Jacques Couet

Who was Jacques Couet?

Jaques Couet du Vivier was a Huguenot pastor.

Couet was born to minor nobility, son of Philibert Couet du Vivier et Marie Gohorry, a Huguenot family. After the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre he appears to have fled to Scotland for a time. While in Basel, while Couet was still a divinity student, he engaged in a debate with Fausto Sozzini, who was resident in the city 1575-1575, which led to Sozzini's work on the satisfaction of Christ De Jesu Christo Servatore. After a period in Bourgogne the problems of the Ligue caused him to removed to Basel in 1585. Afterwards Couet became minister of the French Huguenot church in Basel, but when normal conditions resumed continued to journey to and preach in Paris. On 17 July 1590 he was appointed by Henri IV as one of the eight pastors who should preach to him quarterly. Couet died on 18 january 1608 and was buried in the temple of the Dominicans.

He published several works including in 1600 a transcript of La Conférence faicte à Nancy between a Jesuit, a capuchin and two Huguenots. He amassed a large and unusual library which after his death was inherited by his grandson, a lawyer also called Jacques Couet du Vivier.