Montaigne Faces Bordeaux Plague Emergency
Plague disrupted Bordeaux during the closing period of Montaigne's mayoralty. The crisis exposed the limits of civic control and drove renewed attention to personal vulnerability.
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Michel Montaigne Biography and Timeline — Page 2
Follow Michel Montaigne through 50 dated historical records for France.
Michel Montaigne, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
50Distinct records
2 of 2Page
1585–1595Years on this page
1585
1586
Montaigne Revisits Bodily Experience In Writing
Montaigne continued expanding reflections on illness, sensation and the changing self. His descriptions transformed ordinary physical experience into evidence for philosophical uncertainty.
1587
Montaigne Reworks Later Essays
Montaigne assembled additions on judgment, companionship and the conduct of life for his enlarged book. Revisions increasingly foregrounded the author's changing perspective as a legitimate subject.
1588
Montaigne Develops Of Experience
In the third book Montaigne's essay Of Experience examined the relation between everyday living and abstract rules. The piece became a culminating statement of his preference for attentive self knowledge.
Montaigne Meets Marie De Gournay
Montaigne met Marie de Gournay, who became a devoted intellectual ally and later editor of his works. Their relationship played an important role in the preservation of his literary legacy.
Third Book of Essays
Montaigne publishes an enlarged edition containing the third book of the Essays.
1589
Montaigne Continues Marginal Revisions
Montaigne annotated his copy of the Essays with corrections and new reflections. These additions preserved the restless character of a thinker unwilling to treat earlier judgments as final.
1592
Death of Michel de Montaigne
Michel de Montaigne dies at his estate, aged fifty-nine.
Montaigne Leaves Annotated Literary Legacy
At his death Montaigne left extensive revisions that complicated the question of an authoritative text. The unfinished process of correction became part of the Essays' enduring literary identity.
1595
Marie De Gournay Edits Montaigne Essays
Marie de Gournay oversaw a posthumous edition of Montaigne's Essays. Her editorial labor helped transmit his evolving prose and skeptical humanism to later generations.
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.