French chronicler, poet, and courtier, Froissart was born in Valenciennes. Although he was formally a clergyman and held various eccesiastical posts, he devoted himself to literature. His works include romance, poetry, and history, and could easily have been written by a layman -- there is nothing particularly "clerical" in his point of view or method of expression.

He became a protégé of Queen Philippa of England, visited the court of David II of Scotland, and accompanied (1366) Edward the Black Prince on the campaign in Gascony. He also traveled widely in the Low Countries and in Italy. In the south of France he saw the brilliant court of Gaston III of Foix, and he later described it in a famous passage.

Froissart's most famous and significant work, his Chronicles, was aimed at a knightly and aristocratic audience, and was devoted to "the honorable enterprises, noble adventures, and deeds of arms, performed in the wars between England and France...to the end that brave men taking example from them may be encouraged in their well-doing."

In literary merit Froissart’s chronicle far surpasses similar efforts in any European language. He described events with brilliance and gusto, and his sympathy was with the established order—or disorder—of his time. His highly partisan spirit and disregard for accuracy limit the value of his chronicle as pure history, yet few historians have so successfully brought an era to life. The chronicle remains a superb portrait of contemporary society. Froissart composed many poems of love and adventure, such as l'Epinette Amoureuse, in which he relates the story of his own life, and Meliador, a poem in imitation of the Round Table cycle, etc. Froissart’s poetry is charming and light; it somewhat influenced Chaucer, whom Froissart probably knew personally.



Bibliography source: The Columbia Encyclopedia and New Advent