A Catholic Model of Martyrdom in the Post-Reformation Era: The Bishop in Seventeenth-Century France

Abstract

By the seventeenth century, episcopal martyrdom was an established reality and ideal throughout the Catholic church. Bishops could pay homage to the celebrated prelates of the early church who had gone bravely to their deaths at the hands of their persecutors. Equally, they had access to the white martyrs who had lived their lives as 'spiritual athletes', martyring themselves through extraordinary sufferings for Christ. French bishops shared in this legacy, and their church had its own tradition of episcopal martyrology.1 Of course, no French bishop need expect to die a martyr's death by 1600, but he faced his own challenges in an ancien regime that expected its bishops to be ecclesiastical leaders, political agents and prominent members of the social establishment.These last two were radically different images of episcopacy from those proposed by traditional theology, which emphasised the spiritual nature of the office, its functions of pastoral care and government of Christ's flock. Neither were they images that fitted easily with the growing spirit of Tridentine reform in the French church. Yet Catholic reformers, including members of the episcopate itself, succeeded in offering bishops a means of reconciling these conflicting expectations through an adapted notion of spiritual martyrdom that injected new life into an ancient ideal, remoulding its traditional character according to contemporary spiritual trends. This updated construction, mainly disseminated through publications and correspondence, offered the bishops opportunities to participate in the world without allowing themselves to be ruled by it. To the historian, this model of martyrdom provides an insight into the concerns of the Catholic reform movement in France, for it resolved an urgent dilemma: how did a bishop function in the world, with its profane temptations and pressures to sin, without moving ever further from God?This question had perhaps never been more pertinent, for the bishop of a French diocese had enormous demands made on him. Appointed by the crown, he was a royal servant, under obligation to represent the king, keep the government informed on regional affairs and cultivate political and social stability. In an age when popular unrest was an ever-present possibility, he was expected to be a mediator, broker and governing force.2 Indeed, the crown remained quite prepared to use bishoprics as a means of patronage and it was certainly not unknown for its loyal servants to be rewarded with dioceses, although it was far less common in the seventeenth century than it had been before. Yet significant numbers of prelates did owe their positions to political service. In 1648, Francois Bosquet was appointed to Lodeve in recognition of his assiduous labour as a provincial intendant, while Henri Arnauld of Angers served as a diplomat in Rome before his nomination to Angers in 1649.3 Many bishops also acted as deputies in the provincial estates and in the clerical Assembly, where they were required to examine any political affair that remotely affected the ecclesiastical realm.Whether he spent his time at court or in his diocese, the laity also expected much of its bishops. Not only should he be a generous benefactor, he should also cultivate a life appropriate to the dignity of a prince of the Catholic church. This was even more important if the bishop was a member of the secular nobility, and through the seventeenth century the overwhelming majority were.4 In practice, this generally involved possessing a household and wealth corresponding to those of the leading local aristocracy. To maintain their social standing, many bishops undertook extravagant building projects and, indeed, contemporaries often commented on the large numbers of new and refurbished episcopal palaces.5 This secular view of episcopal office was perpetuated by the fact that many noble families regarded particular sees as their lineal property, invaluable tools for their retention of status and power: amongst seventeenth-century bishops who owed their seats to virtual hereditary tenure were the prelates of the Villars family who dominated the dioceses of Agen, Mirepoix and Vienne. …