PLÉIADE

Pléiade: translation

Collective name for a group of seven 16th-century French po-ets whose works mark the full development of Renaissance poetic style in France. The principal figure of this group, originally known as "the brigade" but renamed in 1553 after the seven stars of the constellation (and in memory of a group of ancientGreekpoets), wasPierre de Ronsard. He set the fashion for abandoning medieval poetic tradi-tion and following examples from Greek and Latinclassicallitera-ture in order to transform the French language into a suitable medium for serious literature. Ronsard himself listed as other members of the fellowshipLazare de Baïf,Joachim du Bellay, Rémi Belleau, Eti-enne Jodelle, Jacques Peletier, and Pontus de Tyard. Theclassicalscholar Jean Dorat is sometimes named as another member. In fact, the roster remains somewhat vague even today, and it changed from time to time as Ronsard dropped some names and added others in or-der to keep the number at seven. The programmatic book defining the goals of thePléiadewas du Bellay'sDéfense et illustration de la langue française, a plea for French poets to imitate the ancients in or-der to create a great national literature.