Autoportrait and the Savages of the New World in the Essays of Michel de Montaigne.

Abstract

Descriptions of the Indians of the New World greatly influenced the European imagination, in particular stories of cannibalism. One of the intellectuals of the Renaissance who wrote about this subject was Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592), known for his work Essais. There he draws a picture of himself by considering and testing his judgement on different topics. In his essay “On cannibals” (“Des cannibales”) Montaigne criticises the cruelty of his French contemporaries in the religious wars of the second part of the 16th century and claims that Europeans are far more barbaric than the inhabitants of the New World. In this article, the form of Montaigne’s essays will be presented through a study of his vision of the “other” in his writings on the cannibals of the New World.

Keywords: Michel de Montaigne, “On Cannibals” (“Des cannibales”), essay, New World, autoportrait