Jean D'Espagnet

Jean D'Espagnet (* 1564 ; † 1637 ) was a French judge , politician , alchemist and friend of the mathematician François Viètes .

Little is known about his life. Born in 1564, he gained a reputation as a hermetic philosopher and alchemist throughout his life . In 1590 he became a lawyer in Bordeaux and in 1592 Councilor of the Grand Conseil in Paris . In 1601 he was appointed président à mortier (president with the cap) of the chambre criminelle at the parlement de Bordeaux , and in this role he was responsible for the persecution of witches in Labourd , together with Pierre de Lancre . From around 1609 until 1615 he was the (Catholic) president of the Chambre de l'Edit de Guyenne in Nérac , established by Henry IV , after his predecessor had mysteriously died in this post. (He shared the presidency with the reformed President of the Chamber.) He then returned to the parlement de Bordeaux . He was appointed président d'honneur (honorary president) of the parlement . Pierre de Fermat visited him at the end of 1626 at the beginning of his stay in Bordeaux. D'Espagnet died in 1637 or later. Only two of his alchemical works have survived, the Arcanum Hermeticae Philosophiae and the Enchiridion Physicae Restitutae, both published in 1623.

Fonts

• Arcanum Hermeticae Philosophiae, 1623.
• Enchiridion Physicae Restitutae, 1623.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mortier. 3. Toque ronde que portaient les presidents des parlements, les greffiers en chef des parlements […] Président à mortier . Le Nouveau Petit Robert.

Web links

• Entry in the Galileo Project (English)
• Information on Jean D'Espagnet in the database of the Bibliothèque nationale de France .