St Vaast, the principal church of Bethune, belongs to the 16th century.
Bethune lies in the midst of the richest coal mines in France.
This prelate must not be confused with another, James Beaton, or Bethune (1517-1603), the last Roman Catholic archbishop of Glasgow.
A son of John Bethune of Auchmuty and a nephew of Cardinal Beaton, James was a trusted adviser of the Scottish regent, Mary of Lorraine, widow of James V., and a determined foe of the reformers.
Voltaire revenged himself on the duke of Sully for his conduct towards his guest by cutting Maximilien de Bethune's name out of the Henriade.
