Joachim du Bellay (French: [ʒɔaʃɛ̃ dy bɛlɛ]; c. 1522 – 1 January 1560) was a French poet, critic, and a founder of La Pléiade. He notably wrote the manifesto of the group: Défense et illustration de la langue française, which aimed at promoting French as an artistic language, equal to Greek and Latin.
Source : Wikipedia
