BETHUNE (FAMILY). The seigneurs of Bethune, avoues (advocati) of the great abbey of Saint-Vaast at Arras from the I 1 th century, were the ancestors of a great French house whence sprang the dukes of Sully, Charost, Orval, and Ancenis; the mar quises of Rosny, Courville, and Chabris ; the counts of Selles and the princes of Boisbelle and Henrichemont. Conon de Bethune (q.v.), the crusader and poet, was an early forbear. The most illustrious member of the Bethune family was Maximilien, baron of Rosny, and afterwards duke of Sully (q.v.), minister of Henry IV. His brother Philip, count of Selles and of Charost, was ambassador to Scotland, Rome, Savoy, and Germany, and died in 1649. Hippolyte de Bethune, count of Selles and marquis of Chabris, who died in 1665, bequeathed to the king a magnifi cent collection of historical documents and works of art. The Charost branch of the family gave France a number of generals during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The last duke of Charost, Armand Joseph de Bethune (1738 180o), French economist and philanthropist, served in the army during the Seven Years' War, after which he retired to his estates and sought to ameliorate the lot of his peasants by abol ishing feudal dues and introducing reforms in agriculture. Louis XV. said of Charost, "Look at this man, his appearance is insig nificant, but he has put new life into three of my provinces." His only son, Armand Louis de Bethune, marquis de Charost, was beheaded on April 28