Ronsard Pierre

Ronsard, Pierre (1524-85), French poet, became Court page to King James of Scotland, when that monarch was in France, and accompanied him to Scotland, where he remained three years. On his return to France he entered the household of the Duc d'Orleans, who sent him on various missions abroad. Becoming deaf, he left the service of the Court and commenced to write verse, translating the Plutus of Aristophanes. In the reigns of Francis I. and Charles IX., who favoured him, he was a prominent figure in literary history, and must be acknowledged, if not a great poet, at least a great innovator in French poetry. His sonnets are especially admired.