François de Belleforest (1530 – 1 January 1583) was a French writer, poet and translator 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 ...

. He was born in Samatan, into a poor family, and his father (a soldier) was killed when he was seven. He spent some time in the court of Marguerite of Navarre, traveled to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

and

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

(where he met

George Buchanan George Buchanan (; 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." His ideology of re ...

), and then to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he came into contact with members of the young literary generation, including

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet known in his generation as a "Prince des poètes, prince of poets". His works include ''Les Amours de Cassandre'' (1552)'','' ''Les Hymnes'' (1555-1556)'', Les Disco ...

, Jean Antoine de Baïf, Jean Dorat, Remy Belleau, Antoine Du Verdier and Odet de Turnèbe. In 1568 he became historiographer to the king. He died in

. Belleforest wrote on cosmography, morals, literature and history, and he translated the works of

Matteo Bandello Matteo Bandello ( 1480–1562) was an Italian writer, soldier, Dominican friar and bishop, best known for his novellas. His collection of 214 novellas made him the most popular short-story writer of his day. Biography Matteo Bandello was b ...

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 s ...

, Antonio de Guevara, Lodovico Guicciardini,

Polydore Vergil Polydore Vergil or Virgil (Italian: Polidoro Virgili, commonly Latinised as Polydorus Vergilius; – 18 April 1555), widely known as Polydore Vergil of Urbino, was an Italian humanist scholar, historian, priest and diplomat, who spent much of ...

, Saint Cyprian, Sebastian Münster, Achilles Tatius,

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

and

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...

into French. He is also the author of the first French pastoral novel, ''La Pyrénée'' (or ''La Pastorale amoureuse'') (1571) modeled on the ''Diana'' of Jorge de Montemayor. His ''Grandes Annales'' are a polemic tract against François Hotman. His total output comprises more than 50 volumes. His most successful work was most likely his translation and adaptation of the " histoires tragiques" by the Italian

, which built on the work of Pierre Boaistuau and eventually amounted to seven volumes (1564–1582). One of these tales might be the source for

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

Selected works

* (poems), 1561. * , translation of

, 1559. * , translation of

, 7 volumes, 1566–1583. * ''Les Amours de Clitophon et de Leucippe'' by Achilles Tatius, 1568. * , 1570 * ''La Pyrénée'' (or ), 1571. * , by Françoys de Belle-Forest. Paris, Nicolas Chesneau, 1572 * . Paris, 1575. Nicolas Chesneau and Michel Sonnius. French translation of the Cosmographia of Sebastian Münster, with substantial additional material. * , 1579. * . Jacob Stoer, (Geneva): 1609. * . Pierre Chevalier, 1621. Last edition and the most complete of the ''Chroniques'' of Nicole Gilles, first published in 1525.

References

* Simonin, Michel, ed. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises - Le XVIe siècle.'' Paris: Fayard, 2001.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belleforest, Francois de 1530 births 1583 deaths People from Gers 16th-century French novelists 16th-century French writers 16th-century French male writers French male novelists French historiographers Italian–French translators Latin–French translators Spanish–French translators German–French translators French male non-fiction writers 16th-century French translators

Selected works

See also

References

External links