DES PÉRIERS, BONAVENTURE. – Born in 1498 (or 1518?) at Arnay-le-Duc (?), died in 1544 (?). He is the author of the Cymbalum mundi (1537), one of the boldest and most deliberate works of sixteenth-century libertinism, aiming, among other things, to propose the irrationality of Christ’s divinity, precisely because, according to D. P., God would find himself unable to change the order of natural things. The writing caused a great stir, and its suppression was ordered by the government.
BIBL.: A. Chenevière, B. D. P., sa vie, ses poésies, Paris 1886; Ph. A. Becker, B. D. P. als Dichter und Erzähler, Vienna 1924; L. Pebre, Origène et D. P. ou l'énigme du « Cymbalum mundi », Paris 1942.