author
Pierre Villey
1879–1933
A pioneering French scholar of Renaissance literature, he is especially remembered for his influential work on Montaigne. Blind from early childhood, he also became an important advocate for blind readers and students.
1 Audiobook
Montaigne et François Bacon
by Pierre Villey
About the author
Pierre Villey was a French university professor and literary scholar, born in Caen in 1879 and dead in 1933. Sources describe him as blind from the age of four, yet he went on to excel in his studies, entering the École normale supérieure and later teaching at the Faculty of Letters in Caen.
He became a leading specialist in 16th-century French literature, with Montaigne at the center of his work. Library records and reference sources list major studies such as Les sources et l'évolution des Essais de Montaigne and editions connected with Montaigne's Essais, which helped secure his long reputation in French literary scholarship.
Villey was also active beyond the university. Reference sources note that he served as secretary-general of the Association Valentin Haüy, linking his academic life with practical work on behalf of blind people. His career is often remembered as both a scholarly achievement and a remarkable story of intellectual determination.