Michel de Montaigne

Max Gauna (University of Sheffield)
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In 1477 Raymond Eyquem, a well-off merchant of Bordeaux who had made his fortune by dealing in wine, salt fish, and woad, as well as by marrying an heiress, purchased the noble property of Montaigne, which took its name from the adjoining village situated on a little hill. His immediate descendants continued his business and increased the family fortune to the extent that Pierre, grandson of Raymond, and the first Eyquem to be born in the Château de Montaigne, was able to devote his life mainly to the properly noble occupation of arms, seeing service in various campaigns, notably in Italy, as well as serving his city of Bordeaux, first as a

jurat

– a councillor – and then as Mayor. At the age of thirty-three he married Antoinette Louppes de Villeneuve, daughter of a rich bourgeois…

3617 words

Citation: Gauna, Max. "Michel de Montaigne". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 May 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3160, accessed 19 March 2024.]

3160 Michel de Montaigne 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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