1495-1553. French satirist, monk, and
physician, whose name has become synonymous
with bawdy humour. He was educated in the
Renaissance humanist tradition and was the
author of satirical allegories, including La
Vie inestimable de Gargantua/The Inestimable
Life of Gargantua 1535 and Faits et dits
heroiques du grand Pantagruel/Deeds and
Sayings of the Great Pantagruel 1533, about
two giants (father and son) Gargantua and
Pantagruel.