Aubigné, Théodore Agrippa d'

Aubigné, Théodore Agrippa d'

(tāōdôr` əgrĭp`ə` dōbĭnŏyā`), 1552–1630, French poet and Huguenot soldier. A devoted follower of Henry of Navarre (Henry IVHenry IV,
1553–1610, king of France (1589–1610) and, as Henry III, of Navarre (1572–1610), son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret; first of the Bourbon kings of France.
..... Click the link for more information. ) from 1568, he was later associated with Henri de RohanRohan, Henri, duc de
, 1579–1638, French Protestant general; son-in-law of the duc de Sully. A leader of the Huguenots, Rohan took up arms against the French government in 1621–22 as a consequence of the reestablishment of Roman Catholicism in Béarn.
..... Click the link for more information.  in an abortive plot and fled France to live in Geneva (1620). His Histoire universelle (1616–18) is an account of the French religious wars from 1553 to 1602. D'Aubigné's reputation rests on Les Tragiques (1616), an epic poem using apocalyptic allegory to condemn the wars. Rediscovered and celebrated by the Romantics because of its somber imagery, Les Tragiques is now recognized as one of the French Baroque masterpieces.

Aubigné, Théodore Agrippa d’

 

Born Feb. 8, 1552, near Pons, Saint-Maury (Saintonge); died Apr. 29, 1630, in Geneva. French poet and historian.

A Huguenot, Aubigné fought in the Wars of Religion and served as aide-de-camp to Henry of Navarre (the future Henry IV). In his early works (the collection Printemps, published 1874) he imitated the writers of the Pléiade. Aubigné’s major work, Les Tragiques (1575–1615, published 1616), is a poem in seven cantos. Making use of biblical allegories, impassioned invectives, and lyrical outpourings, Aubigné described the misfortunes of the people during the Wars of Religion and satirically depicted the leaders of both parties.

Aubigné also wrote an autobiography, lampoons, and the novel The Adventures of the Baron de Faeneste (books 1–4, 1617—30), a satire on the nobility that betrays the influence of Rabelais. His Universal History, which chronicles historical events in France between 1553 and 1602, is devoted chiefly to the Wars of Religion. Based on Aubigné’s personal recollections, on the correspondence of military and political figures, and on other archival sources, the Universal History contains a great deal of factual information. To a significant extent, it is directed against royal absolutism.

WORKS

Histoire universelle, vols. 1–11. Paris, 1886–1925.
Oeuvres. Paris, 1969.
In Russian translation:
Tragicheskie poemy i sonety. Memuary. Moscow, 1949.
In Evropeiskie poety Vozrozhdeniia. Moscow, 1974.

REFERENCE

Istoriia frantsuzskoi literatury, vol. 1. Moscow-Leningrad, 1946. Pages 308–13.
Garnier, A. A. d’Aubigné et le parti protestant, vols. 1–3. Paris, 1928.
Rocheblave, S. Un Héros de l’épopée huguenote: A. d’Aubigné. Paris, 1930.
Galzy, J. Agrippa d’Aubigné. Paris, 1965.
Rousselot, J. A. d’Aubigné. [Paris, 1966.]
Bailbé, J. A. d’Aubigné: Poète des Tragiques. Caen, 1968.
Fasano, G. Les Tragiques: Un’ epopea della morte, vols. 1–2. Bari, 1970.

A. D. MIKHAILOV