Jean-Pierre Camus

Jean-Pierre Camus (November 3, 1584 – April 26, 1652) was a French bishop, preacher, and author of works of fiction and spirituality.

As a young man he traveled about Europe, and following his theological studies he became a priest in 1608, and subsequently, a renowned preacher in Paris.

[1] Two years later Henry IV appointed him bishop of Belley (1609–1628), which required a dispensation from Pope Paul V as Camus was only twenty-six.

[2] He was by nature ardent and imaginative, also impetuous and excitable; and thus strove to emulate the calm gentleness characteristic of his mentor,[1] an effort in which he did not always succeed.

[3] The Bishop of Geneva was not content with receiving Camus at Annecy, but often went to Belley where he would spend several days in his company.

[4] In form, he believed the sermon should exude good literary style, including ample illustrations and vivid examples designed to entertain the audience.

Camus's first works were strongly influenced by the Essays of Michel de Montaigne, albeit with more religious content.

[3] His dark and violent stories, often based on contemporary anecdotes or criminal incidents (he wrote over 1000 such works) were in the tradition of the horrific tales ("histoires tragiques") of Matteo Bandello, popular in France in the late Renaissance and early seventeenth century.