Brantôme, Pierre de Bourdeilles, seigneur de (c.1540-1614). French memorialist. The third son of an ancient family, he was appointed abbé commandataire of Brantôme by Henri II in recognition of services rendered by his brother. He had been a student in both Paris and Poitiers, and was rather proud of his learning. A traditional noble at heart, however, he was infatuated by the military life, serving in Italy, in the Wars of Religion, and even fighting against the Turks. He was, in consequence, crippled by a riding accident and sought compensation in writing. Far from writing only memoirs, however, he provides, in a series of posthumously published Vies (des dames galantes, des hommes illustres, etc.), a vast portrait of Renaissance society, describing not only fellow soldiers but also—and it was for this that he used to be most famous—a description of the ladies of the Valois court. His work tends to be of anecdotal rather than of historical value, but he had a sharp eye for detail and his judgements reveal the value system of an above-average though not (in moral or intellectual terms) outstanding member of the military aristocracy. Madame de Lafayette used his work in order to paint the 16th-c. background for La Princesse de Clèves.

— James Supple

(pyĕr də būrdā'yə sānyör' də bräNtōm') , 1540?–1614, French courtier, soldier, and author of memoirs. He accompanied Mary Stuart to Scotland, served in the Spanish army in Africa, and joined the expedition of the Knights of St. John against the sultan. His Vies des hommes illustres et des grands capitaines and his Livre des dames (tr., Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies, 1933) give a racy and vivid account of his time.