Pierre de Ronsard was a French Renaissance poet and humanist who lived from 1524-1585. In his early years he was a courtier in France and England and his poetry made him a favourite of both Charles IX and Queen Elizabeth.

Inspired by the Latin and Greek classics of antiquity, he aimed to produce French poetry which would compare with those works, and to this end established a group of poets called la Pléaide in celebration of the seven ancient Greek poets of Alexandria. Acknowledged as the master of the twelve syllable alexandrine line of poetry, de Ronsard became known in his lifetime as the 'Prince of poets'.

His prominence as a leading figure in French literature declined in the 17th and 18th centuries, but was restored in the 1800s; his work remains well known in France due in part to the setting to music of many of his odes.

• http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=86074&tocid=0&query=de%20ronsard&ct
• http://www.lepg.org/ronsard.htm
  (has translated poems)
• http://sourcebook.fsc.edu/history/stcosme.html
  (pictures of his house)
• http://www.sonnets.org/ronsard.htm (sonnets)
• http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13180b.htm