French Renaissance literature is, for the purpose of this article, literature written in French (

Middle French Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from t ...

) from the French invasion of Italy in 1494 to 1600, or roughly the period from the reign of

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...

to the ascension of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monar ...

to the throne. The reigns of

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

(from 1515 to 1547) and his son Henry II (from 1547 to 1559) are generally considered the apex of the

French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define th ...

. After Henry II's unfortunate death in a

joust Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...

, the country was ruled by his widow

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...

and her sons Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III, and although the Renaissance continued to flourish, the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...

between

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster B ...

and

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

ravaged the country.

The word "Renaissance"

The word ''Renaissance'' is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

word, whose literal translation into English is "Rebirth". The term was first used and definedMurray, P. and Murray, L. (1963) ''The Art of the Renaissance''. London:

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

(World of Art), p. 9. by French historian

Jules Michelet Jules Michelet (; 21 August 1798 – 9 February 1874) was a French historian and an author on other topics whose major work was a history of France and its culture. His aphoristic style emphasized his anti-clerical republicanism. In Michelet' ...

(1798–1874) in his 1855 work ''Histoire de France'' (History of France). Michelet defined the 16th-century Renaissance in France as a period in Europe's cultural history that represented a break from the Middle Ages, creating a modern understanding of humanity and its place in the world. As a French citizen and historian, Michelet also claimed the Renaissance as a French movement.Brotton, J., ''The Renaissance: A Very Short Introduction'',

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2006 . His work is at the origin of the use of the French word "Renaissance" in other languages.

Introduction

The 16th century in France was a remarkable period of literary creation (the language of this period is called

). The use of the

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

(aiding the diffusion of works by ancient Latin and Greek authors; the printing press was introduced in 1470 in Paris, and in 1473 in Lyon), the development of

Renaissance humanism Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...

and

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ...

, and the discovery (through the wars in Italy and through Henry II’s marriage with Catherine de' Medici) of the cultivated refinement of the Italian courts (

Baldassare Castiglione Baldassare Castiglione, Count of Casatico (; 6 December 1478 – 2 February 1529),Dates of birth and death, and cause of the latter, fro, ''Italica'', Rai International online. was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissanc ...

’s book '' The Courtier'' was also particularly important in this respect) would profoundly modify the French literary landscape and the mental outlook (or "mentalité") of the period. There is a slow evolution from the rude warrior class to a cultivated noble class (giving rise to the idea of the "honnête homme" in the 17th century). In all genres, there is a great interest in love (both physical and Platonic) and in psychological and moral analysis. This period saw a proliferation of pamphlets, tracts, satires, and memoirs; the success of short-story collections ("nouvelles") as well as collections of oral tales and anecdotes ("propos" and "devis"); a public fascination with tragic tales from Italy (most notably those of

Bandello Matteo Bandello ( 1480 – 1562) was an Italian writer, soldier, monk, and, later, a Bishop mostly known for his novellas. His collection of 214 novellas made him the most popular short-story writer of his day. Biography Matteo Bandello wa ...

); a considerable increase in the translating and publishing of contemporary European authors (especially Italians and Spaniards) compared to authors from the Middle Ages and classical antiquity; an important increase in the number of religious works sold (devotional books would exceed the "belles-lettres" as the most sold genre in France at the beginning of the 17th century); and finally, the publication of important works of moral and philosophical reflection. The history of literature of the Renaissance is not monolithic: the royal court, the universities, the general public, the "noblesse de robe", the provincial noble, and the humanist all encountered different influences and developed different tastes. Humanist theater would come slowly to the general public; the old warrior class discovered court etiquette and polished manners only over time; and the extravagance of the Italian-inspired court was frequently criticized by detractors. Literacy itself is an important issue in the dissemination of the texts of the Renaissance: the culture of the 16th century remains profoundly oral, and the short story, the

chivalric novel As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and Verse (poetry), verse narrative that was popular in the Royal court, noble courts of High Middle Ages, High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about mar ...

and Rabelais's works make this orality a central part of their style. Finally, the Renaissance book was a physical and economic object of great scarcity and – depending on its size and illustrations – of great prestige. A library such as Montaigne's was a rare occurrence for people other than lawyers and members of parliament who had had an elite education in the universities; for the public, the broadsheet or

penny press Penny press newspapers were cheap, Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid-style newspapers mass-produced in the United States from the 1830s onwards. Mass production of inexpensive newspapers became possible following the shift from hand-crafted t ...

(with woodcut illustrations) sold door to door by colporters would have been their only access to the written word.

Poetry

Poetry in the first years of the 16th century is characterised by the elaborate sonorous and graphic experimentation and skillful word games of a number of Northern poets (such as

Jean Lemaire de Belges Jean Lemaire de Belges (c. 1473c. 1525) was a Walloon poet and historian, and pamphleteer who, writing in French, was the last and one of the best of the school of poetic 'rhétoriqueurs' (“rhetoricians”) and the chief forerunner, both in style ...

and Jean Molinet), generally called "les

Grands Rhétoriqueurs The grands rhétoriqueurs or simply the "rhétoriqueurs" is the name given to a group of poets from 1460 to 1520 (or from the generation of François Villon (no ''rhétoriqueur'' himself) to Clément Marot) working in Northern France, Flanders, and ...

" who continued to develop poetic techniques from the previous century. Soon however, the impact of

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...

(the

sonnet cycle A sonnet cycle or sonnet sequence is a group of sonnets, arranged to address a particular person or theme, and designed to be read both as a collection of fully realized individual poems and as a single poetic work comprising all the individual sonn ...

addressed to an idealised lover, the use of amorous paradoxes), Italian poets in the French court (like

Luigi Alamanni Luigi Alamanni (sometimes spelt Alemanni) (6 March 149518 April 1556) was an Italian poet and statesman. He was regarded as a prolific and versatile poet. He was credited with introducing the epigram into Italian poetry. Biography Alamanni was ...

), Italian

and

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

, and the rediscovery of certain Greek poets (such as

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...

and

Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in t ...

) would profoundly modify the French tradition. In this respect, the French poets

Clément Marot Clément Marot (23 November 1496 – 12 September 1544) was a French Renaissance poet. Biography Youth Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496–1497. His father, Jean Marot (c.& ...

and Mellin de Saint-Gelais are transitional figures: they are credited with some of the first

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's inventio ...

s in French, but their poems continue to employ many of the traditional forms. PierredeRonsard1620

The new direction of poetry is fully apparent in the work of the humanist

Jacques Peletier du Mans Jacques Pelletier du Mans, also spelled Peletier ( la, Iacobus Peletarius Cenomani, 25 July 1517 – 17 July 1582) was a humanist, poet and mathematician of the French Renaissance. Born in Le Mans into a bourgeois family, he studied at the Co ...

. In 1541, he published the first French translation of

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

's ''Ars poetica'' and in 1547 he published a collection poems ''Œuvres poétiques'', which included translations from the first two cantos of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...

'' and the first book of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

's ''

Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...

'', twelve

Petrarchan sonnet The Petrarchan sonnet, also known as the Italian sonnet, is a sonnet named after the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, although it was not developed by Petrarch himself, but rather by a string of Renaissance poets.Spiller, Michael R. G. The Develop ...

s, three Horacian odes and a Martial-like

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mill ...

; this poetry collection also included the first published poems of

Joachim Du Bellay Joachim du Bellay (; – 1 January 1560) was a French poet, critic, and a founder of the Pléiade. He notably wrote the manifesto of the group: '' Défense et illustration de la langue française'', which aimed at promoting French as an a ...

and

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a " prince of poets". Early life Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of ...

. Around Ronsard, Du Bellay and Jean Antoine de Baïf there formed a group of radical young noble poets of the court (generally known today as

La Pléiade La Pléiade () was a group of 16th-century French Renaissance poets whose principal members were Pierre de Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay and Jean-Antoine de Baïf. The name was a reference to another literary group, the original Alexandrian Pleiad ...

, although use of this term is debated). The character of their literary program was given in Du Bellay's manifesto, the "Defense and Illustration of the French Language" (1549) which maintained that French (like the Tuscan of

and

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...

) was a worthy language for literary expression and which promulgated a program of linguistic and literary production (including the imitation of Latin and Greek genres) and purification. For some of the members of the Pléiade, the act of the poetry itself was seen as a form of divine inspiration (see

Pontus de Tyard Pontus de Tyard (also Thyard, Thiard) (c. 1521 – 23 September 1605) was a French poet and priest, a member of "La Pléiade". Life He was born at Bissy-sur-Fley in Burgundy, of which he was ''seigneur'', but the exact year of his birth is ...

for example), a possession by the

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in ...

s akin to romantic passion, prophetic fervor or alcoholic delirium. The forms that dominate the poetic production of the period are the Petrarchan sonnet (developed around an amorous encounter or an idealized woman) and the

ode (especially of the ''

carpe diem is a Latin aphorism, usually translated "seize the day", taken from book 1 of the Roman poet Horace's work ''Odes'' (23 BC). Translation is the second-person singular present active imperative of '' carpō'' "pick or pluck" used by Horace t ...

'' – life is short, seize the day – variety). Ronsard also tried early on to adapt the

ic ode into French. Throughout the period, the use of

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

is frequent, but so too is a depiction of the natural world (woods, rivers). Other genres include the paradoxical

encomium ''Encomium'' is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient Greek ''enkomion'' (), meaning "the praise of a person or thing." Another Latin equivalent is ''laudatio'', a speech in praise of someone or something. Originally was the song sung by the ...

(such as Remy Belleau's poem praising the oyster), the "

blason Blason is a form of poetry. The term originally comes from the heraldic term "blazon" in French heraldry, which means either the codified description of a coat of arms or the coat of arms itself. The Dutch term is Blazoen, and in either Dutch or ...

" of the female body (a poetic description of a body part), and propagandistic verse. Du Bellay's greatest poems were written during his long stay in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

; his discovery of the ruined city, dismay at the corruption of the Papal court and loneliness gave rise to a

of remarkable sadness and severity (partially inspired by

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

's ''

Tristia The ''Tristia'' ("Sorrows" or "Lamentations") is a collection of letters written in elegiac couplets by the Augustan poet Ovid during his exile from Rome. Despite five books of his copious bewailing of his fate, the immediate cause of Augus ...

''). Although Ronsard attempted a long

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

of the origins of the French monarchy entitled ''La Franciade'' (modeled on

and

), this experiment was largely judged a failure, and he remains most remembered today for his various collections of ''Amours'' (or love poems), ''Odes'' and ''Hymnes''. Jacques Pelletier du Mans later encyclopedic collection ''L'Amour des amours'', consisting of a sonnet cycle and a series of poems describing meteors, planets and the heavens, would influence the poets Jean Antoine de Baïf and

Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas (1544, in Monfort – July 1590, in Mauvezin) was a Gascon Huguenot courtier and poet. Trained as a doctor of law, he served in the court of Henri de Navarre for most of his career. Du Bartas was celebrated acro ...

(whose ''Semaine'' is a Baroque description of the creation of the world). Agrippa d'Aubigné

Several poets of the period – Jean Antoine de Baïf (who founded an " Académie de musique et de poésie" in 1570), Blaise de Vigenère and others – attempted to adapt into French the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

poetic meter In poetry, metre ( Commonwealth spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set o ...

s; these experiments were called "vers mesurés" and "prose mesuré" (for more, see the article " musique mesurée"). Although the royal court was the center of much of the century's poetry,

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, the second-largest city in France in the Renaissance, also had its poets and humanists, most notably

Maurice Scève Maurice Scève (c. 1501–c. 1564), was a French poet active in Lyon during the Renaissance period. He was the centre of the Lyonnese côterie that elaborated the theory of spiritual love, derived partly from Plato and partly from Petrarch. This ...

Louise Labé Louise Charlin Perrin Labé, ( 1524 – 25 April 1566), also identified as La Belle Cordière (The Beautiful Ropemaker), was a feminist French poet of the Renaissance born in Lyon, the daughter of wealthy ropemaker Pierre Charly and his second wif ...

, Olivier de Magny, and

. Scève's ''Délie, objet de plus haulte vertu'', composed of 449 ten-syllable ten-line poems (''dizains'') and published with numerous engraved

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

s, is exemplary in its use of amorous paradoxes and (often obscure)

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

to describe the suffering of a lover. Similarly, Madeleine Des Roches and her daughter Catherine Des Roches were the center of a literary circle based in

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglome ...

between 1570 and 1587, and which included the poets Scévole de Sainte-Marthe, Barnabé Brisson, René Chopin, Antoine Loisel, Claude Binet, Nicolas Rapin and Odet de Turnèbe.Simonin, 351. Poetry at the end of the century was profoundly marked by the

civil wars A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

: pessimism, dourness and a call for retreat from the world predominate (as in

Jean de Sponde Jean de Sponde (''Joanes Ezponda''; 1557 in Basque – 18 March 1595) was a Baroque French poet. Biography Born at Mauléon, in what is now Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Jean de Sponde was raised in an austere Protestant family in the Basque region ...

). However, the horrors of the war were also to inspire one Protestant poet, Agrippa d'Aubigné, to write a brilliant poem on the conflict:''Les Tragiques''. Principal French poetry collections published in the 16th century: *

''Adolescence clémentine'' (1532) * Various '' Blasons du corps féminin'' (1536) *

''Psaumes'' (1541) – translation of the Psalms *

''Délie, objet de plus haulte vertu'' (1544) * Pernette Du Guillet ''Rimes'' (1545) *

''Œuvres poétiques'' (1547) * Mellin de Saint-Gelais ''Œuvres'' (1547) *

Joachim du Bellay Joachim du Bellay (; – 1 January 1560) was a French poet, critic, and a founder of the Pléiade. He notably wrote the manifesto of the group: '' Défense et illustration de la langue française'', which aimed at promoting French as an a ...

''Olive'' (1549–50) and the manifesto "Défense et illustration de la langue française" (1549) *

''Odes'' (1550) *

''Le Solitaire premier'' (1552) * Jean Antoine de Baïf ''Les Amours'' (1552) *

''Les Amours'' (1552) *

''Hymnes'' (1555–1556) *

"L'Amour des amours" and a manual on poetic composition "Art poétique français" (1555) *

''Œuvres'' (1555) *

''Livre de vers lyriques'' (1555) * Jean Antoine de Baïf ''Amour de Francine'' (1555) * Remy Belleau ''Petites inventions'' (1556) *

''Antiquités de Rome'' (1558) *

''Songe'' (1558) *

''Regrets'' (1558) * Remy Belleau La Bergerie'' (1565–1572) * Etienne de La Boétie ''Vers français'' (1571) *

''La Franciade'' (1572) *

Philippe Desportes Philippe Desportes or Desports (1546 – 5 October 1606) was a French poet.Jean Balsamo. Philippe Desports (1546-1606) Volume 62 of Actes et colloques. Editor, Contributor, Jean Balsamo. Publisher, Klincksieck, 2000 Biography Philippe Desp ...

''Premières œuvres'' (1573) *

Étienne Jodelle Étienne Jodelle, seigneur de Limodin (1532July 1573), French dramatist and poet, was born in Paris of a noble family. He attached himself to the poetic circle of the Pléiade and proceeded to apply the principles of the reformers to dramat ...

''Œuvres et mélanges poétiques'' (1574) * Agrippa d'Aubigné First draft of ''Les Tragiques'' (1575) * Nicolas Rapin ''Les Plaisirs du gentilhomme champestre'' (1575) * Remy Belleau ''Pierres précieuses'' (1576) *

''La Semaine'' (1578) * Etienne de La Boétie ''Sonnets'' (1580) *

"Louanges" (1581) * Jean Antoine de Baïf ''Chansonnettes mesurées'' (1586) *

''Poèmes chrétiens'' (1588) * Jean-Baptiste Chassignet ''Le Mépris de la vie'' (1594) * Marc de Papillon ''Œuvres'' (1597) *

''Poésies posthumes'' (1597)

Long prose fiction

In the first half of the century, the novel in France was still dominated by the chivalric novels of the Middle Ages (in their prose versions) such as: '' Les Quatre fils Aymon'' (or ''

Renaud de Montauban Renaud de Montauban (; also spelled ''Renaut'', ''Renault'', Italian: ''Rinaldo di Montalbano'', Dutch: ''Reinout van Montalba(e)n'') was a legendary hero and knight which appeared in a 12th-century Old French ''chanson de geste'' known as ' ...

''), '' Fierabras'', '' Ogier le Danois'', ''

Perceforest ''Perceforest'' or ''Le Roman de Perceforest'' is an anonymous prose chivalric romance, written in French around 1340, with lyrical interludes of poetry, that describes a fictional origin of Great Britain and provides an original genesis of the Ar ...

'' and '' Galien le Réthoré''. From 1540 on however, the genre was dominated by foreign productions, most notably the Hispano-Portuguese multi-volume adventure novels '' Amadis de Gaule'', ''Palmerin d'Olive'', ''Primaléon de Grèce'' and others like them. The first of these, ''Amadis of Gaul'' – in its celebrated French translation/adaptation by Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts – became the ''de facto'' code of conduct of the French court from Francis I through Henry IV and was emulated in jousts and in manners. Of similar tone and content (albeit in verse), the Italian epic poems ''Roland amoureux'' (''

Orlando Innamorato ''Orlando Innamorato'' (; known in English as "''Orlando in Love''"; in Italian titled "''Orlando innamorato''" as the " I" is never capitalized) is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. The poem is a r ...

'') by

Matteo Maria Boiardo Matteo Maria Boiardo (, ; 144019/20 December 1494) was an Italian Renaissance poet, best known for his epic poem ''Orlando innamorato''. Early life Boiardo was born in 1440,

and ''Roland furieux'' (''

Orlando furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was ...

'') by

Ludovico Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...

(and, at the end of the century, Tasso's ''

Jerusalem Delivered ''Jerusalem Delivered'', also known as ''The Liberation of Jerusalem'' ( it, La Gerusalemme liberata ; ), is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, first published in 1581, that tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusad ...

'') were also enormous successes (French translations of these works were often in prose). Finally, the Italian

Luigi Pulci Luigi Pulci (; 15 August 1432 – 11 November 1484) was an Italian diplomat and poet best known for his ''Morgante'', an epic and parodistic poem about a giant who is converted to Christianity by Orlando and follows the knight in many adventur ...

's ''Morgant le géant'', a comic version of the chivalric novel, was an important model for Rabelais's giants. Francois Rabelais - Portrait

The most notable French novels of the first half of the century are

François Rabelais François Rabelais ( , , ; born between 1483 and 1494; died 1553) was a French Renaissance writer, physician, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He is primarily known as a writer of satire, of the grotesque, and of bawdy jokes ...

’s masterpieces ''

Pantagruel ''The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel'' (french: La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel) is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, telling the adventures of two giants, Gargantua ( , ) and his son Pantagruel ...

'', ''

Gargantua ''The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel'' (french: La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel) is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, telling the adventures of two giants, Gargantua ( , ) and his son Pantagruel ...

'' and their sequels. Rabelais’s works blend both humanism (

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

) and medieval farce (giants, heroic battles, scatological humor) in a manner that is grotesquely extravagant (the language and humor were often viewed as coarse by later centuries), but along with the buffoonery there is a keen satire of religious hypocrisy, political injustice and human doubt. Alongside the chivalric, French literary tastes of the period were drawn to the amorous and pathetic, especially as depicted in the novels of Spaniards

Diego de San Pedro Diego de San Pedro (c. 1437 – c. 1498) was a Castilian writer. Little is known about him, besides what is included in his works. Scholars also rely on what they infer from the context in which he wrote and the many nobles to whom he has been l ...

and Juan de Flores, themselves inspired by

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was some ...

's '' Lady Fiammeta'' and its psychologically insightful portrayal of a woman spurned. This sentimental vein would find admirable expression in parts of Hélisenne de Crenne’s ''Les Angoisses douloureuses qui procèdent d’amours'' which blends sentimental and chivalric elements, humanist scholarship, orality and eloquence. The foreign adventure novel would start to face competition from domestic French production in the second half of the century in the long works of authors Béroalde de Verville and

Nicolas de Montreux Nicolas de Montreux (c. 1561–1608) was a French nobleman, novelist, poet, translator and dramatist. Born in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, in the province of Maine, he was the son of a ''maître des requêtes'' and may have become a priest around 1585. In ...

. These authors (largely unread today) – like the authors of the later volumes of the Amadis cycle – abandoned many of the traditional chivalric modes, replacing them with techniques and incidents borrowed from two new sources of inspiration: the ancient Greek novel (

Heliodorus Heliodorus is a Greek name meaning "Gift of the Sun". Several persons named Heliodorus are known to us from ancient times, the best known of which are: *Heliodorus (minister) a minister of Seleucus IV Philopator c. 175 BC *Heliodorus of Athen ...

Longus Longus, sometimes Longos ( el, Λόγγος), was the author of an ancient Greek novel or romance, '' Daphnis and Chloe''. Nothing is known of his life; it is assumed that he lived on the isle of Lesbos (setting for ''Daphnis and Chloe'') du ...

and

Achilles Tatius Achilles Tatius ( Greek: Ἀχιλλεὺς Τάτιος, ''Achilleus Tatios'') of Alexandria was a Roman-era Greek writer of the 2nd century AD whose fame is attached to his only surviving work, the ancient Greek novel, or ''romance'', '' The Adv ...

) and the mixed-form (prose and verse)

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depict ...

novel from Italy and Spain ( Jacopo Sannazaro and

Jorge de Montemayor ( es, Jorge de Montemayor) (1520? – 26 February 1561) was a Portuguese novelist and poet, who wrote almost exclusively in Spanish. His most famous work is a pastoral prose romance, the ''Diana'' (1559). Biography He was born at Montemo ...

). The novelty and inventiveness of the last years of the century are best seen in the anonymous ''La Mariane du Filomene'' (1596) which mixes the frame-tale, amorous sentiment, dreams, and pastoral elements to tell the story of a man wandering through the Parisian countryside trying to forget the woman who betrayed him. Notable works of long prose fiction, including translations (preceded by an --) published in France in the 16th century: *

''Les Illustrations de Gaule'' (1510) * --

''La Prison d’Amour laquelle traite l’amour de Leriano et Laureole'' (13 editions between 1526–1604) * -- Juan de Flores ''Le Judgement d’Amour or Histoire d’Aurelio et d’Isabelle'' (1530) *

'' (1532) * --

'' Complainte des tristes amours de Fiammette'' (1532) *

'' (1534) * -- Juan de Flores ''La Déplourable fin de Flamète'' (translation by

, 1535) * --

''Le Courtesan'' (1535) * Hélisenne de Crenne (Marguerite Briet) ''Les Angoysses douloureuses qui procedent d’amours'' (1538) * --

''Les Amours d’Arnalte et de Lucenda'' or ''L’amant mal traicté de s’amye'' (14 editions from 1539–1582) * -- Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo '' Amadis de Gaule'' (first books translated by Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts, starting from 1540; for more on its sequels and translations, see the article on "Amadis of Gaul") * -- Jacopo Sannazaro ''Arcadia'' (1544) * --

Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...

Roland furieux ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not ...

'' (prose translation, 1544) *

''Le tiers livre'' (1546) * -- Francesco Colonna ''Songe de Poliphile'' (with engravings attributed to

Jean Goujon Jean Goujon (c. 1510 – c. 1565)Thirion, Jacques (1996). "Goujon, Jean" in ''The Dictionary of Art'', edited by Jane Turner; vol. 13, pp. 225–227. London: Macmillan. Reprinted 1998 with minor corrections: . was a French Renaissance sculpt ...

, 1546) * -- ''L’histoire de Palmerin d’Olive'' (translated by Jean Maugin, 1546) * --

Heliodorus of Emesa Heliodorus Emesenus or Heliodorus of Emesa ( grc, Ἡλιόδωρος ὁ Ἐμεσηνός) is the author of the ancient Greek novel called the ''Aethiopica'' () or ''Theagenes and Chariclea'' (), which has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD. Ide ...

''L’histoire aethiopique'' (translated by

Jacques Amyot Jacques Amyot (; 30 October 15136 February 1593), French Renaissance bishop, scholar, writer and translator, was born of poor parents, at Melun. Biography Amyot found his way to the University of Paris, where he supported himself by serving som ...

, 1547) *

''Le quart livre'' (1552) * "Théodose Valentinian" ''L’Histoire de l’amant resuscité par la mort d’amour'' (partly inspired by Diego de San Pedro, 1555) * --

''Les Amours pastorales de Daphnis et de Chloé'' (translated by

, 1559) *

(attributed) ''Le cinquième livre'' (1564) * --

''Les Amours de Clitophon et de Leucippe'' (translated by François de Belleforest, 1568) * François de Belleforest ''La Pyrénée'' (or ''La Pastorale amoureuse'') (1571) * --

''La Diane'' (1578) *

''Les Bergeries de Juliette'' (1585–98) * -- Tasso '' Jérusalem délivrée'' (prose translation, 1587) * Béroalde de Verville ''Les Avantures de Floride'' (1593–1596) *

''Les chastes et delectables Jardins d’Amour'' (1594) *

''L’Œuvre de la Chasteté'' (1595-9) * (Anon) ''La Mariane du Filomene'' (1596) * (Anon) ''Les chastes amours d’Helene de Marthe''(1597) *

''Les Amours de Cleandre et Domiphille'' (1597) * Béroalde de Verville ''Le Restablissement de Troye'' (1597)

The short story

The French Renaissance is dominated by the

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

(under various names: "conte", a tale; "nouvelle", a short story like the Italian

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) fact ...

; "devis" and "propos", a spoken discussion; "histoire", a story). For the period, part of the attraction of the dialogued short story and the

frame tale A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction * Framing ( ...

(with its fictional speakers discussing each other's stories) lies in their "performability" by someone reading out loud to a non-literate public and in their grab-bag and (frequently) digressive structure: these tales are capable of taking on all kinds of material, both sophisticated and vulgar. The ''

Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label= Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Da ...

'', the short story collection by the Italian author

, with its frame tale of nobles fleeing the plague and telling each other stories, had an enormous impact on French writers. The sister of

Marguerite of Navarre Marguerite de Navarre (french: Marguerite d'Angoulême, ''Marguerite d'Alençon''; 11 April 149221 December 1549), also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was a princess of France, Duchess of Alençon and Berry, and Quee ...

, who was the center of a progressive literary circle, undertook her own version (the ''

Heptaméron The ''Heptaméron'' is a collection of 72 short stories written in French by Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549), published posthumously in 1558. It has the form of a frame narrative and was inspired by ''The Decameron'' of Giovanni Boccacci ...

'') which, although incomplete, is one of the masterpieces of the century. Other important writers of short stories include Noël du Fail and

Bonaventure des Périers Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal, Scholasticism, scholastic theologian ...

. As the century progressed, the use of oral discourse, multiple voices and table talk led to a dialogued form which often seems revolutionary and chaotic to modern ears. The French reading public was also fascinated by the dark tragic novellas ("

histoires tragiques Histoires tragiques ('tragic stories') were a genre of French fiction in 16th-17th centuries, a Baroque rendering of Boccaccio's type of short stories, concentrating on the dark side of human nature. The progenitor of this kind of a story was Pier ...

") of

which were avidly adapted and emulated into the beginning of the seventeenth century (

Jacques Yver Jacques Yver, seigneur de la Bigoterie and de Plaisance (c.1548 – 1571/72) Simonin, Michel, ed. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises - Le XVIe siècle.'' Article "Yver (Jacques)", pp. 1214–1215, Paris: Fayard, 2001. was a French writer of th ...

, Vérité Habanc, Bénigne Poissenot, François de Rosset,

Jean-Pierre Camus Jean-Pierre Camus (November 3, 1584 – April 26, 1652) was a French bishop, preacher, and author of works of fiction and spirituality. Biography Jean-Pierre Camus was born in Paris in 1584, the son of Jean Camus, seigneur de Saint Bonnet, who w ...

). Short story collections in France in the Renaissance: * Anon. '' Cent nouvelles nouvelles'' (1462) * Philippe de Vigneulles ''Nouvelles'' (c.1515) - most are lost * Anon. ''Le Paragon des nouvelles honnestes et délectables'' (1531) * Nicolas de Troyes ''Le grand paragon des nouvelles nouvelles'' (c1533-37) *

''Cymbalum mundi'' (1537) *

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was som ...

''Le Décaméron'' - Antoine Le Maçon, translator (1545) * Noël du Fail ''Propos rustiques de maistre Léon Ladulfi'' (1547) * Noël du Fail ''Les Baliverneries ou contes nouveaux d’Eutrapel'' (1548) * La Motte-Roullant (1549) - (109 tales, mostly versions of ''Cent nouvelles nouvelles'') *

''Les Nouvelles récréations et Joyeux devis'' (90 tales) (1558) *

Pierre Boaistuau Pierre Boaistuau, also known as Pierre Launay or Sieur de Launay (c. 1517, Nantes – 1566, Paris), was a French Renaissance humanist writer, author of a number of popularizing compilations and discourses on various subjects. Beside his many popu ...

, ed. ''Histoires des Amans fortunez'' (1558) - truncated version of ''l’Heptaméron'' (67 tales) without dialogues between the stories * Marguerite de Navarre ''L’Heptaméron'' Claude Gruget, ed. (1559) *

(1559) - translation of

. * François de Belleforest ''Continuation des histoires tragiques, contenant douze histoires tirées de Bandel....'' (1559) - translation of

. *

Pierre Viret Pierre Viret (1509/1510 – 4 April 1571) was a Swiss Reformed theologian, evangelist and Protestant reformer. Early life Pierre Viret was born in 1509 or 1510 in Orbe, then in the Barony of Vaud, now in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. He wa ...

''Le Monde à l'empire'' (date?) satirical pamphlet *

''Le Monde démoniacle'' (1561) satirical pamphlet * François de Belleforest and

''Histoires tragiques'' - 7 vols. Belleforest’s continuation of the translation of

, published with Boaistuau’s (1566–1583) * Jacques Tahureau (1565) *

Henri Estienne Henri Estienne (; ; 1528 or 15311598), also known as Henricus Stephanus (), was a French printer and classical scholar. He was the eldest son of Robert Estienne. He was instructed in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew by his father and would eventually ta ...

''Apologie pour Hérodote'' (1566) (includes 180 tales) * Estienne Tabourot des Accords ''Les Bigarrures'' (1572) * Jean Bergier ''Discours modernes et facecieux'' (1572) - (13 tales) *

(1572) * Duroc Sort-Manne (pseudo. for Romannet Du Cros) ''Nouveaux recits ou comptes moralisez'' (1573) * Jeanne Flore ''Comptes amoureux'' (1574) (7 tales) * Antoine Tyron ''Recueil de plusieurs plaisantes nouvelles, apaphthegmes et recreations diverses'' (1578) * Bénigne Poissenot ''L’été'' (1583) * Gabrielle Chappuys ''Cent excellentes nouvelles'' (1583) - translation of the ''Hecatommithi'' by Italian Giovanni Battista Giraldi (also known as Cintio) * Gabrielle Chappuys ''Les facétieuses journées'' (1584) - translation of Italian tales * Antoine du Verdier (1584) - mostly lost * Guillaume Bouchet ''Les sérées'' (1584, 97, 98) * Estienne Tabourot des Accords ''Apophtegmes du Sieur Gaulard'' (1585) * Noël Du Fail ''Les contes et discours d'Eutrapel'' (1585) * De Cholières ''Les matinées'' (1585) * Vérité Habanc ''Nouvelles histoires tant tragiques que comiques'' (1585). * Bénigne Poissenot ''Nouvelles histoires tragiques'' (1586). * De Cholières ''Les après-dînées'' (1587) * Estienne Tabourot des Accords ''Les Escraignes dijonnaises'' (1588)

Theatre

16th-century French theater followed the same patterns of evolution as the other literary genres of the period. For the first decades of the century, public theater remained largely tied to its long medieval heritage of

mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represe ...

morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

s, and soties, although the

miracle play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represe ...

was no longer in vogue. Public performances were tightly controlled by a guild system. The guild "les Confrères de la Passion" had exclusive rights to theatrical productions of mystery plays in Paris; in 1548, fear of violence or blasphemy resulting from the growing religious rift in France forced the Paris Parliament to prohibit performances of the mysteries in the capital, although they continued to be performed in other places. Another guild, the "Enfants Sans-Souci" were in charge of farces and soties, as too the "Clercs de la Basoche" who also performed morality plays. Like the "Confrères de la Passion", "la Basoche" came under political scrutiny (plays had to be authorized by a review board; masks or characters depicting living persons were not permitted), and they were finally suppressed in 1582. By the end of the century, only the "Confrères de la Passion" remained with exclusive control over public theatrical productions in Paris, and they rented out their theater at the Hôtel de Bourgogne to theatrical troupes for a high price. In 1599, they abandoned this privilege. It is of note that, alongside the numerous writers of these traditional works (such as the farce writers Pierre Gringore, Nicolas de La Chesnaye and André de la Vigne),

also wrote a number of plays close to the traditional mystery and morality play. As early as 1503 however, original language versions of

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

, Seneca,

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

and

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the g ...

were all available in Europe and the next forty years would see humanists and poets both translating these classics and adapting them. In the 1540s, the French university setting (and especially — from 1553 on — the Jesuit colleges) became host to a Neo-Latin theater (in Latin) written by professors such as

George Buchanan George Buchanan ( gd, Seòras Bochanan; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." ...

and Marc Antoine Muret which would leave a profound mark on the members of

. From 1550 on, one finds humanist theater written in French. The influence of Seneca was particularly strong in humanist tragedy. His plays — which were essentially chamber plays meant to be read for their lyrical passages and rhetorical oratory — brought to many humanist tragedies a concentration on rhetoric and language over dramatic action. Humanist tragedy took two distinct directions: * Biblical tragedy : plots taken from the bible — although close in inspiration to the medieval mystery plays, the humanist biblical tragedy reconceived the biblical characters along classical lines, suppressing both comic elements and the presence of God on the stage. The plots often had clear parallels to contemporary political and religious matters and one finds both Protestant and Catholic playwrights. * Ancient tragedy : plots taken from mythology or history — they often had clear parallels to contemporary political and religious matters During the height of the civil wars (1570–1580), a third category of militant theater appeared: * Contemporary tragedy : plots taken from recent events Along with their work as translators and adaptors of plays, the humanists also investigated classical theories of dramatic structure, plot, and characterization.

was translated in the 1540s, but had been available throughout the Middle Ages. A complete version of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

's ''Poetics'' appeared later (first in 1570 in an Italian version), but his ideas had circulated (in an extremely truncated form) as early as the 13th century in Hermann the German's Latin translation of

Averroes Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psy ...

' Arabic gloss, and other translations of the ''Poetics'' had appeared in the first half of the 16th century; also of importance were the commentaries on Aristotle's poetics by

Julius Caesar Scaliger Julius Caesar Scaliger (; April 23, 1484 – October 21, 1558), or Giulio Cesare della Scala, was an Italian scholar and physician, who spent a major part of his career in France. He employed the techniques and discoveries of Renaissance humanism ...

which appeared in the 1560s. The fourth century grammarians Diomedes and

Aelius Donatus Aelius Donatus (; fl. mid-fourth century AD) was a Roman grammarian and teacher of rhetoric. Works He was the author of a number of professional works, of which several are extant: *Ars maior – A commentary on Latin grammar. * Ars minor – ...

were also a source of classical theory. The 16th-century Italians played a central role in the publishing and interpretation of classical dramatic theory, and their works had a major effect on French theater.

Lodovico Castelvetro Lodovico Castelvetro (ca. 1505–1571) was an important figure in the development of neo-classicism, especially in drama. It was his reading of Aristotle that led to a widespread adoption of a tight version of the Three Unities, as a dramat ...

's Aristote-based ''Art of Poetry'' (1570) was one of the first enunciations of the three unities; this work would inform Jean de la Taille's ''Art de la tragedie'' (1572). Italian theater (like the tragedy of

Gian Giorgio Trissino Gian Giorgio Trissino (8 July 1478 – 8 December 1550), also called Giovan Giorgio Trissino and self-styled as Giovan Giωrgio Trissino, was a Venetian Renaissance humanist, poet, dramatist, diplomat, grammarian, linguist, and philosopher. ...

) and debates on decorum (like those provoked by Sperone Speroni's play ''Canace'' and Giovanni Battista Giraldi's play ''Orbecche'') would also influence the French tradition. In the same spirit of imitation — and adaptation — of classical sources that had informed the poetic compositions of ''La Pléiade'', French humanist writers recommended that tragedy should be in five acts and have three main characters of noble rank; the play should begin in the middle of the action (

in medias res A narrative work beginning ''in medias res'' (, "into the middle of things") opens in the midst of the plot (cf. ''ab ovo'', ''ab initio''). Often, exposition is bypassed and filled in gradually, through dialogue, flashbacks or description of pa ...

), use noble language and not show scenes of horror on the stage. Some writers (like Lazare de Baïf and

Thomas Sébillet Thomas Sébillet (1512–1589) was a French jurist, an essayist and a neo-Platonist grammarian.''Encyclopédie de la littérature'' (''Literary Encyclopedia''), Le Livre de Poche, "La Pochothèque" collection, 2004, p. 1828 He is now remembered f ...

) attempted to link the medieval tradition of morality plays and farces to classical theater, but

rejected this claim and elevated classical tragedy and comedy to a higher dignity. Of greater difficulty for the theorists was the incorporation of Aristotle's notion of "

catharsis Catharsis (from Greek , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions through dramatic art, or it may be any extreme emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. In its lite ...

" or the purgation of emotions with Renaissance theater, which remained profoundly attached to both pleasing the audience and to the rhetorical aim of showing moral examples (

exemplum An exemplum (Latin for "example", pl. exempla, ''exempli gratia'' = "for example", abbr.: ''e.g.'') is a moral anecdote, brief or extended, real or fictitious, used to illustrate a point. The word is also used to express an action performed by an ...

's '' Cléopâtre captive'' (1553) — which tells the impassioned fears and doubts of Cleopatra contemplating suicide — has the distinction of being the first original French play to follow

's classical precepts on structure (the play is in five acts and respects more or less the unities of time, place and action) and is extremely close to the ancient model: the prologue is introduced by a shade, there is a classical chorus which comments on the action and talks directly to the characters, and the tragic ending is described by a messenger. Mellin de Saint-Gelais's translation of

's ''La Sophonisbe'' — the first modern regular tragedy based on ancient models which tells the story of the noble Sophonisba's suicide (rather than be taken as captive by Rome) — was an enormous success at the court when performed in 1556. Select list of authors and works of humanist tragedy: * Théodore de Bèze ** ''Abraham sacrifiant'' (1550) *

** '' Cléopâtre captive'' (1553) ** ''Didon se sacrifiant'' (date unknown) * Mellin de Saint-Gelais ** ''La Sophonisbe'' (performed 1556) - translation of the Italian play (1524) by

Jacques Grévin Jacques Grévin (''c''. 1539 – 5 November 1570) was a French playwright. Grévin was born at Clermont, Oise in about 1539, and he studied medicine at the University of Paris. He became a disciple of Pierre de Ronsard, Ronsard, and was one of t ...

** ''Jules César'' (1560) - imitated from the

of Marc Antoine Muret * Jean de la Taille ** ''Saül, le furieux'' (1563–1572) * Guillaume Le Breton ** ''Adonis'' (1569) *

Robert Garnier Robert Garnier (1544 – 20 September 1590) was a French poet and dramatist. He published his first work while still a law-student at Toulouse, where he won a prize (1565) in the Académie des Jeux Floraux. It was a collection of lyrical ...

** ''Porcie'' (published 1568, acted in 1573), ** ''Cornélie'' (acted in 1573 and published in 1574) ** ''Hippolyte'' (acted in 1573 and published in 1574) ** ''Marc-Antoine'' (1578) ** ''La Troade'' (1579) ** ''Antigone'' (1580) ** ''Les Juives'' (1583) *

Pierre Matthieu Pierre Matthieu (1563–1621) was a French writer, poet, historian and dramatist. Biography Pierre Matthieu was born at Pesmes in the Haute-Saône. He studied under the Jesuits and mastered Latin, Ancient Greek and Hebrew. At the age of 1 ...

(1563–1621) ** ''Clytemnestre'' (1578) ** ''Esther'' (1581) ** ''Vashti'' (1589) ** ''Aman, de la perfidie'' (1589) ** ''La Guisiade'' (1589) *

** ''Tragédie du jeune Cyrus'' (1581) ** ''Isabelle'' (1594) ** ''Cléopâtre'' (1594) ** ''Sophonisbe'' (1601) (See the playwrights

Antoine de Montchrestien Antoine de Montchrestien (, or ''Montchrétien'') (c. 15757 or 8 October 1621) was a French soldier, dramatist, adventurer and economist. Montchrestien was born in Falaise, Normandy. Son of an apothecary named Mauchrestien and orphan at a young ...

Alexandre Hardy Alexandre Hardy (c. 1570/1572 – 1632) was a French dramatist, one of the most prolific of all time. He claimed to have written some six hundred plays, but only thirty-four are extant. He was born in Paris, and seems to have been connected mo ...

and Jean de Schelandre for tragedy around 1600-1610.) Alongside tragedy, European humanists also adapted the ancient comedic tradition and as early as the 15th century, Renaissance Italy had developed a form of humanist Latin comedy. Although the ancients had been less theoretical about the comedic form, the humanists used the precepts of

(4th century A.D.),

and the works of

to elaborate a set of rules: comedy should seek to correct vice by showing the truth; there should be a happy ending; comedy uses a lower style of language than tragedy; comedy does not paint the great events of states and leaders, but the private lives of people, and its principal subject is love. Although some French authors kept close to the ancient models (

translated a part of

's "Plutus" at college), on the whole the French comedic tradition shows a great deal of borrowing from all sources: medieval farce (which continued to be immensely popular throughout the century), the short story, Italian humanist comedies and "La Celestina" (by Fernando de Rojas). The most prolific of the French Renaissance comedic authors,

Pierre de Larivey Pierre de Larivey (20 July 1549 – 12 February 1619) was a French dramatist of Italy, Italian origin. He is credited with introducing the Italian "comedy of intrigue" into France. Life Little is known of Larivey's biography. The suggestion ...

, adapted Italian comedies of intrigue by the authors Ludovico Dolce, Niccolò Buonaparte, Lorenzino de' Medici,

Antonio Francesco Grazzini Antonio Francesco Grazzini or Antonfrancisco Grazzini (March 22, 1503February 18, 1584) was an Italian author." Biography He was born at Florence or in Staggia Senese (he wrote of himself: Rime di Antonfrancesco detto il Lasca'', parte prima ...

, Vincenzo Gabbiani, Girolano Razzi, Luigi Pasqualigo, and Nicolὸ Secchi. Select list of authors and works of Renaissance comedy: *

** ''L'Eugène'' (1552) – a comedy in five acts *

** ''Les Ébahis'' (1560) * Jean Antoine de Baïf ** ''L'Eunuque'' (1565), a version of

's ''Eunuchus'' ** ''Le Brave'' (1567) – a version of

's '' Miles gloriosus'' * Jean de la Taille ** ''Les Corrivaus'' (published in 1573) – an imitation of

and other Italians *

– Larivey was an important adapter of the Italian comedy ** ''Le Laquais'' (1579) ** ''La Vefve'' (1579) ** ''Les Esprits'' (1579) ** ''Le Morfondu'' (1579) ** ''Les Jaloux'' (1579) ** ''Les Escolliers'' (1579) * Odet de Turnèbe ** ''Les Contents'' (1581) *

** ''La Joyeuse'' (1581) ** ''Joseph le Chaste'' (?) * François d'Amboise (1550–1619) ** ''Les Néapolitaines'' (1584) In the last decades of the century, four other theatrical modes from Italy — which did not follow the rigid rules of classical theater – flooded the French stage: * the

Commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

— an improvisational theater of fixed types (Harlequin, Colombo) created in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

in 1545; Italian troupes were invited in France from 1576 on. *the

Tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. Most often seen in dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a seriou ...

— a theatrical version of the adventurous novel, with lovers, knights, disguises and magic. The most famous of these is

's ''Bradamante'' (1580), adapted from

. * the

Pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depict ...

— modeled on Giambattista Guarini's "Pastor fido" ("Faithful Shepard"), Tasso's "Aminta" and Antonio Ongaro "Alceo" (themselves inspired by Jacopo Sannazaro and

). The first French pastorals were short plays performed before a tragedy, but were eventually expanded into five acts.

wrote three pastorals: ''Athlette'' (1585), ''Diane'' (1592) ''Arimène ou le berger désespéré'' (1597). * the

Ballet de cour ''Ballet de cour'' ("court ballet") is the name given to ballets performed in the 16th and 17th centuries at courts. The court ballet was a gathering of noblemen and women, as the cast and audience were largely supplied by the ruling class. The f ...

— an allegorical and fantastic mixture of dance and theater. The most famous of these is the "Ballet comique de la reine" (1581). By the end of the century, the most influential French playwright — by the range of his styles and by his mastery of the new forms — would be

. All of these eclectic traditions would continue to evolve in the "baroque" theater of the early 17th century, before French "classicism" would finally impose itself.

Other literary forms

The French Renaissance was rich in a whole body of moral, literary, philological and philosophical writing.

Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a lit ...

was the first essayist of modern times ( ''The Essays'') and a remarkable writer on the human condition. Étienne Pasquier's ''Recherches de la France'' was another monumental compendium of historical, political and cultural observations. Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme wrote biographical sketches of the men and women of the court.

Jean Bodin Jean Bodin (; c. 1530 – 1596) was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is known for his theory of sovereignty. He was also an influential writer on demonology. Bo ...

wrote a number of important works on political science.

and his son

Robert Estienne The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

were among the most important printers in France in the 16th century, and Robert Estienne's edition of the Bible was the first to use chapter and verse divisions. The Catholic/Huguenot and civil/political conflicts of the last half of the century—the

—generated a great deal of political, religious and satirical writing, including the Monarchomachs' libels. The

Satire Ménippée The ''Satire Ménippée'' () or ''La Satyre Ménippée de la vertu du Catholicon d'Espagne'' was a political and satirical work in prose and verse that mercilessly parodied the Catholic League and Spanish pretensions during the Wars of Religion in ...

(1593/1594) written by Nicolas Rapin, Jean Passerat and

Florent Chrestien Florent Chrestien (January 26, 1541 – October 3, 1596) was a French satirist and Latin poet. Chrestien was the son of Guillaume Chrestien, an eminent French physician and writer on physiology, was born at Orléans. A pupil of Henri Estienne, the ...

, and edited/revised by Pierre Pithou was a political and satirical work in prose and verse which criticized the excesses of the Catholic League during the Wars of Religion.

Notes

References

* Schmidt, Albert-Marie. ed. ''Poètes du XVIe siècle.'' Collection: Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. Paris: Gallimard, 1953. * Simonin, Michel, ed. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises - Le XVIe siècle.'' Paris: Fayard, 2001.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:French Renaissance Literature French Renaissance Renaissance literature 3

The word "Renaissance"

Introduction

Poetry

Long prose fiction

The short story

Theatre

Other literary forms

See also

Notes

References

External links