Lemaire des Belges, Jean

(1470-1525)

   French poet and humanist, a transitional figure between the vernacular rhétoriqueurs of the 15th century and later French humanists. His works reflect growing French interest in Italian Renaissance culture and the Tuscan language, embracing both classical authors and the writings of contemporary Italian humanists. His principal work was a romantic and fictionalized historical narrative, Les illustrations de Gaule et singularitez de Troyes (the first book was published in 1511; the complete work in 1524). This was a blend of mythical and actual historical accounts of the origins of France since pre-Roman times, in which Lemaire tried to link the origins of France with ancient Troy, a historical myth promoted by a number of early French humanists.