The literary activity of Aneau really begins with his election to the principalship of the Collège de la Trinité. Before 1540, literature was for him mainly a subject for the class-room. The few poems that he composed were either a diversion or intended to inspire his pupils. But after his election to this high position, he enjoyed greater influence in the social life of the city. The successful production of the Mystère de la nativité had indeed made of him a well-known local character; but now it devolved upon him to take part in all the important civic functions and write epigrams on contemporary events. He was placed on reception committees, and was usually requested, when the city welcomed a notable, to write a poem or play commemorating the occasion

Gerig, John L.

English

Columbia University Academic Commons

Barthelemy Aneau: A Study in Humanism

Barthélemy Aneau,  poet, historian, jurisconsult and educator, was one of the many interesting personages of the early French Renaissance. His interests were so numerous, his struggles so great, and his erudition so profound, that no complete history of this period of French literature can any longer neglect to give him just consideration. His influence on the Lyonnese Renaissance is incontestable, while his name is inseparably connected with the history of the Pléiade through his criticism–not always just–of the Deffence et Illustration of Du Bellay. As an educator, he was highly esteemed by his scholarly contemporaries. Influenced by Rabelais, for whom he did not conceal his admiration, he anticipated in many respects our modern methods of instruction. Under his able direction, the small Collège de la Trinité acquired a national reputation. He was not a poet of importance: he was merely one of the many clever versifiers, last offshoots of the dead rhetorical school