François Rabelais
First great French prose author and satirist of giants.
Last updated
anonymous / Unidentified painter · via Wikipedia: François Rabelais · Public domain
François Rabelais (born between 1483 and 1494; died 1553) was a French writer who has been called the first great French prose author. A humanist of the French Renaissance and Greek scholar, he attracted opposition from both Protestant theologian John Calvin and from the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Though in his day he was best known as a physician, scholar, diplomat, and Catholic priest, later he became better known as a satirist for his depictions of the grotesque, and for his larger-than-life characters.
Lore & Background
Rabelais was the son of seneschal and lawyer Antoine Rabelais and was born at the estate of La Devinière in Seuilly, Touraine. His exact birthdate is unknown, but most scholars accept his likely birthdate as being 1483. He began as a novice of the Franciscan Order, later moved to the Benedictine Order, and studied medicine at the University of Montpellier. He worked as a doctor at the Hôtel-Dieu de Lyon and published his first book, Pantagruel King of the Dipsodes, in 1532 under the pseudonym Alcofribas Nasier.
Reader's Guide
Rabelais is widely known for the first two volumes relating the childhoods of the giants Gargantua and Pantagruel written in the style of bildungsroman; his later works—the Third Book and the Fourth Book—are considerably more erudite in tone. His literary legacy gave rise to the word Rabelaisian, meaning 'marked by gross robust humor, extravagance of caricature, or bold naturalism.'
Did You Know?
- Rabelais admired Erasmus and like him is considered a Christian humanist.
- He was critical of medieval scholasticism and lampooned the abuses of powerful princes and popes.
- His first book, Pantagruel, contains the first known occurrence in French of the words encyclopédie, caballe, progrès, and utopie.
More in Writers & Poets
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: François Rabelais (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced