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Etienne DoletFrench writer, poet, publisher, humanist and philologist
Date of Birth: 03.08.1509
Country:  France |
Content:
- A Life of Etienne Dolet: A French Humanist Martyr
- Literary and Publishing Career
- The Shadow of the Inquisition
- Imprisonment and Execution
- Literary Legacy
A Life of Etienne Dolet: A French Humanist Martyr
Early Life and EducationBorn into a modest family in Orleans, France, Etienne Dolet embarked on his educational journey in 1521. He traveled to Paris and spent five years under the tutelage of Nicolas Bero, a professor from his hometown. Bero instilled in his young pupil a profound appreciation for Cicero's works.
Literary and Publishing Career
From 1535 to 1538, Dolet worked as an editor for the prominent Lyon publisher Sebastian Gryffe. With his support, he published his speeches from Toulouse, as well as his own poems and epistles. In 1536, he unintentionally killed a Lyon artist who had attacked him and sought refuge in Paris, where he successfully defended himself.
The Shadow of the Inquisition
Upon returning to Lyon, Dolet received a royal privilege for publishing. He established his own printing press and printed works by Galen, Cicero, Suetonius, and Marot. Defying the ban, he also printed the Psalter. However, his unauthorized publication of François Rabelais's "Gargantua and Pantagruel" strained their relationship.
Dolet's rivals, envious of his success, denounced him to the Inquisition for publishing the religious treatise "Cato christianus." During a search of his home, books by Melanchthon and Calvin were discovered.
Imprisonment and Execution
In 1542, Dolet was arrested and imprisoned in Lyon and Paris. He was released in 1543 after publicly recanting his errors and promising to refrain from publishing heretical texts. However, a plot by his enemies led to his re-arrest in 1544. He escaped but returned to Lyon, where he was recognized, apprehended, and transported to Paris.
Dolet's trial lasted two years, and he was eventually condemned to be burned at the stake. On February 3, 1546, the humanist martyr met his fiery end.
Literary Legacy
Etienne Dolet's literary contributions include Latin poems dedicated to a Venetian woman named Helena and verses written to his son Claude. In French, he penned countless occasional odes, elegies, epigrams, and epitaphs. However, his most significant works lie in his humanist treatises and commentaries.
His celebrated "Commentary on the Latin Language" (1536-1538) remains a testament to his erudition. Dolet also authored a treatise on translation and a panegyric to his patron, "The Acts of Francis of Valois." His final poetic work, "Cantique of Etienne Dolet," written in the depths of his Parisian prison, reflects his despair and consolation.
