Pierre de Ronsard - a rose by any other name

Also known as the "prince of poets", Ronsard was a Renaissance poet in the Touraine region who very much subscribed to the ideal of carpe diem. His most well known poems evoke roses to represent the fleeting nature of love, beauty and life:

"Ah, love me, love!

we may be happy yet,

And gather roses, while 'tis called to-day" (1550)

In addition to his own body of work, Ronsard made an exceptional contribution to French letters which is still revered to this day: he was co-founder of La Pléaide (1549) which began as a group of French poets who wanted to raise the status of poetry and literature in French. Today's Pléaide represents the best of French literature throughout the centuries, published in green leather-bound tomes for about 50 euros a book. Collectors buy and sell editions and they are popular Christmas presents.

Although he was not widely read nor exalted during his time, his poems experienced a revival in the 18th and 19th century where his lyricism inspired and often fuelled French literaries of the Romantic period.

We visited his home, a former priory where he held the post of prior for many years until his death. The grounds were beautiful, but show remnants of the rampant WWII bombings that occurred all over France during the German occupation.