Denis Godefroy

He was educated at the Collège de Navarre, and studied law at Louvain, Cologne, and Heidelberg, returning to Paris in 1573.

He embraced the reformed religion, and in 1579 left Paris, where his abilities and connections promised a brilliant career, to establish himself at Geneva.

In 1591 he became professor of Roman law at Strassburg, where he remained until April 1600, when in response to an invitation from Frederick IV, Elector Palatine, he moved to Heidelberg.

The difficulties of his position led to his return to Strassburg for a short time, but in November 1604 he definitely settled at Heidelberg.

Some of his correspondence with his learned friends, with his kinsman President de Thou, Isaac Casaubon, Jean Jacques Grynaeus, and others, is preserved in the libraries of the British Museum, of Basel and Paris.