Bonaventure Des Périers

Bonaventure des Périers was a French Renaissance writer and humanist, probably born around 1510 in Arnay-le-Duc in Burgundy and believed to have died around 1543 or 1544 in Lyon. Although details of his early life are unclear, reliable reference sources describe him as part of the learned literary world of his day and note that he helped with scholarly and translation work, including projects connected with Pierre-Robert Olivétan, Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples, and Étienne Dolet.

In 1536 he entered the service of Marguerite de Navarre as a valet de chambre and secretary. Sources say he transcribed her Heptaméron, and this period placed him close to one of the most intellectually open courts in France. That atmosphere shaped his writing, especially Cymbalum Mundi (1538), a brief, provocative set of dialogues that became notorious for its skeptical attack on Christianity and was suppressed soon after publication.

His lasting fame also rests on Nouvelles récréations et joyeux devis, a posthumously published collection of stories and fables that appeared in Lyon in 1558. Britannica praises these pieces for their simple, direct narration and their vivid, witty sixteenth-century French, which helps explain why des Périers remains an appealing figure for readers interested in Renaissance satire, storytelling, and free-thinking literature.