Eustache Deschamps

Eustache Deschamps (born c. 1346, Vertus, Fr.—died c. 1406) was a poet and author of L’Art de dictier (1392), the first treatise on French versification.

The son of middle-class parents, Deschamps was educated in Reims by the poet Guillaume de Machaut, who had a lasting influence on him. After law studies in Orléans, he held administrative and diplomatic posts under the kings Charles V and VI. His leisure was devoted to poetry, and he was immensely prolific, producing farces, traditional love poetry, and satires—notably a satire on women.

By his own description, Deschamps was jovial and good-humoured. The Hundred Years’ War embittered him, however, and his later poetry is a realistic reflection of his times, showing sympathy for the sufferings of the people and affection for his country. He influenced the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, to whom he addressed a ballade.

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