Marie de Brabant (c. 1530–c. 1600)
Marie de Brabant (c. 1530–c. 1600)
French poet . Born around 1530 in France; died around 1600 in France; daughter of John of Brabant (Jean de Brabant); married Claude de Tourotte.
A well-educated daughter of the nobility, Marie de Brabant married Claude de Tourotte, a French noble who seems to have encouraged his wife's intellectual pursuits. Marie showed a remarkable aptitude for learning and composing poetry, and by virtue of her class was allowed to nourish her talents. Somewhat of a moralist, she composed epistles against what she considered the lewd and scandalous behavior of French women of the lower classes. She also translated foreign works in verse into French, achieving a considerable reputation. In 1602, she published A Declaration of the Spirit of the Faithful Soul as well as her translation of the Song of Songs.
Laura York , Riverside, California