Jean de Sponde
Encyclopedia
Jean de Sponde was a Baroque
French
poet
.
, in what is now Pyrénées-Atlantiques
, Jean de Sponde was raised in an austere Protestant
family in the Basque region
of France (some critics believe his family had Spanish roots) with close relations with the royal court of Navarre. A bright student at the College of Lascar (1569), he received funds for his education from Jeanne d'Albret, the mother of Henry de Navarre
(the future Henry IV of France), and went on to learn ancient Greek
and Protestant theology
.
Despite his religious upbringing, in his early writings Jean de Sponde turned toward worldly literature: he translated Homer
into Latin
(1577) and wrote love poems (The Amours, published posthumously in 1597 with Poésies posthumes).
In 1580, with the help of a travel grant provided by Henry of Navarre, he moved to Basel
to study under Théodore de Bèze. Sometime later, the king of Navarre gave him a position as maître des requêtes
.
In 1582, Jean de Sponde became profoundly moved after reading the Psalms
, and from this point on his writings took on a religious orientation, leaving the author to consider his early love poems as fadaises (worthless things). It is from this period that he wrote what are considered his most important works: Méditations sur les psaumes ("Meditations on the Psalms") and Essai de quelques poèmes chrétiens ("Essay of Several Christian Poems", 1588). In this last collection, Jean de Sponde explored the passage of time, the shortness of life and the presence of death in man's life.
He left Basel and returned to Navarre as royal counsellor and maître des requëtes in 1583, and married. Upon a trip to Paris in 1589, Sponde was imprisoned by the Catholic League
for his religion. Upon his liberation, he became lieutenant-general of the appellate court (sénéchaussée) in La Rochelle
, but left the city in 1593 and returned to Tours. After a second imprisonment for his beliefs, he converted to Catholicism
in Tours
in 1593, following the example of Henry IV. This conversion however earned him the hatred of the Protestants (his friend d'Aubigné became his personal enemy) and distanced him from the king (who sought to maintain his alliances with the huguenots). Sponde then moved to Bordeaux
and spent the last years of his life writing against Calvinist theology.
He died in Bordeaux in poverty in 1595.
s in the manner of other love sonnet sequences of the period (as made fashionable by the members of La Pléiade
). His posthumous collection also includes various other long lyric poems (stances), chanson
s and elegies
.
Jean de Sponde's later poetry is impregnated with the major themes of the so-called French "baroque" poetry of the period and with the moral concerns of the huguenots. His poetry is often placed alongside the works of Agrippa d'Aubigné
and Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas
as the major poetic works of the French Renaissance Protestants.
His Essai de quelques poèmes chrétiens comprise 12 sonnets and three long lyric poems (two on the last supper
and one on death). Sponde's writing paints the massiveness of the world, man's tortured destiny, and his lack of clarity. The author is obsessed with inconstancy, masks, appearances, and death, and this presence of death in the midst of man's life inspires man to seek eternity and to reach out to god.
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Biography
Born at MauléonMauléon-Licharre
Mauléon-Licharre or simply Mauléon is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.It is the capital of the Soule historical French and Basque province.It is also home to the canvas shoe, the espadrille....
, in what is now Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a department in the southwest of France which takes its name from the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.- History :...
, Jean de Sponde was raised in an austere Protestant
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
family in the Basque region
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
of France (some critics believe his family had Spanish roots) with close relations with the royal court of Navarre. A bright student at the College of Lascar (1569), he received funds for his education from Jeanne d'Albret, the mother of Henry de Navarre
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
(the future Henry IV of France), and went on to learn ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
and Protestant theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
.
Despite his religious upbringing, in his early writings Jean de Sponde turned toward worldly literature: he translated Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
into Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
(1577) and wrote love poems (The Amours, published posthumously in 1597 with Poésies posthumes).
In 1580, with the help of a travel grant provided by Henry of Navarre, he moved to Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
to study under Théodore de Bèze. Sometime later, the king of Navarre gave him a position as maître des requêtes
Maître des requêtes
Masters of Requests are high-level judicial officers of administrative law in France and other European countries that have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages.-Old Regime France:...
.
In 1582, Jean de Sponde became profoundly moved after reading the Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, and from this point on his writings took on a religious orientation, leaving the author to consider his early love poems as fadaises (worthless things). It is from this period that he wrote what are considered his most important works: Méditations sur les psaumes ("Meditations on the Psalms") and Essai de quelques poèmes chrétiens ("Essay of Several Christian Poems", 1588). In this last collection, Jean de Sponde explored the passage of time, the shortness of life and the presence of death in man's life.
He left Basel and returned to Navarre as royal counsellor and maître des requëtes in 1583, and married. Upon a trip to Paris in 1589, Sponde was imprisoned by the Catholic League
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...
for his religion. Upon his liberation, he became lieutenant-general of the appellate court (sénéchaussée) in La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
, but left the city in 1593 and returned to Tours. After a second imprisonment for his beliefs, he converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
in Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
in 1593, following the example of Henry IV. This conversion however earned him the hatred of the Protestants (his friend d'Aubigné became his personal enemy) and distanced him from the king (who sought to maintain his alliances with the huguenots). Sponde then moved to Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
and spent the last years of his life writing against Calvinist theology.
He died in Bordeaux in poverty in 1595.
Poetry
Jean de Sponde's youthful Amours comprise 26 sonnetSonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
s in the manner of other love sonnet sequences of the period (as made fashionable by the members of La Pléiade
La Pléiade
The Pléiade is the name given to a group of 16th-century French Renaissance poets whose principal members were Pierre de Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay and Jean-Antoine de Baïf. The name was a reference to another literary group, the original Alexandrian Pleiad of seven Alexandrian poets and...
). His posthumous collection also includes various other long lyric poems (stances), chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
s and elegies
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
.
Jean de Sponde's later poetry is impregnated with the major themes of the so-called French "baroque" poetry of the period and with the moral concerns of the huguenots. His poetry is often placed alongside the works of Agrippa d'Aubigné
Agrippa d'Aubigné
Théodore-Agrippa d'Aubigné was a French poet, soldier, propagandist and chronicler. His epic poem Les Tragiques is widely regarded as his masterpiece.-Life:...
and Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas
Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas
Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas was a French poet. A Huguenot, he served under Henry of Navarre. He is known as an epic poet. La Sepmaine; ou, Creation du monde was a hugely influential hexameral work, relating the creation of the world and the history of man...
as the major poetic works of the French Renaissance Protestants.
His Essai de quelques poèmes chrétiens comprise 12 sonnets and three long lyric poems (two on the last supper
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
and one on death). Sponde's writing paints the massiveness of the world, man's tortured destiny, and his lack of clarity. The author is obsessed with inconstancy, masks, appearances, and death, and this presence of death in the midst of man's life inspires man to seek eternity and to reach out to god.
External links
- Selection of poems (in French)