Pierre de Ronsard (September 1st 1524 - night from December 27th to 28th 1585), writer and French poet of the 16th century, was called “the prince of the poets” . He was born with the manor from Possonnière, close to the village of Seam-on-Dormouse in Vendômois, today district of Vendôme Loir-et-Cher. Its memory sticks to its native area which today is looked at and developed by cultural tourism as a Pays of Ronsard; the forest of Gastines which he sang in known worms became the Gâtine de Ronsard.

Biography

Pierre is the son junior by Loys de Ronsard (knight who accompanied the children by François Ier at the time of their captivity in Spain in quality of Master of hotel) and by Jeanne Chaudrier. He studied with the College of Navarre with Paris in 1533. It would seem that he did not appreciate the hard life of the medieval school. It is page near the dolphin of king, Francois, then of his brother the duke of Orleans. When Madeleine de France married Jacques V of Scotland, in 1537, Ronsard was attached to the service of the king and spent three years in Great Britain. In 1539, it turned over to France and entered to the royal Stable. It is in the company of the duke of Orleans. This function offered the occasion to him to travel: it was sent in Flanders then again in Scotland. Soon a more important function was offered to him and he became the secretary of the continuation of Lazare de Baïf, the father of his future colleague of Pléiade and companion on this occasion, Antoine de Baïf. He was attached same manner following the cardinal of Bellay-Langey and his mythical quarrel with François Rabelais date of this time.

This promising diplomatic career was however suddenly stopped, a chronic otitis that no doctor could cure leaving it with half deaf person. Pierre de Ronsard then decided to devote himself to the study. He chooses the Collège of Coqueret whose main thing was Jean Dorat, also professor of Greek and convinced hellenist (who will belong to the Pleiad) that he knew since he had been the tutor of Baïf. Antoine de Baïf accompanied Ronsard; Joachim of Bellay, the second of the seven, joined them soon. Muretus (Marc-Antoine Muret), impassioned Latin , which will exploit a big role the creation of the French tragedy, there was also student at the same time.

The study period of Ronsard lasted seven years and half and the first proclamation of this new literary movement preaching the application of the principles of the Pleiad was written by Of Bellay. Defense and illustration of the French language appeared in 1549: the Pléiade (or Brigade, as it was called at its beginnings) was then launched. It included/understood seven writers: Ronsard, Of Bellay, Baïf, Rémy Belleau, Pontus de Tyard, Jodelle and Jean Dorat. A little later, Ronsard published its first works in 1550 in its first four collections Odes .

In 1552, the fifth book of the Odes was published at the same time as the Loves of Cassandre . These collections started a true polemic in the literary world. A history illustrates the competitions and criticisms which existed then: it is said that Mellin of Saint-Froze, leader of the marotic School, read poems of burlesque Ronsard of way in front of the king in order to devalue it. However, Marguerite de France, the sister of the king (later duchess of Savoy), took at one time the collection hands of Mellin and was put to read it, returning to the poems all their splendor: at the end of the reading, the room was under the charm and applauds cordially. Ronsard was accepted like poet. The two poets reconciled themselves, as indicates it the sonnet of M.deS.G. In favor of P. of Ronsard .

Its glory was sudden and except measurement. Its popularity never failed. In 1555-1556, it published its Hymnes . It finished its Amours in 1556 then it gave a collective edition of its works, according to the legend at the request of Marie Stuart, wife of the king François II in 1560. In 1565, they are Élégies, masquerades and sheep-folds which appeared at the same time as its interesting Abrégé poetic art French .

In 1563, engaged poet, it publishes a Remontrance with the people of France.

The Académie of the floral Plays of Toulouse rewards it, in 1580, for a part in which he sang his grandfather Banul Mârâcinâ, run of the edges of the the Danube to carry help to “France, mother of arts, the weapons and the laws. ” The people of Toulouse, estimating the wild rose , price of the floral Plays, too modest to honor “the French poet”, sent a Minerve to him solid silver of Grand Prix. Ronsard thanked the cardinal for Chastillon, archbishop of Toulouse, which had always admired it, by addressing the “ to him Hymme of the Hercules chrestien ”.

The fast change of sovereigns did not deteriorate the treatments to which has Ronsard right. After Henri and Francois, it is Charles IX which fell under its charm. It put to him even parts at disposal in the palate. This royal sponsorship had some negative effects and the work required by Charles IX, Franciade , does not equalize the remainder of the work of Ronsard, the choice made by the king of worms of ten syllables rather than the alexandrine being regrettable.

The death of Charles IX did not seem to have changed the favors to which it was entitled to the royal court. But Ronsard, its infirmities increasing, chooses to spend its last years far from the court, alternating its stays in a house belonging to him to Vendôme, in an abbey with Cross-Valley not far from there or in Paris where he was the guest of Jean Galland, intellectual of the College of Boncourt. It had perhaps also a house into clean in the Saint-Marcel.Il Suburb travelled to Andalusia for three months, with Cordoue, where it found the inspiration for his poem Ode with Antiquity .

Its last years were rather sad: Ronsard knew the loss of many of his/her friends and its health condition worsened. Foreign sovereigns, whose queen Elisabeth I {{Re}} of England, sent present to him. In spite of the disease, its literary creations always remained of also good quality and some of its last writings are among the best. One finds poems against Ronsard in the collection of manuscripts gathered by François Rasse of Noeux.

The December 27th 1585, Ronsard is buried in the church of the Prieuré of Saint-Cosme to the Rich person close to Tours.

Collective editions

According to François Mullet:

  • 1560 : in-16, includes/understands 24 new parts.

  • 1567: in-4.
  • 1571: in-16 includes/understands 29 new parts.
  • 1572-1573: in-16 includes/understands 1 new part.
  • 1578: in-16, includes/understands 238 new parts.
  • 1584: the last published of living of the author, includes/understands 32 new parts.
  • 1587: posthumous edition, includes/understands 30 new parts.

Works

  • the First Book of the Odes (1550): Ode with Cassandre (“Nice, let us see whether the pink”)

  • the Fifth Book (1552)
  • Loves of Cassandre (1552)
  • royal Scrap-metal (1554)
  • Loves of Marie (1555)
  • the Anthems (1555-1556)

  • Poems (1560-1573)

  • Speech on miseries of this time (1562)
  • unfinished Franciade (1572)
  • Sonnets for Helene (1578): “When you are quite old…”

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