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Louise Labé
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Louise Labé, detail of an engraving, 1555.
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Quick Facts
Original name:
Louise Charly
Byname:
La Belle Cordiùre (French: “The Beautiful Rope Maker”)
Born:
c. 1524, Lyon, France
Died:
1566, Parcieux-en-Dombes
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Louise Labé, detail of an engraving, 1555.
Louise Labé, detail of an engraving, 1555.

Louise Labé

French poet
Also known as: La Belle CordiĂšre, Louise Charly
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History

Louise LabĂ© (born c. 1524, Lyon, France—died 1566, Parcieux-en-Dombes) was a French poet, the daughter of a rope maker (cordier).

LabĂ© was a member of the 16th-century Lyon school of humanist poets dominated by Maurice ScĂšve. Her wit, charm, accomplishments, and the freedom she enjoyed provoked unverifiable legends, such as those claiming she rode to war, was taken to dressing like a man, and was a cultured courtesan. In 1555 she published a book of love sonnets, which are remarkable for their emotional intensity and their stylistic simplicity and which probably relate to her passion for the poet Olivier de Magny. The same volume also contained a prose dialogue, DĂ©bat de Folie et d’Amour (“Debate of Love and Folly”).

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