COMMYNES, PHILIPPE de. - French historian and politician, b. at Hazebrouck (Flanders) around 1447, d. at Argenton on 18 Oct. 1511.
He held various offices, first at the court of Charles the Bold, then at that of Louis XI. After an unfortunate period, he returned to political activity under Charles VIII, whom he followed to Italy, and finally under Louis XII. He spent his last years in his own castle at Argenton, where he completed his Mémoires, in 7 books, of which the first 6 recount the events of France during the reign of Louis XI, and the 7th the expedition of Charles VIII to Italy.
Noteworthy in C. is the effort to go beyond chronicle into history, thanks to his deeper vision of the whole and to his ability to discern, beyond the contingent chain of events, the possibility of a wise interference in them by human will, within the limits of Providence, though not without falling, in his historiographical writing, into a notable psychologism. Masterly in C. is the examination of the political-diplomatic factor in the history of peoples.
Bibliography9 worksWorks: Oeuvres, edited by J. Calmette, 3 vols., Paris 1924-25 (with introduction and bibliography). Studies: C. A. Sainte-Beuve, Causeries d
BIBL.: Works: Oeuvres, edited by J. Calmette, 3 vols., Paris 1924-25 (with introduction and bibliography). Studies: C. A. Sainte-Beuve, Causeries du lundi, 3rd ed., I, Paris 1857, pp. 240-59; I. de Kervyn de Lettenhove, Lettres et négociations de Ph. de C., 2 vols., Brussels 1867-74; Ch. Fierville, Documents inédits sur Ph. de C., Paris 1881; V. L. Bourilly, Les idées politiques de C., in Revue d'histoire moderne et contemp., 1 (1894), pp. 93-123; B. de Mandrot, L'autorité historique de Ph. de C., in Revue historique, 73 (1900), pp. 241-57; 74 (1900), pp. 1-38; A. Molinier, Les sources de l'histoire de France des origines aux guerres d'Italie, V, Paris 1904, pp. 5-22; B. Croce, Il personaggio italiano che esortò il C. a scrivere i Mémoires (Angelo Catone), in La Critica, 31 (1933), pp. 53-64; J. Liniger, Une philosophie de l'histoire. Le monde et Dieu selon Ph. de C., Neuchâtel 1943.
Romani, Romano. “Commynes, philippe de.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. IV, col. 71. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1950. https://azioneromana.com/article/commynes-philippe-de.
MLA
Romani, Romano. “Commynes, philippe de.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. IV, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1950, col. 71. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/commynes-philippe-de.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec4_commynes_philippe_de,
author = {Romani, Romano},
title = {Commynes, philippe de},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {IV},
pages = {71},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1950},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/commynes-philippe-de}
}
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