Pierre de La Primaudaye

There is little evidence about his childhood, but it is known that one of his brothers was executed for killing a member of the gentry, since La Primaudaye refers to his sadness over this event.

In 1580 he was a gentilhomme de la chambre (gentleman of the bedchamber) for Francis, Duke of Anjou, the youngest son of king Henry II of France.

In this position he published a large variety of books on intellectual topics, most notably L'Academie Française, which summarised philosophical and scientific knowledge of the era.

[1] La Primaudaye followed L'Academie Française with a similar work on religious matters, La Philosophie chrestienne de l'Academie françoise (the Christian philosophy of the French Academy), a book published in 1598 and signed "From Primaudaye, advisor and steward of the King."

La Primaudaye's work has an essay-like character, with some similarities to Montaigne, but he is consistently pious rather than sceptical in tone.