Georgette de Montenay

Who was Georgette de Montenay?

Georgette de Montenay was the French author of Emblemes ou devises chrestiennes, published in Lyon between 1567 and 1571. Montenay has always been regarded as a lady-in-waiting to Jeanne d'Albret, the Protestant Queen of Navarre, partly because she dedicated her work to the Queen. An intriguing aspect of Montenay's Calvinist life is that she was married in 1562 to Guyon de Gout, a devout Catholic.

Montenay was born Toulouse. She came from an affluent military family, but was orphaned when young and was taken into the court by the Queen of Navarre, whom she served first as fille d'honneur and later as dame d'honneur. Her position enabled her to acquire a thorough grounding in the classics and exposed her to Evangelism. She died at Sainte-Germier, near Toulouse.