- Catherine Des Roches
Catherine Fradonnet, called Catherine Des Roches (December 1542-November 1587) was a French woman writer of the
Renaissance .She was the daughter of
Madeleine Des Roches , née Madeleine Neveu (c. 1520 [Date given by the French Wikipedia article. Note that Simonin gives 1530.] - November 1587) and of André Fradonnet, seigneur Des Roches Simonin.] , the procurer of Poitiers. Catherine was educated by her mother and was taught poetry, literature and ancient languages. Wanting to to invest all her time in her intellectual pursuits, Catherine Des Roches never married. Both mother and daughter died of an epidemic on the same day.Contemporaries of
Pierre Ronsard , and friends of the humanistEstienne Pasquier , Catherine Des Roches and her mother were the center of a literary circle based inPoitiers between 1570 and 1587, and which included the poetsScévole de Sainte-Marthe , Barnabé Brisson, René Chopin, Antoine Loisel, Claude Binet,Nicolas Rapin andOdet de Turnèbe . The circle is most well-known for a collection of gallant verse (in French, Italian, Latin and Greek) entitled "La Puce de Madame Des Roches" ("TheFlea of Madame Des Roches", published 1583) in which the poets, inspired by an original poem by Pasquier, wrote on the theme of a flea upon Catherine's throat.The combined output of mother and daughter -- which was published collectively -- comprise
epistle s,ode s,sonnet s,stanza s,epitaph s, and a fewdialogue s in prose and verse. Although less scholarly than her mother, Catherine wrote more than her. Her most anthologized work is the sonnet "À ma quenouille" ("To MyDistaff ") in which she portrays a woman torn between her domestic duties and her intellectual activities.Works
Original editions:
*"Oeuvres", Paris: Abel L'Angelier, 1578-9.
*"Secondes Oeuvres", Poitiers: Nicolas Courtoys, 1583.
*"Les missives de Mesdames des Roches..." (in prose and verse), Paris: Abel L'Angelier, 1586.Related works:
*"La Puce de Madame Des Roches", 1583.Modern editions:
* "Les missives de Mesdames Des Roches de Poitiers mère et fille", Anne R. Larsen, editor, Geneva: Droz, 1999.
* "Les secondes œuvres de Mesdames Des Roches de Poitiers mere et fille", Anne R. Larsen editor, Geneva: Droz, 1998.
* "Les œuvres de Mesdames Des Roches de Poitiers mere et fille", Anne R. Larsen editor, Geneva: Droz, 1993.References and notes
*"Portions of this article are based on the equivalent article from the
French Wikipedia , consulted onNovember 7 ,2007 ."
* Simonin, Michel, ed. "Dictionnaire des lettres françaises - Le XVIe siècle." Paris: Fayard, 2001, pp. 351-352. ISBN 2-25305663-4ee also
Two other French Renaissance literary circles:
*La Pléiade - the literary circle aroundRonsard
*Maurice Scève - leader of a literary circle based inLyon
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.