author
François Villon
1431–1463
A brilliant and unruly voice from medieval Paris, this 15th-century poet turned trouble, wit, and hard-earned honesty into some of the most memorable verse in French literature.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born around 1431, probably in Paris, François Villon is widely seen as the best-known French poet of the late Middle Ages. Sources describe him under several names, including François de Montcorbier and François des Loges, but he is remembered simply as Villon. He studied at the University of Paris and earned a Master of Arts degree while still a young man.
What makes Villon stand out is the sharp contrast between his learning and his chaotic life. Accounts of his biography consistently mention fights, theft, prison, and exile, and his disappearance after 1463 remains a mystery. That mix of education, danger, humor, fear, and self-awareness gives his poetry an unusual immediacy even now.
His best-known works include Le Lais (also called Le Petit Testament) and Le Testament (or Le Grand Testament), along with famous ballads such as the "Ballade des pendus." Writing about poverty, love, death, regret, and survival, he helped shape a more personal and streetwise poetic voice that has kept readers returning to him for centuries.