François Rabelais was born in 1494 in Seuilly. A French writer, physician and humanist of the Renaissance, Rabelais was originally a Franciscan and then a Benedictine monk before studying medicine at Montpellier. He is best known for the comic cycle Gargantua and Pantagruel, which follows the adventures of two giants and mixes parody, satire of the Church and scholars, bawdy humor and a humanist faith in education and freedom. The books were condemned by the theologians of the Sorbonne, but protected by powerful patrons. His inventive language and exuberant style gave rise to the adjective Rabelaisian.
Before and after
- 31 March 1492Alhambra Decree
- from 1493 to 1593Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War
- 1493Askia Muhammad I takes power and builds the Songhai Empire
- from 24 September 1493 to 13 July 1898Spanish colonization of the Americas
- 1494Birth of François Rabelais
- from 1494 to 1559Italian Wars
- 14 April 1494Construction of Frauenkirche
- 7 June 1494Treaty of Tordesillas
- 12 September 1494Birth of Francis I of France
More in Art, literature & culture
- 787 CESecond Council of Nicaea
- 11th centuryPublication of The Song of Roland
- 14th centuryPublication of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- 1353Publication of The Decameron
- 1387Publication of The Canterbury Tales
- from 1478 to 1834Spanish Inquisition
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 15th century.