Georges de Selve (1508 – 12 April 1541) was a French scholar, diplomat and ecclesiastic.
Georges de Selve
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George de Selve in Hans Holbein the Younger's The Ambassadors.
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| Bishop of Lavaur | |
| In office 1526–1540 | |
| Ambassador to Republic of Venice, Austria, the Pope, England, Germany and Spain | |
| In office April 1540 – 12 April 1541 | |
| Monarch | King Francis I of France |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1508 |
| Died | April 12, 1541(1541-04-12) (aged 32–33) |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Odet de Selve |
| Occupation | Scholar, diplomat and ecclesiastic |
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He was the son of Jean de Selve, a jurist and Parlement president, and brother of Odet de Selve. Three other brothers served as diplomats.[1]
Georges de Selve was Bishop of Lavaur from 1526 (at age 18) to 1540. He was sent by King Francis I of France as ambassador to the Republic of Venice, Austria (in April 1540), to the Pope in Rome, to England, Germany and Spain.
He is the figure of the right in a picture by Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors, and Jean de Dinteville is the other one, which hangs in the National Gallery, London.[2] De Selve was just 25 when Holbein painted him and he is wearing the vestments of a clergyman, who represent the interests of the Catholic Church, since he had just been appointed Bishop of Lavaur in France.[3]
He wrote on theology, studied with and was a patron of Eli Levita from 1534,[4] and was commissioned by the king to make translations.
He died on 12 April 1541 at the age of 33 and is interred at Lavaur Cathedral.[5]