(b Neufchâteau, Vosges, 1532; d Damblain, Haute-Marne, 1599). French goldsmith, painter, sculptor, medallist and engraver. He followed his father and grandfather in working as a goldsmith until c. 1555, after which he was primarily active as an engraver. In that year he received two privileges for the Pinax iconicus (Adhémar, 6), published in 1556, and the Livre d’anneaux d’orfèvrerie (Adhémar, 19), published in 1561 with a dedication to the poet Barthélemy Aneau. Around 1556 he executed three engravings with historical or mythological subject-matter, the Bull of Phalaris, Hasdrubal’s Wife Throwing Herself on the Pyre and Phocas Led Captive before Heraclius (Adhémar, 21–3). It was previously thought that Woeiriot went to Italy after 1550 and settled in Lyon on his return in 1554, but it now seems that he did not leave for Rome until c. 1559–60. At the end of 1561 he was in Nancy; he continued to make frequent visits to Lyon until 1571. On 1 December 1561 he made a contract with the dealer Antoine God to engrave 36 plates illustrating the Old Testament (Adhémar, 58), which appeared in 1580. He became a Protestant under the influence of the poet Louis Desmasures and between 1566 and 1571 illustrated the Emblèmes ou devises chrestiennes (Adhémar, 7) by Georgette de Montenay, lady-in-waiting to Joanna d’Albret, mother of Henry IV. He moved to Damblain in 1572.

• Woeiriot, Pierre
  • Arms and armour, §II, 1(ii): European edged weapons, 1450–1630