Michel de Montaigne: biography of this French philosopher and writer.

A summary of the life of Michel de Montaigne, one of the key French philosophers of the Renaissance.

The French Renaissance has in Michel de Montaigne one of its greatest exponents, as his contributions in different fields are many.

The influence of Michel de Montaigne's work, even though it belongs to the 16th century, reaches our days. It is therefore necessary to take a look at his life as well as his main artistic and intellectual contributions in order to understand the magnitude of his legacy. Let us review his career through this biography of Michel de Montaigne.

Brief biography of Michel de Montaigne

Michel de Montaigne, actually called Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, was born in 1533, in the castle of Montaigne.Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne, named after the town where it is located, Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne. It is a town near the French city of Bordeaux.

His family on his mother's side came from the Lopez de Villanueva family, a lineage of Jews from Aragon, specifically from the Jewish quarter of Calatayud, where they had become new Christians.

Through this branch he was related to other intellectuals of the time, such as Martín Antonio del Río, an important historian and humanist, who was also the second cousin of Michel de Montaigne. As for his father, Pierre Eyquem, he was no less than the mayor of Bordeaux. He belonged to a wealthy family with a good social reputation..

His childhood

The socio-economic position of his family allowed Michel to receive a good education from an early age. However, at a very young age he received a lesson valid for a lifetime. His parents decided to send him to a small village that belonged to them, so that a family of peasants could take care of him for a while. for a while so that Michel de Montaigne would understand what it meant to live in a precarious economic situation and thus learn to value each of the resources he had at his disposal since birth. After three years, he was allowed to return to the castle and the instruction of the young Michel de Montaigne began.

His father, a staunch advocate of Renaissance humanism, arranged for Michel to receive an unconventional education.. First of all, he assigned him a foreign tutor who did not speak French. Moreover, all members of the castle service were forbidden to use this language in the child's presence.

What was the reason for this? That Latin would become his language of reference. At the age of eight he had already mastered that language, and then he began to learn Greek, in order to be able to handle the two languages of classical culture. Only when he had overcome this challenge did his father consider that he could begin to listen to and learn French. This was achieved using an innovative methodology that involved playful activities and moments of introspection.

His intellectual stimulation was not limited to language; he was also introduced to the world of music at a very early age.. For example, a musician from the castle was in charge of waking him up every day using different instruments. Even during the pedagogical sessions with Horstanus, his German tutor, they would play the melody of a zither to liven up lessons.

As for his formal education, Michel de Montaigne attended the Collège de Genova attended the Collège de Guyenne, a prestigious academic institution located in Bordeaux. which enjoyed great prestige. Here he was a student of another advocate of humanism and an eminent figure in Latin studies, the Scottish historian George Buchanan.

Although the teachings of this school were planned for a total of twelve courses, Michel needed only seven years to complete all the subjects taught.. He was only 13 years old at the time.

Youthful stage

After his demonstration of precocity, he proceeded to attend the University of Bordeaux, to continue his education, this time in the field of law. However, at this point in Michel de Montaigne's life there is a gap, for the records have not been able to specify what life events he experienced between 1546 and 1557.

But there is clear information about what happened since then: he acceded to the judiciary of his region, as a magistrate.. Belonging to a good family, as were the Eyquem, along with his proven intellectual ability, facilitated the achievement of this highly valued position. Working as a magistrate, he met the person who would become one of the great friends of Michel de Montaigne's life, the writer and magistrate Étienne de la Boétie.

De la Boétie established a great relationship with Montaigne and his work had a profound influence on him, especially the volume of "Discours de la Boétie".especially the volume "Discourse on voluntary servitude". Unfortunately, Étienne died in 1563, when he was only 32 years old. This dramatic event marked the life of Michel de Montaigne, who was saddened by the loss of what he considered a unique friend, as he would never find one like him.

During his time as a magistrate, he achieved various successes. He collaborated in the commune of Périgueux as a counselor, a position he also held in the superior court of the parliament of Bordeaux. He was part of the court of the King of France, Charles IXHe accompanied him in historical moments such as the siege of the city of Rouen, one of the most important events of the French wars of religion between Catholics and Huguenots.

Thanks to these services, Michel de Montaigne was awarded the collar of the Order of St. Michael, the highest decoration in France.which represents the highest decoration that a French nobleman of his time could receive. This was one of the achievements that Michel had set for himself from a very young age as a goal to aspire to in life.

In the year 1565, Michel de Montaigne married Françoise de la Cassaigne, a woman who also came from a good family.For this reason, it is not excluded that it was an arranged marriage. As a result of this relationship, Françoise gave birth to six girls. However, only one of them survived, Léonor. In his work there is hardly any mention of his relationship, but he does give details about his love for his daughter.

The creation of his essays

Pierre Eyquem, Michel de Montaigne's father, died in 1568. This event led Michel to inherit his father's property, including the Château de Montaigne, of which he became lord. In 1570 he decided to move to this residence and the following year he secluded himself in the tower of the castle. from all social relations.

His intention was to retire from public life, tired of serving the court and working as a magistrate, and to dedicate the rest of his life to reflection and the elaboration of works. In fact, in the tower he had a formidable library of a thousand and a half volumes, which would be his only company (apart from the castle staff) during this period of isolation. This period began on his 38th birthday.

In his solitude, Michel de Montaigne began to write, and he did so within a humanist framework in which he reflected on his own humanity and the existence of himself. It was thus that he invented a new literary genre, that of the essay, which in fact receives the name of "The Essays", the very work that Michel began to write during his isolation and which he would not finish until practically the end of his life.

The first two volumes were published in 1580, when he finished almost a decade of confinement in the castle tower. But the work was not yet finished and Michel de Montaigne continued to expand it to launch a more complete edition in 1588. There would be two more revisions that would be published posthumously, in 1595.

The essays were an innovation, since they represented a new way of writing literature.. The format was that of articles without a clear order in which one digresses, as if thinking aloud, on a given topic. In fact, one of the keys for the final result to be this way is that Michel de Montaigne himself dictated his thoughts to a secretary who was the one who drafted. The result was a work with an apparently fragmented outline that was nevertheless captivating in its format.

In terms of content, Montaigne dealt with an infinite number of subjects, including religion, ethics, various professions, and social customs, among others.. In fact, his treatment of certain religious themes earned him a place on the list of books banned by the Vatican for almost a century.

Last years and death

After nearly a decade of isolation, Michel de Montaigne began to experience nephritic colic, an ailment from which his father also suffered.an ailment from which his father also suffered. This caused him to begin a journey through various parts of Europe in search of doctors and remedies to ease his pain. This pilgrimage took him to Bagni di Lucca, in Tuscany, to be treated in its thermal waters.

He had to return to Bordeaux, since he was elected mayor of the city, an honor that his father had also received in his day. He maintained a cordial relationship with the king, Henry IV, but resigned his candidacy for the mayoralty. Exhausted, he decided to spend his last years improving his Essays, under his motto, which he had carved on the ceiling of the castle, "What do I know?". Michel de Montaigne died in the year 1592.

Bibliographical references:

• Foglia, M. (2014). Early Modern Philosophy of Religion: The History of Western Philosophy of Religion. Routledge.
• Hartle, A. (2003). Michel de Montaigne: Accidental Philosopher. Cambridge.
• Montaigne, M. de (1724). Les essais de Michel seigneur de Montaigne. J. Tonson & J. Watts.