Margaret (Marguerite) of Angoul�me, also known as Margaret of Navarre 1492-1549
Queen of Navarre, and writer

The sister of Francis I of France, she married first the Duke of Alen�on (d.1525) and then (1527) Henry d'Albret (titular King of Navarre), to whom she bore Jeanne d'Albret (1528-72), mother of Henri IV of France. With a strong interest in Renaissance learning, Margaret also became influenced by Erasmus and the religious reformers of the Meaux circle, who looked to her for patronage and protection. Although she remained a Roman Catholic, she was also influenced by the writings of Martin Luther, with which she had a certain sympathy. One of the most brilliant women of her age, she encouraged agriculture, learning and the arts, and her court was the most intellectual in Europe. The patron of men of letters, including the heretical poet Cl�ment Marot, and Rabelais, she herself was a prolific writer. Her works included long devotional poems published as Le Miroir de l'�me p�cheresse (1531, 'The Mirror of a Sinner's Soul') and her most celebrated work was Heptam�ron, a collection of stories on the theme of love, modelled upon the Decameron of Boccaccio.