Jean Marot (Mathieu, near Caen, 1463 – c. 1526) was a French

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

of the late 15th and early 16 century and the father 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 ...

poet

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.& ...

. He is often grouped with the "

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 ...

". Jean Marot seems to have disdained his surname and signed "Jean des Marestz".

Biography

Marot was born Jehan Desmaretz at Mathieu, near Caen in 1463. He received a neglected education, and thus did not learn latin, but made up for up for it by studying history, fable and poetry from authors. His verses were enjoyed by

Michelle de Saubonne Michelle de Saubonne, Madame de Soubise (1485–1549) was a French courtier who served as lady-in-waiting to Anne of Brittany, as the Governess of the Children of France beginning in 1499, and as the governess for the children of Ercole II d'Est ...

, wife of the Lord of ''Le château du Parc-Soubise'' situated in

Mouchamps Mouchamps () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. The grave of the noted French prime minister, Georges Clemenceau, is located near Mouchamps at the small hamlet of Le Colombier. It may be re ...

. For this she presented him to Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, and in 1506 he obtained the post of ''escripvain'' (

poet laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

-cum-

historiographer Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...

). He became her secretary in 1506 and her official poet. Jean became the official poet of three French kings

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

and

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin on ...

. By Anne of Brittany's order, he followed Louis 12th on his expeditions to Genoa and Venice against Julius II, with the express mission of celebrating them. This was done in two poems entitled ''Voyage de Gênes'' and ''Voyage de Venise'', in which the use supernatural coexists with historical accuracy. The first poem recounts the capture of Genoa by the armies of Louis 12th in 1506 and the second the victory of the royal troops over the Venetians at Agnadello in 1509. When Louis 12th died, he entered the service of

and composed a poem in which the Nobility, the Church and Labour, i.e. the three orders, plead one after the other the cause of king, who had just aroused discontent by implementing new taxes. He died in Paris around 1526. His son

, the child of his second wife, was then appointed in his place, as ''

valet de chambre ''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on t ...

'' to the king

, and likewise became a noted poet."An Unrecorded Edition..." Retrieved 21 February 2020.
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References

1463 births 1520s deaths People from Mathieu, Calvados French poets French male poets {{France-poet-stub