, the former lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich. And on 14 January 1585, he was appointed counsellor and master of requests
Master of Requests
The Master of Requests was a Great Officer of State in Scotland.The office first appeared in the reign of James V. Its functions in Scotland included that of receiving petitions from subjects and presenting them for consideration by the Privy Council...
by Henry of Navarre
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, the future Henry IV.
He returned to England, where he followed Leicester to the Low Countries
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in May 1585, and when Leicester returned to England, he left Hotman behind as his agent, with the special commission to pacify the troubles in Utrecht. He performed this task well and wrote to Leicester but had the affrontery to write directly to Queen Elizabeth for which Leicester upbraided him. This did not lead to a permanent breach for "When Leicester after his second stay in the Netherlands, returned to England (Dec 1587), Hotman was one of his retinue." (Posthumus, pg 40)
In 1588, he was appointed Prebendary of Ilfracombe with an income of 28 pounds, although mostly eaten up by taxes and expenses. In March 1588, he was entered at Gray's Inn, but apparently did not embark on a legal career.
Later life
Upon the death of his father in 1590, he returned to France to settle the estate and became the guardian of his three unmarried sisters. One of these, Suzanne has a marriage contract dated 1594 in Paris. She is perhaps the most well-known of his sisters, having known modern descendants in Canada and the United States, and being the subject of a few scholarly articles.In his treatise that was translated into English in 1603, John Hotman warned diplomats against hiring servants from the country to which they were assigned for fear these hirelings would act as spies. He even recommended that ambassadors take their wives with them to supervise their households in order to prevent its members from revealing sensitive information to outsiders.
At one point, he apparently received the title of Count d'Hotman. Sometime before 1619, he was Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
.
Further reading
- Francisci et Joannis Hotomannorum...Epistolae, Amsterdam, 1700