Maury, Jean Siffrein (1746–1817)

French cardinal and orator. After defending the Church and ancien regime in the National Assembly 1789–92, he left for Rome. He became a Cardinal in 1794. He was later disgraced and imprisoned because he had accepted the archbishopric of Paris from Napoleon in 1810.

He was born in Valreas, Vaucluse, and was a cobbler's son. In 1771 he wrote a popular eloge on Fenelon, and in the following year his Panegyrique de Saint Louis achieved great success. In 1785 he was elected to the French Academy. His ‘Essai sur l'eloquence de la chaire’ (1777), has become a classic.