Francois Tristan LHermite

Tristan l'Hermite, François (c.1602–55), French dramatist and man of letters. He was poor and a compulsive gambler, and after a stormy youth settled in Paris to make a living by his pen. His first play, a tragedy entitled La Mariane (1636) on the subject of Herod's jealous love for his wife, was produced at the Marais with Montdory. It had an unprecedented success, competing for public favour with Le Cid, and for some time Tristan was considered a serious rival to Corneille. La Mariane remained in the repertory until 1704, Herod providing an excellent part for a passionate and fiery actor. Of Tristan's other plays, La Mort de Sénèque (1644) is one of the best of the Roman tragedies after those of Corneille and Racine. Le Parasite (1654), a comedy, is interesting as an attempt to introduce into France the stock figure of the sponger from Latin comedy. Two of Tristan's plays were in the repertory of Molière's short-lived Illustre-Théâtre.

François Tristan L'Hermite , pseud. of François L'Hermite, 1601-55, French playwright and poet. Poor and plagued by ill health, he was a page in the court of Henry IV but fled to England, Norway, and Spain after a series of duels. Returning to France in 1620 he recounted his adventures in Le page discracié (1645). In addition to writing poetry, Tristan produced several successful plays, including the tragedies La Mariane (1636), La Morte de Sénèque (1644), La Morte de Crispe (1645), Osman (1650), and the burlesque Le Parasite (1654).