Des Périers

Des Périers, BONAVENTURE, one of the most interesting prose-writers of the Renaissance period in France, was born at Autun in Burgundy about the year 1500. Little is known regarding his life beyond the fact that he was a member of the court of men of letters assembled by Marguerite of Navarre. In 1537 he published the Cymbalum Mundi, a work in dialogue, in which, under the pretence of attacking the superstitions of the ancients, he satirised the religious beliefs of his own day. The book raised a storm of indignation, against which Marguerite seems to have been powerless to shield Des Périers, who, rather than fall into the hands of his persecutors, is said to have killed himself in 1544. His Nouvelles Récréations et Joyeux Devis were published in 1558. They consist of 129 short stories, both comic and romantic, and are admirable examples of narrative art, though the laxity of the Renaissance is frequently apparent in the writer's choice of subjects. The style is vivacious and elegant ; indeed, Des Périers is one of the greatest masters of French prose whom the 16th century produced. Besides writing the Cymbalum Mundi and the Joyeux Devis, it is by many critics believed that Des Périers was part author of the Heptameron associated with the name of Marguerite. See MARGARET OF NAVARRE, and the edition of Des Périers' works by Lacour (2 vols. Paris, 1866).