Aux racines de la rose : Louis du Périer, consul et bibliophile lyonnais
Résumé
Louis du Périer is a well-known French bibliophile who commissioned several manuscripts illuminated by Lyon artists. He is also the great-grandfather of François du Périer to whom the poet Malherbe addressed one of the most famous French poems. But his life is almost unknown and his charge as chief of the salt administration (Visiteur des gabelles à sel) in Provence has often misled searchers. On the contrary, this article shows its roots in Lyon and its strong and lasting links with this city. Louis’ origin and the first years of his life remain mysterious. He married a woman from Lyon in 1465 and served the king for a few years. In 1484, he began to serve the city of Lyon : he carries out missions to the king and to the Estates of Languedoc for the important question of the Lyon fairs. He was first elected Consul of Lyon in 1486 for two years and then served three more terms in 1490, 1497 and 1501. At that time, he was one of the most important people in Lyon. He is one of the first in the order of consuls and is regularly consulted for the administration of the city when he is not elected. He obtained for himself and for his son many municipal honours. In addition, he became chief of the salt administration in Provence in 1489, was appointed courrier (chief for civil justice in Lyon) to the archbishop around 1493 and obtained nobility in 1498. Thanks to him, his son Gaspard du Périer became a member of the Aix parliament when it was created in 1501. This office will then lead to the relocation of the du Périer family to Provence in the 16th century. Louis du Périer died around 1506. Several of his social relationships are known. He was close to the Varey family, the most important consular family in Lyon in the 15th century. He is thus the guardian of Antoine de Varey, the heir of this family. But other elements, in particular his coat of arms, suggest a relationship with another important family in Lyon, that of the Thomassin. He is probably a cadet of this family whose members served the dauphin, the king and the city of Lyon in the 15th century. He probably has successively two or three wives and at least two sons Gaspard and François. All this information makes it possible to draw a portrait of a member of Lyon’s bourgeois elite at the end of the Middle Ages.
Louis du Périer, bibliophile bien connu des spécialistes des manuscrits enluminés du xve siècle, est souvent présenté comme provençal du fait de son office de visiteur des gabelles à sel de Provence et de l’installation en Provence de sa descendance parmi laquelle on trouve le François du Périer à qui Malherbe adressa sa célèbre Consolation. Cet article vient montrer au contraire son ancrage lyonnais. Grâce aux archives lyonnaises, on peut ainsi retracer sa carrière dans la vie politique lyonnaise entre 1484 et 1503. Il effectue plusieurs missions pour la ville et apparaît rapidement comme l’un des principaux Lyonnais dans la gestion des affaires communes pour lesquelles il est élu à quatre reprises au consulat. Il obtient de plus pour lui comme pour son fils aîné des offices royaux importants et acquiert la noblesse en 1498. La principale charge pour laquelle il est connu est celle de visiteur du sel de Provence, obtenue, semble-t‑il, en 1486 mais réellement prise seulement en 1489. Néanmoins, les traces de ses activités lyonnaises rendent impossible un véritable exercice pratique de cette charge qui lui donne un certain rang dans les assemblées mais reste, d’une certaine façon, presque fictive. Son importante activité politique lyonnaise le rend proche de certains personnages comme Humbert de Varey et impose certainement son rattachement à une des meilleures familles lyonnaises de l’époque, probablement la famille Thomassin dont il serait un cadet.