Jean de Léry

Vincent Bruyere (Penn State University)

Ed. by Tim Unwin, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.02: French Writing and Culture in the Renaissance, 1400-1600.
Vol. editors: Robert J. Hudson (Brigham Young University), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), Phillip John Usher (New York University), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

Born 1536
Died 1613
Activity 1557-1611

Places

Born in France
Active in France; Brazil

Activities

Primary

Explorer
Historian / Chronicler
Travel writer

Resources

Léry's Works

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For a long time neglected by the literary institution, or relegated to the ranks of antiquarian scholarship, Jean de Léry’s major work,

Histoire d’un voyage faict au Brésil aurement dit Amerique

has been recently recognized as a key document of the intellectual and literary history of the sixteenth century. As a token of this renewed esteem, Léry’s travelogue had been put on the lists of the French

agrégation

for the program of 2000. In 2001, Jean Claude Ruffin reopened the files from “France Antarctique” in his award winning novel

Rouge Brésil

Jean de Léry was born in 1534, in La Margelle, Burgundy. Very little is actually known on his childhood and his social background. Léry was trained in Geneva before returning to France as a pastor of the reformed church of Calvin.

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996 words

Citation: Bruyere, Vincent. "Jean de Léry". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 May 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12715, accessed 31 October 2024.]