Joseph Duchesne to Leonardo da Vinci

Continued from previous post.

Joseph Duchesne or du Chesne (c.1544-1609) was a French physician. A follower of Paracelsus, he is now remembered for important if transitional alchemical theories.  In 1598, Duchesne became the royal physician attending Henry IV of France.

Henry IV (13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), was King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France.  During his reign, Henry IV worked through his faithful right-hand man, the minister Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully, to regularise state finance, promote agriculture, drain swamps to create productive crop lands, undertake many public works, and encourage education, as with the creation of the Collège Royal Henri-le-Grand in La Flèche (today Prytanée Militaire de la Flèche).

Maximilien de Béthune, first Duke of Sully (13 December 1560 – 22 December 1641) was the doughty soldier, French minister, staunch Huguenot and faithful right-hand man who assisted Henry IV of France in the rule of France.  In 1603, he represented Henry at the court of James I of England.

James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603 until his death. He was baptised "Charles James" on 17 December 1566 in a Catholic ceremony held at Stirling Castle. The English guests were offended by the subsequent entertainment, which was devised by Frenchman Bastian Pagez and depicted them as satyrs with tails.

Bastian Pagez was a French servant and musician at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. When Mary was exiled in England, Bastian and his family continued in her service. Bastian is first recorded at the Scottish court in 1565 when Mary and Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley bought him an elaborate and expensive suit of clothes costing over £100 Scots as a mark of their favour.

Henry Stewart or Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany (7 December 1545 — 10 February 1567), styled Lord Darnley before 1565, was king consort of Scotland and murdered at Kirk o'Field. In 1565 Henry wed Mary, Queen of Scots, despite the efforts of English ambassador Thomas Randolph to prevent the marriage.

Thomas Randolph (1523–1590) was an English ambassador serving Elizabeth I of England.  Among his fellow-students and intimates while living in Paris was Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange.

Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange (c. 1520 – 3 August 1573), Scottish politician and soldier, William fought for the Scottish reformation but ended his career holding Edinburgh castle on behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots and was hanged at the conclusion of a long siege.  Grange was in London in December 1553, discussing border issues with the French ambassador, Antoine de Noailles.

Antoine, 1st comte de Noailles (1504–1562) became admiral of France, and was ambassador in England during three important years, 1553–1556. His career started at the age of 25 with a trip with Francis de la Tour, Vidscount of Turenne, to Spain to arrange the marriage of Francis I of France with Eleanor of Austria, and he signed the final marriage contract.

Francis I (12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch.  Francis patronized many great artists of his time, including Leonardo da Vinci, who was persuaded to make France his home during his last years.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal.  Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter, Verrocchio.

Continued in the next post.