1431-c. 1465. French poet, noted for his
satiric humour, pathos, and lyric power in
works that used the argot (slang) of the
time. Very little of his work survives, but
it includes the Ballade des dames du temps
jadis/Ballad of the Ladies of Former Times,
Petit Testament 1456, and Grand Testament
1461. Born in Paris, he dropped his surname
(Montcorbier or de Logos) to assume that of a
canon - a relative who sent him to study at
the Sorbonne, where he graduated 1449 and
took his MA 1452. In 1455 he stabbed a priest
in a street fight and had to flee the city.
Pardoned the next year, he returned to Paris
but was soon in flight again after robbing
the College of Navarre. He stayed briefly at
the court of the duke of Orleans until
sentenced to death for an unknown offence,
from which he was saved by the amnesty of a
public holiday. Theft and public brawling
continued to occupy his time, in addition to
the production of the Grand Testament 1461. A
sentence of death in Paris, commuted to
ten-year banishment in 1463, is the last that
is known of his life.