Charles-René d'Hozier
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Charles-René d'Hozier (1640 - February 13, 1732), was a French historical commentator. The younger son of Pierre d'Hozier, he was the true continuator of his father.
In addition to his commentary appended to Antoine Varillas's history of King Charles IX (1686 ed.), he published Recherches sur la noblesse de Champagne (1673). On the promulgation in 1696 of an edict directing all who had armorial bearings to register them on payment of 20 livres, he was employed to collect the declarations returned in the various generalités, and established the Armorial général de France. This work, which contained not only the armorial bearings of noble families, but also of those commoners who were entitled to bear arms, is not complete, inasmuch as many refused to register their arms, either from vanity or from a desire to evade the fee.
The collection (now in the Bibliothèque Nationale) consists of 34 volumes of text and 35 of coloured armorial bearings, and in spite of its deficiencies is a useful store of information for the history of the old French families. It contains 6o,000 names, grouped according to provinces and provincial subdivisions. The sections relating to Burgundy and Franche-Comte were published by Henri Bouchot (1875-1876): those relating to the generalité of Limôges, by Moreau de Pravieux (1895) ; and those for the election of Reims, by P Cosset (1903).
In 1717, in consequence of a quarrel with his nephew Louis Pierre, son of Louis Roger, Charles sold his collection to the king. It then comprised 160 portfolios of genealogical papers arranged alphabetically, 175 volumes of documents, and numerous printed books profusely annotated. In 1720 it was inventoried by P de Clairambault, who added a certain number of genealogies taken from the papers of FR de Gaienières, increasing the total to 217 boxes and portfolios. Thus originated the Cabinet des litres of the Bibliothèque Nationale. Charles subsequently became reconciled to his nephew, to whom he left all the papers he had accumulated from the date of the quarrel until his death, which occurred in Paris.
He was succeeded by his son, Louis Pierre.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
