17th Century Cast Medal of Jacques Gillot.

[constanius]

 

French Renaissance Medal;

Jacques Gillot. Bust r., in furred gown(en costume de magistrat) bare-headed. IAC. GILLOTVS. SENATOR. INTEGERIMVS.( Jacques Gillot, councillor of complete integrity), no reverse, cast bronze(with rim), 2.25 inches. Likely cast in the 17th century.

 

Because I knew the British Museum had an example of this medal( Donated by King George IV in 1825) I emailed Philip Attwood Keeper of Coins and Medals at the museum pictures & asked "I have acquired this cast medal, which looks original to me (as if I would know), and wondered if you had any thoughts about it. What looks like an attempt at making a hole seems to be part of the cast, does your lead example have the same?"

His edited reply: "The British Museum example of the medal is housed with our French medals and is catalogued by Mark Jones in his first volume of French medals (1982), where it appears as no. 257. Our medal is lead and is pierced in the same place as yours appears to be. The original medal(s) must have been made in Gillot's lifetime, that is around 1600, but the type of frame that both our examples possess appears to me very possibly not to be part of the original conception, but is more likely to have been added later in the 17th century. The BM example would then have been cast from a framed medal, with one mould made for both medal and frame, and the medal thus produced was then pierced. Your example would then have been cast from a pierced medal of this sort, because what you describe as an attempt at a hole seems rather to be the remains of a hole partly covered over during a subsequent casting process. Having said that, your medal appears from the images to be old, probably also of the 17th century"

 

Thanks to Philip for the medal info, as for Gillot, my own research showed he was from a distinguished family of Burgundy; appointed canon of the Saint Chappelle, Paris, and dean of the cathedral of Langres. author of some works on history and law. He was born at Langres in 1544, at 29 he assumed the post of 'conseiller-clerc'(magistrate) to the Parliament of Paris, which was vacated by Nicolas de Thou who had been named Bishop of Chartres. 19 June 1573. In 1589 he was committed to the Bastille along with most members of the parliament, by the Leaguers & the Council of Sixteen. but he was soon released. He was a strong supporter of an independant catholic Gallic Church but also a proponent for an accomodation of the Huguenots. Gillot died 20 January 1619.

 

He was a co-author of, & hosted the group that produced The Satire Menippee or La Satyre Ménippée de la vertu du Catholicon d'Espagne (written in 1593, published in Tours in 1594) was a political and satirical work (in French) in prose and verse which criticized the excesses of the Catholic League and Spanish pretensions during the Wars of Religion in France and defended the idea of an independent but Catholic France.

The work was written during the Etats Généraux which were convened by Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne (leader of the Catholic League) in Paris (on February 10, 1593) in the hopes of electing himself to the French throne (replacing the pretender to the throne, the future Henry IV of France). The work was conceived by Pierre le Roy (canon of Rouen and chaplain to the cardinal of Bourbon) during discussions with friends ("français en politique et gallicans en religion" or "Frenchmen in politics and Gallicans in religion") in Paris at the home of Jacques Gillot (chaplain of the Sainte-Chapelle). The work was principlly written by Nicolas Rapin, Jean Passerat and Florent Chrestien, and edited/revised by Pierre Pithou.

The philosophy of the group around Pithou and Rapin and the Satire Ménippée is that of the "Politiques", moderate Catholics who desired peace, conceived of a distinction between the State and Religion, and sought political accommodation with the Huguenots. By the end of the civil wars, the "politiques" were the favored target of attack of the Catholic League.

[frank]

Terrifically interesting, Constanius. Thanks for the post. France really was a pit of vipers during and after the religious wars of the XVIe century, but the good folk (like Gillot) were as exceptionally good as the bad folk were excessively bad.

[constanius]

Terrifically interesting, Constanius. Thanks for the post. France really was a pit of vipers during and after the religious wars of the XVIe century, but the good folk (like Gillot) were as exceptionally good as the bad folk were excessively bad.

 

Thanks for the praise Frank, I know we share a common interest in french history as well as in the numismatics.

[Ian]

Another cracker that is extremely well researched...even though you persuaded the man at the BM to do the work Well done that man.