title of archbishop of Caesarea by way of consolation. Occupied with his writings Basin then passed some years at Trier and afterwards transferred his residence to Utrecht (now in the Netherlands), where his old friend, David the bastard of Burgundy, was Bishop and lord of the city. When Louis XI died in 1483, his successor Charles VIII invited Bishop Basin to return to France, but without his diocese he saw no reason to accept. Basin died in Utrecht on 3 December 1491, and was buried in the church of St. John (Janskerk). Works Basin's principal work is his Historiae de rebus a Carolo VII. et Ludovico XI. Francorum regibus. This is of considerable historical value, but is marred to some extent by the author's dislike for Louis XI. At one time it was regarded as the work of a priest of Liège, named Amelgard, but it is now practically certain that Basin was the writer. He also wrote a suggestion for reform in the administration of justice entitled Libellus de optimo ordine forenses lites audiendi et deferendi, which was the product of his careful study of the Roman Rota while he worked at the Curia; an Apologia, written to answer the charges brought against him by Louis XI; a Breviloquium, or allegorical account of his own misfortunes; a Peregrinatio; a defence of Joan of Arc entitled Opinio et consilium super processu et condemnatione Johanne, dicte Puelle and other miscellaneous writings. He wrote in French, Advis de Monseigneur de Lysieux au roi (1464). Bishop Basin's cartulary survives, in the Library of Lisieux. Notes Sources and further reading Jules Étienne Joseph Quicherat (ed.), Histoire des règnes de Charles VII et de Louis XI Tome IV, Paris, " J. Renouard et Cie. 1859. [contains the Breviloquium, the Projet de réforme..., the Mémoire pour le Rétablissement de la Pragmatique Sanction; and numerous documents] Charles Samaran (1933), "Documents inédits sur la jeunesse de Thomas Basin," Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes 94 (1933), pp. 46–57. (JSTOR) Charles Samaran et André Vernet (1976), "Les livres de Thomas Basin," Latomus 145 (1976), 324–339. Mark Spencer, Thomas Basin (1412–1490): The History of Charles VII and Louis XI. Nieuwkoop, Netherlands, De Graaf Publishers, 1997. 1412 births 1491 deaths University of Paris alumni University of Pavia alumni Academic staff of the University of Caen Normandy Bishops of Lisieux 15th-century French Roman Catholic bishops 15th-century French historians People from Seine-Maritime French male