Jean Antoine de Baïf (; 19 February 1532 – 19 September 1589) 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 writte ...

and member of the '' Pléiade''.

Life

Jean Antoine de Baïf was born in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, the natural son of the scholar

Lazare de Baïf Lazare de Baïf (1496–1547) was a French diplomat and humanist. His natural son, Jean-Antoine de Baïf, was born in Venice, while Lazare was French ambassador there. He published a translation of the ''Electra'' of Sophocles in 1537, and afterwa ...

, who was at that time French ambassador at Venice. Thanks, perhaps, to the surroundings of his childhood, he grew up an enthusiast for the

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

, and surpassed in zeal all the leaders of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

in France. His father spared no pains to secure the best possible education for his son. The boy was taught

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...

Charles Estienne Charles Estienne (; 1504–1564), known as Carolus Stephanus in Latin and Charles Stephens in English, was an early exponent of the science of anatomy in France. Charles was a younger brother of Robert Estienne I, the famous printer, and son to ...

, and

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 ...

by Ange Vergèce, the

Cretan Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, an ...

scholar and

calligraphist Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

who designed Greek types for

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 ...

. When he was eleven years old he was put under the care of the famous

Jean Daurat Jean Daurat (Occitan: Joan Dorat; Latin: Auratus) (3 April 15081 November 1588) was a French poet, scholar and a member of a group known as '' The Pléiade''. Early life He was born Joan Dinemandy in Limoges and was a member of a noble family. ...

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 ...

, who was eight years his senior, now began to share his studies. Claude Binet tells how young Baïf, bred on Latin and Greek, smoothed out the tiresome beginnings of the Greek language for Ronsard, who in return initiated his companion into the mysteries of French versification. Baïf possessed an extraordinary facility, and the mass of his work has injured his reputation. Besides a number of volumes of short poems of an amorous or congratulatory kind, he translated or paraphrased various pieces from

Bion of Smyrna Bion of Smyrna (; grc-gre, Βίων ὁ Σμυρναῖος, ''gen''.: Βίωνος) was a Greek bucolic poet. Life He was a native of the city of Smyrna and flourished about 100 BC. Most of his work is lost. There remain 17 fragments ( ...

Moschus Moschus ( el, Μόσχος), ancient Greek bucolic poet and student of the Alexandrian grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace, was born at Syracuse and flourished about 150 BC. Aside from his poetry, he was known for his grammatical work, nothing o ...

Theocritus Theocritus (; grc-gre, Θεόκριτος, ''Theokritos''; born c. 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from hi ...

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 the ...

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...

and

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

. He resided in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and enjoyed the continued favor of the court. In 1570, in conjunction with the composer

Joachim Thibault de Courville Joachim Thibault de Courville (died 1581) was a French composer, singer, lutenist, and player of the lyre, of the late Renaissance. He was a close associate of poet Jean Antoine de Baïf, and with Baïf was the co-founder of the ''Académie de Po ...

, with royal blessing and financial backing, he founded the

Académie de Poésie et de Musique The Académie de Poésie et de Musique (french: Académie de poésie et de musique), later renamed the Académie du Palais, was the first Academy in France. It was founded in 1570 under the auspices of Charles IX of France by the poet Jean-Antoine ...

, with the idea of establishing a closer union between music and poetry; his house became famous for the concerts which he gave, entertainments which Charles IX and Henry III frequently attended. Composers such as

Claude Le Jeune Claude Le Jeune (1528 to 1530 – buried 26 September 1600) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. He was the primary representative of the musical movement known as '' musique mesurée'', and a significant composer of the "Par ...

, who was to become the most influential musician in France in the late 16th century, and

Jacques Mauduit Jacques Mauduit (16 September 1557 – 21 August 1627) was a French composer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most innovative French composers of the late 16th century, combining voices and instruments in new ways, and importing som ...

, who carried the Academie's ideas into the 17th century, soon joined the group, which remained secretive as to its intents and techniques.

Works

Baïf elaborated a system for regulating French versification by

quantity Quantity or amount is a property that can exist as a Counting, multitude or Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude, which illustrate discontinuity (mathematics), discontinuity and continuum (theory), continuity. Quantities can be compared in terms o ...

, a system which came to be known as ''vers mesurés'', or ''vers mesurés à l'antique''. In the general idea of regulating versification by quantity, he was not a pioneer. Jacques de la Taille had written in 1562 the ''Maniére de faire des vers en français comme en grec et en Latin'' (printed 1573), and other poets had made experiments in the same direction; however, in his specific attempt to recapture the ancient Greek and Latin ethical effect of poetry on its hearers, and in applying the metrical innovations to music, he created something entirely new. Baïf's innovations also included a line of 15 syllables known as the ''vers Baïfin''. He also meditated reforms in French spelling. His theories are exemplified in ''Etrenes de poezie Franzoeze an vers mezures'' (1574). His works were published in 4 volumes, entitled ''Œuvres en rime'' (1573), consisting of ''Amours, Jeux, Passetemps, et Poemes'', containing, among much that is now hardly readable, some pieces of infinite grace and delicacy. His

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 invention, ...

on the ''

Roman de la Rose ''Le Roman de la Rose'' (''The Romance of the Rose'') is a medieval poem written in Old French and presented as an allegorical dream vision. As poetry, ''The Romance of the Rose'' is a notable instance of courtly literature, purporting to provid ...

'' was said to contain the whole argument of that celebrated work, and Colletet says it was on everybody's lips. He held the historian of the French language Claude Fauchet in high regard; in a neo-Latin poem addressed to Fauchet, Baïf called him 'Falcete docte, carminum ô tu candide / Iudex meorum' ('Learned Fauchet, candid judge of my poems'). He also wrote a celebrated sonnet in praise of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Baïf was the author of two comedies, ''L'Eunuque'', 1565 (published 1573), a free translation of

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 ...

's ''

Eunuchus ''Eunuchus'' (''The Eunuch'') is a comedy written by the 2nd century BC Roman playwright Terence featuring a complex plot of rape and reconciliation. It was Terence's most successful play during his lifetime. Suetonius notes how the play was stage ...

'', and ''Le Brave'' (1567), an imitation of the ''

Miles Gloriosus ''Alazṓn'' ( grc, ἀλαζών) is one of three stock characters in comedy of the theatre of ancient Greece. He is the opponent of the '' eirôn''. The ''alazṓn'' is an impostor that sees himself as greater than he actually is. The ''senex ...

'', in which the characters of

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 gen ...

are turned into Frenchmen, the action taking place at

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Charles Marty-Laveaux Charles Joseph Marty-Laveaux (13 April 1823, Paris – 11 July 1899, Vitry-sur-Seine) was a French literary scholar. He is best known for his ''La Pléiade Française'', a long series of editions of the poets of La Pléiade. He also edited Corneil ...

, ''Pléiade française'' which contains the ''Œuvres en rime'' (5 vols., 1881–1890) of J. A. de Baïf. ** Becq de Fouquières, ''Poésies choisies de J. A. de Baïf'' (1874), with a valuable introduction. **

Ferdinand Brunetière Ferdinand Brunetière (19 July 1849 – 9 December 1906) was a French writer and critic. Personal and public life Early years Brunetière was born in Toulon, Var, Provence. After school at Marseille, he studied in Paris at the Lycée Louis-le-Gr ...

, ''Histoire de la littérature française classique'', 1904, bk. iii. pp. 398–422.

External links

* *
Jean Antoine de Baïf, ''Œuvres en vers mesurés'', online edition
on virga.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Baif, Jean-Antoine De 1532 births 1589 deaths Writers from Paris 16th-century male writers 16th-century French poets French male poets