Pierre Boaistuau
Pierre Boaistuau, also known as Pierre Launay or Sieur de Launay (c. 1517, Nantes – 1566, Paris), was a French Renaissance humanist writer, author of a number of popularizing compilations and discourses on various subjects. Beside his many popular titles as a writer, Boaistuau was also an editor, translator and compiler. He holds a very special place in literary developments in the middle and second half of the sixteenth century as the importer of two influential genres in France, the 'histoire tragique' and the 'histoire prodigieuse'. He was also the first editor of Marguerite of Navarre's collection of  nouvelles that is known today as "Heptameron". Life. Boaistuau was born in Nantes and later studied civil and canon law in the universities of Poitiers, Valence (where he was a student of the eminent jurist Jean de Coras), and Avignon (where he studied under the guidance of Emilio Ferretti). During his student years, he worked as the secretary of the French ambassador to the East Jean-Jacques of Cambrai around 1550, and traveled to Italy and Germany. Ernst Courbet put forth the hypothesis that Boaistuau had also been for some time a 'valet de chambre' of Marguerite of Navarre, an  assertion which however can not be substantiated. Later, the writer also visited England and Scotland on his own, and met with Elizabeth I. Works. His most successful titles in terms of publications were "Le Théâtre du monde" (which became one of early modern Europe's best-sellers), "Histoires prodigieuses", and "Histoires tragiques". As the contents of his works indicate, his varied interests included, among other, political theory, history, philosophy, literary fiction, theology, ecclesiastical history, and natural philosophy. Enjoying a certain degree of fame due to the success of his books, Boaistuau's network of friends and contacts included many well -known French "literati" of his time, such as François de Belleforest, Joseph Scaliger, Bernard de Girard, Nicolas Denisot, Jean-Antoine de Baïf, Claude Roillet, and Jacques Grévin. He was also in friendly terms with James Beaton II, ex-Archbishop of Glasgow and Scottish ambassador in Paris, to whom he dedicated his "Le Théâtre du monde".