Jean-Antoine de Baïf
Jean Antoine de Baïf[1] (19 February 1532 – 19 September 1589) was a French poet and member of the Pléiade.
Also recorded as Baïf
Jean-Antoine de Baïf
![Identificatie Titel(s): Portret van Jean Antoine de Baïf. Ianus A[n]tonius Baifius (titel op object)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Portret_van_Jean_Antoine_de_Ba%C3%AFf_Ianus_Antonius_Baifius_%28titel_op_object%29%2C_RP-P-OB-31.456.jpg/1280px-Portret_van_Jean_Antoine_de_Ba%C3%AFf_Ianus_Antonius_Baifius_%28titel_op_object%29%2C_RP-P-OB-31.456.jpg)
Rijksmuseum · CC0
- Name
- Jean Antoine de Baïf
- Born
- 19 February 1532
- Birthplace
- Venice
- Died
- 19 September 1589
- Place of death
- Paris
- Occupation
- Poet
- Nationality
- France
- Fields
- sonnet · epigram · epitaph · Psalms · comedy · tragedy
- Movements
- La Pléiade
- Teachers
- Charles Estienne · Ange Vergèce · Jean Daurat
- Languages
- Middle French · Latin
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Jean Antoine de Baïf[1] (19 February 1532 – 19 September 1589) was a French poet and member of the Pléiade.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Jean-Antoine de Baïf (1532–1589) was a composer, essayist and historian, among other activities, of French nationality. The composer was born in Venice and died in Paris.
Jean-Antoine de Baïf was a member of La Pléiade. The composer was associated with La Pléiade.
The work spans comedy, epigram and epitaph, among others. Languages used include Latin and Middle French.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q379941 · wikipedia · Jean-Antoine de Baïf
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jean Antoine de Baïf • Born — 19 February 1532 • Birthplace — Venice • Died — 19 September 1589 • Place of death — Paris • Occupation — Poet
Life
Life
Jean Antoine de Baïf was born in Venice, the natural son of the scholar Lazare de Baïf, who was at that time French ambassador at Venice. He grew up an enthusiast for the fine arts. His father spared no pains to secure the best possible education for his son. The boy was taught Latin by Charles Estienne, and Greek by Ange Vergèce, the Cretan scholar and calligraphist who designed Greek types for Francis I. When he was eleven years old, he was put under the care of the famous Jean Daurat. Ronsard, who was eight years his senior, now began to share his studies. Claude Binet tells how young Baïf, familiar with Latin and Greek, smoothed out the tiresome beginnings of the Greek language for Ronsard, who in return initiated his companion into the mysteries of French versification. Baïf was incredibly prolific, which harmed his reputation. Besides a number of volumes of short poems of an amorous or congratulatory kind, he translated or paraphrased various pieces from Bion of Smyrna, Moschus, Theocritus, Anacreon, Catullus and Martial. He resided in Paris, and enjoyed the continued favor of the court. In 1570, in conjunction with the composer Joachim Thibault de Courville, with royal blessing and financial backing, he founded the Académie de Poésie et de Musique, with the idea of establishing a closer union between music and poetry; his house became famous for the concerts which he gave, entertainments which Charles IX and Henry III frequently attended. Composers such as Claude Le Jeune, who was to become the most influential musician in France in the late 16th century, and Jacques Mauduit, who carried the Academie's ideas into the 17th century, soon joined the group, which remained secretive as to its intents and techniques.
Works
Works
Baïf elaborated a system for regulating French versification by quantity, a system which came to be known as vers mesurés, or vers mesurés à l'antique. In the general idea of regulating versification by quantity, he was not a pioneer. Jacques de la Taille had written in 1562 the Maniére de faire des vers en français comme en grec et en latin (printed 1573), and other poets had made experiments in the same direction; however, in his specific attempt to recapture the ancient Greek and Latin ethical effect of poetry on its hearers, and in applying the metrical innovations to music, he created something entirely new. Baïf's innovations also included a line of 15 syllables known as the vers Baïfin. He also meditated reforms in French spelling. His theories are exemplified in Etrenes de poezie Franzoeze an vers mezures (1574). His works were published in 4 volumes, entitled Œuvres en rime (1573), consisting of Amours, Jeux, Passetemps, et Poemes, containing, among much that is now hardly readable, some pieces of infinite grace and delicacy. His sonnet on the Roman de la Rose was said to contain the whole argument of that celebrated work, and Colletet says it was on everybody's lips. He held the historian of the French language Claude Fauchet in high regard; in a neo-Latin poem addressed to Fauchet, Baïf called him 'Falcete docte, carminum ô tu candide / Iudex meorum' ('Learned Fauchet, candid judge of my poems').[2] He also wrote a celebrated sonnet in praise of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Baïf was the author of two comedies, L'Eunuque, 1565 (published 1573), a free translation of Terence's Eunuchus, and Le Brave (1567), an imitation of the Miles Gloriosus, in which the characters of Plautus are turned into Frenchmen, the action taking place at Orléans. Baïf published a collection of Latin verse in 1577, and in 1576 a popular volume of Mimes, enseignemens et proverbes. Twentieth century French composer Denise Roger used Baïf's text in some of her songs.[3]
Identity
Identity
Jean-Antoine de Baïf is recorded as poet, historian, essayist, composer and translator. The authorities additionally record the heading Baïf. He was the child of Lazare de Baïf. One child is recorded: Guillaume de Baïf.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1589
Jean-Antoine de Baïf died at Paris.
Places
Named by the record
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Venice.
Birth place
Paris.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q379941: Jean-Antoine de Baïf
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Jean-Antoine de Baïf”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
authority file
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Jean-Antoine de Baïf pronunciation in French. www.forvo.com.
- 2.de Baïf, Jean-Antoine. Carminum Iani Antonii Baifii, liber I. Mamert Patisson. 17r. 1577.
- 3.Denise Isabelle Roger Song Texts LiederNet. www.lieder.net.
References
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scholarly publication
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Partially resolvedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q379941: Jean-Antoine de BaïfWikimedia Foundation
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Died at
1- ParisPlace
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