Jean Vauquelin de la Fresnaye
Jean Vauquelin de la Fresnaye (1536–1606/08) was a French poet born in Normandy, at La Fresnaye-au-Sauvage or Caen. He studied humanities in Paris and law in Poitiers and Bourges. He fought in the Wars of Religion under Marshal Matignon and was wounded at the siege of Saint-Lô in 1574. He spent most of his life in Caen, where he held a local position, and he died there around 1606–1608. He owned the Château des Yveteaux in Les Yveteaux.
La Fresnaye followed the poet Ronsard and supported the Pléiade reforms, but he also stressed that French poetry should have a national, continuous lineage. He learned from the trouvères and old chroniclers and wanted French poetry to have a strong national basis. He wrote an Art poétique, begun in 1574 at the request of Henry III and published in 1605.
His works include Forestries (1555); Diverses poésies (1605), which contains the Art poétique, Satyres françoises (poems addressed to his contemporaries), the Idylles (idylls), and some epigrams and sonnets.
In the political sphere during the civil wars, he wrote Pour la monarchie du royaume contre la division (1569).
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:05 (CET).