Jean-Baptiste Besard (born around 1567 in Besançon or Jussey; died around 1625 in southern Germany, possibly in Augsburg) was a French lawyer, lutenist, and important composer of his time.
Born in Besançon, Besard studied law (licentiate and doctorate in law, 1587) at the University of Dole. He then went to Rome, where he studied medicine until around 1595. During his stay in Rome, he also studied music with the famous lutenist Lorenzino del Liuto (Lorenzo Tracetti). In 1597, he stayed in Hesse, where he may have given lute lessons in addition to his work as a doctor and lawyer. He then lived for a time in Cologne, where in 1603 he published an anthology for lute, the Thesaurus harmonicus, which contains 403 arrangements for lute in French tablature of contemporary instrumental works and songs by various composers (including some of his own). The Thesaurus included an appendix on the method of lute playing, De modo in testudine libellus, which was later translated into English by Robert Dowland. He moved to Augsburg, probably around 1610, and continued to practice as a physician and lawyer, possibly teaching lute.
In 1617, Besard published another collection in Augsburg: Novus Partus, sive Concertationes Musicae, which contained around 60 solo and ensemble pieces, many of which were written by Besard himself. He also wrote treatises on other subjects such as medicine, physics, and history.
Besard died sometime after October 22, 1617 (the date of his last book), but perhaps not until 1625 in Augsburg.