Epilogue: A Farewell to Colbert de Castlehill

With the publication of this book, Andrew Moore has fulfilled a wish that has been close to his heart for almost 40 years. It is dedicated entirely to Bishop Colbert. In what sounds like a farewell letter, he celebrates the man’s extraordinary career, and in particular emphasises the dualities that he believes lie at the heart of his entire life and have shaped its course: Scottish and French, Protestant and Catholic, Cuthbert and Colbert, commoner and nobleman. These dualities allowed him freedoms and flexibility not available to the rest of the French episcopate. Without a vocation, but well informed about the currents of his time, he progressed in the French church thanks to his intelligence, talent, charm and capacity for work. He was also able to return to Britain safely and become a thorn in the side of his adopted creed. There is much more to be said and discovered about this remarkable man, and he richly deserves a full biography.