About
François de Salignac de La Mothe-Fénelon, born in 1651 at the Château de Fénelon in Périgord, was a French churchman and writer. After studies at Cahors and the Saint-Sulpice seminary, he was ordained priest around 1675. As director of the Nouvelles Catholiques, he published in 1687 the Traité de l'éducation des filles, advocating broader education for girls. Tutor to the Duke of Burgundy, grandson of Louis XIV, he wrote for him Les Aventures de Télémaque (1699), an implicit critique of absolutism that led to his disgrace. Archbishop of Cambrai in 1695, he was exiled to his diocese after the condemnation of his work on Quietism. There he led a devoted pastoral life, writing against Jansenism until his death in 1715.
* 1651-08-06 — † 1715-01-07
Major works
- Traité de l'éducation des filles (1687)treatise
- Explication des maximes des saints sur la vie intérieure (1697)theological work
- Les Aventures de Télémaque (1699)novel
Key milestones
- 1689Appointed tutor to the Duke of Burgundy, grandson of Louis XIV.
- 1695Appointed Archbishop of Cambrai.
- 1699Pope Innocent XII condemns 23 propositions from his work on Quietism; Fénelon submits and is exiled to his diocese.
Themes
EducationSpiritualityCritique of absolutismTheologyPastoral care
Sources: britannica.com · britishmuseum.org