COEFFETEAU, Nicolas. — Dominican archbishop and polemicist, b. at Château-du-Loir in 1574, d. at Paris on 21 Apr. 1623. He entered the order at Le Mans (1588), was sent to Paris at the convent of S. Giacomo (1590) where he earned a doctorate in theology, served as professor, prior, regent of studies for nine years, and vicar general of the Gallican Congregation. Henry IV chose him as ordinary preacher (1608). At the suggestion of Louis XIII, Paul V named him titular bishop of Dardania (1617) and made him coadjutor to the bishop of Metz, where he worked actively for the reform of abbeys and the defense of the faith against Calvinists. In 1621 he was designated bishop of Marseille, but death prevented the bull of investiture.
A prolific writer, Coeffeteau engaged in sharp polemics with James I of England, Pierre de Molin, Philippe Duplessis-Mornay, and Marcantonio De Dominis over the doctrines they opposed: the Eucharist, ecclesiastical hierarchy, and papal authority. He left many other works, both original and translated, all composed with purity of language and style (only the Par monarchia Ecclesiae cath. contra De Dominis is in Latin), so that he is regarded as one of the creators of French prose. His ascetical treatise Tableau des passions humaines, de leurs causes et de leurs effets (Paris 1620), which in forty years saw sixteen editions, remains noteworthy.