Clémence de Bourges

Clémence de Bourges (c.1530 – c.1563) was a French poet and noblewoman, and a literary figure of the Renaissance.

Clémence belonged to the literary circle that gathered around Maurice Scève, Lyon's leading poet.

[1] Her own work has not survived, though it was still known in the mid-18th century,[2] and she is now remembered mainly through the praises recorded by her contemporaries.

[4] Another female poet of the era, Louise Labé, dedicated her collected works to Clémence in 1555, subsequently lamenting her early death,[5] and Claude de Rubys, who also knew her, referred to her as "ceste perle vrayement orientale entre les damoiselles de Lyon".

[6] Louise's "epistre" to Clémence makes it clear that they were firm friends of long standing, despite apparent differences in age and social status.