Clémence de Bourges (c.1530 – c.1563) was a French poet and noblewoman, and a literary figure of the Renaissance.
Over 1.500 of Louise Labé’s poems
were dedicated to a woman, Clémence de Bourges.
Clémence de Bourges (c.1530 – c.1563) was a French poet and noblewoman, and a literary figure of the Renaissance.
Over 1.500 of Louise Labé’s poems
were dedicated to a woman, Clémence de Bourges.
Clémence was the daughter of Claude de Bourges, seigneur of Mions in the Dauphiné; Claude was the lieutenant-general of finance for Piedmont and an official of the city of Lyon. Clémence belonged to the literary circle that gathered around Maurice Scève, Lyon's leading poet.[1] Her own work has not survived, though it was still known in the mid-18th century,[2] and she is now remembered mainly through the praises recorded by her contemporaries.[3] Clémence had been due to marry Jean du Peyrat, a Lyonnaise nobleman who died during the siege of Beaurepaire by Protestant forces in 1561/2; it is claimed that she afterwards died of grief and shock.[4] Another female poet of the era, Louise Labé, dedicated her collected works to Clémence in 1555, subsequently lamenting her early death,[5] and Claude de Rubys, who also knew her, referred to her as "ceste perle vrayement orientale entre les damoiselles de Lyon".[6] Louise's "epistre" to Clémence makes it clear that they were firm friends of long standing, despite apparent differences in age and social status.[7]
My published books:
