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Origin and history

The so-called home of Malherbe is a building located in Caen, Calvados, Normandy. Although rebuilt at the end of the 16th century on the site of François de Malherbe's family home, it retains a heritage value linked to this poet and literary theorist. The present façade on Malherbe Square dates back to 1582, as the cartridges carved on the skylights attest. These architectural elements, destroyed in the 19th century, were restored in 1998 from original blocks and drawings preserved in the church of Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux.

François de Malherbe, born around 1555 in the original house located at the corner of the present St. Peter's Street and Malherbe Square, marked the French literary history by its poetic reforms. The house, threatened by structural deterioration (including chimneys in 1994), was the subject of a complete restoration campaign in the 1990s. The coatings of the façade were redone in 1996, followed by the reconstruction of the skylights and the painting of the sculptures in 1999.

The façade on Malherbe Square has been protected as historical monuments since 1 June 1927. The side cartridges, added during the reconstruction of 1582, celebrate both the ornament of the city and the memory of the ancestors. Their Latin text, FRANCISCVS MALHERBVS HASCE. ÆDES EXTRVI. CVRAVIT. 1582 and CIVITATIS ORNAMENTO LARIVMQVE. AVITORVM MEMORIÆ, highlights the link between the poet and this emblematic place of the ancient city center of Caen.

In the 19th century, changes partially altered the original appearance of the building, including the destruction of the skylights. These elements were however reconstructed thanks to visual and material archives, allowing to restore the Renaissance appearance of the house. Today, the monument bears witness to both the urban history of Caen and the literary heritage of Malherbe, a major figure in French classical poetry.

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