Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549)
Author of The Heptameron
About the Author
Princess of Angouleme, Queen of Navarre, and sister to King Francis I, Marguerite Navarre was in a unique position to contribute to the intellectual and political life of the French Renaissance. She participated actively in state affairs and was celebrated as a patron of the arts, drawing to her show more court theologians, poets, and scholars who were interested in the new ideas that would forge the Renaissance and Reformation in France. Navarre produced religious dramas and mystical poetry, but her masterpiece is the Heptameron (1558), a collection of 72 posthumously published tales, loosely based on Boccaccio's Decameron. These lively stories of love and adventure frequently focus on the social roles of the sexes and recall the contemporary querelle des femmes, the late medieval debate on the status of women. They offer a vivid image of court life during the French Renaissance and a lasting contribution to the literature of feminism. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Do not confuse or combine with her great-niece Marguerite de Valois (1553-1615).
Works by Marguerite de Navarre
Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois, queen of France, wife of Henri IV; of Madame de Pompadour of the court of Louis XV;… (2019) 16 copies
Memoires de Marguerite de Valois, reine de France et de Navarre, auxquels on a ajoûste son Eloge. (1713) 8 copies
Klassische französische Erzählungen / Choix de Nouvelles Classiques. Französisch- Deutsch. (1993) 3 copies
Chansons spirituelles 2 copies
Franska mästarnoveller 2 copies
La Coche 2 copies
L'Heptaméron des Nouvelles, de Très Haute Et Très Illustre Princess Marguerite d'Angoulême, Reine de Navarre, Vol.… (2017) 1 copy
Thre profane 1 copy
El Heptamerón I 1 copy
Contes et nouvelles : Mis en beau langage.../ Reine de Navarre Marguerite de Valois T. 1-2 [...] 1 copy
The Heptameron of Margaret of Angoulême, queen of Navarre. A complete translation into English 1 copy
Margherite 1 copy
Nouvelles lettres de la reine de Navarre adressés au roi François 1er, son frère; pub. d'apr&egrav 1 copy
L'heptaméron 1 copy
The Heptameron - Vol. I 1 copy
The Heptameron - Vol II 1 copy
The Heptameron - Vol III 1 copy
The Heptameron - Vol IV 1 copy
The Heptameron - Vol V 1 copy
Associated Works
The Ribald Reader: 2000 Years of Lusty Love and Laughter (1906) — Contributor — 19 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Navarre, Marguerite de
- Legal name
- Angoulême, Marguerite d'
- Other names
- Marguerite d'Angoulême
Margaret of Navarre - Birthdate
- 1492-04-11
- Date of death
- 1549-12-11
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- France
- Birthplace
- Angoulême, France
- Place of death
- Odos-en-Bigorre, France
- Places of residence
- Angoulême, France
Amboise, France
Nérac, France - Education
- privately educated
- Occupations
- queen
writer
patron of the arts
philanthropist - Relationships
- Valois, Marguerite de (grand-niece)
- Short biography
- Marguerite de Navarre, also known as Marguerite d'Angoulême, was the daughter of Louise de Savoy, one of the most learned and politically powerful women of her time, and Charles, comte d'Angoulême. Marguerite's brother became King of France as François I. She received a fine classical education and grew up to become a true Renaissance woman. When her brother was held for ransom in Spain after his defeat at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, Marguerite took over the official duties of his deceased wife and acted as a surrogate mother to her young nieces and nephews. After marrying King Henri II of Navarre in 1527, she made his court into a center for the arts and humanities. A writer herself, she was the friend and generous patron of many artists and reformers, whom she protected from persecution. Her most famous work, The Heptameron, a collection of 72 short stories, was published posthumously in 1558. She passed on the family tradition of strong women to her daughter, Jeanne d'Albert, who later became Queen of Navarre in her own right.
- Disambiguation notice
- Do not confuse or combine with her great-niece Marguerite de Valois (1553-1615).
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Statistics
- Works
- 65
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 1,009
- Popularity
- #25,561
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 8
- ISBNs
- 74
- Languages
- 8
- Favorited
- 1
This review is from: The Heptameron (Classics) (Kindle Edition)
Attributed to Marguerite of Navarre and set in mid-1500s Europe, this is an intriguing collection of seventy-two stories.
With a similar framework to the Canterbury Tales and the Decameron, the narrators - five men and five women of noble background - are thrown together in an abbey in the Pyrenees following a flood. As they wait for a bridge to be built, they entertain themselves by telling (supposedly true) stories. These concern chaste - and faithless - husbands and wives, immoral monks, people who love to the death, people who seek revenge, incest...one is even about the horrid state of toilets in an abbey! A glimpse into the world and attitudes of the time.
Each story is followed by the characters debating what they've just heard, and their personalities come out in their talk, from pious old Oisille and sensible Parlamente to the rather brutish Hircan who derides chaste heroes, and the misogynistic Saffredent.
The modern translation makes this completely readable and I quite enjoyed it, though the stories are variable in quality, and I found seventy-two was quite enough!… (more)