About
Marguerite de Valois-Angoulême, elder sister of King Francis I, became Queen of Navarre through her second marriage to Henry II of Albret. A humanist and writer, she authored the Heptaméron, an unfinished collection of novellas published posthumously, and poems such as La Coche. Patron of Clément Marot and Rabelais, she corresponded with Erasmus and held an influential salon. Mother of Jeanne d'Albret, she is a major figure of the French Renaissance.
* 1492-04-11 — † 1549-12-21
Major works
- L'Heptaméron (1559)novella collection
- La Coche (1542)allegorical poem
- Les Marguerites de la Marguerite des princesses (1547)poetry collection
Key milestones
- 1526Marriage to Henry II of Albret, King of Navarre
- 1528Birth of her daughter Jeanne d'Albret, future Queen of Navarre
- 1549Death at Odos-en-Bigorre
Themes
Love and marriageReligion and spiritualityWomen's conditionMorality and societyHumanism
Sources: id.loc.gov · gallica.bnf.fr