Boulainvilliers, HENRY, COUNT

Boulainvilliers, HENRY, COUNT, an eminent French author, descended from an ancient family in Picardy, was born 11th October 1658, at St Saire, in Normandy. He resigned the military profession, and devoted himself to the investigation of the genealogy of the ancient families of France. His writings, which are pervaded by extreme aristocratic sentiments, were first published after his death, which took place on 23d January 1722. The most valuable of them are his Histoire de l'Ancien Gouvernement de France (3 vols. 1727), his Histoire de la Patrie de France et du Parlement de Paris (2 vols. 1753), and his Abrégé Chronologique de l'Histoire de France (3 vols. 1753).