Tilley’s essay is written from the perspective that the French Renaissance Literary movement presents more a record of a great national literary shift than of individual men of letters. Also, that it was a faithful reflection of a corresponding change in the whole social and intellectual life of the people. He believes that the literature of a nation is more or less an index to its moral and intellectual state, more so in times of great stress and fermentation, which was occurring during the French Renaissance. Tilley has also included a sketch of French mediaeval literature so the reader can understand what the new French Renaissance movement was replacing. Contents: The Character of the Renaissance in France; The Antecedents of the Renaissance in France; and The Beginnings of the Renaissance in France.