Villon, François << vee YAWN, frahn SWAH >> (1431-?), was a great French poet. His principal works are Le Petit Testament and Grand Testament. Villon’s fast-moving verses bring to life a vivid and colorful description of the sights, sounds, and smells of Paris.
Villon ridiculed the great and the powerful. He poked fun at lawyers, churchmen, and merchants, and laughed at the tricks, shady dealings, and bawdy jokes of the sharpsters, thieves, prostitutes, and rowdy students who were his acquaintances. But Villon also wrote poetry of great tenderness, charm, and melancholy. He was sincerely religious and his deepest themes include brotherhood and love for humanity.
Villon was born in Paris and studied for the clergy at the University of Paris. But he became involved in murder, theft, and street brawls. He was sentenced to be hanged in 1463, but his sentence was reduced to banishment from Paris. Nothing is known of his life after this date.
