Biographies

Christian writers from France 1090–1717

4 authors · 6 books

A Cistercian abbot, the Reformer of Geneva, a mathematician who wrote of the heart's reasons, and a noblewoman imprisoned for teaching prayer. France's Christian writers are few in number here and large in influence.

The writers

Portrait of Bernard of Clairvaux

Bernard of Clairvaux 1090–1153

1 book in the library

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) entered a struggling new monastery at twenty-two bringing thirty companions with him, and was an abbot at twenty-five for the remaining thirty-eight years of his life. He made a pope, pursued Abelard to condemnation, preached a crusade that failed catastrophically, and in the same years wrote On Loving God and eighty-six sermons on the Song of Songs. His answer to how much God should be loved was that there is no measure.

Portrait of John Calvin

John Calvin 1509–1564

4 sermons

John Calvin (1509–1564) was the leading theologian of the second generation of the Reformation and the pastor of Geneva for over twenty years. A French lawyer and humanist turned reformer after a “sudden conversion,” he wrote the Institutes of the Christian Religion — the fullest statement of Reformed faith — and shaped Protestantism across Europe through his preaching, his commentaries on nearly the whole of Scripture, and the Academy of Geneva.

Portrait of Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal 1623–1662

4 books in the library

Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) was a French mathematician, physicist and Christian thinker whose experiments on the vacuum and work on probability made him famous across Europe. On the night of 23 November 1654 he met the living God in an experience he recorded in his Memorial and carried sewn into his coat for the rest of his life. His Provincial Letters and the unfinished defence of the faith published after his death as the Pensées remain among the most searching Christian writings ever composed.

Portrait of Jeanne Guyon

Jeanne Guyon 1648–1717

1 book in the library

Jeanne Guyon, born in 1648 in Montargis, France, became a leading voice of Christian mysticism. Drawn early to deep prayer, she dedicated her life to interior surrender and spiritual renewal. Her teachings stirred both devotion and controversy, eventually leading to imprisonment. She died in 1717, but her writings still influence Christian spirituality today. Her autobiography remains a classic of spiritual literature. Guyon's emphasis on pure love and abandonment to God challenged formal religion.

Where to start reading

Begin reading
On Loving God
Bernard of Clairvaux
11 chapters·55 min read
Begin reading
The Provincial Letters
Blaise Pascal
19 chapters·8 hr 57 min read
Begin reading
A Short and Easy Method of Prayer
Jeanne Guyon
17 chapters·1 hr 19 min read

Questions and Answers

Was John Calvin French?

Yes. John Calvin was born in Noyon in northern France in 1509 and did most of his work as a Reformer in Geneva after fleeing France.

What did Blaise Pascal write about faith?

Pascal's Pensées are notes for a defence of Christianity, including his famous remark that the heart has its reasons which reason does not know.

Who was Madame Guyon?

Jeanne Guyon was a French mystic of the seventeenth century whose short books on prayer brought her imprisonment in the Bastille, and later influenced many Protestant readers.

Biographies