ABSTRACT
If Ronsard’s ready participation in the Fontainebleau fêtes has been deemed insignificant or, worse, unworthy by some of his later critics, he himself no doubt considered it both appropriate and an honor. His immediate predecessor in the role of royal poet was none other than his mentor Jean Dorat, poet and humanist, who organized and participated in courtly festivities large and small.1 While none of Ronsard’s contributions to the Queen’s Day attempted to draw upon-or would enhance-the fame he coveted as France’s greatest lyric poet, the occasion was momentous. Among his earliest poems, in 1550, had been an Ode de la paix following an earlier resolution of conflict by Henri II, in which he proclaimed that the restoration of peace surpassed all other honors due to the king:
Mais ce bien qu’ores tu nous fais Veut qu’on t’adore d’avantage, Pour avoir fait reverdir l’âge, Où florissoit l’antique paix.2
