Claude de Bectoz (1490–1547) was a French writer and philosopher of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Life

Both her mother, Michelette de Salvaing, and father, Jacques de Bactoz, were from well-known families in the

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

. Denys Fauchier taught her to write Latin and verse. Claude would later write prose and verse in both French and Italian. Claude became famous as a writer and intellectual and corresponded with many learned people, as well as with

Marguerite de Navarre Marguerite de Navarre (, ''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 Queen of Navarre by her second mar ...

and

King Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 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 once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

. After she became abbess of the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Monastery Saint Honorat in

Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tara ...

in 1542, Marguerite and Francis visited her there. Francis carried her letters around with him and would show them to ladies of his court.

References

16th-century French poets 16th-century French women writers French women poets 1490 births 1547 deaths People from Tarascon {{France-nonfiction-writer-stub