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André Thevet (/təˈveɪ/; French: [təvɛ]; 1516 – 23 November 1590) was a French Franciscan priest, explorer, cosmographer and writer who travelled to the Near East and to South America in the 16th century. His most significant book was The New Found World, or Antarctike, which compiled a number of different sources and his own experience into what purported to be a firsthand account of his experiences in France Antarctique, a French settlement near modern Rio de Janeiro.

Life

Thevet was born in Angoulême in southwestern France. At ten years of age, he entered the convent of Franciscans of Angoulême. He visited Italy at the same time as Guillaume Rondelet. In 1549, thanks to the support of John, Cardinal of Lorraine, he embarked on an extended exploration trip to Asia, Greece, Rhodes,^[1] Palestine and Egypt. He accompanied the French ambassador Gabriel de Luetz to Istanbul.

Almost immediately after this expedition, he set sail again as the chaplain of the fleet of Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon, which intended to establish a French colony near what is now Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.^[2] Thevet arrived there on 10 November 1555 but only stayed in the colony for about 10 weeks before returning to France.^[2] He was made an almoner to Catherine de Médici and later was employed by the king.^[2]

Thevet claimed in his Histoire de deux voyages, inaccurately, to have accompanied Guillaume Le Testu to America in 1550.^[2]

Thevet died in Paris on 23 November 1590.^[2]

Written works

Soon after Thevet's return to France from the near East in 1554, he published an account of his voyage under the title Cosmographie du Levant.

On his return from the Americas, Thevet published a book titled Les singularitez de la France Antarctique in 1557.^[3]^[4] Although purportedly based on his own firsthand experiences, Thevet also used previous published sources as well as verbal accounts from other explorers and sailors and from indigenous Canadians who had been brought back to France.^[2] Thevet later settled a court case with another scholar who claimed to have been responsible for the actual writing.^[3] An edition of Les singularitez de la France Antarctique was printed in Antwerp by Plantin in 1558, and an English edition, The New Found World, or Antarctike, was printed in 1568.

Thevet's use of such a variety of sources not otherwise printed, despite the considerable errors and contradictions, means that his work remains valuable for the ethnography of both eastern Canada and Brazil.^[2] Les singularitez de la France Antarctique contains the first descriptions in European texts of plants such as the manioc, pineapple, peanut and tobacco, as well as of the animals macaw, sloth and tapir.^[5] The text also includes an account of cannibalism that was one of the influences on Montaigne's essay on cannibalism.^[3]

Once Thevet was established as cosmographer to the French court, he compiled his Cosmographie Universelle, intended to describe every part of the known world. A dispute arose with a collaborator, François de Belleforest, who left Thevet's employ to publish his own Cosmographie in 1572 before Thevet's work finally appeared in 1575.

In 1584, Thevet published a collection of biographies, Vrais pourtraits et vies des homes illustres, which was critical of Protestants. He left two unpublished manuscripts. One, Grand Insulaire, was an almanac of islands, and the other, Histoire de deux voyages, was an account of his travels.

Works

1554 Cosmographie de Levant. Lyon : Ian de Tournes et Guil. Gazeau,
1557/8 Les singularitez de la France Antarctique^[6] (in English in 1568 as The New found vvorlde, or Antarctike)
1575 La Cosmographie Universelle d'Andre Thevet Cosmographe dv Roy. Illvstree de diverses figvres des choses plvs remarqvables veves par l'auteur, & incogneues de noz anciens & modernes, Paris, Pierre l'Huilier. (Google Books: volume 1, volume 2)
1584 Vrais pourtraits et vies des hommes illustres
MS: Grand Insulaire,
MS Histoire de deux voyages

References

^ Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Bodream ou rêve de Bodrum, Anagramme Editions, 2010, p. 94. ISBN 978-2-35035-279-4
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Trudel, Marcel (2019). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto.
^ ^a ^b ^c Conrad, Elsa. "André Thevet (1516?-1592)". University of Virginia Library.
^ Thevet, André. "Les singularitez de la France antarctique, autrement nommée Amerique : & de plusieurs terres & isles decouuertes de nostre temps". Library of Congress.
^ Thevet, André; Hacket, Thomas (1568). The New found vvorlde, or Antarctike, wherein is contained wōderful and strange things, as well of humaine creatures, as beastes, fishes, foules, and serpents, trées, plants, mines of golde and siluer: garnished with many learned aucthorities. Imprinted at London; Imprinted at London, in Knight-rider strete, by Henry Bynneman, for Thomas Hacket: By Henrie Bynneman, for Thomas Hacket. And are to be sold at his shop in Poules church-yard, at the signe of the key. OCLC 977063449.
^ Thevet, André (1557). Singularities de la France Antarctique...

Sources

Cantacuzene, J. M. Frère André Thevet (1516–1590). Miscellanea (PDF file).

External links

Les singularitez de la France Antarctique (Paris: 1558). Digitized by the John Carter Brown Library and available on Internet Archive
The new found worlde, or Antarctike (London: 1568). Digitized and available on Internet Archive.
Map of America in La Cosmographie Universelle (Paris: 1575). Digitized by the National Library of Australia.

[1] Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Bodream ou rêve de Bodrum, Anagramme Editions, 2010, p. 94. ISBN 978-2-35035-279-4

[:0-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Trudel, Marcel (2019). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto.

[:1-3] Conrad, Elsa. "André Thevet (1516?-1592)". University of Virginia Library.

[published1557-4] Thevet, André. "Les singularitez de la France antarctique, autrement nommée Amerique : & de plusieurs terres & isles decouuertes de nostre temps". Library of Congress.

[5] Thevet, André; Hacket, Thomas (1568). The New found vvorlde, or Antarctike, wherein is contained wōderful and strange things, as well of humaine creatures, as beastes, fishes, foules, and serpents, trées, plants, mines of golde and siluer: garnished with many learned aucthorities. Imprinted at London; Imprinted at London, in Knight-rider strete, by Henry Bynneman, for Thomas Hacket: By Henrie Bynneman, for Thomas Hacket. And are to be sold at his shop in Poules church-yard, at the signe of the key. OCLC 977063449.

[6] Thevet, André (1557). Singularities de la France Antarctique...

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|French priest, writer and explorer (1516–1590)}}
-[[Image:André Thevet.jpg|thumb|200px|right|André Thevet]]
+[[Image:André Thevet.jpg|thumb|200px|right|André Thevet, c. 1550]]
-'''André Thevet''' ({{IPAc-en|t|ə|ˈ|v|eɪ}}; {{IPA-fr|təvɛ|lang}}; 1516 &ndash; 23 November 1590) was a French [[Franciscan]] [[priest]], [[explorer]], [[cosmographer]] and writer who travelled to the near East and to south America in the 16th century. His most significant book was ''[[The New Found World, or Antarctike|The New Found World, or Antarctike]]'' which compiled a number of different sources and his own experience into what purported to be a first hand account of his experiences in ''[[France Antarctique]],'' a French settlement near modern [[Rio de Janeiro]].
+'''André Thevet''' ({{IPAc-en|t|ə|ˈ|v|eɪ}}; {{IPA|fr|təvɛ|lang}}; 1516 &ndash; 23 November 1590) was a French [[Franciscan]] [[priest]], [[explorer]], [[cosmographer]] and writer who travelled to the Near East and to South America in the 16th century. His most significant book was ''[[The New Found World, or Antarctike]]'', which compiled a number of different sources and his own experience into what purported to be a firsthand account of his experiences in ''[[France Antarctique]],'' a French settlement near modern [[Rio de Janeiro]].
 ==Life==
 [[File:Andre Thevet Cosmographie du Levant 1556 Lyon.jpg|thumb|André Thevet ''Cosmographie du Levant'', 1556, Lyon.]]
-Thevet was born in [[Angoulême]].  At ten years of age, he entered the [[convent]] of Franciscans of [[Angoulême]].  He visited Italy at the same time as [[Guillaume Rondelet]].  In 1549, thanks to the support of [[John, Cardinal of Lorraine]], he embarked on an extended exploration trip to Asia, Greece, Rhodes,<ref>[[Jean-Pierre Thiollet]], ''Bodream ou rêve de Bodrum'', Anagramme Editions, 2010, p. 94. {{ISBN|978-2-35035-279-4}}</ref> [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and [[Egypt]]. He accompanied the French ambassador [[Gabriel de Luetz]] to [[Istanbul]].
+Thevet was born in [[Angoulême]] in southwestern France. At ten years of age, he entered the [[convent]] of Franciscans of Angoulême. He visited Italy at the same time as [[Guillaume Rondelet]]. In 1549, thanks to the support of [[John, Cardinal of Lorraine]], he embarked on an extended exploration trip to Asia, Greece, Rhodes,<ref>[[Jean-Pierre Thiollet]], ''Bodream ou rêve de Bodrum'', Anagramme Editions, 2010, p. 94. {{ISBN|978-2-35035-279-4}}</ref> [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and [[Egypt]]. He accompanied the French ambassador [[Gabriel de Luetz]] to [[Istanbul]].
-Almost immediately after this, he set sail again as the [[chaplain]] of the fleet of [[Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon]] intended to establish a French colony near what  is now Rio de Janeiro.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/thevet_andre_1E.html|title=Dictionary of Canadian Biography|last=Trudel|first=Marcel|publisher=University of Toronto|year=2019|isbn=|location=|pages=}}</ref> Thevet  arrived there on 10 Nov 1555 but only stayed in the colony for about 10 weeks before returning to France. <ref name=":0" /> He was made an almoner to [[Catherine de' Medici|Catherine de Médici]] and later was employed by the king.<ref name=":0" />
+Almost immediately after this expedition, he set sail again as the [[chaplain]] of the fleet of [[Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon]], which intended to establish a French colony near what is now [[Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/thevet_andre_1E.html|title=Dictionary of Canadian Biography|last=Trudel|first=Marcel|publisher=University of Toronto|year=2019}}</ref> Thevet arrived there on 10 November 1555 but only stayed in the colony for about 10 weeks before returning to France.<ref name=":0" /> He was made an almoner to [[Catherine de' Medici|Catherine de Médici]] and later was employed by the king.<ref name=":0" />
+[[File:AndréThevet image print Les singularitez de la France Antarctique 1557.jpg|thumb|An image of indigenous tribes in Brazil battling each other in André Thevet's ''Les singularitez de la France Antarctique'' (1557)]]
-Thevet claimed in his ''Histoire de deux voyages'', inaccurately, to have accompanied [[Guillaume Testu]] to America in 1550.<ref name=":0" />
+Thevet claimed in his ''Histoire de deux voyages'', inaccurately, to have accompanied [[Guillaume Le Testu]] to America in 1550.<ref name=":0" />
 Thevet died in Paris on 23 November 1590.<ref name=":0" />
-==Career==
+==Written works==
-{{See also|The_New_Found_World,_or_Antarctike}}
+{{See also|The New Found World, or Antarctike}}
-Soon after Thevet's return to France from the near East  in 1554, he published an account of his voyage under the title of ''Cosmography of the Levant''.
+Soon after Thevet's return to France from the near East in 1554, he published an account of his voyage under the title ''Cosmographie du Levant''.
-On return from the Americas, Thevet in 1557 or 1558 published a book, ''[[The New Found World, or Antarctike|Les singularitez de la France Antarctique]].''<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://explore.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/show/renaissance-in-print/travelnarratives/thevet|title=André Thevet (1516?-1592)|last=Conrad|first=Elsa|date=|website=University of Virginia Library|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Although purportedly based on his first hand experiences, Thevet also used previous published sources, but also verbal accounts from other explorers and sailors, and from indigenous Canadians who had been brought back to France. <ref name=":0" />  Thevet later settled a court case with another scholar who claimed to have been responsible for the actual writing.<ref name=":1" />  An edition of ''Les singularitez de la France Antarctique'' was printed in Antwerp by Plantin in 1558 and an English edition, ''The New Found World, or Antarctike,'' was printed in 1568.
+On his return from the Americas, Thevet published a book titled ''[[The New Found World, or Antarctike|Les singularitez de la France Antarctique]]'' in 1557.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://explore.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/show/renaissance-in-print/travelnarratives/thevet|title=André Thevet (1516?-1592)|last=Conrad|first=Elsa|website=University of Virginia Library}}</ref><ref name="published1557">{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbc0001.2019gen09857/?sp=5&st=image |title= Les singularitez de la France antarctique, autrement nommée Amerique : & de plusieurs terres & isles decouuertes de nostre temps |last=Thevet |first=André |website=Library of Congress}}</ref> Although purportedly based on his own firsthand experiences, Thevet also used previous published sources as well as verbal accounts from other explorers and sailors and from indigenous Canadians who had been brought back to France.<ref name=":0" />  Thevet later settled a court case with another scholar who claimed to have been responsible for the actual writing.<ref name=":1" /> An edition of ''Les singularitez de la France Antarctique'' was printed in Antwerp by [[Plantin Press|Plantin]] in 1558, and an English edition, ''The New Found World, or Antarctike'', was printed in 1568.
-Thevet's use of such a variety of sources not otherwise printed, despite the considerable errors and contradictions, means that his work remains valuable for the ethnography of both eastern Canada and Brazil.<ref name=":0" /> ''Les singularitez de la France Antarctique'' contains the first descriptions in European texts of plants such as the [[manioc]], [[pineapple]]s, [[peanut]]s and [[tobacco]], as well as of the animals  [[macaw]], [[sloth]] and [[tapir]].''<ref>{{Cite book|title=The New found vvorlde, or Antarctike, wherein is contained wōderful and strange things, as well of humaine creatures, as beastes, fishes, foules, and serpents, trées, plants, mines of golde and siluer: garnished with many learned aucthorities|last=Thevet|first=André|last2=Hacket|first2=Thomas|date=1568|publisher=By Henrie Bynneman, for Thomas Hacket. And are to be sold at his shop in Poules church-yard, at the signe of the key|location=Imprinted at London; Imprinted at London, in Knight-rider strete, by Henry Bynneman, for Thomas Hacket|language=English|oclc = 977063449}}</ref>'' The text includes an account of cannibalism that was one of the influences on Montaigne's essay on cannibalism.<ref name=":1" />
+Thevet's use of such a variety of sources not otherwise printed, despite the considerable errors and contradictions, means that his work remains valuable for the ethnography of both eastern Canada and Brazil.<ref name=":0" /> ''Les singularitez de la France Antarctique'' contains the first descriptions in European texts of plants such as the [[manioc]], [[pineapple]], [[peanut]] and [[tobacco]], as well as of the animals [[macaw]], [[sloth]] and [[tapir]].''<ref>{{Cite book|title=The New found vvorlde, or Antarctike, wherein is contained wōderful and strange things, as well of humaine creatures, as beastes, fishes, foules, and serpents, trées, plants, mines of golde and siluer: garnished with many learned aucthorities|last1=Thevet|first1=André|last2=Hacket|first2=Thomas|date=1568|publisher=By Henrie Bynneman, for Thomas Hacket. And are to be sold at his shop in Poules church-yard, at the signe of the key|location=Imprinted at London; Imprinted at London, in Knight-rider strete, by Henry Bynneman, for Thomas Hacket|language=en|oclc = 977063449}}</ref>'' The text also includes an account of [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]] that was one of the influences on [[Montaigne]]'s essay on cannibalism.<ref name=":1" />
-Once Thevet was established as cosmographer to the French court he compiled his ''Cosmographie Universelle,'' intended to describe every part of the known world. A dispute arose with a collaborator,  François de Belleforest, who left Thevet's employ to publish his own  ''Cosmographie'' in 1572 before Thevey's work finally appeared in 1575.
+Once Thevet was established as cosmographer to the French court, he compiled his ''Cosmographie Universelle'', intended to describe every part of the known world. A dispute arose with a collaborator, François de Belleforest, who left Thevet's employ to publish his own ''Cosmographie'' in 1572 before Thevet's work finally appeared in 1575.
-In 1584 Thevet published a collection of biographies, ''Vrais pourtraits et vies des homes illustres,'' which was critical of Protestants. He left two unpublished manuscripts. One was an almanac of islands, ''Grand Insulaire,'' and the other, ''Histoire de deux voyages'' was an account of his travels.
+In 1584, Thevet published a collection of biographies, ''Vrais pourtraits et vies des homes illustres'', which was critical of Protestants. He left two unpublished manuscripts. One, ''Grand Insulaire'', was an almanac of islands, and the other, ''Histoire de deux voyages'', was an account of his travels.
-<br />
 == Works ==
 * 1554 ''Cosmographie de Levant.'' Lyon : Ian de Tournes et Guil. Gazeau,
-* 1557/8 ''Les singularitez de la France Antarctique''<ref>{{Cite book|title=Singularities de la France Antarctique...|last=Thevet|first=André|publisher=|year=1557|isbn=|location=|pages=}}</ref> (in English in 1568 as ''The New found vvorlde, or Antarctike'')
+* 1557/8 ''Les singularitez de la France Antarctique''<ref>{{Cite book|title=Singularities de la France Antarctique...|last=Thevet|first=André|year=1557}}</ref> (in English in 1568 as ''The New found vvorlde, or Antarctike'')
-* 1575 ''La Cosmographie Universelle d'Andre Thevet Cosmographe dv Roy. Illvstree de diverses figvres des choses plvs remarqvables veves par l'auteur, & incogneues de noz anciens & modernes'', Paris, Pierre l'Huilier. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-236886032]
+* 1575 ''La Cosmographie Universelle d'Andre Thevet Cosmographe dv Roy. Illvstree de diverses figvres des choses plvs remarqvables veves par l'auteur, & incogneues de noz anciens & modernes'', Paris, Pierre l'Huilier. (Google Books: [https://books.google.com/books?id=uHRoAAAAcAAJ volume 1], [https://books.google.com/books?id=7HRoAAAAcAAJ volume 2])
-* 1584 ''Vrais pourtraits et vies des homes illustres''
+* 1584 ''Vrais pourtraits et vies des hommes illustres''
 * MS: ''Grand Insulaire,''
 * MS  ''Histoire de deux voyages''
@@ Line 46: / Line 47: @@
 ==Sources==
-*Cantacuzene, J. M. [http://editions-villegagnons.com/THEVET_Cantacuzene.pdf Frère André Thevet (1516-1590)]. ''Miscellanea'' (PDF file).
+*Cantacuzene, J. M. [http://editions-villegagnons.com/THEVET_Cantacuzene.pdf Frère André Thevet (1516–1590)]. ''Miscellanea'' (PDF file).
 ==Further reading==
+*{{Cite journal |last=Cardozo |first=Manoel Da Silveira |date=1944 |title=Some Remarks Concerning André Thevet |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003161500071042/type/journal_article |journal=The Americas |language=en |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=15–36 |doi=10.2307/978333 |jstor=978333 |s2cid=147186168 |issn=0003-1615}}
 *Lestringant, Frank (2003). ''Sous la leçon des vents: le monde d'André Thevet, cosmographe de la Renaissance.'' Presses Paris Sorbonne.
+*{{Cite journal |last=Schlesinger |first=Roger |date=1985 |title=André Thevet on the Amerindians of New France |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42952150 |journal=Proceedings of the Meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society |volume=10 |pages=1–21 |jstor=42952150 |issn=0362-7055}}
 *Schlesinger, Roger and Arthur P. Stabler. ''André Thevet's North America: A Sixteenth Century View''. McGill University Press, 1986.
-*Whatley, Janet. "Savage Hierarchies: French Catholic Observers of the New World." ''Sixteenth Century Journal.'' 17 (1986): 319-30.
+*{{Cite journal |last=Whatley |first=Janet |date=1986 |title=Savage Hierarchies: French Catholic Observers of the New World |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2540324 |journal=Sixteenth Century Journal |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=319–330 |doi=10.2307/2540324|jstor=2540324 }}
 ==External links==
@@ Line 58: / Line 60: @@
 *[https://archive.org/details/lessingularitezd00thev/page/n5 Les singularitez de la France Antarctique (Paris: 1558).] Digitized by the [[John Carter Brown Library]] and available on [[Internet Archive]]
 *[https://archive.org/details/b30339352/page/n9 The new found worlde, or Antarctike (London: 1568).] Digitized and available on [[Internet Archive]].
+*[https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-236886032/view Map of America in ''La Cosmographie Universelle'' (Paris: 1575)]. Digitized by the National Library of Australia.
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